Nearly four years after directing city staff to start buying the land to make it happen, Halifax regional council wants to see a plan for the long-promised park at Blue Mountain-Birch Cove Lakes. The picturesque area between Bayers Lake and Hammonds Plains — 1,700 hectares, or 4,200 acres, of which is a provincially-protected wilderness area...
A filthy rich American wants to profit from turning Owls Head into a golf course, and he apparently wants the Canadian taxpayer to subsidize the effort
Morning File, Friday, May 15, 2020
News 1. Police budget “The city’s board of police commissioners is recommending in favour of a $5.5 million cut to the Halifax Regional Police budget,” reports Zane Woodford: Chief Dan Kinsella told the board this week that there will be no impact on public safety from the reduced spending, about $4 million of which comes […]
A community rallies to save Owls Head
Morning File, Tuesday, February 4, 2020
News 1. Zane Woodford Tim Bousquet wrote this item. After a month covering City Hall for the Halifax Examiner, Zane Woodford is leaving to write for SaltWire. He’ll be working on their new weekly newspaper, SALT. [Insert your joke here.] While we’ve seen good subscription growth from Zane’s writing, the Examiner is unable to hire […]
Unearthing the city’s buried history
Morning File, Monday, January 27, 2020
News 1. New street checks almost the same as the old Stephen Kimber writes how even after a ban on street checks and an apology from the police chief, the practice still goes on. As former police officer Maurice Carvery says, “they haven’t stopped; they only changed.” This article is for subscribers. Please subscribe. 2. […]
Owls Head Provincial Park has been deleted from the province’s map of parks and protected areas
Last week, CBC reporter Michael Gorman noted that: Last year the government quietly removed Owls Head provincial park in Little Harbour from the province’s pending protected status list. The move was made so negotiations could begin with Lighthouse Links Development Co., which hopes to acquire the 285 hectares of coastal headland, add it to land […]
Budget cut has environmentalists worried Halifax is forgetting about Blue Mountain–Birch Cove Lakes
Environmentalists who celebrated extra cash in last year’s municipal budget for park land protection are worried a reduced budget for next year means the city is again forgetting about Blue Mountain–Birch Cove Lakes. Halifax regional council is working on the capital and operating budgets for the year ahead, meeting weekly over the next few months....
Who’s protecting Owls Head park from development? Not the provincial government
Morning File, Wednesday, December 18, 2019
News 1. Environment Minister Gordon Wilson orders two-year environmental assessment of Northern Pulp Mill’s proposed effluent treatment system Jennifer Henderson looks at what yesterday’s decision on Northern Pulp’s proposed effluent treatment system means for the future. Environment minister Gordon Wilson told Northern Pulp to produce more information and complete a full environmental assessment before he […]
Environment Minister Margaret Miller isn’t talking about Northern Pulp’s much-criticized environmental assessment
Morning File, Friday, March 15, 2019
News 1. Spill at Moose River gold mine “Atlantic Gold’s manager of environment and permitting, James Millard, calls it a ‘spill’ or a ‘loss of control’ caused by a ‘gasket failure,’” reports Joan Baxter: By whatever name, the event happened on the night of January 3, 2019, at the company’s open pit gold mine at […]
Northern Pulp’s environmental assessment “is simply not credible” says EAC
Morning File, Wednesday, March 13, 2019
News 1. Pulp Culture We’ve published Linda Pannozzo’s detailed review of how through the decades the province has oriented forest policies — and purposefully subverted science — to favour the pulp industry over the lumber industry. As a result, overcutting has resulted in smaller trees that provide less lumber, and now the sawmills are […]
Gnawing away at the vitals of this community, since 1970
Morning File, Friday, January 18, 2019
This is Erica Butler, filling in for Tim. News 1. Council defers capital budget approval As we know from last December when it first appeared on council’s agenda, Halifax’s proposed capital budget leaves A LOT out, especially just about anything to do with the city’s approved Integrated Mobility Plan (IMP), and the final years’ implementation […]