News 1. Deaths in custody Yesterday morning, I reported that an official at the Burnside jail had testified in court that “several” prisoners at the jail have died over the past week. I knew about the death of Joshua Evans, a man with a mental disability who took his own life, but no other deaths […]
Tidal energy investors and fish: the Minas Basin is full of sharks
Morning File, Wednesday, September 5, 2018
News 1. Nursing home legislation An NDP proposal would legislate minimum nursing home staffing levels and make public inspection reports, reports Jennifer Henderson. 2. Damage control at Cape Sharp Tidal Yesterday, Cape Sharp Tidal and Stacy Pineau of Emera issued the following statement: Cape Sharp Tidal continues to take positive steps in the process to establish ongoing […]
The corporate kleptocracy takes aim at Nova Scotia
Morning File, Friday, August 31, 2018
Hi, I’m Joan Baxter, a Nova Scotian journalist and author. Some of my books are actually quite upbeat, proving that I’m not always a bearer of bad news. News 1. Abandoned tidal turbine Jennifer Henderson updates the situation of the abandoned tidal turbine in the Minas Basin in this article for the Examiner. After a […]
Eleven more security failures… are we going to arrest Google?
Morning File, Tuesday, May 1, 2018
News 1. Eleven more security failures Yesterday, the provincial Department of Internal Services announced that it has discovered 11 more potential security failures related to the Freedom of Information website: Work is progressing on addressing the privacy breach of government’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy (FOIPOP) website. To date the province has: — […]
Roll up the ZIM: shipping firm cuts back on Halifax service
Morning File, Thursday, March 22, 2018
1. Low Income Transit Passes “Halifax Transit wants to limit participation in its Low Income Transit Pass program to protect the agency from an outlandishly argued worst-case scenario,” writes Examiner transportation columnist Erica Butler. “Here’s hoping councillors, starting with the Transportation Standing Committee on Thursday, can see through the absurdity.” Click here to read “Mind […]
Creatures in the ocean are trying to kill us: Morning File, Tuesday, July 25, 2017
News 1. Stop the Johannesburgization of Halifax’s north end Yesterday, I should’ve been working on two large research projects, or finishing up a crime story that seems to have been missed by the rest of the media, but instead I walked around the north end taking photos and sitting in Julien’s writing. The result is a […]
DFO hasn’t decided whether to charge Nova Scotia Power for massive fish kill
"Tens of thousands" of fish died along the Gaspereau river because the utility increased the flow through the White Rock hydro station for the Rubber Duck Race.
Three weeks after fishermen reported a massive fish kill of gaspereau along the Gaspereau River near Wolfville, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans still has little to say about either the estimated size of the kill or whether charges will be laid against Nova Scotia Power under the federal Fisheries Act. The Act includes sections...
The Canada Games Centre roof is “poorly constructed” and leaking: Morning File, Wednesday, June 14, 2017
News 1. Canada Games Centre roof Just six years old, the roof of the Canada Games Centre needs major repairs. Peter Smith of Eagle Project Management Inc. was hired to investigate leaks over the main pool area, the walking track, and the solarium in the fitness centre. What he found wasn’t pretty. “The roof drains […]
Last Gasp: Nova Scotia Power is blamed for a massive fish kill in the Gaspereau River
"Tens of thousands" of gaspereau died so rubber duckies could race in the Apple Blossom Festival.
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) is investigating an abnormally large fish kill near a Nova Scotia Power hydro station on the Gaspereau River, about eight kilometers from Wolfville. Photographs taken by fishermen of gaspereau — a bony, migratory species that is netted, salted, and mostly shipped off to the Caribbean — show dead...