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Small dam, big controversy

How the contentious aboiteau at the Windsor Causeway could generate a national conversation about fish passage.

December 8, 2020 By Joan Baxter 8 Comments

The Mi’kmaq call the Avon River “Tooetunook,” which means “flowing square into the sea,” or more specifically, into the Minas Basin in the upper Bay of Fundy. Since 1970, when the Windsor causeway was constructed across the Avon, the river hasn’t exactly been able to “flow square” at all. That’s because the aboiteau — the […]

Filed Under: Environment, Featured, News Tagged With: aboiteau, Acadian settlers, Annapolis Valley First Nation, Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaw Chiefs, Atlantic salmon, Avon River Causeway, Avon River Heritage Society, Bay of Fundy, Bernadette Jordan, Chief Gerald Toney, Dan Davis, Darren Porter, Department of Fisheries and Oceans, dyke, Ecology Action Centre, fish kills, Fisheries Act, Fisheries and Oceans Minister Bernadette Jordan, Friends of the Avon River, Gaspereau, herring, Innder Bay of Fundy salmon, Kwilmu’kw Maw-klusuaqn Negotiation Office (KMKNO), Lake Pisiquid, Lake Pisiquid Canoe Club, Mi'kmaq, Mi'kmaw Conservation Group, Minas Basin, ministerial order, moderate livelihood fishery, Nikki-Marie Lloyd, Nova Scotia Department of Agriculture, Nova Scotia Environment, Nova Scotia Power, Oceans North, Petitcodiac River, Pisiquid, Sheldon Hope, Sipekne'katik First Nation, Ski Martock, Sonja Elizabeth Wood, Species at Risk Act, St. Croix River, St. Mary's Bay, Susanna Fuller, Treaty Truckhouse, Victor Oulton, water keepers, Windsor, Windsor causeway

Lobster: the last, best fishery

Part 1: Stocks are healthy, but why?

November 25, 2020 By Joan Baxter and Linda Pannozzo 2 Comments

Lobster stocks in Atlantic Canada have been flourishing in recent years, ironically not just because of conservation measures, but also because of two ecological disasters — the collapse of groundfish stocks and climate change. But can the lobster fishery survive with current rates and rules for harvesting as waters continue to warm and ecosystems change? […]

Filed Under: Environment, Featured Tagged With: American Lobster Settlement Index, Bay of Fundy, berried lobsters, Browns Bank, Chris Milley, Christine Penney, Clearwater, climate change, cod, conservation measures, Darren Porter, Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO), groundfish, groundfish collapse, Gulf of Maine, Gulf of St. Lawrence, Guysborough County Inshore Fishermen's Association, LFA 34, LFA 40, lobster, lobster boom in Maine, lobster fishery, Lobster Fishing Area (LFA) 41, Lobster Institute, lobster stocks, Maliseet, Marshall, Marshall 2, Marshall Decision, Melanie Wiber, Membertou First Nation, Mi'maq, moderate livelihood fishery, molting, Netukulimk, offshore lobster fishery, PEI Fishermen's Association, Peskotomuhkati, Pictou Landing First Nation, Potoltek First Nation, Premium Brands, Ready Seafood, Rémy Rochette, Richard Wahle, Sipek’natik First Nation, St. Mary's Bay, Université Sainte-Anne, University of New Brunswick, UPEI, v-notching

The province spent $4 million to replace the Halfway River aboiteau, and just months later it is already failing

Morning File, Tuesday, August 20, 2019

August 20, 2019 By Tim Bousquet 5 Comments

News 1. Halfway River aboiteau In 2017, the Halfway River aboiteau collapsed. The aboiteau was essentially a dike or dam that at low tide allowed water to flow out to the Bay of Fundy but restricted the flow of water back into the river at high tide. It was an ancient construction — I haven’t been […]

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: Aaron Beswick, Arthur Gaudreau, Ben Cowan-Dewar, Cabot Links airport, Cape Breton Island Airport Community Interest Company, Colin Chisholm, Darren Porter, Energy Department FOI request, food safety inspector, Greg Buckley, Halfway River aboiteau, Information and Privacy Commissioner Catherine Tully, Iron Rooster, Kelly Gillis, Michael Gorman, Robbie Zwicker, Syed Fariya, The Lot BBQ, vermin, Windsor and Hantsport Railway

Despite government assurances to the contrary, no one knows what the abandoned tidal turbine is doing to the environment

Morning File, Friday, August 9, 2019

August 9, 2019 By Tim Bousquet 7 Comments

I’m having computer problems, and so this is a short version of Morning File. News 1. Who are we building bike lanes for, anyway? “After the announcement about $25 million in funding towards a minimum bike grid for central Halifax and Dartmouth, there was a lot of talk about who would benefit from such an investment,” […]

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: Cape Sharpe Tidal, China, China's digital restrictions, Darren Porter, internet in China, Jean Laroche, Minister Derek Mombourquette, Nova Scotia Business Inc. (NSBI), tidal turbine

The abandoned tidal turbine still sits on the bottom of the Minas Basin, and taxpayers are probably on the hook for removing it

March 6, 2019 By Jennifer Henderson

The future of a massive, five-storey high tidal turbine sitting on the bottom of the Bay of Fundy off the coast of Parrsboro continues to represent a financial sinkhole for Nova Scotia taxpayers. Yesterday, Nova Scotia Supreme Court Justice Peter Rosinski officially accepted a letter from the lawyer representing Grant Thornton, the receiver appointed by...

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Filed Under: Environment, Featured, News, Province House, Subscribers only Tagged With: Bay of Fundy Inshore Fisherman's Association, Bay of Fundy tidal turbines, Cape Sharp Tidal, Darren Porter, Emera Inc., Energy Minister Derek Mombourquette, Fundy Ocean Research Centre for Energy (FORCE), Justice Peter Rosinski, Marc Isaacs, Naval Energies of France, Ocean Supercluster Program, OpenHydro Technologies Canada

Poverty mentality… poverty reality

Morning File, Thursday, February 28, 2019

February 28, 2019 By Philip Moscovitch 8 Comments

News 1. Poor kids On Tuesday, Statistics Canada released its most recent Canadian income survey, covering 2017. The agency uses two tools to calculate poverty, the Low Income Measure (“defines an individual as having low income if their adjusted after-tax income falls below 50% of the median adjusted after-tax income”) and the Market Basket Measure […]

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: Aaron Beswick, Alex Cooke, Andrea Gunn, Andrew Stevens, Blomidon Society of Naturalists, Bob Bancroft, Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT), Canadian income survey, Chronicle Herald advertorial, Copyright Act, Darren Porter, Denise Corey, Endangered Species Act, fair dealing in copyright law, Federation of Nova Scotia Naturalists, Four Feet Up, Fresh 21, Halifax Society of Naturalists, John Degen, Michael Gorman, Nance Ackerman, Paula Gallant, poverty, poverty in Nova Scotia, rural library system, Senator Wanda Thomas Bernard, Shaina Luck, Stephen Archibald and a seaside cemetery, Thomas Baekdal, tidal turbine retrieval, Trevor Tombe, Writers' Union of Canada

Great white sharks are killing people and they’re coming to Nova Scotia

Morning File, Wednesday, September 19, 2018

September 19, 2018 By Tim Bousquet 15 Comments

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 […]

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: advertorial in Chronicle Herald, Aly Thomson, Bruce Rainnie, Bruce Wark, Burnside jail death, Chris Benjamin, Chronicle Herald, Colleen Cosgrove, Councillor Lorelei Nicoll, Darren Porter, deaths in custody, Duggers Menswear, Fundy Ocean Research Centre for Energy (FORCE), Halifax Mayor Mike Savage, innovation, Jamie McNeil, Jean Laroche, John McCracken, Jon Tattrie, Jordan Parker, Joshua Evans, Lake Management Services, Lindsay Bennett, lobbyist registry, M5 Public Affairs, Mike Labrecque, Premier Stephen McNeil, Sarah Gillis, Sarah Mervosh, shark attacks, sharks, Sharktivity app, tidal turbine gear

Tidal energy investors and fish: the Minas Basin is full of sharks

Morning File, Wednesday, September 5, 2018

September 5, 2018 By Tim Bousquet 9 Comments

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 […]

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: Brett Bundale, Cape Sharp Tidal, Darren Porter, Emera, Halifax Transit carbon footprint, Jennifer Henderson, Lindsay Souvannarath, motorcycle collision, motorcycle death, Myra the shark, new bus technology, OpenHydro, Russell Walker, Stacy Pineau, Yarmouth ferry costs, Zach Churchill

The corporate kleptocracy takes aim at Nova Scotia

Morning File, Friday, August 31, 2018

August 31, 2018 By Joan Baxter 5 Comments

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 […]

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: Aaron Beswick, Alfred Sorensen, Allan Murphy, Ardath Whynacht, Bianca Mercer, big oil and public money, Bruce Nunn, Burnside jail protest, climate change, Darren Porter, David Patriquin, dead porpoise, El Jones, Fracking, Glyphosate, Goldboro LNG plant, Helen Murphy, herbicide spraying, Jessica Chin, Joan Baxter, Josh Healey, Ken Summers, Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), Marla MacInnis, Matthew Boyd, Maurice Reed, NOFRAC Nova Scotia, Paul McLeod, Peter Watts, Pieridae Energy, prisoner protest, Robert Devet, Sandra Hannebohm, Sarah Gillis, Sarah Ritchie, Stacey Rudderham, Stephen Kimber, Swissair crash, tidal turbine abandoned, Will Weissart, worst roads in Canada

Eleven more security failures… are we going to arrest Google?

Morning File, Tuesday, May 1, 2018

May 1, 2018 By Tim Bousquet 11 Comments

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: — […]

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: Bill Lahey, Bruce Wark, Cape Breton doctor Eugene Ignacio, Cape Sharp Tidal Inc., criminal doctors, Darren Porter, David Patriquin, Department of Environment, Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy (FOIPOP) website, Freedom of Information website security failures, Fundy Ocean Research Centre for Energy (FORCE), Haley Ryan, Information and Privacy Commissioner Catherine Tully, Long Beach berm breach, Natural Resources Minister Margaret Miller, Nova Scotia Auditor General Michael Pickup, Pattie Lacroix, provincial Department of Internal Services, Richard Bell, sea level rise, tidal turbines, unnecessary and redundant forestry review

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The Tideline, with Tara Thorne

Mo Kenney. Photo: Matt Williams

Episode #18 of The Tideline, with Tara Thorne is published.

Mo Kenney’s new record Covers is a perfect winter companion — songs from across the rock spectrum that she’s pared down to piano or guitar and turned them into sad ballads. She joins Tara to talk about choosing and arranging them, and opens up for a frank discussion of the alcohol dependency it took a pandemic for her to confront. Plus: Movies are back (again).

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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