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Save our forests? Not now. We’re too busy destroying them

A lawyer for logging contractors says there's a time and place to discuss concerns about forest harvesting practices. But the courtroom isn't either. Which begs a few questions. What is the time? Where is the place?

January 31, 2021 By Stephen Kimber

A protester in Santa costume at the Nova Scotia forestry blockade. (Facebook) “There is a time and place to debate [the validity of protestors’ concerns about forest harvesting practices], and this courtroom is not it.” Ian Dunbar Lawyer for WestFor Forest Management January 26, 2021 *** If you met Sandra Phinney, the last words that...

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Filed Under: Commentary, Environment, Featured, Province House, Subscribers only Tagged With: clearcutting, Endangered Species Act, forestry, Lahey Report on Forestry

Clear as mud: How the government’s reports on Nova Scotia forests obfuscate and confuse the data

Instead of improving the state of the province’s forests, the Nova Scotia government conducts a survey about improving The State of the Forest reporting. The Halifax Examiner takes the survey.

September 14, 2020 By Linda Pannozzo

In recent days you might have received an email from the Department of Lands and Forestry (DLF) inviting you to answer a survey about its State of the Forest report (SOF), first published in 2008, and updated in 2016. Using data collected by the DLF, the document purportedly describes the changing condition of the forest,...

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Filed Under: Commentary, Environment, Featured, Investigation, Province House, Subscribers only Tagged With: clearcutting, David Patriquin, Department of Lands and Forestry (DLF), forestry, forestry survey, Heidi Higgins, Independent Review of Forest Practices, Lahey Report on Forestry, Mersey Tobeatic Research Institute (MTRI), National Forestry Database (NFD), Nova Scotia Forest Notes, Permanent Sample Plot data (PSP), State of the Forest report (SOF)

“Nature won”

Supreme Court ruling orders province to meet the obligations of the Endangered Species Act.

May 30, 2020 By Jennifer Henderson

“Nature won.” That’s how retired wildlife biologist Bob Bancroft reacted to a judge’s decision on Friday which essentially orders the Department of Lands and Forestry to obey provincial law when it comes to protecting endangered, threatened, and vulnerable species. There are 60 plants and animals identified under Nova Scotia’s Endangered Species Act. But the judicial...

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Filed Under: Featured, News, Province House, Subscribers only Tagged With: Blomidon Naturalists Society, Bob Bancroft, Department of Lands and Forestry (DLF), East Coast Environmental Law Association (ECELAW), Endangered Species Act, Federation of Nova Scotia Naturalists, Halifax Field Naturalists, Jamie Simpson, Jeremy Smith, Justice Christa Brothers, Lahey Report on Forestry, Lisa Jarrett, Nature Nova Scotia, Richard Beasley, Soren Bondrup-Nielsen, Species at Risk Act, Western Canada Wilderness Committee

Auditor General finds Lands & Forestry and Health Departments slow to enact changes

May 12, 2020 By Jennifer Henderson

All governments are doing a wonderful job at everything, according to all governments. For a more objective assessment of performance, citizens depend on the work of the Auditor General. The “exit” report of an Auditor General — one who’s spent six years researching promises kept and promises broken by government — is of special interest....

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Filed Under: Featured, News, Province House, Subscribers only Tagged With: Auditor General Michael Pickup, Critical Infrastructure Resiliency, daycare, Department of Community Services (DCS), Department of Health and Wellness (DHW), Department of Lands and Forestry (DLF), First nations, Gambling Support Network, homecare, Homes for Special Care, Lahey Report on Forestry, Licensed Child Care, Nova Scotia Health Authority (NSHA), Office of Aboriginal Affairs, School Capital Planning, Species at Risk

Shaping the rules around roadside memorials

Morning File, Thursday, January 23, 2020

January 23, 2020 By Suzanne Rent 4 Comments

News 1. Northern Pulp issues layoff notices This morning’s press release from Northern Pulp: Jennifer Henderson will have more on this shortly. 2. Council’s budget committee opts in favour of menstrual products for municipal facilities Zane Woodford looks at councillor Lorelei Nicoll’s proposal to get menstrual products in municipal facilities. The proposal is closer to […]

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: Ali Hamidi, Aya Al-Hakim, Bill Lahey, Black Cultural Centre, Colored Hockey League, Coloured Hockey League, Cst. John MacLeod, Dr. Kirk Magee, drugged at The Dome, George E. Dickinson, Heath C. Hoffmann, Holly Everett, Jack Julian, Jim Hill, Josee Saulnier, Lahey Report on Forestry, Lands and Forestry Minister Iain Rankin, MADD, Masoumeh Ghavi, Miia Suokonautio, Northern Pulp layoffs, roadside memorial, Suzanne's Valentine Tree, women in the workforce

Environmentalists say logging companies are rushing clearcuts near Lake Deception before new forest regulations come into effect

November 20, 2019 By Jennifer Henderson

Environmental groups are pushing back against three proposed cuts in a rural area near Lake Deception north of Shelburne. The cuts are on Crown land allocated to 13 companies in the WestFor group, which includes Northern Pulp, Louisiana Pacific, Ledwidge Lumber, and Harry Freeman & Sons. These “variable retention” cuts (a forest industry euphemism for...

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Filed Under: Environment, Featured, Province House, Subscribers only Tagged With: clearcuts, clearcutting on Crown lands, forestry, Healthy Forest Coalition, Lahey Report on Forestry, Lake Deception, Lands and Forestry Minister Iain Rankin, Mike Lancaster, People for Ecological Forestry in Southwest Nova Scotia, Shelly Hipson, WestFor

Naturalists sue province for failing to protect endangered species

February 28, 2019 By Jennifer Henderson

Another branch of the McNeil government is being taken to court, this time for not doing enough to protect and preserve endangered species such as the mainland moose, barn swallow, monarch butterfly, and hoary willow. A judge will review the alleged failure of the Lands and Forestry Minister to take actions mandated under the Endangered...

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Filed Under: Environment, Featured, News, Province House, Subscribers only Tagged With: Bill Lahey, Black ash, Blomidon Society of Naturalists, Bob Bancroft, Canada warbler, East Coast Environmental Law Association (ECELAW), Eastern wood peewee, Endangered Species Act, Federation of Nova Scotia Naturalists, Halifax Society of Naturalists, James Klassen, Lahey Report on Forestry, Lands and Forestry Minister Iain Rankin, Mainland Moose, Ram’s-head lady slipper, Wood turtle

The Tideline, with Tara Thorne

Phyllis Rising — Rebecca Falvey (left) and Meg Hubley. Photo submitted

Episode #19 of The Tideline, with Tara Thorne is published.

Meg Hubley and Rebecca Falvey met as theatre kids at Neptune and have been friends ever since. As Phyllis Rising — that’s right, Mary Tyler Moore hive — they’re making films, plays, and are in production on The Crevice, a three-part sitcom streaming live from the Bus Stop in March. They stop by to talk with Tara about its development, their shared love of classic SNL and 90s sitcoms, and the power of close friendship. Plus: A new song from a new band.

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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Recent posts

  • The vaccine landscape has shifted dramatically in Nova Scotia; two new cases of COVID-19 found in Halifax area March 5, 2021
  • Halifax staff channels Alice’s Restaurant to propose crackdown on illegal dumping March 5, 2021
  • How a Halifax native is restoring looted art to Afghanistan March 5, 2021
  • Sacrificing wild Atlantic salmon for gold March 4, 2021
  • Housing co-op plans affordable 57-unit North End Halifax development with federal, provincial cash March 4, 2021

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