[Image-1] The provincial government will no longer play a part in developing the Bloomfield property in Halifax’s north end. After years without progress and months of speculation about the site’s future, Housing Nova Scotia made the announcement on Thursday that it won’t be moving forward with the project. No official reason was given for the […]
Jacob Boon
Posted inNews + Opinion
Province will be responsible for Queen’s Marque doodads
[Image-1] While it will be built and owned by the Armour group, it’s the province (through the Waterfront Development Corporation) that will have to look after all of the wacky playground elements planned for the Queen’s Marque. That’s because the five-acre piece of property which will house the $200-million downtown development is public land. Armour will […]
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City council flips its municipal lid over new Otter Lake legislation
[Image-1] There was “shock and awe” at City Hall on Wednesday afternoon, as an emergency meeting of HRM Regional Council convened to condemn the provincial government’s swiftly-enacted controls over how Halifax runs the Otter Lake landfill. On May 4, Timberlea-Prospect MLA Iain Rankin submitted a private member’s bill to maintain the Otter Lake landfill’s current allowable […]
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Nova Scotia creates new supports for transgender employees
[Image-1] On the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, Nova Scotia’s provincial government has published its new Guidelines to Support Trans and Gender Variant Employees. The document is designed to ensure an equitable, safe, inclusive and respectful workplace for those in the public sector, and applies to more than 10,000 employees, managers and deputy […]
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Police rule out gun buy-back program to curb recent violence
[Image-1] Halifax police say they aren’t looking to bring back a 2009 program that took thousands of guns off the streets, even after the city’s recent string of shooting deaths. At last month’s Stop the Violence rally, The Coast asked Halifax Regional Police chief Jean-Michel Blais if a buy-back program was being considered in the […]
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Where are all the guns in Halifax coming from?
[Image-1] According to first quarter statistics released yesterday by Halifax police, violent crime is down in 2016, compared to the same period last year. Doesn’t feel like a very peaceful year, though, does it? Despite a recent string of gun-related homicides that shook the city, violent crime has generally been on a downward trend for […]
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Queen’s Marque earns high praise from Design Review Committee
[Image-1] It’s early in the planning approval process, but Scott McCrea’s ambitious $200-million waterfront development seems to have hit the ‘marque’ with HRM’s Design Review Committee. On Thursday afternoon, Armour CEO Scott McCrea presented his Queen’s Marque project to the city’s panel of engineers, architects and urban planners. It went OK. “I have to resist […]
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Halifax votes to keep honouring Edward Cornwallis
[Image-1] A vigorous debate on whether to examine the naming of public assets after Edward Cornwallis ended Tuesday night with HRM Regional Council boldly deciding to maintain the status quo. At hand was a request from Halifax South Downtown councillor Waye Mason for a staff report on a public engagement process to advise council on […]
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Halifax Transit drops $17 million on new buses
An influx of new buses will make Halifax Transit more accessible and more environmentally friendly—at a cost of nearly $17 million to the municipality. On Tuesday, HRM Regional Council awarded Nova Bus Ltd a contract to supply up to 100 new Halifax Transit buses to the municipality over the next five years. Halifax will pay […]
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Environmental bill of rights proposed by NDP
[Image-1] Nova Scotia’s NDP wants to put more control of the province’s ecological future back into the hands of the people. The party is introducing an environmental bill of rights today, May 5, in the legislature. It’s designed to supplement the Nova Scotia Environment Act and Environmental Goals and Sustainable Prosperity Act through increased transparency […]
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Council may finally kill Texpark development agreement
[Image-1] A decade after it was originally approved and six years after its development agreement expired, the Twisted Sisters project could be shambling back to life—unless council can kill it first. Next week, Halifax South Downtown councillor Waye Mason will be asking for a staff report on discharging the development agreement between HRM and United […]
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Homes Not Hondas fights Steele’s Robie Street razing
[Image-1] Neighbourhood opposition is mounting against Steele Auto Group’s plans to expand its Colonial Honda parking lot by demolishing dozens of residential properties in Halifax’s north end. The Facebook group Homes Not Hondas is conducting a social media campaign and heading door-to-door to get the word out about the project, though it remains to be seen […]