N.S. makes increased illegal burning fine permanent

CITYnews halifax / By Mark Hodgins

The Nova Scotia government says a larger fine for illegal burning that was brought in after the province’s destructive 2023 wildfires will be sticking around.

The province set an interim fine of $25,000 for people who refused to follow daily burn restrictions, up from the previous fine which was around $200.

“Nova Scotians saw the devastation of wildfires first-hand in 2023. We imposed the $25,000 fine through temporary means to show we mean business, and it’s working – we had the quietest wildfire season on record last year,” said Tory Rushton, Minister of Natural Resources. “Now we’ve made that fine permanent in the regulations to keep signalling how serious we are.”

The provincial BurnSafe map is updated daily from March 15 to October 15 to inform people when they are allowed to burn. Burning is never allowed between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. as that is when the risk for wildfires is greatest, according to government.

The province says when you factor in a victim fine surcharge and court costs, the total fine now amounts to $28,872.50.