"Nova Scotia’s hiking ban sparks outrage, comparisons to COVID lockdowns"

"Canadians are fighting back after Nova Scotia imposed a ban on walks in the forest in an alleged attempt to prevent forest fires.

On August 5, the government of Nova Scotia enacted a ban on hiking, camping, fishing, and the use of vehicles throughout provincial parks, prompting Canadians to challenge the order as atotn infringement on constitutional rights.

'The most indirect infringement of constitutional freedoms that is evident in the order is your right to liberty,' Marty Moore, senior litigator for the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF), told LifeSiteNews during an exclusive interview.

'Banning people from the woods in this particular case is grossly disproportionate, arbitrary and over-broad infringement of Nova Scotia’s right to liberty protected under Section 7 of the Charter,' he continued.

The JCCF is representing Jeff Evely, a Canadian veteran who was fined for walking in the woods. The JCCF will challenge both Evely’s fine and the constitutionality of the ban.

Under the current restrictions, hiking, camping, fishing, and the use of vehicles in Nova Scotia forests is punishable by a $25,000 fine...

Another concern raised by Moore is the order that 'was adopted is clearly and expressly premised on the idea of fighting forest fires and, quote, ‘a changing climate.''

'And so what we see here is a reliance on the climate change narrative to take away people’s freedom,' he continued. 'And that is an issue that should be a great concern to all freedom-loving Canadians.'...

Moore compared the ban with COVID restrictions, which also curtailed Canadians’ mobility under the name of safety.

'I recall during COVID dealing with COVID lockdowns, for example, in the north of Saskatchewan, where they told people, ‘You’re not allowed to leave your community. You’re not allowed to leave the boundaries of your community,'' he explained.

'And to see this kind of order saying, ‘You’re not allowed to go in the woods because somehow you walking in the woods is a risk of a forest, it constitutes a risk of a forest fire,’ it’s the same kind of faulty logic, in my view,' he declared."