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Housing Trust of Nova Scotia changing tack, abandoning development plan and buying hundreds of apartments

May 2, 2022 By Zane Woodford 3 Comments

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 […]

Filed Under: City Hall, Featured, News, PRICED OUT Tagged With: Angela Bishop, CBC, Centre Plan, Coun. Sam Austin, Halifax, Halifax Water, housing, housing crisis, Housing Trust of Nova Scotia, Maitland Street, Nova Scotia Nature Trust, Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board, PRICED OUT, Ross Cantwell, Taryn Grant, Zane Woodford

Nova Scotia Nature Trust adds protected property to Blue Mountain-Birch Cove Lakes

January 21, 2022 By Zane Woodford

The Nova Scotia Nature Trust is adding another green, mossy piece of the puzzle to Blue Mountain-Birch Cove Lakes. Keith and Anne Fraser donated a property in Timberlea, bordered on two sides by the Blue Mountain-Birch Cove Lakes Wilderness Area, to the Nature Trust to protect the area from development. Here’s the location of the...

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Filed Under: Environment, Featured, News, Subscribers only Tagged With: Blue Mountain-Birch Cove Lakes, ecology, Nova Scotia Nature Trust

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

Council rejects staff recommendation, agrees to $750,000 for Blue Mountain-Birch Cove Lakes land purchase

July 21, 2020 By Zane Woodford

Halifax regional council unanimously rejected a recommendation from staff and voted on Tuesday to spend $750,000 to help the Nova Scotia Nature Trust fill a big gap in the Blue Mountain-Birch Cove Lakes wilderness area. Blue Mountain-Birch Cove Lakes is the picturesque area between Bayers Lake and Hammonds Plains. Within that area, 1,700 hectares, or...

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Filed Under: City Hall, Featured, News, Subscribers only Tagged With: Allison Thorne, Bill Fenton, Blue Mountain-Birch Cove Lakes, Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, Chris Miller, councillor Richard Zurawski, COVID-19, Ecology Action Centre (EAC), Friends of Blue Mountain Birch Cove Lakes, Mayor Mike Savage, Nova Scotia Nature Trust, Raymond Plourde, Richard Harvey, Robin Wilber

Budget cut has environmentalists worried Halifax is forgetting about Blue Mountain–Birch Cove Lakes

January 7, 2020 By Zane Woodford

Environmentalists who celebrated extra cash in last year’s municipal budget for park land protection are worried a reduced budget for next year means the city is again forgetting about Blue Mountain–Birch Cove Lakes. Halifax regional council is working on the capital and operating budgets for the year ahead, meeting weekly over the next few months....

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Filed Under: City Hall, Environment, Featured, News, Subscribers only Tagged With: Blue Mountain – Birch Cove Lakes Wilderness, Brendan Elliott, Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society Nova Scotia, CFL stadium, Chris Miller, Ecology Action Centre (EAC), Nova Scotia Nature Trust, Raymond Plourde

Who’s protecting Owls Head park from development? Not the provincial government

Morning File, Wednesday, December 18, 2019

December 18, 2019 By Suzanne Rent 6 Comments

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 […]

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: 100 Wild Island Legacy, abortion services, accessibility, Allana Loh, Angelo DiCicco, Beckwith Gilbert, Between the Bridges, Bonnie Sutherland, Boys and Girls Club of Greater Halifax, Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, Chelsea Probert, Cheyenne Hardy, Chris Miller, Dartmouth Learning Network, Dartmouth North Community Food Centre, Doris Buffett MacDonald, Doris Wornell, Farrell Hall Benevolent Society, Frances Hunter, Gaelle McNeil, Grand Parade, how not to hit a pedestrian, Jason MacCullough, Joe Gibson, Kate Watson, Kayley Dixon, Kitty Gilbert, Leigh Beauchamp Day, Lighthouse Links Development Company, May Warren, Michael Gorman, Minister Iain Rankin, MLA Claudia Chender, New Years Eve, North Dartmouth Echo, Northern Pulp, Nova Scotia Nature Trust, Owls Head Park, Paul Vienneau, Pictou Landing First Nation (PLFN), Public Good Society of Dartmouth, Rebecca Douglass, Sandi Weagle, Sylvia Anthony, Take Action Society, The Freedom Foundation of Nova Scotia, Tyler Colbourne, Young Drivers of Canada

Secrecy is a feature, not a bug

Morning File, Thursday, November 14, 2019

November 14, 2019 By Philip Moscovitch 8 Comments

News 1. More fisheries mismanagement The environmental group Oceana Canada, which describes itself as “an independent charity established to restore Canadian oceans to be as rich, healthy, and abundant as they once were” is slamming the Department of Fisheries and Oceans for its management of fish stocks. Aaron Beswick reports for The Chronicle Herald on […]

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: Aaron Beswick, antipsychotic drugs, Atlantic cod, Barack Obama, Bay Ferries, Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement, Ches Haines, Chicken Bones, David and Madonna Clothier, dementia, fisheries, Francis Campbell, gender parity on public boards, Haley Ryan, Huddle, Jenn Thornhill Verma, Jeremiah Clark, John Ralston Saul, Mary Schultz, Meredith Ralston, Michael Gorman, Moonshine Creek, Neptune Theatre, Nova Scotia Co-Operative Council, Nova Scotia Nature Trust, Oceana Canada, PC leader Tim Houston, seniors, Sharon Montgomery-Dupe, Skye Halifax, Tattoo, Twisted Sisters, United Gulf Developments Ltd., Volta Labs, Yarmouth ferry FOIPOP

Nature Trust fills in the “gap” of the Blue Mountain – Birch Cove Lakes Wilderness

Morning File, Friday, October 18, 2019

October 18, 2019 By Tim Bousquet 3 Comments

News 1. Assoun evidence Last night, I wrote about “the long and absurdly strange journey I’ve taken to access what should be readily available public records” — the evidence presented at trial in 1999 to convict Glen Assoun of the murder of Brenda Way. Court evidence is typically public. But in the case of Assoun’s […]

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: Bill Fenton, Blue Mountain – Birch Cove Lakes Wilderness, CBC podcast Uncovered, Dalhousie Student Union, Dawn Sloane, Fallen Peace Officers memorial, Grand Parade, Janice Evans, Nancy Hunter, Nova Scotia Nature Trust, Robin Wilber, Stephen Archibald and Scaffolding, Tina Pittaway

St. Barbara still intends to acquire Atlantic Gold

The violent arrest of John Perkins has put the critical spotlight on gold mining on the Eastern Shore, but for the mining companies, operating in low-regulation and low-royalty Nova Scotia is, well, a gold mine.

June 3, 2019 By Joan Baxter 2 Comments

St. Barbara Limited, the Australian gold mining company that recently announced it was acquiring Atlantic Gold in a $722 million dollar deal, seems to be unfazed by the RCMP’s violent arrest of a citizen last week at a public information session Atlantic Gold was hosting in Sherbrooke (covered by the Halifax Examiner here and here). […]

Filed Under: Environment, Featured, Investigation, News, Province House Tagged With: Andrew Bell, Atlantic Gold, Atlantic Gold and RCMP, Atlantic Gold information session, Ben Wilson, Bonnie Sutherland, David Brady, Ducks Unlimited Canada, Eastern Shore Forest Watch Association, Extractive Industries Transparency Measures Act (ESTMA), gold mining, John Perkins, Lee Millett, Lisa Croteau, Maryse Belanger, Mining Journal, Minister Jonathan Wilkinson, No Open Pit Excavation (NOPE), Nova Scotia Nature Trust, Paul Sobey, Pieridae Energy, Sobey family, St. Barbara Limited, Steven Dean, Sustainable Northern Nova Scotia (SuNNS), Tony Woodfine

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 man wearing a purple jean jacket and sporting a moustache lies on the green grass surrounded by pink plastic flamingos

Episode 80 of The Tideline, with Tara Thorne, is published.

Singer-songwriter Willie Stratton has wandered a number of genre paths, starting with raw acoustic folk as a teen phenom, moving through surf rock as Beach Bait, and landing in a Roy Orbison-style classic country on his new album Drugstore Dreamin’. Ahead of his release show at the Marquee on Friday, he stops in to explain why mixing influences makes the best art, how he approaches the guitar, and what he likes about his day job as a barber.

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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Recent posts

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