Federal Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer's take on Nova Scotia issues

Federal Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer weighed in on a number of big Nova Scotia issues during his visit to Halifax on Wednesday.

Scheer was in the city to visit the provincial Progressive Conservative caucus office and later planned to travel to Windsor, N.S., to deliver remarks at a town hall.

In a wide-ranging interview with CBC Nova Scotia, Scheer shared his thoughts on Northern Pulp, the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, marine protected areas and the future of CBC.

Northern Pulp

Scheer was asked if he thinks the federal government should take on an environmental assessment of Northern Pulp's proposed pipeline into the Northumberland Strait.

The Pictou County pulp mill recently filed its plan with Nova Scotia's Environment Department to replace its wastewater treatment facility at Boat Harbour. The Boat Harbour plant has a legislated closure date of January 2020, but the mill has repeatedly said it needs an extension.

Scheer said if the province were to request a federal assessment of the pipeline, the timeline "would not respect the legislation that has been passed with bringing an end to the current practice."

He added he doesn't believe the current provincial assessment being conducted is stringent enough.

"It's clear to me this has been mismanaged by the provincial Liberal government," he said.

Marine protected areas

On the topic of marine protected areas, Scheer wouldn't say whether he believes more should be created in Nova Scotia.

He said he's heard from "people in the fishing industry and others" who are concerned a lot of decisions are being made without proper consultation.

"The fishing industry feels it doesn't have the input that it would like to have and there's a real sense that they're being pushed out of their livelihood without sound reason or evidence," Scheer said.

"So obviously marine protected areas is something that governments of all stripes have committed to enhancing, but we have to make sure we're doing it in a way that takes into account that we need to have a vibrant, sustainable fishing industry."

Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency

If elected prime minister, Scheer said he would make sure an Atlantic Canadian MP was responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA). 

The minister currently responsible for the agency is Toronto-area MP Navdeep Bains. That's despite the Liberals holding all the seats in Atlantic Canada.

"At the time, Justin Trudeau said that the rationale for that was to prevent bad decisions from happening. What a slap in the face to the 32 Liberal MPs to represent this region," Scheer said.

He added a lot of voters in the region "feel that their vote has been taken for granted."

Future of CBC

When asked if he would cut funding to the CBC, Scheer said the best way to avoid cuts would be to vote out the Liberals this October.

"If they're allowed to continue with this out-of-control spending, that's when taxes go up," Scheer said.

Scheer said "it's essential that the CBC tells Canadian stories."

He said CBC has an important role to play because there are parts of Canada that rely on the public broadcaster.

"So that's good," he said. "That's absolutely going to be part of a Conservative approach to government."