A federal bill to change the way environmental assessments of large projects are handled met with strong and mixed reaction at a Senate Committee hearing held in Halifax yesterday. Environmentalists like the fact assessments of new projects must include “climate change” as one factor. “The Bill is not perfect but it is a balanced and...
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 […]
By Any Other Name: Nova Scotia’s Department of Lands and Forestry just made “Clearcuts” disappear
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 […]
Burned: Are Trees the New Coal?
A review of the new film that illuminates Nova Scotia's failed biomass policies
In the opening scene of the documentary Burned: Are Trees the New Coal?, Jeff Turner patrols the dark, tannin-stained waters of the Blackwater and Nottoway River system in Southampton County, Virginia. He’s a “river keeper” and has been doing this for nearly two decades, keeping an eye on threats to the health of the rivers […]
Stephen McNeil announces his complicated carbon plan
Nova Scotians will pay more for electricity, gasoline, and home-heating over the next four years as part of the province’s plan to reduce its carbon footprint and avoid a carbon tax Ottawa announced it will impose on four other provinces beginning this January. But Premier Stephen McNeil insists Nova Scotia consumers will pay much less...
Trying to get straight answers from the provincial government is an exercise in frustration and futility
Morning File, Thursday, October 4, 2018
Joan Baxter here again, filling in for Tim who is in Toronto for Wrongful Conviction Day, and being recognized by Innocence Canada, a non-profit organization dedicated to identifying, advocating for, and exonerating individuals convicted of a crime that they did not commit. He is being awarded the the Tracey Tyler Award for his reporting on the […]
“Networking” by its very nature is exclusionary
Morning File, Monday, September 17, 2018
News 1. Acadia and Rick Mehta “The university {Acadia] had good reasons to fire Rick Mehta,” writes Stephen Kimber: But by conflating and commingling those reasons with specious arguments about its own reputation and seeming to accept the notion Mehta shouldn’t be allowed to share his wrong-headed rants on social media or challenge and provoke […]
Fool’s Gold
Nova Scotia's Myopic Pursuit of Metals & Minerals
A Halifax Examiner / Cape Breton Spectator investigation. Part 1: Welcome to the Gold Rush There’s a 21st century gold rush starting in Nova Scotia, just as industrial gold mining is increasingly coming into disrepute around the world. It has been described as an “environmental disaster” which often leads to contamination of water sources on […]
Government communications people seem to be in the business of not communicating
Morning File, Thursday, May 3, 2018
News 1. Access denied: Health Authority refuses to share the results of its transportation survey Examiner transportation columnist Erica Butler quite understandably wanted to see the data produced by the Nova Scotia Health Authority’s (NHSA) transportation survey of its staff — how people got to work, basically (drove, bussed, cycled, walked). Butler didn’t ask for and […]
Regulator gets final submissions on Nova Scotia Power’s “smart meter” plan
Consumer advocates say the utility hasn’t presented enough solid evidence to prove that installing digital meters to measure electricity usage won’t cost ratepayers more than it should.
Before the Utility and Review Board (UARB) approves Nova Scotia Power’s (NSP) plan to install “smart” meters across the province, both the Consumer Advocate and the Small Business Advocate feel the utility needs to smarten up its proposal. They say NSP hasn’t presented enough solid evidence to prove that installing digital meters to measure electricity...