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Residents who live close to a beautiful stretch of coastline are furiously opposing plans to turn the public land into a golf club for the wealthy. The island offers 2.8 square kilometers of sand dunes and golden beaches, surrounded by stunning hiking trails. But the natural gem is now under threat from plans by Cabot company to expand into the park with an expensive private golf course for the rich. Mabou resident Katie Beaton said the 'billionaires' who are trying to buy up the public land have 'crossed a line' and should search for private lots instead. The mother-of-two wrote a lengthy letter in protest against the development at West Mabou Beach Provincial Park on Cape Breton, Canada. 'I was on a local committee in 2022 when a group of Mabou organizations were offered money privately by Cabot,' she wrote. 'At that time, we were told that it was only if we publicly supported the golf course. 'This was before their plans where they called it “annual funding” were released publicly. 'I remember it as a very uncomfortable proposition, and organizations turned it down on principle, but that was just the start.' Beaton accused the wealthy Cabot executives of 'throwing their weight around' in the small town and attempting to slip their project through without submitting 'an actual proposal to the provincial government'. 'My guess is that they were hoping that unilateral community support would force the government to hand over protected land, but that is not what happened,' she wrote. 'What happened, instead, was that we all had to watch our community divide itself, and attack each other, for or against, over this imaginary golf course with almost no actual information at hand. 'No one with any power to move the dial did anything to help ameliorate the situation. 'The local politicians didn’t want to touch it. They either said nothing, or they said things that meant nothing. 'Cabot never did make the proposal official, so the provincial government had nothing to respond to on the record.' 'It was as though Cabot threw this idea into the gladiator ring to see if their side could beat the other side to death, and it was awful to watch people go at each other over something that in the end, they had no say in anyway,' Beaton added. 'It was not a dialogue. It was a blood sport and sowing division felt intentional.' Beaton said residents suspected that Cabot 'has been working with the government behind closed doors' after failing to gain community support. She said that residents are not against a golf course being constructed in their backyard, but want developers to purchase private land instead of building on a 'natural resource' which is open to everyone. Beaton accused Cabot of 'acting like West Mabou is a cake that just came out of the oven for them - like it’s just been sitting there waiting for them all this time, or it didn’t exist before their interest. 'But no,' she added. 'Listen: it’s perfect for what you want because it has been protected. It feels magical, because it has been protected. 'It is unceded Mi’kmaw land, have they ever been approached in these past six years of golf speculation? And it is our land, the public. 'Protected land is supposed to be protected, but in Nova Scotia, you can still buy your way in under the guise of economic salvation.' She urged the provincial government to intervene so that 'people in the community aren’t forced to put themselves in the line of fire every time'. Protest groups have been standing against the plans by picketing on the beautiful beaches. Nadine Hunt, who was part of two past campaigns to stop Cabot expanding into the parkland, said people feel 'powerless' but are desperate to oppose the development. 'People have said, ‘We’ll be in front of the bulldozers.’ Many, many people have said that. It’s terrible if it’s going to have to come to that,' she told CTV News. West Mabou Beach Provincial Park is home to more than 12 rare and endangered species, including the piping plover - a shorebird which nests in the sand. The Daily Mail has reached out to Cabot for comment.
