Councillors have approved a development proposal for Beechville nearly six years after it was first proposed. Parkdale Developments Ltd. applied in 2016 to develop its property on St. Margaret’s Bay Road. John R. Fiske, the owner, died in March, and his family has taken over the company. The proposal includes a 39-unit apartment building near...
Non-resident property tax increase: gone before the ink was dry
On the one hand, I’m not sure what to make of Tim Houston’s full-frontal face plant last week. On the other hand, I know exactly what to make of it. Same old, same old. Still. Again. Always.
On the one hand, I’m not sure what to make of Tim Houston’s full-frontal face plant last week. “So, today I will put my personal pride aside,” our premier declared Thursday as he humble-pied his way through a humiliating and complete run back of his government’s month-old, ink-barely-dry plan to hike taxes on non-resident property […]
St. Matthew’s United Church looking for proposals to redevelop its downtown site
St. Matthew’s United Church on Barrington Street is looking to partner with organizations that can help continue its work and legacy in the city, while repurposing the church and land. This week on the church’s Facebook page was a post that said the church was offering its building and the land on which it sits […]
Halifax councillors tweak staff plan to designate tent sites in city parks
Describing it as the best of a set of bad options, councillors are moving ahead with a revised version of the staff proposal to create designated tent sites for unhoused Haligonians. But significant questions remain about how and when people currently living in municipal parks will be asked to leave, or whether they’ll be forcibly […]
Rhetoric ramps up over non-resident property tax
Morning File, Tuesday, May 3, 2022
News 1. Pitch your tent here … or else A Halifax staff report proposes sanctioning overnight tenting in some parks, and evicting people from all others in the municipality. The staff report, by parks and recreation special projects manager Max Chauvin and parks and recreation executive director Maggie MacDonald, comes to council today, Zane Woodford […]
Municipal staff recommend allowing tents at a handful of Halifax-area parks
Municipal staff are proposing the creation of a limited number of city-sanctioned tent sites in response to the housing crisis, but advocates for unhoused Haligonians worry the recommendation will mean forced eviction for people sleeping in municipal parks. In a staff report coming to council’s virtual meeting on Tuesday, Max Chauvin, parks and recreation special […]
Housing Trust of Nova Scotia changing tack, abandoning development plan and buying hundreds of apartments
The Housing Trust of Nova Scotia is changing up its strategy, moving to sell its property on Maitland Street and buy hundreds of existing affordable rental units. The trust, a nonprofit founded by developer and consultant Ross Cantwell in 2009, used to own two nearby properties between Gottingen Street and Maitland Street, with plans for […]
Banned and challenged: it’s not wokeness gone wild that’s behind books being removed from libraries
Morning File, Wednesday, April 27, 2022
News 1. Sam Austin blames volunteers for crisis shelter assault Last Saturday morning, members of the anonymous volunteer group Mutual Aid Halifax erected a crisis shelter in Starr Park in Dartmouth. On Monday, Halifax Regional Police say, someone living in the shelter assaulted a local resident who had knocked on the shelter. In a post […]
Councillor blames Halifax Mutual Aid for alleged assault in Dartmouth park
The councillor for the area is blaming a group of anonymous volunteers for an alleged assault in a Dartmouth park. Halifax Mutual Aid erected its latest emergency shelter in Starr Park on Prince Albert Road in Dartmouth on Saturday. They’re the same shelters that were first placed on municipal park land in early 2021, and […]
It’s OK to get rid of books. Really.
Morning File, Friday, April 22, 2022
News 1. Renoviction? What renoviction? The ban on renovictions has been lifted with the end of the provincial health state of emergency. There are new rules in place though around kicking out tenants in order to upgrade properties and jack up the rent. But are landlords following them? In many cases, the answer seems to […]