Whoever
gives the Higgins their Christmas Tree farmland back.
The Higgins run a family business in Moose River on land that it has owned by their family for over
120 years. Their business is selling Christmas Trees... yup, you can pretty much say they help
spread the Christmas spirit (Well, except when you have to put on those friggin’
lights). The farm is in the same area as the Former Moose River Gold Mine where recently more gold has been found underground. A company from Australia has bought up most of the un-used land around them and received rights to extract the gold via an open pit mine. The family had been offered $300,000 to sell their land and
refused, which I believe they had every right to do so... but then the
government stepped in.
 |
| SO SHINY AND PRETTY... |
For some
unknown reason the Province of Nova Scotia decided that the interest of a
multi-international company from Australia, searching for a finite mineral
underground is more important that of the interest of a Nova Scotian’s sustainable family business. Not to mention the environments. They granted an order to expropriated the land from the Higgins to give to the mining
company.
I understand
that the company wants to mine the gold in Moose River and that will create
jobs for “Nova Scotians” but let’s face the fact.... Once the gold is gone...
it’s gone! After the five years it takes to extract the gold from underground,
the mine will fold up and leave along with those 150 jobs it plans to create. Then
what... those people whose jobs will no longer be there will probably leave
Nova Scotia for Alberta to find work like everyone else. The mining company
does not have the interest in Nova Scotians in mind... they only care about the
gold.
I’m not sure
what the government is thinking when it decided to interfere and takes away the
family’s land because some big company needs it for mine exploration.
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| Picture is from the Chronicle Herald's article about the legal battles the family is fighting |
I feel this act
is very un-Nova Scotian. As a province, I think we should be looking for ways
to develop more sustainable businesses models rather than supporting those
businesses with finite resources. Like Disney’s Pocahontas sang... the earth is
not just a dead thing you can own.
I’m not sure
why nobody else considers this an election issue... but it sure is mine. If
nobody addresses it then I guess I’ll be writing in Earl Grey on my election ballot.
END OF RANT
These are
some links to news articles about the family’s legal battle with the company and the government.
By the way,
I think the Higgins Family Christmas Tree website has been hacked...
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