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Atlantic Gold’s imaginary conservation land

In 2008, Atlantic Gold was given provincial approval for the gigantic Touquoy open pit gold mine with the condition that within 4 years the company buy and give the province nearby land for conservation purposes. 13 years later, that condition is still unmet, and the province is making no real effort to enforce it.

May 20, 2021 By Joan Baxter 2 Comments

Atlantic Gold has just announced that in “late spring/early summer 2021” it will be undertaking a new Class 1 Environmental Assessment for modifications to its open pit Touquoy gold mine in Moose River. Among other things, the company wants to expand its waste rock storage area that is already sky-high, prepare to store tailings in […]

Filed Under: Environment, Featured, Investigation, News Tagged With: Atlantic Gold, Atlantic Mining NS Corp, Auditor General, Australian, Barbara MacLean, Barbara Markovits, Beaver Dam, Beck Gilbert, Bob Bancroft, Cabot Cliffs, Cabot Links, Canadian Environmental Assessment Act 2012, CBC, Chuck Porter, Cochrane Hill gold mine, Community LIaison Committee, conservation land, DDV Gold, Department of lands and Forestry, Department of Natural Resources, Dustin O’Leary, East Coast Environmental Law Association (ECELAW), Eastern Shore Forest Watch Association, Environment Act, Environmental Approval, environmental assessment, environmental charges, Extractive Sector Transparency Measures Act (ESTMA), Fifteen Mile Stream mine, FOIPOP, Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, Freedom of Information request, golf courses, Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM), Iain Rankin, Impact Assessment Agency of Canada, industrial approval, Jamie Simpson, Jennifer Henderson, judicial review, Juniper Law, Keith Irving, Laird Brownlie, Lighthouse Links Development Company, Michael Gorman, Michael Pickup, Moose River Consolidated Project, Moose River gold mine, Nature Conservancy of Canada, Nova Scotia Environment, Nova Scotia Environment and Climate Change, Nova Scotia Environment and Labour, Nova Scotia Nature Trust, Owls Head, Owls Head Park, proposed Beaver Dam mine, Provincial Court in Dartmouth, Rachel Boomer, Save Owls Head Provincial Park, St Barbara Ltd, Supreme Court Justice Christa Brothers, Terms and Conditions, Tim Bousquet, Touquoy mine

How the Biodiversity Act was killed

Forest Nova Scotia, which represents the biggest forestry players, gets an awful lot of public money — including millions of dollars to administer a forest roads program panned by the auditor general. It also has a paid lobbyist swaying the policies of the very government that funds it, and who started working on its behalf just as the Biodiversity Act was gutted.

April 20, 2021 By Joan Baxter 11 Comments

Last month Forest Nova Scotia, an industry group representing the most powerful shapers of forestry policy in this province, spearheaded a propaganda campaign against the Biodiversity Act, which the Liberal government of Iain Rankin had introduced on March 11, calling it legislation that would “preserve and protect Nova Scotia’s unique ecosystems, wild animals, plants, lakes […]

Filed Under: Environment, Featured, Investigation, News, Province House Tagged With: All Terrain Vehicle Association of Nova Scotia (ATVANS), Andrew Fedora, ARF Enterprises, Astroturf, Auditor General, Bill 4, biodiversity, Biodiversity Act, Bowater Mersey, Brian Taylor, Canadian Federation of Forest Owners, Canadian Woodlands Forum, Cassie Turple, CBC Information Morning, Christmas Tree Council of Nova Scotia, Chronicle Herald, climate crisis, Concerned Priavate Landowner Coalition, Cumberland Forestry Advisory Committee, Darrell Dexter, Darrin Carter, Dean Produce Co-op, Debbie Reeves, Department of lands and Forestry, Department of Natural Resources, Downey Thompson, Elmsdale Lumber, Extinction Rebellion, Federation of Nova Scotia Woodland Owners, Forestry Nova Scotia, Forestry Transition Fund, Forestry Transition Team, Gas Tax Access Program, Great Northern TImber, Harry Freeman and Son, Howard Epstein, Ian Johnstone, Jacob Fillmore, JD Irving, Jeff Bishop, Jeff Black, Jim Ketterling, Jim Meek, Jonathan Porter, Kevin Saunders, Krista Fulton, Ledwidge Lumber, Leitha Haysom, Linda Pannozzo, Louisiana Pacific, Maibec CanExel, Marcus Zwicker, Mark Baillie, Mayor Carolyn Bolivar-Getson, Michael Pickup, Municipality of the District of Lunenburg, Neenah Paper, Nina Newington, Noel Sampson, Northern Pulp, Northern Timber Nova Scotia Corporation, Nova Scotia Landowners and Forest Fibre Producers Association, Paper Excellence, Port Hawkesbury Paper, Premier Iain Rankin, Public Affairs Atlantic, Resolute Forest Products, Richard Freeman, Rick Archibald, Round Table on Environment and Sustainable Prosperity, Ryan Cameron, Sasha Irving, Scotia Investments, Scotsburn Lumber, Scott Paper, Sean Lewis, Snowmobilers Association of Nova Scotia (SANS), Stephen Marsters, Stephen Thompson, Stop Bill 4, Taylor Lumber, Timberland Holdings, Todd Burgess, Wagner Forest Management, WestFor Management

Premier Stephen McNeil denies advocating for province to pay for new sports facility in his riding

January 11, 2019 By Jennifer Henderson

Premier Stephen McNeil denies he lobbied or advocated for additional provincial money to be spent on a $3.5-million outdoor track and field facility in his own riding. The eight-lane track next to the new Bridgetown School is being financed through Ottawa’s Small Communities program. Twenty-five projects in the province have been approved through this federal...

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Filed Under: Featured, News, Province House, Subscribers only Tagged With: Brian Flinn, Bridgetown School track project, lobbying, Michael Pickup, Minister Tracey Taweel, NDP leader Gary Burrill, PC leader Tim Houston, Premier Stephen McNeil, Small Communities program

Taxi drivers should be demanding stepped-up regulation and inspection

Morning File, Thursday, January 10, 2019

January 10, 2019 By Tim Bousquet 15 Comments

News 1. Spring Garden Road Examiner transportation columnist Erica Butler walks us through the three options presented for the reconstruction of Spring Garden Road. Click here to read “Making room for pedestrians on Spring Garden Road.” This article is for subscribers. Click here to subscribe. Butler suspects merchants along the street will push back against the […]

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: Amanda Dodsworth, Americans migrating to Canada, Catherine Tully, Chrissy Merrigan, Heidi Petracek, Immigration, Jean Laroche, Mayor Mike Savage, Michael Pickup, MLA Gordon Wilson, MLA Tim Halman, Northern Pulp grants, Seyed Abolghasem Sadat Lavasani Bozor, Spring Garden Road redesign, Stacey Rudderham, Stephen Archibald and Volkswagen, Taryn Grant, taxi drivers sexual assault, taxi regulation

Two horse stories for the price of one: Morning File, Wednesday, September 20, 2017

September 20, 2017 By Tim Bousquet 6 Comments

News 1. Low income transit passes “Why are we holding back on low income transit passes?” asks Examiner transportation columnist Erica Butler: Some time in the four years it took to get this program officially adopted, city staff and council decided that only 1,000 people can qualify for discounted passes at a time. (Once you […]

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: Angel Marcus, Chelsea McKendrick, Chincoteague Museum, Cornwallis Street renaming, David Griffin, Donald Sam, horse semen, IWK CEO Tracey Kitch expenses, IWK CFO Stephen D'Arcy, Lawrence Powell, Matt Taibbi, Mersey Tobeatic Research Institute, Michael Gorman, Michael Pickup, Misty, Monarch butterfly, Ruth Calvo, Stormy

The problem with the new Bridgetown School: It’s not just the school

Construction of an access road to the new Bridgetown school is more than $2 million over its original $1.3 million dollar budget. A friend of Stephen McNeil's is the beneficiary of the work, and has been fined for illegally building a boat ramp on nearby public land.

May 24, 2017 By Tim Bousquet 10 Comments

One of the first orders of business for the newly elected Liberal government in 2013 was to announce the construction of new schools in Bridgetown and Tatamagouche, in the ridings of Premier Stephen McNeil and Education Minister Karen Casey respectively. The two schools jumped from #26 and #28 on the new school construction list to be included among 10 school […]

Filed Under: Featured, Investigation, News, Province House Tagged With: Albert Rice, Annapolis River, Brian Taylor, Bridgetown School, Department of Environment, Faye Road Extension, Gary Burrill, illegal boat ramp, Jamie Baillie, Krista Higdon, Michael Pickup, Premier Stephen McNeil, Rachel Brighton, Stephen McInnis, Tim Houston, TIR

Testing the Limits: Critical Boreal Felt Lichen Habitat in Halifax County Slated to be Wiped Out

March 10, 2017 By Linda Pannozzo 3 Comments

Last week, several new forest blocks totalling 171 hectares (422 acres) appeared on the Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources’ Harvest Plans Map Viewer. The blocks, posted by the Abercrombie pulp giant Northern Pulp, are located in the Twin Lakes area of Halifax County, roughly 2.5 hours from Halifax, an hour inland from Sheet Harbour. […]

Filed Under: Environment, Featured, Investigation, News, Province House Tagged With: Andrew Fedora, boreal felt lichen, Brad Toms, Bruce Nunn, DNR, Mersey Tobeatic Research Institute, Michael Pickup, Northern Pulp, Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources, Robert Cameron, Twin Lakes

Muzzling the Forest Keepers

A Field Guide to Boreal Felt Lichen and DNR Message Control

November 4, 2016 By Linda Pannozzo 9 Comments

Endangered boreal felt lichen. Photo courtesy Brad Toms. A redacted email exchange recently obtained through a Freedom of Information request revealed that on November 7, 2014, Allan Eddy, the associate deputy minister of the Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources, was not happy with something he had just seen. Eddy was attending the annual science conference […]

Filed Under: Environment, Featured, Investigation, Province House Tagged With: Allan Eddy, Andrew Fedora, Bob Bancroft, boreal felt lichen, Brad Toms, Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada, COSEWIC, David Richardson, Deep Cove, DNR, East Coast Environmental Law, Frances Anderson, Global Forest Watch, Irwin Brodo, Jason Hollett, Jonathan Kierstead, Jonathan Porter, Lloyd Hines, Mark Elderkin, Mersey Tobeatic Research Institute, Michael Pickup, MTRI, Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources, Robert Cameron, SARA, Sherman Boates, Southwest Nova Biosphere Reserve, Species at Risk Act, Tom Duck, Wolfgang Maass

PRICED OUT

A collage of various housing options in HRM, including co-ops, apartment buildings, shelters, and tents
PRICED OUT is the Examiner’s investigative reporting project focused on the housing crisis.

You can learn about the project, including how we’re asking readers to direct our reporting, our published articles, and what we’re working on, on the PRICED OUT homepage.

2020 mass murders

Nine images illustrating the locations, maps, and memorials of the mass shootings

All of the Halifax Examiner’s reporting on the mass murders of April 18/19, 2020, and recent articles on the Mass Casualty Commission and newly-released documents.

Updated regularly.

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.

The Tideline, with Tara Thorne

A young white woman with dark hair and a purple shirt lies on a large rock at dusk, looking up at the sky and playing her banjolele.

Episode 85 of The Tideline, with Tara Thorne, is published.

Logan Robins (writer/director/composer) and Katherine Norris (star/composer) of the Unnatural Disaster Theatre Company are on the show this week ahead of their provincial tour of HIPPOPOSTUMOUS, Robins’ musical exploration of invasive species, colonization, environmentalism, and history. Hear how Pablo Escobar’s personal hippos have invaded and are ruining a section of Colombia, why Robins was intrigued to make a show about it, and all the places you can catch it this July. Plus Norris cracks out the banjolele to perform one of the show’s songs. And the new jam from Beauts!

Listen to the episode here.

Check out some of the past episodes here.

Subscribe to the podcast to get episodes automatically downloaded to your device — there’s a great instructional article here. Email Suzanne for help.

You can reach Tara here.

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