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Atlantic Gold’s lobbying blitz

The company is now in court on charges of harming the environment, regulators are casting a wary eye at its plans for future environmental protection, and investors are getting worried, so Atlantic Gold has hired a lobbyist to fast track federal approval of its Nova Scotia projects.

February 5, 2021 By Joan Baxter

Last year it was a propaganda blitz. For several weeks in the spring of 2020, Atlantic Gold, which operates an open pit gold mine in Moose River in the Halifax Regional Municipality and wants to open three more along the Eastern Shore, bombarded people in Nova Scotia with its PR. Atlantic Gold’s owner, Australia’s St...

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Filed Under: Commentary, Environment, Featured, News, Province House, Subscribers only Tagged With: Aaron Beswick, Alex Barkley, Archibald Lake, Archibald Lake Wilderness Area, Atlantic Canada Opportunity Agency (ACOA), Atlantic Gold, Atlantic Mining NS, Beaver Dam, CBC, Chronicle Herald, Cochrane Hill gold mine, Craig Jetson, Credit Suisse, Darmouth Provincial Court, DDV Gold, Department of lands and Forestry, Dustin O’Leary, Eastern Shore, Environmental Impact Statement, Fifteen Mile Stream mine, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), Freedom of Information request, Friends of the St. Mary’s River, Goldman Sachs, Impact Assessment Agency of Canada, J.P. Morgan, Joel Bakan, John Perkins, Krista Gillis, lobbyist, Lobbyists Registration Act, Margaret Anne McHugh, Maryse Belanger, Mi'kmaq, Mining Association of Nova Scotia (MANS), Mitchell Glawson, Mogran Stanley, moose, Moose River, Moose River Consolidated Project, Narrative Research, NATIONAL Public Relations, Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), NOPE campaign, Nova Scotia Environment, Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil, open pit gold mine, Ottawa, proposed Beaver Dam mine, protected wilderness areas, Sean Kirby, Sherbrooke, St Barbara Ltd, St. Mary's River, The Corporation, Tiéoulé Traoré, Touquoy mine, Tracy Barron, Wilderness Areas Protection Act

Mining for (public) dollars

The Mining Association of Nova Scotia (MANS) has created a new organization called the Minerals Research Association of Nova Scotia (MRANS) with the aim of leveraging still more provincial grants to further enrich global mining companies — and their local operatives.

November 18, 2019 By Joan Baxter 7 Comments

In the beginning, by which I mean 2007, there was the Mining Association of Nova Scotia, also known as MANS, an appropriate acronym for an industry lobby group with a 17-member board of which 15 are men. It should be said, however, that MANS is not registered with the Nova Scotia Registry of Lobbyists, although […]

Filed Under: Environment, Featured, Investigation, Province House Tagged With: Alex Martell, Department of Energy and Mines (DEM), Gary Andrea, George O’Reilly, gypsum, Jacob Hanley, John Wightman, Kevin Neyedley, lobbyist registry, Michael Power, Mineral Resources Development Fund (MRDF), Minerals Play Fairway, Minerals Research Association of Nova Scotia (MRANS), mining, Mining Association of Nova Scotia (MANS), Minister Derek Mombourquette, Musquodoboit Valley Gypsum, Rick Horne, Sarah Kirby, Sean Kirby, W. Douglas Roy

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

Cheques for mining propaganda, but not for corporate registry

The lobbyist group Mining Association of Nova Scotia receives a lot of public money from the province, and yet it is in default for its provincial registration fees.

September 27, 2019 By Joan Baxter 2 Comments

About a week ago, one of this province’s most active investigative citizens, Stacey Rudderham, contacted me to say she “got curious” when she heard that uranium exploration, which has been prohibited in the province since 1981, was back on the provincial agenda, after the Progressive Conservative caucus decided to it should be discussed by the […]

Filed Under: Featured, Investigation, Province House Tagged With: Brian Hebert, Gary Andrea, Gold Show, Justice Minister Mark Furey, lobbying, Mineral Resources Development Fund, Mining Association of Nova Scotia (MANS), MLA Elizabeth Smith-McCrossin, MLA Geoff MacLellan, Registry of Joint Stocks, Rick Horne, Sarah Kirby, Sean Kirby, Stacey Rudderham, Susan McKeage, Toby Koffman

The ban on uranium exploration and mining is safe – for now

September 25, 2019 By Joan Baxter 1 Comment

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 […]

Filed Under: Environment, Featured, News, Province House Tagged With: Don James, Graham Steele, Mining Association of Nova Scotia (MANS), MLA Claudia Chender, MLA Elizabeth Smith-McCrossin, PC MLA Pat Dunn, Peter Oram, Raymond Plourde, Rick Horne, Sean Kirby, Simon d'Entremont, uranium mining

After the gold rush

Nova Scotia is ignoring the toxic legacy of past mining manias while rushing headlong into the next

June 25, 2019 By Joan Baxter 3 Comments

If learning from past mistakes were a government tradition in Nova Scotia, the current government would not be exhibiting all the symptoms of gold fever. But it is, and it looks like a raging bout of the affliction. In the past few years, it has amended legislation based on recommendations made by the industry’s cheerleader-in-chief, […]

Filed Under: Environment, Featured, Investigation, Province House Tagged With: 2012 Geological Survey of Canada, Adele Poirier, arsenic from mining, arsenic in well water, Arsenic Task Force, Atlantic Gold, Bruce Nunn, Christian West, Cooper Quinn, cyanide, Department of Energy and Mines, Donald James, Dustin O’Leary, Enfield, Gary Andrea, George O’Reilly, gold mining, gold rush, Gold Show, grants for mineral exploration, Historic Gold Mines Advisory Committee, historic mines tailings sites, IAMGOLD, Jacob Hanley, James Millard, John Wightman, Linda Campbell, Lisa Jarrett, Lori Blackburn, Magnum Resources, mercury, Mineral Resources Development Fund (MRDF), Mining Association of Nova Scotia (MANS), Mining Society of Nova Scotia, Montague Mines, Moose River gold mine, Osprey Gold, Perry MacKinnon, Prospectors and Developers Association Convention (PDAC), Prospectors Association of Nova Scotia, Rick Horne, Sean Kirby, St. Barbara Limited, tailings, tailings dams, Touquoy mine, Waverley

Electronic Frontier Foundation recognizes the Nova Scotia government and Halifax police for their role in tech transparency

Morning File, Monday, March 11, 2019

March 11, 2019 By Tim Bousquet 14 Comments

1. SNC-Lavalin “There is an unanswered, barely whispered question at the heart-attack centre of the SNC-Lavalin scandal now dumping buckets of freezing rain on Justin Trudeau’s sunny ways/sunny days parade,” writes Stephen Kimber: And that question is this: what would Andrew Scheer or Jagmeet Singh have done differently? Click here to read “What would Andrew […]

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: Andrew Scheer, Atlantic Mining, Attorney General Jody Wilson-Raybould, Backstory NS, Bailey Roy, Damien Roy, daylight savings, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Glen Assoun, Greg MacVicar, Jagmeet Singh, Jean Laroche, Justice Cindy Bourgeois, Justice Linda Lee Oland, Justice Peter Bryson, Mary Campbell, Mining Association of Nova Scotia, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, province's information security screw-up, Sandy Garossino, Sean Kirby, Shane Fowler, SNC-Lavalin, time change, Utility and Review Board (UARB), Wayne Oakley

Shambhala leader sexually assaulted a Chilean woman, published account alleges

Morning File, Thursday, July 12, 2018

July 12, 2018 By Tim Bousquet and Joan Baxter 3 Comments

News 1. Detailed allegations of sexual assault by Shambhala leader Carol Merchasin is one of the authors of the “Sunshine Report” that examined allegations of sexual assaults by Shambhala leader Mipham Mukpo, who goes by the title Sakyong Mipham. Tuesday evening, Merchasin updated one of the accounts in the Sunshine Report, as follows: Within 24 hours of the […]

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: Bruce Frisko, Carol Merchasin, Chilean Metals, dump truck accident, Fairview Cove Sequestration Facility, Gary Richard, Joan Baxter, Louise Julig, Martin Parker, Michael Wile, Mineral Resources Development Fund grants, Mining Association of Nova Scotia (MANS), Minister Derek Mombourquette, right whale research, Sakyong Mipham (Mukyo), Scotiascapes, Sean Kirby, Shambhala Canada Society properties, Shambhala leader sexual assault allegations, shut down business schools, Sunshine Report, Sustainable Northern Nova Scotia (SuNNS), Taryn Grant, Transition Metals, working while American

We spent millions of dollars on the Argyle Street reconstruction project and forgot to put in washrooms and water fountains

Morning File, Friday, July 6, 2018

July 6, 2018 By Tim Bousquet and Joan Baxter 12 Comments

News 1. Cabinet shuffle This item is written by Joan Baxter. Nova Scotia’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is no more. Yesterday, Premier Stephen McNeil’s Liberal government renamed it the Department of Lands and Forestry (not, however, Lands and Forests, something lamented by the insightful Facebook page devoted to Nova Scotia’s “Woods and Water”). Timberlea-Prospect […]

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: accessible washrooms, aquaculture, Argyle Street patios, Cabinet shuffle, Carol McIsaac, David Fraser, Department of lands and Forestry, Department of Natural Resources renamed, Kevin Kindred, marine mammals, Mark Lever, Mining Association of Nova Scotia (MANS), MLA Derek Mombourquette, MLA Iain Rankin, MLA John Lohr, MLA Margaret Miller, Nova Scotia Health Protection Act, Premier Stephen McNeil, Ralph Surette, Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, SaltWire, Sean Kirby, Taryn Grant, water fountains and washrooms, whales, William Lahey

Fool’s Gold

Nova Scotia's Myopic Pursuit of Metals & Minerals (Part 4)

June 13, 2018 By Joan Baxter 4 Comments

A Halifax Examiner / Cape Breton Spectator investigation. This is the fourth and final instalment in a series of articles on the push for mines and quarries in Nova Scotia. You can find Part I here. How the mining lobby is working to undermine environmental protection in Nova Scotia On a cold day in late November […]

Filed Under: Environment, Featured, Investigation, Province House Tagged With: Amanda Rekunyk, Anaconda Mining, Atisthan Roach, Barry Carroll, Black Point Aggregates, Brian Fogarty, Bruce Nunn, Canadian Minerals and Metals Plan (CMMP), Dawson Brisco, Don James, Donkin coal mine, Elder Elizabeth Marshall, Erdene Resources Development Corp., Fogarty’s Cove, Fool’s Gold part 4, Frank Fogarty, Frank Leith, Garnet Rogers, Gordana Slepcev, Gretchen Fitzgerald, Joan Baxter, John Perkins, June Jarvis, Justin Brake, Kameron Collieries, Kellys Mountain, Kluscap Mountain, Lloyd Hines, MANS, Mark Parent, martin Mariette Materials, Mike MacDonald, mining lobby, Morien Resources, NS Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Peter Oram, Premier Stephen McNeil, Raymond Plourde, Rodney MacDonald, Sean Kirby, Sierra Club Canada Foundation, Stan Rogers, Stantec, Suzanne Patles, Vulcan Materials Company, Whites Point Quarry

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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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