There’s little question Halifax Regional Police need a new base of operations, but where it’ll be located and how much it’ll cost are questions still being worked out. An update on HRP’s new facilities plan was presented to the Board of Police Commissioners on Tuesday afternoon, detailing options for consolidating and improving the department’s undersized, […]
Council
Posted inNews + Opinion
Council trades Willow Tree height for (some) affordable housing
Halifax council has decided 10 affordable housing units are worth more than 36. On Tuesday, councillors approved a motion moving forward with a 25-storey height for the proposed Willow Tree tower at the corner of Quinpool Road and Robie Street in exchange for some below-market rents and other public benefits. Previously on Willow Tree, a […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Councillor tries again for code of conduct review
After censuring one of its members for retweeting a white supremacist group and leaking confidential information, Tony Mancini is politely suggesting Halifax council take another look at this whole code of conduct thing. The Harbourview–Burnside–Dartmouth East councillor is asking for a staff report at council’s meeting next week looking for recommendations on improving his colleagues’ […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Parking up the wrong street
Cyclists and pedestrians are about to have easier access to some of the city’s busiest shopping districts. Halifax Regional Council approved motions this week to install a protected bike lane on South Park Street and a dedicated bus lane on Gottingen Street, over the protests of small business owners worried about parking. On Tuesday, council […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Mayor “prepared to revisit” integrity commissioner after Whitman debate
After yet another in-camera debate about Matt Whitman’s conduct, mayor Mike Savage is eager to explore hiring an integrity commissioner at city hall “I’m prepared to revisit that,” Savage told reporters after Tuesday’s council meeting. “I think it may be something we need to do so that we can get an impartial person to give […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Cornwallis statue is history
Edward Cornwallis is coming down off his pedestal, at least for a while. Halifax Regional Council voted Tuesday to remove the controversial bronze statue of the city’s founder and place it into temporary storage. There it will remain until a more permanent solution can be agreed upon in the spirit of truth and reconciliation. “We […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
A lack of imagination on Bloomfield
Whatever is going to happen to the old Bloomfield Centre, thanks to the province it won’t be a new school. Caroline Arsenault, a parent who lives near the abandoned north end property, isn’t impressed with that decision. “It’s just so disappointing that this government just doesn’t seem to be willing to think differently and think […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Province passes on Bloomfield Centre
For the second time, the province of Nova Scotia won’t be buying Halifax’s Bloomfield Centre. The deteriorating former school and community centre is once again facing an uncertain future according to an update heading to Regional Council on Tuesday. Council voted last August to sell a portion of the 3.3-acre site to the provincial government […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Cleary downplays Stroink conflict on Willow Tree
Ask Shawn Cleary about his friendship with Joachim Stroink and he’ll tell you something this town already knows. “In Halifax, it’s one-and-a-half degrees of separation,” he says. “Everybody knows everybody.” The councillor’s platonic relationship with Armco’s latest hired gun doesn’t raise any ethical or legal conflicts, he says, even as the development firm tries one […]
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Councillors spar over plastic bag ban
It was the Sobeys bag that broke the camel’s back. A proposal to ban single-use plastic bags in HRM ignited a garbage fight between several city councillors during two hours of heated debate Tuesday. A staff report before council recommended the municipality work with the province to ban the use of shopping bags in all […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
New home for Mi’kmaw Native Friendship Centre moving forward
Regional council approved an agreement Tuesday to sell the former Red Cross property on Gottingen Street to the Mi’kmaw Native Friendship Society. Terms and conditions of the deal are contained in a confidential report that wasn’t released to the public, but what is known is that the sale will be at market value and is […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
So does the Centre Plan exist or WTF?
Willow Tree is in limbo. Armco’s proposed tower at the corner of Robie Street and Quinpool Road was approved by Halifax Regional Council this past spring at a staff-recommended, Centre Plan-inspired height of 20 storeys. APL Properties, Armco’s development wing, came back to city hall last week saying 20 wouldn’t work. The company had been […]
