Nova Scotia Court Rules Wildfire Woods Ban Unreasonable, Cites Charter Concerns

Smoke is seen from the Long Lake wildfire in Nova Scotia’s Annapolis County, outside the community of West Dalhousie, N.S., on Aug. 19, 2025. The Canadian Press/Darren CalabreseThe Supreme Court of Nova Scotia has struck down the province’s previous blanket ban on entering the woods during a spate of wildfires last year, holding that the grounds for it were “unreasonable” and failed to properly consider constitutional rights.The April 17 decision from Justice Jamie Campbell held that the ban was overly broad and “limited the mobility rights of Nova Scotians to move freely around the province,” and was therefore deemed unreasonable.