Nova Scotia Sunday hunting ban still being studied

Nova Scotia's Natural Resources minister says he's not in a hurry to make a decision on Sunday hunting, but Zach Churchill says he will make a ruling before next fall.

A two month public consultation on the issue ended in April and Churchill says his department is going through almost 21,000 public submissions.

"This isn't a vote, we are not just counting fors and against here," he said. "In this particular issue we are really looking at the content that comes in and looking at really the fundamental questions at the heart of the issue."

Churchill says safety and property rights are two of the predominant issues in the public submissions.

"We are going to review what the opinions are, what the comments are, see what the concerns are, what the arguments for are, and really take a look to see if we can accommodate this while minimizing conflict, or not," he said.

Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island are the only provinces with a complete Sunday hunting ban. New Brunswick allows Sunday hunting three times a year.

"It's a very important question for a lot of Nova Scotians considering the amount of feedback we receive and so we're going to be moving forward in a cautious manner on this," Churchill said.