Fishers worried by N.S. premier's musings over lifting oil-exploration moratorium

Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston arrives for a first ministers meeting in Ottawa on Jan. 15. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Nova Scotia’s seafood industry is concerned by comments from the premier that he’s open to ending a moratorium on fossil fuel drilling in the rich Georges Bank fishing grounds.

Premier Tim Houston said Wednesday the province needs to reconsider bans on various industries, including uranium mining and onshore fracking, because of tariff threats from United States President Donald Trump.

Reporters pressed the premier on whether that included the moratorium on drilling in the Georges Bank grounds off southern Nova Scotia, which is currently in place until the end of 2032.

Houston responded that while he realizes that citizens have the right to be concerned about industry operating safely, proposals to reopen the area to fossil fuel exploration are “discussions to have.”

Richard d’Entremont, president of Acadian Fish Processors Ltd. in Lower West Pubnico, N.S., says reversing the ban on drilling would be a potential disaster for fishers because of the risk of a spill.

Kris Vascotto, executive director of the Nova Scotia Seafood Alliance, says the possibility of losing any harvesting from the Georges Bank is “highly concerning,” and says his group would like some clear statements from the province about “what exactly their plans are.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 23, 2025.

The Canadian Press