April 2020 was a difficult time in Nova Scotia. A strange new virus was loose in the world, and no one knew what would happen. Nova Scotia was under lockdown — restaurants and bars were closed, schools were online, health orders prohibited people from gathering socially, and the disease had entered the Northwood retirement home. […]
New protected status for Tatamagouche water supply means an end to mineral exploration, mining in the watershed
Sustainable Northern Nova Scotia "delighted" with the decision from the province, but says work continues to stop five other large-scale gold mining projects that are ongoing or planned for Nova Scotia.
It took close to two years, and a change of government, but the province has now approved protection of the French River watershed, which provides Tatamagouche with its water. According to the press release today from Nova Scotia Environment and Climate Change: Environment and Climate Change Minister Tim Halman designated the French River watershed as […]
This is why the Halifax Examiner keeps going to court
Morning File, Wednesday, May 20, 2020
News 1. New info on mass shooting Yesterday, I wrote two articles about the April 18/19 mass murders. One is “Court document provides new info on mass murder,” which provides new information about what happened in Portapique that terrible Saturday night and a chilling eyewitness account to the murders of Cst. Heidi Stevenson and Joey […]
Murderer escaped Portapique within 10 minutes of police arriving
RCMP Support Services Officer Darren Campbell provided an update today on the investigation into the April 18-19 massacre across Nova Scotia. New information includes: • 435 witnesses have been identified, and about half of them have been interviewed; • it’s not known if anyone assisted the murderer, who we’re calling “GW,” in planning or preparing for […]
Portapique tragedy: We need a full public inquiry
It isn't about assigning blame. But there are questions we need to answer, and it isn’t good enough for the RCMP to conduct an internal investigation into what happened and why, and then tell us what they decide we’re allowed to know.
Late on the afternoon of Sunday, April 19, I sat in front of my television waiting for an RCMP briefing I fully expected would help me make sense of the confusing cascade of disjointed, disconcerting, increasingly frightening news bytes and bulletins that had tumbled out and over one another all that day. I’d woken to […]
A memorial trail of grief and love: Nova Scotians mourn the victims of last week’s tragedy
Memorial at entrance Portapique Beach Road. Photo: Joan Baxter. The memorials for the fallen of last week’s horrific mass shooting in Nova Scotia mark a trail of grief and an outpouring of love. Yesterday, mourners were following that trail, mostly individually or as couples apparently respecting public health directives for physical distancing during the COVID-19 […]
The killer was on Hunter Road for nearly three hours
The Halifax Examiner continues to learn more details about last weekend’s murder spree. We now know that the killer was on Hunter Road hours earlier than previously reported. There is evidence that the killer’s mock police cruiser was seen driving along Hunter Road at 6:29am. A resident on the road heard gunshots at about 7am. Those […]
13 hours of terror: tracking a mass murderer’s rampage through Nova Scotia
People have a right to be angry with the RCMP for not activating Nova Scotia’s emergency alert system during last weekend’s mass murder spree, said RCMP Support Services Officer Darren Campbell at a news briefing Friday. “I can certainly understand and I empathize and I hear the families of those victims,” said Campbell in response […]
These are the 22 people murdered in Nova Scotia on April 18-19, 2020
Lisa McCully Lisa was a school teacher who was instrumental in keeping the Debert Elementary School open; Gina Goulet Gina was a denturist in Shubenacadie, a two-time cancer survivor, avid sport fisher and Cuban salsa dancer. “She really loved life,” her daughter Amelia Butler told the Globe and Mail. “She was a fighter.” Gina had two […]
“There’s a person down there with a gun”: first responder audio from the beginning of the murder spree
The Halifax Examiner has obtained audio of first responders responding to the call to Portapique Saturday night, soon after the mass murder spree began. This audio clip starts at about 11:08pm Saturday night. Here’s a rough transcript of that audio: So there’s a structure fire. There’s a person down there with a gun. They’re still […]