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The province wants your input on six newly proposed wilderness areas

Morning File, Monday, January 13, 2020

January 13, 2020 By Tim Bousquet 6 Comments

1. Council preview “Rules for Uber, a plan for climate change, and a cooling-off period for politicians and staff are all on the agenda for Halifax regional council’s meeting this week,” reports Zane Woodford: The meeting, starting at 10am Tuesday, also includes an appeal hearing for a design review committee decision at 1pm and a […]

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: Archibald Lake Wilderness Area, Blandings turtle, Brad Toms, Brandon Alcorn, Brian Baarda, Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS), Cochrane Hill gold mine, eastern ribbon snake, Elizabeth McMillan, gold mining pollution, Insulated Panel Structures Inc, Jeff Scott Gooch, Linda Campbell, Mersey Tobeatic Research Insititute, Minister Gordon Wilson, Northern Pulp closure, Pleasant River Wilderness Area, Provincial Wilderness Areas, Ray Plourde, Shingle Lake

Environment Minister Gordon Wilson orders two-year environmental assessment of Northern Pulp Mill’s proposed effluent treatment system

Clear as Sludge: What does the decision mean for the future?

December 17, 2019 By Jennifer Henderson 2 Comments

Nova Scotia’s Environment Minister is ordering Northern Pulp to produce more information and complete a full environmental assessment before he will approve the mill’s proposed wastewater treatment plant and a pipeline bringing the effluent from the plant to the Northumberland Strait. The project will replace a 50-year-old polluting system that dumps into Boat Harbour that […]

Filed Under: Environment, Featured, News, Province House Tagged With: Boat Harbour, Minister Gordon Wilson, NDP leader Gary Burrill, Northern Pulp environmental assessment, PC leader Tim Houston, Ray Plourde

Nova Scotia government doubles down on gold mining

October 25, 2019 By Joan Baxter 2 Comments

There were moments during last week’s “Water Not Gold” rally outside the Alt Hotel at the Halifax airport where the “Gold Show” was in progress, when I was reminded of a video from 2011 during Occupy Wall Street. That footage shows protestors marching along Wall Street, calling out money barons, greed, and the neoliberal system […]

Filed Under: Commentary, Environment, Featured, Investigation, News, Province House Tagged With: Atlantic Gold, Billy Lewis, Department of Energy and Mines (DEM), Donald James, East Coast Environmental Law, Eastern Shore Forest Watch Association, Ecology Action Centre, Energy Minister Derek Mombourqeuette, Extractive Sector Transparency Measures Act (ESTMA), Gary Andrea, Gold Show, Jacinda Mack, Joan Kuyek, Jor Richman, Mining Association of Nova Scotia (MANS), Moose River gold mine, Nova Scotia Prospectors Association, Perry MacKinnon, Peter Lund, Portia Clark, Ray Plourde, Sean Kirby, Sierra Club, St. Mary’s River Association, Sustainable Northern Nova Scotia, Transition Metals Corp., Water Not Gold

Roughed up by the RCMP at a public meeting, John Perkins sues Atlantic Gold and the cops

August 13, 2019 By Jennifer Henderson 1 Comment

Sixty-eight-year-old John Perkins of Earltown is striking a blow for democracy after he says he was forcibly hauled out of a public meeting by an RCMP officer last May. Perkins held a news conference in Halifax yesterday to explain why he is filing a lawsuit against Atlantic Gold Corporation which hosted two information sessions on […]

Filed Under: Environment, Featured, News, Province House Tagged With: Atlantic Gold, Atlantic Gold information session, Brian Hebert, Cochrane Hill gold mine, Dustin O’Leary, East Coast Environmental Law Association (ECELAW), Ecology Action Centre (EAC), John Perkins, Justice Minister Mark Furey, Lisa Mitchell, Maryse Belanger, No Open Pit Excavation (NOPE), Police Act of Nova Scotia, Ray Plourde, RCMP Civilian Complaints Commissioner, RCMP officer Justin Greene, Scott Beaver, St. Barbara Limited, St. Mary’s River Association (SMRA), Steven Dean, Sustainable Northern Nova Scotia (SuNNS), Terry Moser

Iain Rankin promises big changes in forestry management, but the province is moving slowly

June 26, 2019 By Jennifer Henderson

Give Lands and Forestry Minister Iain Rankin credit for trying. Last November, Rainkin accepted all 45 recommendations from Bill Lahey, a former deputy environment minister and university president hired to figure out how to make Nova Scotia forests healthier and more productive. Lahey’s recommendations were aimed at improving   biodiversity and reducing the amount of...

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Filed Under: Environment, Featured, News, Province House, Subscribers only Tagged With: Andy Kekacs, Bill Lahey, Bill Oprel, Biodiversity Act, biomass, clearcutting on Crown lands, Ecology Action Centre (EAC), Emera, Forest Management Guide, Lahey report, Lands and Forestry Minister Iain Rankin, Northern Pulp, Nova Scotia Power, Nova Scotia Woodlot Owners & Operators Association, Port Hawkesbury Paper, Ray Plourde

Truth Be Told: Nova Scotia’s forest department hires a PR firm with forest industry ties to help it with transparency

May 10, 2019 By Linda Pannozzo 5 Comments

Cover photo: recent drone shot of a clearcut located between Kejimkujik National Park and Lake Rossignol. Photo courtesy Jeff Purdy. The Nova Scotia Department of Lands and Forestry (DLF) recently hired DG Communications, a public relations firm, to assess the department’s progress in meeting the recommendations of William Lahey’s Independent Review of Forest Practices, specifically […]

Filed Under: Commentary, Environment, Featured, Investigation, Province House Tagged With: clearcut, clearcutting on Crown lands, DG Communications, Ecology Action Centre (EAC), Forest Nova Scotia, Forest Products Association of Nova Scotia, Harvest Plans Map Viewer (HPMV), Jeff Purdy, Keji, Kejimkujik National Park, Lahey report, Lake Rossignol, Lisa Jarrett, Mike Lancaster, Natural Resources Strategy, Northern Pulp, Nova Scotia Department of Lands and Forestry (DLF), Pam Davidson, Ray Plourde, St. Margaret’s Bay Stewardship Association

Environment Minister Margaret Miller isn’t talking about Northern Pulp’s much-criticized environmental assessment

Morning File, Friday, March 15, 2019

March 15, 2019 By Tim Bousquet and Jennifer Henderson 9 Comments

News 1. Spill at Moose River gold mine “Atlantic Gold’s manager of environment and permitting, James Millard, calls it a ‘spill’ or a ‘loss of control’ caused by a ‘gasket failure,’” reports Joan Baxter: By whatever name, the event happened on the night of January 3, 2019, at the company’s open pit gold mine at […]

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: Adele Poirier, Biodiversity Act, Biodiversity Council, Boat Harbour, Canadian Parks and Wilderness Service, Chris Miller, David Pugliese, Dillon Consulting, Duncan Reid, Ecology Action Centre, Extinction Rebellion, George Farmer, Irving Shipbuilding, Joan Baxter, Justice Jamie Campbell, Kevin McCoy, Matthew Halliday, Minister Iain Rankin, Minister Margaret Miller, Northern Pulp environmental assessment, Postmedia, Ray Plourde, Stephen Archibald and the CSTF drill shed, Tim wonders about a thing, violations of privacy laws

By Any Other Name: Nova Scotia’s Department of Lands and Forestry just made “Clearcuts” disappear

February 16, 2019 By Linda Pannozzo 2 Comments

Nova Scotians who signed up to receive proposed harvest plans on Crown land might have noticed some disturbing changes recently. As of a few days ago the maps no longer specify whether a proposed cut is a “clearcut” or not. The word was removed from the legend and the list of harvest prescription types. This […]

Filed Under: Commentary, Environment, Featured, Province House Tagged With: Bruce Nunn, Canadian Council of Forest Ministers, clearcut, Department of Lands and Forestry (DLF), Ecological Forestry of Southwest Nova, Ecology Action Centre, Forest Management Guide, Hardwood Hill, Harvest Plan Map Viewer (HPMV), Interim Retention Guide, Jamie Simpson, Krista Higdon, Minister Lloyd Hines, National Forestry Database (NFD), Premier Darrell Dexter, Ray Plourde, William Lahey

Government takes tentative first steps to reduce clearcutting

December 4, 2018 By Jennifer Henderson

The McNeil government is promising less clearcutting on crown lands through new “interim” harvesting guidelines introduced yesterday in response to a comprehensive report on forestry practices prepared by University of King’s College president Bill Lahey last August. It’s unclear how much the controversial practice will be reduced until after permanent guidelines are introduced by the...

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Filed Under: Environment, Featured, News, Province House, Subscribers only Tagged With: clearcutting, deputy Minister Julie Towers, Lahey report, Lands and Forestry Department, Minister Iain Rankin, MLA Lisa Roberts, Ray Plourde, Tory Rushton

Losing the forests for the trees: New figures show increase in clearcutting

March 30, 2017 By Jennifer Henderson 4 Comments

Despite what the Nova Scotia government has said in response to concerns raised over clearcutting, the most recent figures released from the National Forestry Database (NFD) indicate that in 2015, both the overall harvest and the proportion of trees removed by clearcutting continued to increase. And ironically, the national body used data supplied by the […]

Filed Under: Environment, Featured, News, Province House Tagged With: Bruce Nunn, clearcutting, Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Ecology Action Centre, Forest Nova Scotia, Jeff Bishop, National Forestry Database (NFD), Northern Pulp, Ray Plourde

The Tideline, with Tara Thorne

Mo Kenney. Photo: Matt Williams

Episode #18 of The Tideline, with Tara Thorne is published.

Mo Kenney’s new record Covers is a perfect winter companion — songs from across the rock spectrum that she’s pared down to piano or guitar and turned them into sad ballads. She joins Tara to talk about choosing and arranging them, and opens up for a frank discussion of the alcohol dependency it took a pandemic for her to confront. Plus: Movies are back (again).

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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