N.S. senator wins $70k from ‘malicious’ neighbours who tried to seize his land
HALIFAX — A Conservative senator has won more than $70,000 in legal costs from his rural Nova Scotia neighbours after they attempted to seize part of his oceanfront property.
Senator Tom McInnis, a 71-year-old former deputy premier, found himself feuding with his new neighbours in Sheet Harbour shortly before he was appointed to the Senate in 2012.
Daniel and Francine Stone claimed a piece of McInnis’ property, and called police repeatedly when the senator and his wife went on the land, according to an Aug. 12 ruling from Nova Scotia Supreme Court Justice Arthur Pickup.
“When we did go to the property just to go for a walk or sit in our chairs, Mr. Stone called the police and they would come to our home, no matter the time of day,” McInnis said in an affidavit. “We have been literally shut out of the McInnis property virtually since the Stones moved in … and put their boat in the water in 2011.”