SHERBROOKE — A letter submitted to the Municipality of the District of St. Mary’s council last week is calling on elected representatives to reconsider their support for the Whale Sanctuary Project (WSP) proposed for Port Hilford.
The letter, written by Wine Harbour resident Mary T. Burns – the mother of vocal WSP opponents Tracy Burns-Gagnon and Maureen Fraser – asks council to “reconsider their position” on the project, stating: “I do not think this area of the North Atlantic is a suitable environment for these animals... many experts will agree with this statement.”
Burns expressed disappointment over what she interprets as council’s positive view of the sanctuary. “I was dismayed to read that the council is of the opinion that it would promote economic growth and would align with municipal goals for development,” she wrote.
In October, provincial Order in Council 2025-288 gave the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) approval to issue a Crown land lease for the WSP, despite objections raised by local landowners Burns-Gagnon and Fraser, who have voiced concerns about increased traffic and reduced access to the ocean from their coastal properties.
DNR communications advisor Alicia Doyle told The Journal at the time that while “full consensus across any group on any issue is pretty difficult... a marine sanctuary has the potential to create jobs and attract visitors to Guysborough... By leasing Crown lands to the WSP, we are helping facilitate this unique project.”
Regarding the lease, she added: “We needed to get to a realistic place.”
Following that approval, St. Mary’s Warden James Fuller told The Journal that the project fits the municipality’s priorities for sustainability, conservation and environmental education.
“St. Mary’s welcomes the latest development that ensures the whale sanctuary can now become a reality,” he stated. “These developments are promising in ensuring improved health and well-being of these magnificent creatures who will be coming to our pristine natural environment of Nova Scotia’s coastal waters.”
Last March, in an interview with The Journal, WSP Executive Director Charles Vinick acknowledged the concerns of Barachois Rd. landowners, including anticipated traffic to a planned on-site interpretive centre and a lack of access to the ocean.
“We took it to heart,” he said. “The WSP has always [been looking for] ways to try to mitigate.”
To address traffic concerns, Vinick said the interpretive centre will be constructed in a different location than planned. Meanwhile, a designated portage route for kayaks, canoes and stand-up paddleboards across the isthmus from Barachois Cove – where a net will restrict access to Port Hilford Bay – has been added to the project plans.
In an email to The Journal earlier this month, Burns-Gagnon responded: “It’s an impossibility. Imagine carrying a small motorboat on your head.”
In her letter to council last week, Mary Burns also noted that she and others “were told many months ago that the ‘project’ would not be a tourist attraction and would be out of bounds to the general public. Now, [the] story has changed again.”
She further voiced skepticism about the public’s support for the sanctuary. “I am a landowner, and I do not appreciate the statement that all the local residents are in favour, especially since they don’t know the actual situation.”
At St. Mary’s committee of the whole meeting on Nov. 19, Fuller told council he would respond to the letter from Burns. In a subsequent email to The Journal, he stated that the provincial and federal governments are solely responsible for permitting and supervising the project. The municipality’s role, he added, is limited to issuing building permits or regulating signage.
He said council will monitor progress from the sidelines, “as is our place in regard to this project.”
Although the Crown lease has been approved, the WSP – which selected the Port Hilford location in 2020 from among several sites across North America – still requires permits from Transport Canada and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. If final approvals to transfer whales or dolphins are not secured within two years, DNR has the right to revoke the lease.
According to its website, the WSP – a tax-exempt non-profit incorporated in Washington, D.C. – aims to transform attitudes toward whales and dolphins by creating a seaside sanctuary, assisting in international marine mammal rescues, and advancing scientific research and education.
