12/06/2025
Media Statement — Ingonish Arts & Cultural Society — December 6, 2025
The Ingonish Arts & Cultural Society is deeply concerned about the lack of transparency, public engagement, and environmental due diligence surrounding the Ingonish Wastewater Infrastructure Project.
Residents have consistently had limited opportunity to participate meaningfully.
We are particularly troubled that the project has proceeded without a comprehensive Environmental Assessment, without robust scientific review, and without transparent, good-faith public consultation. Approximately 40 acres (more than 16 hectares) of wetlands will be disturbed—twenty times the threshold that normally triggers a Class I Environmental Assessment under Nova Scotia’s Environmental Assessment Regulations.
Given the exceptional scale of environmental disruption and socioeconomic risk posed by the proposed Ingonish Wastewater Infrastructure Project, we requested that Environment & Climate Change Nova Scotia use Section 13 of the Environmental Assessment Regulations to exercise Ministerial discretion and designate
the project as a Class II undertaking. This designation would require a comprehensive Environmental Impact Assessment before any approvals or construction could proceed.
Despite these repeated requests, no Environmental Impact Assessment was undertaken before construction began.
The Department of Environment & Climate Change stated that an Environmental Impact Assessment was unnecessary because “municipal wastewater systems are well understood.” This rationale overlooks the specific vulnerability of Ingonish Harbour. The harbour is shallow, semi-enclosed, and slow-
flushing, making it highly susceptible to effluent accumulation. It also ignores the harbour’s hydrological connection to Freshwater Lake via Dunphy’s Creek.
Freshwater Lake lies within Cape Breton Highlands National Park, a federally protected and environmentally sensitive area. Changes to water quality, temperature, flow, or sediment in this connected system could have cascading ecological effects, threatening critical habitats such as those of the Common Loon, which are protected under the Migratory Birds Convention Act, and could impact Gaspereau runs, which are monitored by Fisheries and Oceans
Canada—classified as ‘waters frequented by fish’ under the Fisheries Act.
The interlinked nature of these waterways, their protected status, and the presence of sensitive species underscore that the potential ecological and economic consequences warrant a full Environmental Impact Assessment, rather
than dismissal based on generalized municipal wastewater assumptions.
Experience from other harbours, including Halifax Harbour, Bedford Basin, and Sydney Harbour, demonstrates that such waters can accumulate contaminants and suffer long-term ecological impacts if not properly protected.
Despite these risks, no comprehensive site-specific hydrodynamic or thermal modelling was conducted prior to project approval.
Our fishing industry depends on reliable science and healthy marine habitats. A wastewater outfall in a productive coastal area requires a comprehensive Environmental Impact Assessment, including multi-seasonal studies, physical sampling, and consultation with harvesters—basic due-diligence steps that have not been completed. A precautionary, science-based approach is essential to protect both livelihoods and ecosystems.
We are equally concerned that local expertise has been ignored. Fishers, multi-generational families, and people with Mi’kmaq ancestry, who have the deepest knowledge of the harbour and watershed, were not meaningfully consulted. Responsible consultation requires listening to those who live with the consequences.
Our community deserves a process that is transparent, evidence-based, and accountable.
Since November 2023, residents have repeatedly requested the project’s risk-mitigation plans, contingency plans, and any environmental assessments.
These requests went unanswered, and follow-ups throughout 2024 and 2025 received the same lack of response. Critical documents have still not been made publicly available. Withholding key information until after decisions are made effectively prevents meaningful public participation.
The project’s first and only public meeting, held in March 2025, took place after major decisions were already finalized. Residents were told at the outset that the project would proceed, leaving little opportunity for genuine input. This does not constitute meaningful consultation. We are particularly concerned that the Municipality delayed engaging the community, despite signaling as far back as 2019 its intention to support a developer with water and
wastewater infrastructure, and after years of municipal resources already being invested in advancing the project.
Currently, the community is being asked to trust a process that has not earned public confidence. Available documents are incomplete, environmental evidence is limited, and key government partners whose data informed the project now report no involvement. Responsible planning requires evidence, not
assumptions.
The Ingonish Arts & Cultural Society calls on the Municipality to implement a transparent, evidence-based, and accountable process, including timely public consultation and comprehensive environmental review. The community deserves nothing less.
We call on Environment & Climate Change Nova Scotia to intervene and designate the project as a Class II undertaking, requiring a full Environmental Impact Assessment before any further approvals or construction. Given the scale of wetland disturbance, the vulnerability of Ingonish Harbour, and the lack of comprehensive scientific review and meaningful public consultation, a precautionary, science-based approach is essential to protect both the
environment and the community. Environment & Climate Change Nova Scotia’s intervention is critical to ensure responsible environmental oversight before any irreversible decisions are finalized.
About the Ingonish Arts & Cultural Society:
The Ingonish Arts & Cultural Society is a community-based, not-for-profit organization dedicated to promoting and preserving the artistic and cultural
heritage of the Ingonish and surrounding areas
