One year in and there's still a honeymoon for the Progressive Conservative government. Polling firm Narrative Research says six in ten Nova Scotians are satisfied with what Tim Houston is doing. CEO Margaret Brigley breaks down the quarterly results on government satisfaction, voting intentions and who people would prefer to be Premier of the province.
School starts in Nova Scotia in just three weeks, and some parents are asking about the plan. The province is currently in the midst of a very high hazard index according to COVID-19 Resources Canada. NDP Education spokesperson Suzy Hansen has seven school aged children. And the MLA for Halifax Needham says she's worried because one of them is imuno-compromised. And Hansen is asking the Tim Houston government to let parents and teachers know what the plan is for a safe return to class. She says ...
He's camped out in front of City Hall to protest a lack of protection for the province's forests. He's held a hunger strike in front of Province House over what he calls "ecocide". And now, Jacob Fillmore has a bicycle lock around his neck, attached to a piece of forestry equipment in Dartmouth. The 26-year old activist is in Eisner Cove, trying to prevent clear cutting of an forest that supporters say needs to be protected. Fillmore says he's there to make a difference, and he's there to send a...
As a society we've been able to shed some of the stigma surrounding mental health and wellness in our communities. But that work is far from over. There are men and women who work as emergency responders who may be struggling who also may not be comfortable talking about it with friends and family. And managing the work-related trauma in their lives can be a daunting task. There's a group working to ensure first responders and their families have the support they need to understand, navigate and...
It was a headline that received a lot of reaction. "Convicted murderer sent to Restorative Justice for first time in Nova Scotia" offers up more questions than answers. The article was based on a recommendation by a Supreme Court Judge who also was quick to note this is about parole ineligibility, not about avoiding consequences. Professor Jennifer Llewellyn is the Chair in Restorative Justice with the Schulich School of Law. She explains the process of restorative justice and what the goals are...
We've all read or heard about people who are displaced by a fire or other serious emergency situation and the Red Cross is called in to help. And in many cases, people find family or friends to stay with for the long term. But what happens in those first few hours? And how is the current tourism season and accommodation crunch affecting the work of these first responders? Bill Lawlor is the director of Atlantic government and strategic relations for the Red Cross. He says with hotels at capacity...
Clear cutting has started on a parcel of land in Dartmouth that a group of residents has been trying to protect. Bill Zebedee is the President of a group called Save Our Southdale Wetland Society. They are also the same people involved in the Protect Eisner Cove Wetland. And Zebedee says he's started the process to appeal the permission granted to allow for wetland to be infilled as the housing development continues. He says the Housing Task Force the Progressive Conservative government has esta...
Since the start of August, Halifax Transit has had to cancel dozens of trips because of a shortage of drivers. And the president of the union representing workers says it's going to get worse if things don't change. Shane O'Leary with Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 508 says it's one thing to hold a recruitment campaign to try and bolster the numbers of operators. But he says there's little chance the new employees will stick around with forced overtime, split shifts and a wage that is not...
A cancer diagnosis kept him from his goal of working 50 years on the radio. But only by a few months. Rick Howe grew up with a passion for broadcasting and reporting. And he's gathered a lot of stories in the 49 years in the business. He's taken time between his ongoing treatments to write his memoir "Behind the Mic Five Deacades Covering the News in the Maritimes" (Pottersfield Press). He also writes and discusses, for the first time publicly, his treatment for rectal cancer and his ongoing hea...
Cranes have become a prominent feature across the Halifax skyline over the last decade. And as more and more developments take place, more and more older buildings are being torn down to make room. And according to a recent report, high levels of greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) are released up-front by high rise construction, developments, and demolitions. Buildings for the Climate Crisis – A Halifax Case Study says there's a better way. And it would be more appropriate for our society and to me...
It was called to help let people in Halifax Regional Municipality know what was happening with the homeless encampments in HRM -- specifically in Meagher Park. People living there have been given notice to vacate, but so far about five have refused. The reaction to some of the information has been critical of the plan to include police to once again step in to enforce municipal bylaws. Councillors openly discussed some of the concerns that have followed the involvement of so-called advocacy grou...
Nova Scotians haven't had to pay a carbon tax because of an earlier push to incorporate renewable energy into the grid. We've had a cap and trade program for industrial polluters as a means of dealing with carbon since 2019. And that has kept us from paying extra at the pumps. But that agreement expires in December and the Nova Scotia Environment Minister has yet to announce what the plan is. But he has written to the Federal Minister to say it wouldn't be appropriate to push Nova Scotia into a ...
After 56 days of testimony, the Mass Casualty Commission is on a three week break. Senior RCMP leadership from Nova Scotia highlighted the past week's testimony, including an emotional apology from Chief Superintendent Darren Campbell. Lawyer Adam Rodgers has been posting his analysis and review of the proceedings on his YouTube Channel, The Rogers Brief. He shares his thoughts on the testimony that's been heard so far as well as the sincerity of the apology. He also takes a look at what to expe...
Postponing a major capital project now will only cost us more in the long run if it's ever built. That's the financial reality of making a decision like that in the midst of high inflation and increasing construction costs according to Moshe Lander. The Dalhousie and Concordia Economics Professor says the economics of postponing expenditures is based on an incorrect assumption about what will happen when record inflation rates settle back down. But what makes sense economically is not always the...
Its a rare summer sitting at the Nova Scotia Legislature, recalled to vote down a proposed pay hike for MLA's. The new leaders of the opposition parties are getting an opportunity to be in front of the media when it's usually an off season politically. Dr. Lori Turnbull is a political scientist with Dalhousie University. She weighs in on that, the premier taking a pay cut, and the partisan wrangling over virtual appearances for our elected representatives.
Kendra Coombes is at her home with her newborn in Scotchtown, recovering from a cesarean section earlier in July. The Cape Breton Centre-Whitney Pier representative was hoping to be able to attend the summer sitting of the house virtually. A similar accommodation was made earlier this summer for a committee appearance after her doctor recommended against the five-hour drive to Halifax. A poll was taken of all Members of the Legislative Assembly last weekend to allow that to happen for the openin...
Road safety may be a shared responsibility, but the level of responsibility is different for the different road users. That's the message one safe street advocate is trying to get out to the public on social media. Martyn Williams recently wrote a piece for the Chronicle Herald asking "How many more people have to be injured or killed on Halifax Streets?" This was in response to a well-known cyclist who was injured on the Herring Cove Road. That prompted a rally by other riders who wanted to sen...
Legislation has been introduced to recognize Mi'kmaw as Nova Scotia's first language. It was proclaimed at a ceremony on July 17, 2022 in Potlotek First Nation. Grand Chief Norman Sylliboy noted "The governments of the past attacked us through our language when our children were punished for speaking it, but despite all of the efforts to destroy it, our language is still here and we are still here, and that shows our resilience as a people." This was recognized as a response to the National Inqu...
It may be wishful thinking if public health officials go to reinstate COVID precautions if the pandemic worsens. Polling firm, Angus Reid Institute (ARI) released the results of three surveys this week. They show a waning concern about the next wave, getting boosters, or returning to mask mandates or vaccine passports. And this is happening as immunocompromised and at risk Canadians continue to worry about their exposure to people carrying the virus. Dave Korzinski is Research Director at ARI br...
You may have heard of Code Red for a fire emergency or Code Blue for a life threatening one. But for the Valley Regional Hospital in Kentville, they have something called Team Lavender. It's a coordinated response team that is tasked with addressing the spiritual, emotional and psychological needs of health care workers. It's something that has gained quite a bit of uptake during the COVID-19 pandemic, even in the face of our mostly secular society. And now with the frequent stories of health ca...
A foundational document filed today at the Mass Casualty Commission hearing is titled "Perpetrator's Financial Misdealings". It describes the "perpetrator’s banking activity, corporate dealings, real estate acquisitions, improper billing practices, association with drugs and organized criminal activity, as well as his planning of a potential fraud in relation to the Atlantic Immigration Pilot Program." It's likely to fuel more suspicion about the killer's past and what his common law partner kne...
"Dementia is sad but there can be gifts" says Paul DeAdder in a post he made during Halifax Pride. He shared how he had painted himself into a rainbow corner before coming out to his mother in 1990. And by his own account, it was "awkward, ungraceful and brutal" and didn't go over well. And for years there was a wedge between himself and his mother, Marilyn. But after a diagnosis of dementia, and prior to her death last year, Paul says he got to come out a few dozen more times to her. And each t...
They may be considered the forgotten generation of our time. And it only got worse after the pandemic was declared and people were forces to isolate. And a simple act of kindness was the spark of an idea that has grown into a group called We Are Young (WAY). On the group's website they explain that in 2014, "Katie Mahoney was nominated to do an act of kindness for someone in her community. She chose to spend time with 79-year-old Eleanor; as her zest for life and philanthropic character was intr...
One in ten Nova Scotians don't have a family doctor as the wait list has grown to over 100-thousand. Emergency Rooms are at and sometimes over their capacity. And the health care system is described as being in crisis with workers facing burnout from the pandemic and from chronic under staffing. While the Nova Scotia government works to make more seats for nursing students and other more long-term solutions, some are revisiting the idea of more Collaborative Emergency Centres. The one-term NDP G...
He was a man with a short temper and a long history of violence. And we're learning more about the patterns of behaviour of the man who went on to kill 22 Nova Scotians more than two years ago. Today we heard from the woman who spent 19-years as his common law partner. Excerpts of audio recordings and video re-enactments were played to the Mass Casualty Committee today giving us our first glimpse of the personal trauma Lisa Banfield experienced. She will be a live witness this Friday, but won't ...
He's been an MLA since 2010 and spent eight years in government with the Liberal Party under Stephen McNeil and then Iain Rankin. Zach Churchill has served as a cabinet minister in Education, Health and Natural Resources among other portfolios. Over the weekend, the Yarmouth MLA was chosen to be the new leader of the Nova Scotia Liberal Party. And while he was quick to congratulate the other candidate, Angela Simmonds for running a clean campaign, he's coming out swinging against the Tim Houston...
Sure there were stories that were shared among their families, but not in the history books or in their classrooms. This past weekend, the Canadian Government offered an official apology to the members of the No. 2 Construction Battalion and their descendants. Justin Trudeau offered those words on behalf of the country for the 'overt racism' endured by the members of Canada's first all Black Regiment. He said it denied these volunteers dignity in life and in death. Lindsay Ruck learned about the...
Ron James has been on the road almost non-stop since the lock downs have ended and people started going to live events again. And the road is where Ron James feels most alive. And at times a bit lonely. The author of the best-selling memoir All Over the Map has been taking his sold-out Back Where I Belong Tour back to the stages across Canada. And on July 16th, the comedy icon will be taking the stage to the Avon Theatre as part of the Stratford Festival. And they describe his two hour show as a...
After a two year hiatus, people are being invited to once again gather and watch films together at the Halifax Public Gardens. FIN Outdoor has announced this will be the Summer of Sarah Polley. Produced by FIN Atlantic International Film Festival people are invited to watch movies outside on the four Friday evenings of July. This summer celebrates Canadian icon Sarah Polley; author, activist, acclaimed actor and one of the most important and influential Canadian directors of the last 20 years. F...
There are some troubling trends when it comes to agriculture in Nova Scotia. The number of farms is declining at a quicker rate than in the rest of Canada. Nova Scotia has the oldest farm operators with more than two-thirds over the age of 55. And even though it's growing, Statistics Canada says only 8% of farms reported a succession plan. Richard Hennigar is in his 70's and is a third generation apple farmer who lives in Sheffield Mills in the Annapolis Valley. And he's one of the farmers with ...
