Speaking with reporters on Thursday, Premier Stephen
McNeil, Justice Minister Mark Furey and Mines Minister Derek
Mombourquette all repeatedly stuck to their message that if the man
arrested wishes to file a complaint, there is a process for him to do
that.

“I know there are people who aren’t happy,” McNeil
said. “There is an avenue for those who feel that it was inappropriate
to follow. I would encourage them to do that if they think something
inappropriate happened.”

Despite promises of jobs and economic prosperity, a member of one of Nova Scotia’s most prominent business families and a major land conservation donor is adamantly opposed to a proposed open pit mine in Guysborough County.

“It’ll definitely, in my opinion, destroy one of the most pristine areas in our province,” he said, citing concerns about the impact of blasting and contamination on the land and river system.

“It will impact all the Eastern Shore all the way up to Sheet Harbour. And it’s mind boggling.”

Bonnie Sutherland, executive director of the Nova Scotia Nature Trust, said there’s a lot at stake, calling the St. Mary’s River an “ecologically significant place.”

“There’s sort of a whole range of of exciting biodiversity features that are all found on the St. Mary’s River and so what some of these protected areas provide are some of the last old-growth forests in Nova Scotia and some of the very last intact Acadian floodplain forests in Nova Scotia,” she said.

“And together they protect habitat for some of Canada’s most endangered species: endangered wood turtles and a whole range of bird species that are at risk of extinction, and Atlantic salmon.”