Editor’s Introduction

On 21 October 2025, Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston and his newly reorganized cabinet issued an Order in Council (OIC) approving a lease of submerged and terrestrial Crown lands in and adjacent to Indian Harbour, Guysborough County to the Whale Sanctuary Project. The OIC bypassed the existing requirement for unanimous consent to access the site from local landowners. Whale Sanctuary Project refers to Indian Harbour as “Port Hilford Bay”.

In response to the OIC, the following letter was presented to Premier Houston and other government officials by local landowners. We would like to thank them for permitting us to present the letter in full for our readers.

(Above image: Google Maps)

The letter

Oct.23, 2025,

Re: Whale Sanctuary Project (WSP) Wine Harbour, Nova Scotia – Order in Council #2025-288

We would like to express our complete and utter disappointment and outrage at the government’s decision to break its own rules regarding the leasing of crown lands, allowing WSP to proceed with their project despite not having the consent of adjacent landowners.  A decision such as this sets a precedent that now an American company can overrule the rights of Nova Scotian landowners, we are shocked.  You have lost the trust of Nova Scotians by putting the interests of a US company ahead of property owners in this province. 

We request that you fully research this organization before allowing them to proceed.  There are various points that have been reported in the media that are inaccurate, namely the level of support for the project and the ‘hold outs’ of property owners not willing to consent. Firstly, to be clear, there is NOT widespread support for this project particularly in the community of Wine Harbour. Other than a select few, the largest landowners and longest living residents of the community are opposed and have never indicated that they are supportive in any way.  Secondly, regarding adjacent landowners’ consent, the fact is that they do not have ANY of the adjacent landowners’ consent.   The parcels of land that they tote as having already granted consent are owned by Mr. Boyd MacIsaac who entered into an agreement with WSP at the outset that he would lease/sell his plots of land to the project. Stating that two of the five landowners have given consent is false and misleading when the two plots of land mentioned are owned by Mr. MacIsaac and are essentially already owned by WSP. 

Our family owns the largest plot of land that will be directly affected by this project and have been here for many generations.   When we told Mr. Vinick that we would not be providing our consent, Mr. Vinick proceeded to harass our family to sign the consent form to the point that we threatened to call the RCMP [Royal Canadian Mounted Police].  He also contacted the other landowners repeatedly, hoping to convince them to change their minds.   This project will completely cut off ocean access from our properties, please tell me how many Nova Scotian landowners would freely give up their water rights for 20 years?  Along with harassing our family to grant our consent, early in the project, our family was also approached with a request to construct a road on our property so that the whales could be tended to when bad weather prevented boat access. This request was not only unexpected but presented in such an aggressive manner that we felt threatened. We consequently met with our lawyer who advised us not to grant this permission.

Over the past number of years, Mr. Vinick has tailored his message depending on the audience to whom he is presenting.  We raised concerns about the increased traffic and tourist attraction element of this project.  When speaking to Wine Harbour residents and landowners, he said there would not be any public viewing or tourism associated with this project.  However, when speaking to a larger group of people that included residents from nearby communities, he not only had an image of a large platform look-off in his marketing materials but also spoke of what a wonderful educational experience this will be for children and youth when they are bussed to the site.  His ability to shift the narrative based on who is in the room is one of the many reasons we do not support this project. 

Another inaccurate message that has been reported by the media is that Wine Harbour was the first chosen site. This is not true, they visited other communities on the eastern shore, most notably Mushaboom.  The fishers and residents of this community had immediate distrust for Mr. Vinick and his grandiose plans. On YouTube, you will find a recording of the public meeting held in Sheet Harbour and the resident’s response to his proposal.

Please take the time to investigate the finances behind this project and ask the tough questions. To date, Mr. Vinick and the other members of this organization have been enjoying large salaries from donors’ money while making empty promises to the public.  The provincial government needs to ask them for their five year sustainable business plan and evidence that they will be able to maintain this project solely on private donations and endowments. Beluga’s lifespan can be as long as 50 years, so realistically you should be requesting a sustainable business plan for the next 20 years at the very least.  Along with the millions for construction, this project will require millions of dollars each year for operational costs. What happens when the donor money stops flowing and they request emergency funding from the government?  Will you give them the millions of dollars needed to keep them afloat?  How will Nova Scotian taxpayers feel about covering these expenses and the salaries of Mr. Vinick and the other organizers?

As residents and landowners of Nova Scotia, our concerns should be considered before the interests of an American organization.  This project will restrict our water access for boating, fishing, etc. We believe we deserved to hear this from the government before it was made public. The reversal from ‘unanimous consent’ is unreasonable and procedurally unfair. No public notice was given despite the record of our concerns logged with DNRR. Overriding this rule without consultation is a breach of trust and what we expect of our elected government officials.  

We are very disappointed with the lack of respect shown to landowners of Nova Scotia.  We request that you pause your proceedings and do more research before permitting WSP to move ahead.   We will anxiously await your response to our concerns. 

Sincerely,

Tracy Burns-Gagnon

Maureen Fraser