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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
World
Leyland Cecco in Toronto

What counts as the woods? Judge axes Nova Scotia’s ban that defied ‘commonsense definitions’

Aerial view of a forest
Aerial view of forests in Nova Scotia, Canada. Photograph: DEA/C. SAPPA/De Agostini/Getty Images

As wildfires raged across Nova Scotia last summer, the Canadian province made a simple plea to residents: stay away from the woods.

As the situation deteriorated, authorities turned the request into a prohibition: anyone caught hiking under the shade of the forest canopy faced a C$25,000 fine – a figure more than half the average worker’s yearly salary.

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