Nova Scotia approves Halifax bylaw restricting Dartmouth Cove infilling

The Nova Scotia government says it has approved changes submitted by Halifax to restrict infilling along a strip of shoreline in Dartmouth.

John A. MacDonald, minister of municipal affairs, says the province’s approval requires that Halifax prove it has authority to regulate infilling and that none of the municipality’s measures infringe on federal jurisdiction.

In early October, Halifax council voted in favour of limiting the infilling of Dartmouth Cove to cases where it’s required for public infrastructure or protecting the shoreline.

Infilling is the act of dumping material into water to create new land.

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The vote followed years of advocacy from residents and the community group Save Dartmouth Cove, which has been working to stop a Nova Scotia numbered company from dumping slate and quarry rock into the harbour.

That company is linked to Atlantic Road Construction and Paving, which has said infilling would be done with material from local excavation projects and that homes could be built on the new land.

Jill Brogan, an advocate with Save Dartmouth Cove, has said the potential environmental harms of the proposed infilling project are significant and the waterfront space should be preserved for public use.