Overview

• Nova Scotia has prohibited hiking, camping, fishing and vehicle use in Crown and private woodlands until Oct. 15, with fines of up to $25,000 for violations.
• The province’s woods ban has yielded six fines, including a $28,872.50 ticket issued to a man who deliberately entered the forest to provoke a legal test.
• New Brunswick has closed all Crown land to industrial and recreational activities under its own wildfire-risk order and has so far issued two fines.
• Newfoundland and Labrador raised first-offence fire-ban penalties to $50,000 and introduced potential jail terms for unpaid or repeated violations.
• The Canadian Constitution Foundation and the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms have launched petitions and vowed courtroom action, arguing the bans overstep Charter and treaty rights.