Opposition politicians held the Houston government’s feet to the fire on Wednesday during a meeting of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts, which was following up on a 2017 auditor general’s report on managing climate change. The Department of Environment and Climate Change has completed nine of 10 recommendations and is struggling to complete the […]
Community health centres need stable funding, a seat at the table, advocates tell public accounts committee
Community-based health organizations helping keep Nova Scotians out of emergency departments need stable provincial funding and a seat at the table, the Standing Committee on Public Accounts heard Wednesday. “Of course, money is always at the root of it. But what we really want to convey is that we are partners in the fight against […]
Demand for housing assistance, legal aid support on the rise since renoviction ban lifted
Demand for housing assistance and legal aid services has increased since Nova Scotia lifted its ban on renovictions, support workers say. The province had temporarily banned renovictions, the practice of evicting a tenant in order to renovate a rental unit, under the state of emergency that lasted almost two years through the COVID-19 pandemic. […]
Private member’s bill seeks to limit the use of non-disclosure agreements in cases of harassment, discrimination
Registered nurse and Ontario serial killer Elizabeth Wettlaufer had a non-disclosure agreement with her employer. Zelda Perkins had a 20-year non-disclosure agreement with Harvey Weinstein, a movie mogul and serial rapist, before Perkins broke her silence and exposed him. A private member’s bill introduced in the Nova Scotia Legislature on Thursday seeks to restrict the […]
Is it time for more nurses in schools?
The Halifax Examiner is providing all COVID-19 coverage for free. Nova Scotia has a long history of school nurses. But their role has decreased as schools turn to other health professionals. And in the midst of a pandemic, that may be a problem. “Nurses have this ability to to look at the individual child — […]
Opposition critics on the Advisory Council on the Status of Women call for an inquiry into mass murder, but McNeil government demurs
A provincial public inquiry into the April mass shooting that resulted in the deaths of 22 people in Nova Scotia is “absolutely a must,” says Karla MacFarlane, Progressive Conservative MLA for Pictou West and critic for the Advisory Council on the Status of Women. In recent weeks, as more questions arise over how the RCMP […]
How the proposed Summer Street parking garage fits into province’s plan to replace the Victoria General Hospital
The largest infrastructure project in the province’s history got the once-over from the legislature’s Public Accounts Committee yesterday. It will be at least the end of 2026 before the patients putting up with what some doctors have described as “third world conditions” in the leaking Victoria General Hospital will be moved out. The bad news...
Who’s protecting Owls Head park from development? Not the provincial government
Morning File, Wednesday, December 18, 2019
News 1. Environment Minister Gordon Wilson orders two-year environmental assessment of Northern Pulp Mill’s proposed effluent treatment system Jennifer Henderson looks at what yesterday’s decision on Northern Pulp’s proposed effluent treatment system means for the future. Environment minister Gordon Wilson told Northern Pulp to produce more information and complete a full environmental assessment before he […]
Here’s what Nova Scotia’s cabinet ministers had to say today
Northern Pulp Environment Minister Gordon Wilson says he has read all 3,000 pages and “about eight binders worth” of submissions related to whether he should approve a new effluent treatment plant proposed by Northern Pulp. The new plant would replace the Boat Harbour facility which by law is scheduled to close January 31, 2020. The...
The ban on uranium exploration and mining is safe – for now
After yesterday’s meeting of the Standing Committee on Natural Resources and Economic Development, Nova Scotia’s Uranium Exploration and Mining Prohibition Act seems to be safe. At least for now. The agenda for the meeting, chosen by the Progressive Conservative caucus, was “uranium exploration in Nova Scotia.” There has been a moratorium on the practice since […]