November marks the Halifax Examiner’s annual subscription drive — the time of year when we give you a behind-the-scenes look at the Examiner, point out some of the great things about this publication (sometimes people call it a newspaper, which I kind of like), and urge you to please subscribe so we can keep doing […]
Lobster fishery at a crossroads
Part 3: What are the prospects for the Atlantic lobster fishery?
On September 17, 2020, the Sipekne’katik First Nation finally launched its own self-regulated moderate livelihood lobster fishery off the Saulnierville wharf on the shores of St. Mary’s Bay in Southwest Nova Scotia. It had been 21 years since the Marshall decision, when the Supreme Court of Canada affirmed the 1760-61 Treaty Rights of the Mi’kmaq […]
To Hell and Back
Residential development that restricts traditional access to coastal land continues to raise the ire of South Shore residents.
Standing at the edge of Hell Point in Kingsburg, it was difficult to get my bearings in the thick morning fog. I knew that somewhere out there was Cross Island and a stunning view of Gaff Point, but all I could see were some shore birds mingling in the pounding surf. I was there […]
Council rejects staff recommendation, agrees to $750,000 for Blue Mountain-Birch Cove Lakes land purchase
Halifax regional council unanimously rejected a recommendation from staff and voted on Tuesday to spend $750,000 to help the Nova Scotia Nature Trust fill a big gap in the Blue Mountain-Birch Cove Lakes wilderness area. Blue Mountain-Birch Cove Lakes is the picturesque area between Bayers Lake and Hammonds Plains. Within that area, 1,700 hectares, or...
Halifax councillor’s motion to consider rezoning Purcells Cove backlands properties approved
A Halifax councillor’s motion aiming to rezone three Purcells Cove backlands properties has passed. As the Halifax Examiner reported last month, the three parcels for sale sit right next to the wilderness park recently created by the municipality and the Nature Conservancy of Canada — a 153-hectare (or 378-acre) park, twice the size of Point...
Healthy Bays Network: Fish farms are not just a rural issue; people in Halifax should be concerned
A group of community organizations opposed to open-net finfish farms in Nova Scotia have pooled their resources and formed a new organization they say will amplify their voice. In a media release Monday, the newly created Healthy Bays Network (HBN) said Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture regulations have been written for industry, and the voices...
A look at Halifax’s foot-dragging around opening up streets to cyclists and pedestrians during COVID-19
The Halifax Examiner is providing all COVID-19 coverage for free. Kourosh Rad picked a hell of a time to get into the restaurant business. On Feb. 1, the city planner turned small business owner took over Garden Food Bar and Lounge at the corner of Clyde and Queen streets, near the Halifax Central Library in […]
Moose River betrayal
In 2008, the approval of the Moose River gold mine was conditioned on the mining company giving the province hundreds of acres of conservation land within four years; 12 years later, there's still no approved plan in place.
The Halifax Examiner is providing all COVID-19 coverage for free. On March 31, the Australian company St. Barbara, which last year acquired Atlantic Gold with its open pit gold mine at Moose River and a project to open three more mines along Nova Scotia’s Eastern shore, sent investors a COVID-19 update. It stated: St Barbara’s […]
Crowded beaches underscore the lack of coastal access
When the pandemic is over, and Nova Scotians can once again go to the beach, do they want to do so in a way that repeats the scenes of mid-March — with the majority crowding together at a handful of public sites — while private landowners dictate access everywhere else?
The Halifax Examiner is providing all COVID-19 coverage for free. As COVID-19 forces people to re-consider basic aspects of their lives — work, school, the role of government — there’s a question particular to Nova Scotia to contemplate: How easily, in a coastal province, we can actually access the ocean? Two weeks ago, as normal […]
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....