Press release: Extinction Rebellion Nova Scotia
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – March 24, 2021
The Minister of Lands and Forestry, Chuck Porter, has agreed to meet with hunger striker Jacob Fillmore. Deputy Minister Paul LaFleche gave Jacob Fillmore and Janet McLeod the news yesterday in the lobby of the DLF just as, a block away, the Stop Clearcutting Our Future rally in support of Jacob was getting underway in front of Province House.
The meeting will take place at 10:30 this morning. Accompanying Jacob in the meeting will be Jamie Simpson of Juniper Law and Gretchen Fitzgerald, National Program Director for Sierra Club Canada. The exact location of the meeting has not been decided.
Jacob’s demand is the same demand groups across Nova Scotia have been making since October: for the government to implement an immediate moratorium on clearcutting on Crown land in Mi’kma’ki until the Lahey Report is fully implemented.
The government has already promised to implement all the recommendations of the Lahey report. Lahey recommends a drastic reduction in clearcutting on Crown land. And yet this same government continues to approve and permit clearcut harvests on Crown land.
Jacob Fillmore said: “While I am glad that the Minister has said that he will meet with me, it should not take this amount of determination from so many people simply to get a meeting. But if today is the day the Minister of the Department of Lands and Forestry is finally going to respond to citizens’ demands for this moratorium, then I am glad and proud to be part of moving forward on real action to restore and protect our forests.”
