It has been more than a month since Progress Conservative premier Tim Houston’s cabinet reveal named Pat Dunn as minister of African Nova Scotian affairs—the third white politician to hold the role since it was created in 2003. In this move the former deputy minister of the department, a Black woman, was replaced with a […]
Lyndsay Armstrong
Lyndsay was a city reporter covering all things Halifax, health and COVID-19. She is a data journalist who has covered provincial politics for allNovaScotia.com and represented Nova Scotia in a national investigation into lead in drinking water with the Toronto Star and Global.
Posted inNews + Opinion
“Take your political issues up with the people that make those rules, leave our staff and restaurants alone”
A Halifax restaurant is pleading with customers upset by the province’s proof of vaccine and mask mandates not to direct frustration at service staff, following a Sunday incident with a group of aggressive patrons. “(Our staff) need to work, they need to pay their bills and their rent. And people are being nasty,” says Christine […]
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City council report: Housing is never far from council’s thoughts
Highlights from Tuesday’s regular meeting of Halifax Regional Council include a plan for 137 new affordable housing units in HRM, a doubled housing grant program and a mobile shower pilot that’s supposed to start this week. During the Sep 28 meeting, council doubled the amount it will spend on an affordable housing grant from $200,000 […]
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NS will require school and health care staff to be fully vaccinated
Vaccines will be mandatory for health care, long-term care, public school and child care staff in Nova Scotia beginning November 30, the province announced Wednesday, along with modifications to Phase 5 of reopening, which is due to start Monday. The province’s new vaccine mandate will require that all workers be fully vaccinated within the Nova […]
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Restaurants on POV: “How do we know what a vaccine certificate from Alberta looks like?”
“Hurry up and wait” is the name of the game for Nova Scotia restaurants trying to plan for Monday’s start of the provincial proof of vaccination policy. Luc Erjavec, the Atlantic Canada vice president of Restaurants Canada, says the industry is left with a number of concerns and questions less than a week out from […]
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Tim Houston promises virtual health care for all who need it by December
On the fourth and final day of premier Tim Houston’s health care tour of Nova Scotia, he announced an expansion of the province’s virtual care program, and renewed his pledge to knock off each item from the hefty Progressive Conservative health care platform promise list. “Today we’re moving forward with one of our campaign initiatives, […]
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“Unbelievable” value of physician assistants not harnessed in Nova Scotia
Peter Thibeault, who’s been a physician assistant for more than 30 years, travels for weeks at a time to provide medical care at the remote Kirkland Lake Gold Mine, south of James Bay in northern Ontario. Thibeault lives in West St. Andrew’s, just outside of Stewiacke, and he would rather be working locally to provide […]
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Full election results for Halifax and Nova Scotia as Conservatives gain Liberal ground
By some standards, Justin Trudeau’s decision to call an early election during the pandemic’s fourth wave was a success. Trudeau is still prime minister, and his Liberal Party gained a seat in parliament according to preliminary results the day after voting day. But the Liberals still don’t have a majority—the prize Trudeau clearly sought with […]
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Election day in Halifax comes with delays, long lines and votes cast well after 8:30pm
It has been 36 days since prime minister Justin Trudeau called an early election, which proved successful as he held on to power late Monday night forming a minority government. The Liberal party’s seat tally is not much different than it was before the House of Commons dissolved. Elections Canada warned that COVID cleaning and […]
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What fighting COVID can teach the world about confronting the climate crisis
In the 18 months since the pandemic began, vaccines were developed and approved for global use, drastic public health measures were implemented and largely followed, and new models for stay-at-home working and learning were developed overnight. Given the global cooperation and concentrated effort that’s been used to combat COVID-19, some doctors and scientists are looking […]
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Jagmeet Singh talks affordable housing and access to voting
Note on election coverage: The Coast has reached out to the federal Liberal, Conservative and Green parties to request interviews with their respective leaders. The Liberals declined but offered an interview with local candidate Andy Fillmore, and the Conservatives and Greens have yet to respond. Jagmeet Singh says there’s one issue that seems to have […]
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Nova Scotia delays Phase 5 reopening to October 4 as the fourth wave brings a COVID surge
With 66 new cases announced Tuesday, and 139 new cases since Friday, the province is delaying the start of Phase 5 reopening until at least October 4. The province currently has 173 active cases and four COVID-19 patients in hospital. Chief medical officer of health Robert Strang and minister of health and wellness Michelle Thompson […]