The newly designated areas cover about 1,150 hectares of land. According to officials, the province now has 128 provincial parks, putting it more than halfway to its commitment of having 205 parks.
Ben Cowan-Dewar acknowledges that some environmental experts say West Mabou Beach Provincial Park is a sensitive ecosystem that should be protected, but he says others want economic development.
Opposition leaders in Nova Scotia say that if officials with the Cabot golf courses want land to build a new course in the Mabou area, they should find it somewhere other than an ecologically sensitive provincial park.