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You have plenty of options if you’re looking to get in touch with nature in Canada. However, one veteran who relies on hiking to manage his PTSD is waging a legal battle after being hit with a massive fine for taking a stroll in the woods in Nova Scotia.
Canada sits behind only Russia on the list of the biggest countries on the planet by area, as the former earns the silver medal with the nearly 3.9 million square miles that comprise a nation that’s known for its natural beauty.
The Great White North is home to nearly 50 national parks and preserves that cover over 136 million acres, but those are far from the only places where you can wander into the wilderness and get a temporary escape from the hustle and bustle of everyday life.
One man who lives in Nova Scotia has turned to those excursions for their therapeutic benefits to deal with trauma stemming from his time in Canada’s armed forces. He didn’t let a temporary ban on recreational activities in the province’s forests interfere with those walks, and he’s fighting back after he was fined tens of thousands of dollars for violating it.
A Canadian man is fighting for his right to walk in the woods in Nova Scotia after being fined more than $25,000
In 2023, Canada was ravaged by wildfires that consumed nearly 5% of its forests. Nova Scotia was heavily impacted by those blazes, as multiple fires that were traced back to humans (including one sparked by people rolling flaming tires down a hill) led to more than 15,000 people being displaced by the time they were extinguished.
Officials in the province were somewhat understandably willing to go to great lengths to prevent a similar situation from unfolding in the summer of 2025. In August, officials announced a ban on recreational activities including hiking, fishing, and ATV riding in the dried-out woods of the province while threatening violators with a fine of $25,000 ( around $18,000 in American dollars).
That did not sit well with Jeffrey Evely, a resident of the town of Sydney who had turned to walking in the woods to treat the PTSD he found himself dealing with after serving in the Canadian army. According to The Guardian, he decided to stage a protest by filming himself striding through the forest before the ban was lifted in September, and was subsequently hit with a fine that totaled $28,872.50 (~$21,000).
That led to him firing back in court by arguing the ban violated the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Section 7 of which states “everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of the person and the right not to be deprived thereof except in accordance with the principles of fundamental justice.”
The case is currently being heard by the Supreme Court in the capital city of Halifax, which is expected to issue a ruling later this week.