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Where do you go when you gotta go?

Morning File, Tuesday, February 25, 2020

February 25, 2020 By Suzanne Rent 9 Comments

News 1. Supported living This item is written by Tim Bousquet. In 2013, the Nova Scotia government accepted a report titled “Choice, Equality and Good Lives in Inclusive Communities: A Roadmap for Transforming the Nova Scotia Services to Persons with Disabilities Program.” That 56-page report clearly identified the reliance on large institutions to house people […]

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: accessible housing, accessible washrooms, affordable housing, African Nova Scotians, Aquaculture Association of Nova Scotia, Bobbie-Jean MacKinnon, Brenda Small, Brenda Thompson, Bruce Nunn, Carbon Arc Independent Cinema, Cassidy Chisholm, Cermaq Canada, Cineplex, Community Homes Action Group, Courtney Pyrke, Emma Smith, Garden Food Bar and Lounge, Harold Ritchie, Joann Hamilton-Barry, Jonathan Fowler, Kevin Cormier, Kourash Rad, Lezlie Lowe, Maggie-Jane Spray, Marilyn O’Neil, Marshalltown Alms House, Marshalltown poor house, Meinhard Doelle, Network of Independent Canadian Exhibitors, New Brunswick Public Library Service, Nova Scotia Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture (DFA), open-pen fish farm, poor houses, rapid transit service, Seafarmer's Conference, Siloën Daley, supported living, Sylvie Nadeau, Tom Smith, Wendy Lill, William Lahey

Gold fever is coming to Halifax

Mineral exploration companies have staked claims next to the Halifax and Dartmouth lakes that are the source of our drinking water

October 13, 2019 By Joan Baxter 8 Comments

Cover photo: Touquoy open pit gold mine at Moose River. Photo courtesy Raymond Plourde On October 17 and 18, mining industry representatives and between five and 10 government officials will gather at the Alt Hotel at the Halifax Airport for the province’s first-ever “gold show.” The gold show is being organized by the Mining Association […]

Filed Under: City Hall, Environment, Featured, Investigation, News, Province House Tagged With: Bennery Lake, Bruce Nunn, Conrad Brothers Limited, Department of Energy and Mines, EcoMatrix Incorporated, Gary Andrea, gold exploration, gold mining, Halifax Water, Ian Bliss, Intrinsik Corp, Joyce Richard, Klohn Crippen Berger Ltd., Lake Major, Lake Pockwock, Mayor Mike Savage, Meguma Gold Corp., mine tailings, Mineral Resources Act, Mineral Resources Development Fund, Mining Association of Nova Scotia (MANS), Montague Mines, Moose River, Northern shield Resources, NovaROC, Osprey Gold Development Ltd., Reid Campbell, Seabourne Resources, St. Barbara Limited, Transition Metals, Trudi Rhynold, watersheds, Wood Canada Limited

Changing the racist names of Nova Scotia’s geographic locations

Morning File, Friday, July 12, 2019

July 12, 2019 By Suzanne Rent 11 Comments

News 1. Report in Assoun case to be released today Tim is over at the courthouse this morning where a report from the Department of Justice will be released today, giving the public a first look at information that led to Glen Assoun’s release. I’m  sure Tim will have more on this later today. 2. […]

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: Abby Johnson, abortion, Alexa MacLean, Andrew Spinney-Hutton, Ashley Morton, Bruce Nunn, Cathy Jones, city swimming pools, Coon Pond, Councillor Sam Austin, councillor Waye Mason, Dartmouth downtown, Development Options Halifax, duncity, Ella Fleet, Francis Campbell, Halifax Municipal Archives, Hatchett Lake, Ijeoma Oluo, MLA Ben Jessome, name change, Nicole Munro, Pam Berman, Planned Parenthood, Rebecca Faria, Sarah B MacDonald, Susan McClure, Westwood Hills Homeowners Association

After the gold rush

Nova Scotia is ignoring the toxic legacy of past mining manias while rushing headlong into the next

June 25, 2019 By Joan Baxter 3 Comments

If learning from past mistakes were a government tradition in Nova Scotia, the current government would not be exhibiting all the symptoms of gold fever. But it is, and it looks like a raging bout of the affliction. In the past few years, it has amended legislation based on recommendations made by the industry’s cheerleader-in-chief, […]

Filed Under: Environment, Featured, Investigation, Province House Tagged With: 2012 Geological Survey of Canada, Adele Poirier, arsenic from mining, arsenic in well water, Arsenic Task Force, Atlantic Gold, Bruce Nunn, Christian West, Cooper Quinn, cyanide, Department of Energy and Mines, Donald James, Dustin O’Leary, Enfield, Gary Andrea, George O’Reilly, gold mining, gold rush, Gold Show, grants for mineral exploration, Historic Gold Mines Advisory Committee, historic mines tailings sites, IAMGOLD, Jacob Hanley, James Millard, John Wightman, Linda Campbell, Lisa Jarrett, Lori Blackburn, Magnum Resources, mercury, Mineral Resources Development Fund (MRDF), Mining Association of Nova Scotia (MANS), Mining Society of Nova Scotia, Montague Mines, Moose River gold mine, Osprey Gold, Perry MacKinnon, Prospectors and Developers Association Convention (PDAC), Prospectors Association of Nova Scotia, Rick Horne, Sean Kirby, St. Barbara Limited, tailings, tailings dams, Touquoy mine, Waverley

Forest Confidential

An investigation into Nova Scotia’s biomass harvest data and how the numbers aren’t adding up

April 13, 2019 By Linda Pannozzo 2 Comments

A few months ago I reviewed a film that has been circulating the province about the growing use of forest biomass as a form of so-called renewable energy. The film — Burned: Are Trees the New Coal? — reported on how the biomass industry sells itself as green by making two bogus claims: it uses […]

Filed Under: Environment, Featured, Investigation, Province House Tagged With: biomass, Bowarter Mersey mill, Brooklyn Power, Bruce Nunn, Cellufuel, Community Feed-in Tariff (COMFIT) Program, Danny George, David Rodenheiser, Department of Lands and Forestry (DLF), DRAX power station, Emera, energy wood, Enligna, forest bioenergy, forest harvest data, Forest Sustainability Regulations, Great Northern Timber (GNT), Halifax Port Authority, Hefler Forest Products, Jacques Lapointe, Jessica Gorton, Krista Higdon, Lane Farguson, Lisa Jarrett, Mary Booth, National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy, Nova Scotia Power, Nova Scotia Renewable Electricity Regulations, Partnership for Policy Integrity, PCC silicon metal production plant, Point Tupper, Port Hawkesbury paper (PHP), Premier Stephen McNeil, Registry of Buyers, Saving Iceland, Scotia Atlantic Biomass, Shaw Eastern Embers, Sustainable Biomass Program (SBP), Tony Mee, Utility and Review Board (UARB), WestFor consortium, woodchips

Pulp Culture

How Nova Scotia’s Faustian bargain with the pulp industry may leave the sawmills in ruins 

March 12, 2019 By Linda Pannozzo 7 Comments

I wonder if Billy Freeman, a sixth generation saw-miller with 15 years experience, saw this juncture coming. A few weeks ago, Freeman, the process improvement manager at Harry Freeman and Son Ltd. in Greenfield, Nova Scotia wrote an illuminating op-ed in the Chronicle Herald supporting Northern Pulp in its request for an extension of the […]

Filed Under: Commentary, Environment, Featured, Investigation, Province House Tagged With: Abercrombie Point, Anders Sandberg, B.E. Fernow, Billy Freeman, biomass, Boat Harbour, Bowater Mersey, Bruce Nunn, Canadian Forestry Service, Cassie Ledwidge Turple, Central Wood Suppliers Division, Department of Lands and Forestry (DLF), Dr. Paul Arp, forestry, Glyn Bissix, Harry Freeman and Son Ltd, Honathan Porter, Jeff Bishop, Joe MacDonnell, Josh Noseworthy, Kimberly Clark, Krista Higdon, Laurie Ledwidge, Ledwidge Lumber, lumber recovery, Maritime Lumber Bureau, Murray Anderson, Northern Pulp, Nova Scotia Primary Forest Products Marketing Board (PFPMB), Nova Scotia Pulpwood Marketing Act, Nova Scotia Pulpwood Marketing Board, Nova Scotia Woodlot Owners and Operators Association (NSWOOA), Permanent Sample Plot (PSP), Peter Clancy, Peter Duinker, pulp mills, Resolute Forest Products, Robert Stanfield’s Conservatives, sawmills, Scotsburn Lumber, Scott Paper, Stora, Tom Miller, United States Forest Service Studies, Wade Prest, Widjaja family, William Lahey, wood chips

By Any Other Name: Nova Scotia’s Department of Lands and Forestry just made “Clearcuts” disappear

February 16, 2019 By Linda Pannozzo 2 Comments

Nova Scotians who signed up to receive proposed harvest plans on Crown land might have noticed some disturbing changes recently. As of a few days ago the maps no longer specify whether a proposed cut is a “clearcut” or not. The word was removed from the legend and the list of harvest prescription types. This […]

Filed Under: Commentary, Environment, Featured, Province House Tagged With: Bruce Nunn, Canadian Council of Forest Ministers, clearcut, Department of Lands and Forestry (DLF), Ecological Forestry of Southwest Nova, Ecology Action Centre, Forest Management Guide, Hardwood Hill, Harvest Plan Map Viewer (HPMV), Interim Retention Guide, Jamie Simpson, Krista Higdon, Minister Lloyd Hines, National Forestry Database (NFD), Premier Darrell Dexter, Ray Plourde, William Lahey

Province House is becoming an information black hole

Morning File, Thursday, February 7, 2019

February 7, 2019 By Tim Bousquet 13 Comments

News 1. The province’s secrecy regime When mining companies set up operations in Nova Scotia, there is a requirement that they pay surety bonds that will cover the costs of clean up of the mining site after mining is complete. So Joan Baxter had a simple question:  How much money are the companies paying, and where […]

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: Acadia Axemen hockey brawl, Anthony Marlowe, Atlantic Gold reclamation plan, blacklisted, Bruce Nunn, Canadian Maritime Engineering Limited (CME), corporate welfare, Jean Laroche, Joan Baxter, Keith Doucette, Mary Campbell, MLA Gordon Wilson, Nova Scotia Business Inc, PC press release, Phil Currie, Public Accounts, Public Unaccounts, Sam Studnika, Sewage Plant Estates, St. FX hockey brawl, Sydney Call Centre, Tom Kennedy, Zane Woodford

Northern Pulp, Scotsburn Lumber, and U.S. tariffs

Morning File, Tuesday, January 8, 2019

January 8, 2019 By Tim Bousquet 9 Comments

News 1. Northern Pulp, Scotsburn Lumber, and U.S. tariffs Last month, Scotsburn Lumber sent out a letter encouraging “all our employers, contractors, business owners, forest landowners and associated suppliers to call or write a letter to your local or elected official” to express support for Northern Pulp Mill and its efforts to continue operating after […]

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: Andreas Kammenos, Andy Thompson, Boat Harbour Act, Bruce Nunn, Chester Dewar, Chief Andrea Paul, Darla MacKeil, David Parker, Deborah Wadden, Donald Hume, Duff Montgomerie, former Premier John Hamm, G. Wayne Gosse, Joan Baxter, John Laroche, Larry Turner, Mark Baillie, Marla MacInnis, Neenah Paper Company, Northern Pulp, Northern Pulp history, Northern Pulp Mill effluent, Northern Pulp Scotsburn Lumber government money, Pedro Chang, Peter Boyles, Pictou County Municipal Council, Pictou Landing First Nation, Premier Stephen McNeil, Randy Palmer, Ronnie Baillie, Scotsburn Lumber history, Scott Standen, Shannon Kerr, Spring Garden Road redesign, taxi driver sexual assault, Tracey Ferguson, Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal (TIR), U.S. tariffs, Wayne Murray, Widjaja family, Yarmouth, Yarmouth aggravated assault, Zane Woodford, Zoltan van Heyningen

Turning protesters into pets

How Nova Scotia's forestry regulators are already undermining the Lahey Report, and what we can do about it.

December 14, 2018 By Linda Pannozzo 8 Comments

Cover photo: a clearcut adjacent to the Old Annapolis Nature Reserve. The forest to the right of the clearcut is now being proposed as a second clearcut, which would create a total clearcut area of roughly 150 acres. Photo courtesy Mike Lancaster. In her eloquent and thought-provoking 2014 book, Capitalism: A Ghost Story, Arundhati Roy […]

Filed Under: Commentary, Environment, Featured, Province House Tagged With: Allan Eddy, Allan Smith, Arundhati Roy, Bernie Miller, Brad Toms, Bruce Nunn, Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS), clearcutting, Department of Lands and Forestry (DLF), Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Harry Freeman and Sons, JD Irving, Jonathan Kierstead, Jonathan Porter, Lahey report, Ledwidge Lumber, Louisiana Pacific, Mersey Tobeatic Research Institute, Mike Lancaster, Minister Iain Rankin, Natural Resources Strategy, Nick Horne, Northern Pulp, Premier Stephen McNeil, Resolute Forest Products, Scotia Atlantic Biomass, St. Margaret’s Bay Stewardship Association (SMBSA), Stephen McNeil's Liberals, The Washington Post Company, WestFor, William Lahey

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The Tideline, with Tara Thorne

Phyllis Rising — Rebecca Falvey (left) and Meg Hubley. Photo submitted

Episode #19 of The Tideline, with Tara Thorne is published.

Meg Hubley and Rebecca Falvey met as theatre kids at Neptune and have been friends ever since. As Phyllis Rising — that’s right, Mary Tyler Moore hive — they’re making films, plays, and are in production on The Crevice, a three-part sitcom streaming live from the Bus Stop in March. They stop by to talk with Tara about its development, their shared love of classic SNL and 90s sitcoms, and the power of close friendship. Plus: A new song from a new band.

This episode is available today only for premium subscribers; to become a premium subscriber, click here, and join the select group of arts and entertainment supporters for just $5/month. Everyone else will have to wait until tomorrow to listen to it.

Please subscribe to The Tideline.

Uncover: Dead Wrong

In 1995, Brenda Way was brutally murdered behind a Dartmouth apartment building. In 1999, Glen Assoun was found guilty of the murder. He served 17 years in prison, but steadfastly maintained his innocence. In 2019, Glen Assoun was fully exonerated.

Halifax Examiner founder and investigative journalist Tim Bousquet has followed the story of Glen Assoun's wrongful conviction for over five years. Now, Bousquet tells that story as host of Season 7 of the CBC podcast series Uncover: Dead Wrong.

Click here to go to listen to the podcast, or search for CBC Uncover on Apple podcasts, Spotify, or any other podcast aggregator.

About the Halifax Examiner

Examiner folk The Halifax Examiner was founded by investigative reporter Tim Bousquet, and now includes a growing collection of writers, contributors, and staff. Left to right: Joan Baxter, Stephen Kimber, Linda Pannozzo, Erica Butler, Jennifer Henderson, Iris the Amazing, Tim Bousquet, Evelyn C. White, El Jones, Philip Moscovitch More about the Examiner.

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