Uranium phone call strikes a nerve with West Hants landowner

A West Hants, N.S., landowner says he was blindsided by a request to allow access for uranium exploration on his property.

A private landowner in West Hants says he’s concerned after his area MLA tried to get him onboard with the province’s plan to open up opportunities for uranium exploration.

Frasher “Buddy” Hebb is standing firmly against uranium mining in Nova Scotia, especially on land he owns.

Hebb says MLA Melissa Sheehy-Richard phoned him out of the blue Thursday evening, asking him if he would allow access to a private road on his property to allow for exploration at a site identified as being rich in uranium.

“She (Sheehy-Richard) said they had their own department and their own geologist that was going to come and do this for the government and to see what’s there,” said Hebb.

The land Hebb owns located in Leminster, N.S., sits adjacent to a 2,300-hectare site the province has identified as one of three sites for proposed uranium mining.

Hebb said a mining company used his land in the 1970s and early 80s to access the area, where they drilled and searched for uranium, until 1981 when uranium drilling and mining was banned in Nova Scotia.

The Tim Houston government lifted the ban earlier this year and identified the area of West Hants, along with Louisville in Pictou County and East Dalhousie in Annapolis County, as possible sites to explore for uranium.

The province issued a call for proposals to explore the three sites for uranium, but no one applied with any bids.

Still, Hebb’s standing firm and not letting anyone cross his land to drill or explore.

“I was on the phone with her for damn near an hour,” said Hebb. “She tried to convince me the whole time that this was going to happen whether we liked it or not.”

CTV News reached out to West Hants MLA Sheehy-Richard’s constituency office for comment but didn’t hear back by deadline.

Another interview request with the Department of Natural Resources was not returned either.

In a statement to CTV news, Premier Tim Houston said emotions are clearly high and there’s been a misunderstanding.

“The Government of Nova Scotia has not requested access to this property owner’s access road for any purpose,” said Houston in the statement.

“Like I said a few weeks ago when asked if it was the end of the line for uranium, I said we’re not going to open uranium mines unless it is an industry-led project and at this time industry has not expressed any interest.”

Nova Scotia NDP Leader Claudia Chender says no one’s being properly consulted regarding the premier’s push to open up mining opportunities.

“If he thinks his ideas are good and valuable for Nova Scotians, he should not be afraid to vocalize it and let Nova Scotians in on the secret,” said Chender. “Particularly municipal leaders and First Nations.”

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