The cast of Follies rehearses at the Astor Theatre in Liverpool. (Rick Conrad photo)
By Rick Conrad
The Astor Theatre’s first adult musical since 2018 is set to open this Thursday, Feb. 22.
The Astor and Winds of Change are co-producing the Stephen Sondheim musical Follies. The Tony-award-winning show features elaborate costumes and big musical and dance numbers.
It features more than two dozen cast members from around Queens and Lunenburg counties, ranging in age from 14 to 77. That’s in addition to the many other people behind the scenes.
Cast and crew have spent hours each week over the past three months in vocal and dance training, as well as regular rehearsals.
We talked to some of the people behind the show during one of their rehearsals in late January.
The Gorham Street sidewalk next to the Astor Theatre was impassable on Thursday. (Rick Conrad photo)
By Rick Conrad
Some users of the Astor Theatre in Liverpool say the Region of Queens is not doing enough to ensure the building is accessible, especially after this week’s snowstorm.
Kim Lees lives in Liverpool. Her knitting group meets at the Astor every Thursday. She said when they arrived in the early afternoon, it was difficult to find an easy way to enter the building. It was especially difficult for anyone with mobility issues.
“I don’t think the municipality is doing a very great job considering you can’t get up the wheelchair ramp and you can’t get in the front of the building easily either because there’s no clear pathway.
“It’s horrible and if this is the municipality’s property and it is a public building then it should be accessible to everybody.”
The sidewalk on Main Street in front of the Astor had been cleared Thursday afternoon. But the pathway from that sidewalk to the front of Astor had not. The narrow Gorham Street sidewalk on the side of the building was not cleared either, forcing people to walk in the street from the rear parking lot, or use the sidewalk on the other side of Gorham.
The accessible entrance at the back of the building cannot be used. While part of the wheelchair ramp to the back entrance is cleared, the rest of the ramp is blocked by a chain and filled with snow.
Part of the ramp to the malfunctioning accessible entrance at the back of the Astor Theatre is blocked by a chain and snow. (Rick Conrad photo)
The automatic accessible door at the top of the ramp has not been working at least since the fall, Lees said. The Astor has kept it locked because it has been malfunctioning.
The region owns the Astor and Town Hall Arts and Cultural Centre. It leases the building to the Astor Theatre Society. The municipality is responsible for keeping the sidewalks and the entrances to the Astor clear.
Jerri Southcott took over as executive director of the Astor last week.
After concerns about access were raised, she asked one of the Astor’s staff to clear the walkway in front of the building.
Southcott has sent a letter to the region’s accessibility co-ordinator detailing some of the concerns with the building. She has a meeting set with municipal officials on Friday.
“We have made them aware of the issues with the ramp and we’re all working together to try to get that done as soon as possible,” she said Thursday.
Astor Theatre staff cleared the walkway in front of the building Thursday afternoon after people raised concerns about access. (Rick Conrad photo)
Region of Queens Mayor Darlene Norman thanked the Astor’s staff for clearing a pathway to the theatre. She said the region’s staff were busy Thursday clearing streets, sidewalks, parking spaces and other areas around Liverpool.
She said that as mayor she can’t tell staff what to do. Adam Grant is the director of engineering and public works, the department responsible for the maintenance of municipal infrastructure.
Norman did not know why municipal staff didn’t get to the Astor. She said the sidewalk on Gorham Street next to the Astor is too narrow for the region’s sidewalk plows, so it has to be shovelled. She suggested people cross Gorham and use the wider sidewalk to Main Street.
“And presently staff are clearing parking stalls and ensuring fire hydrants and accessible parks and roadways and all those things are clear,” Norman said. “Again, thank you to the Astor Theatre staff who shovelled out their walkway today before the region’s crew were able to get there.
“There’s many issues with snow removal. That sidewalk on the other side of the street is better for anybody with mobility issues. It’s a few steps more.”
As for the blocked accessible entrance, Norman says the region is working on it. She said she doesn’t know how long staff has been aware it isn’t working. She said she found out about it five days ago.
“We try our best in the Region of Queens to make our properties as accessible as best we can. Sometimes we run into these unexpected matters. Council budgeted a fair amount of money to make that accessible and how unfortunate it is that we are now having issues with that door. But we are trying our very best to ensure that a building we own is indeed accessible for the public and for those who work there.”
In the meantime, Norman suggests people call the Astor ahead of time if they need help getting into the building.
“But there should be a way in which if someone’s going and they truly need to get in through that door as an accessible doorway, that they’ll be able to make contact with the Astor.”
Kim Lees says she wants the municipality to make sure its own properties are accessible.
“I want them to get off their hands and clear the snow. There is an issue in Canada where accessibility is a problem. And if it’s a public building, especially if the municipality owns it, I think that it should be cleaned. It should be accessible to everyone no matter if you are on foot, in a wheelchair, on crutches, canes. It should be accessible to everybody.”
Heritage Day this year will honour African-Nova Scotian war hero William Hall.
Heritage Day this year will commemorate the life of African-Nova Scotian war hero William Hall.
Launched in 2015, Heritage Day is an annual statutory holiday that honours people and places that have contributed to Nova Scotia’s history. This year, it falls on Monday, Feb. 19.
William Hall was a member of the Royal Navy and served in the Crimean War and the First War of Indian Independence. He was born in 1827 to African-Americans who settled in Nova Scotia after fleeing enslavement in Maryland during the War of 1812.
Hall retired from the Royal Navy in 1876, having been awarded the Victoria Cross, the British Empire’s highest awared for bravery. He died in 1904. A memorial was built in Hantsport, Hants County, in 1947 to honour his life.
Roswall Met tower measuring wind speeds at the proposed wind farm site in Milton. Photo Roswall Development
By Rick Conrad
Queens County residents will get their say on a wind farm project planned for Milton.
The Region of Queens plans to sign a development agreement with Roswall Development Inc., the owners of Mersey River Wind. The company would build 33 wind turbines on about 80 hectares of Crown land near the Mersey River.
The company plans to lease the land from the Nova Scotia government. Under the municipality’s land use bylaw, large-scale wind farms are not automatically allowed on the land as it’s currently zoned.
Councillors voted this week to move ahead with the agreement. As part of the process, though, a public hearing must be held before anything is signed.
That hearing is scheduled for March 12 at 9 a.m. in council chambers at 249 White Point Rd.
Mayor Darlene Norman says that while she hasn’t heard much opposition to the project since 2022, it’s important for the public to have their say on the project and the development agreement.
“It gives the region the ability to do some controls and then a development agreement requires a public hearing, so the public has a right to comment on that agreement.
“Anyone can go and present their opinion.”
If they can’t attend the meeting, they can also send written comments to the region.
The company held two public consultations in Milton in 2022, attended by more than 50 residents. It also met with about 40 members of the local indigenous community in February 2023.
Global Empire call centre cubicles. Photo Ed Halverson
By Rick Conrad
The Global Empire call centre wants a break on its lease in the Liverpool Business Development Centre on White Point Road.
Mayor Darlene Norman says it’s because the company is using 18,000 of the 25,000 square feet it originally signed up for.
“So they wanted the lease amended to indicate that they’ll only be renting the space they are using. And that frees that space up for the Region of Queens to do with as it wishes.”
Council approved the amendments in principle. Norman said that when the new agreement is signed, it will be available to the public.
The owner of 90 Common St. in Liverpool has been ordered to demolish the buildings and clean up the property. (Rick Conrad photo)
By Rick Conrad
A rundown Liverpool property that has been the subject of numerous complaints since 2009 will be torn down in the next 30 days.
Queens regional councillors voted on Tuesday to issue a demolition order to the owner of 90 Common St. in Liverpool.
The property used to be known as the Wesleyan Church. In 2009, Chris Currie and a friend bought the property. Currie is now the sole owner.
Neighbours had lodged many complaints over the years with Queens bylaw enforcement officers, saying the property is dangerous and unsightly.
Bylaw enforcement officer Jason Hartung told councillors Tuesday that since 2009, neighbours have continued to file complaints and the property has continued to deteriorate. He recommended that council declare it dangerous and unsightly and issue an order for the owner within 30 days to demolish the main building and an out building, and clean up all construction and demolition materials and all other miscellaneous debris like glass, metals, shingles and plastics.
If the owner doesn’t comply, the municipality may do the work and bill him for it.
“It appears to be collapsing in on itself and it presents a clear and present danger to the public,” Hartung said. “The owner has had numerous years to address these concerns.”
Queens bylaw enforcement officers say 90 Common St. in Liverpool ‘is a possible threat to public safety’. (Rick Conrad photo)
The owner told bylaw enforcement in 2015 that he would tear down the property, but that never happened. Hartung said Currie complied with several requests to clean up the property, but the building continued to deteriorate.
In 2017, a fire inside the structure damaged it further. Despite the property being mostly boarded up, people were breaking in and vandalizing it. Even the RCMP contacted the municipality with concerns about their officers’ safety, Hartung said.
In April 2020, the region’s building inspector recommended it be demolished as soon as possible.
Currie told the municipality in May 2021 that he would demolish the building and build a new rental property on the land. Hartung said that when that didn’t happen, Currie blamed Covid lockdowns.
Hartung said municipal staff gave him more time to fix the problems. In May 2023, bylaw enforcement again inspected and found that the property was still dangerous and unsightly. In December, they received yet another complaint about dangerous conditions on the property and saw that an exterior wall at the back of the building had collapsed. Parts of the roof were also caved in.
Hartung said Currie has said he would apply for various permits to develop the property over the years or promised to demolish it, but never followed through.
“This property can no longer be secured,” he said. “The building is a possible threat to public safety.”
Currie’s wife Karen Gilmour asked councillors Tuesday to give him more time. She said he plans to build a three-unit affordable rental on the property. She said he couldn’t be there because he was away working.
She asked them to extend the 30-day demolition order to 90 to 120 days to give Currie time to fix it up and secure funding for the affordable housing project.
“There have been numerous times where he’s tried to do something with that property,” she said in an interview after the meeting.
“He’s just a private landowner. He bought a building that was in disrepair, was hoping to do something with it and … it hasn’t really worked out. He’s done the best that he could to ensure that he was complying with bylaw enforcement in terms of cleanup and covering up graffiti.”
District 2 Coun. Ralph Gidney said that while he sympathizes with what Gilmour told councillors, he said it’s obvious the buildings can no longer stand.
“With everything that’s transpired in the last nine years (since 2015), I can’t see holding this off any longer. But history is repeating itself here. And I think we’d better do something now.”
Gilmour said her husband will go ahead with his plan to develop affordable housing on the site.
“It’s only been in recent weeks that we’ve been able to explore the options available for affordable housing, which this community is in desperate need of. I was really hoping that council would consider that. And it’s a little bit disappointing that that didn’t even get discussed.
“It’s quite a viable project. … It’s just unfortunate that we’re not going to be given the additional time needed to secure the property.”
Mayor Darlene Norman said council is always hesitant to issue a demolition order. But it’s been 14 years and “it is a huge concern to people in the community.
“I do believe the owners are responsible people and they will work with staff to get that building down and get the place cleaned up within 30 days of the date of the order.”
Region of Queens Municipality administration building. (Rick Conrad photo)
By Rick Conrad
Residents in Liverpool and parts of Brooklyn should brace for water rate hikes but not right away, Mayor Darlene Norman said Tuesday.
“Please be prepared for a water utility rate study and a very probable increase in water utility rates,” Norman said in an interview.
Regional council got a better picture on Tuesday of the budget impact of the boil water advisory for Queens water utility customers from Aug. 9 to Oct. 5 last year.
The municipality had already budgeted last spring for a loss of $173,700 for the water utility. The treatment station was struck by lightning on Aug. 9. Residents on the municipal water supply were under a boil water order for eight weeks.
Joanne Veinotte, director of corporate services for the Region of Queens, gave councillors a third-quarter financial review on Tuesday. As of Dec. 31, the water utility has run an extra $252,655 over budget, or $426,355 so far.
Norman said Queens water customers pay some of the lowest rates in the province. The utility must pay for itself and not run a deficit.
Before any rate increase, however, the utility has to prepare a rate study. The Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board would have to approve any fee hike.
Norman said she has no timeline for when that review may be done. She said council does not have the money in its current budget for the rate study.
“The system is old, early 1900s. So it constantly needs repair and upgrading.
“It may well be the next council coming in in October that will be looking at the results of that study.”
Veinotte told councillors Tuesday that the region will be reimbursed for $82,000 from its insurance provider for the damage caused by the August lightning strike.
“At the end of the day that claim is now finalized but we’re still dealing with some of the fallout from the lightning strike,” Veinotte told councillors.
In other positive financial news for the region, revenue from the 2.5 per cent deed transfer tax was again over budget for the third quarter.
Veinotte said the region brought in about $220,000 more than expected from the tax in the quarter and the region is expected to exceed its projection for the deed transfer tax by about 58 per cent for the whole fiscal year.
The region also got a higher-than-expected share of the Nova Scotia Power tax payout from the province of about $132,000.
Some Nova Scotians will be able to access their medical records via the YourHealthNS app. (Communications Nova Scotia photo)
By Rick Conrad
Patients at Queens Family Health in Liverpool will be providing valuable input to Nova Scotia Health over the next few weeks as part of a group of people around the province with early access to their health records on the YourHealthNS app.
About 3,700 patients of the clinic can sign up and see their doctor and ER visits, medications, test results and immunization record. They must have a valid Nova Scotia health card and be 16 or over.
It’s part of a pilot project involving the Queens clinic and three others around the province to give Nova Scotians easier access to their health records. In total, about 12,000 people are eligible to participate. The other clinics are in New Waterford, Westville and Greenwood.
Nova Scotia Health will be sending out letters to the eligible patients at Queens Family Health. But people can start using the app now.
Dr. Ashley Miller, the chief medical information officer with Nova Scotia Health and IWK Health, says it can be costly or cumbersome now for patients to get access to their own records.
“So I think people are really appreciative of having a single source of truthful information related to health care, but they’re very much wanting to access their own health data,” she said in a recent interview.
“And I see this in my own patient population all the time. It’s very valuable to have access to your own information so that you can appropriately self advocate but also so that you can do research on your own. You can consult your own network of friends, colleagues, family to make decisions about your own health.”
Miller says officials wanted diversity in demographics and geography for the pilot.
“We were looking for clinics who were early adopters, people who understand the importance and potential of digital transformation in enhancing the experience of Nova Scotians. So it was a combination of working with the willing but also looking to have a representative sample so we could really learn from this pilot experience and inform our next steps.”
Queens Family Health has five family physicians and one nurse practitioner. Miller said they were also looking for clinics who would give regular feedback and evaluate how care was affected by using the app.
One of the goals is to cut down on unnecessary visits to the doctor’s office to get test results. They’re already getting feedback from around the province.
“Twenty-nine per cent of people who answered this survey so far said yes that in fact it actually prevented the need for a visit. So in a health care system where we know the demand exceeds the capacity currently, the potential for patients to gain access to care without needing to book an appointment with a provider is really appealing.”
Miller says that within the first day of the project’s launch last week, more than 700 lab and diagnostic records were accessed.
As for privacy, Miller says she understands if some patients are hesitant.
“One of the benefits of this application is that none of the personal health information is stored in the actual application itself.”
And she says people don’t have to participate or use the app if they’re unsure. If you do, however, you can opt out at any time.
Scott McKenna, Nova Scotia Health’s chief information officer, says they’ve put privacy and security “front and centre”.
“One of the principles of this is that we would rather miss one of your health records than serve you up incorrect health records,” he said in an interview.
“We’ve done a lot of matching with a high level of confidence across multiple fields to make sure that record’s confidence before we serve it up. And we may even hold back on your health records becasue we weren’t sure.”
Miller says she’s also not concerned about people diagnosing themselves instead of visiting their doctor. In fact, she says, research has shown that it’s better to give patients more control over their information.
“Patients are better able to interpret their own health care experience and their medications and their treatment as well as advocate for themselves when they have access to their data.”
Miller says she encourages patients in the pilot project to give feedback on the app.
Jerri Southcott took over this week as executive director of the Astor Theatre in Liverpool. (Rick Conrad photo)
By Rick Conrad
The Astor Theatre in Liverpool got more than a new executive director this week. It also got a new dog.
Jerri Southcott took over on Feb. 5 from interim executive director Jean Robinson.
And she’s already made one big change.
Macduff, her laidback nine-year-old Nova Scotia duck tolling retriever, will be keeping her company as she leads the Astor.
Southcott isn’t worried about the old W.C. Fields warning against working with children or animals.
“He takes that saying and spins it to the positive for sure. He’ll definitely steal the show.”
Macduff and Southcott are no strangers to the stage. He made an appearance in the musical Pippin last summer at the theatre, which Southcott brought to the Astor with her own theatre company, South Shore Summer Theatre.
Macduff at the Astor Theatre. His mom, Jerri Southcott, took over as executive director. (Jerri Southcott photo)
The Astor announced in January that it had hired Southcott, who lives in Mahone Bay with Macduff and her husband Dave Stephens.
In her first week on the job, she says she’s been busy getting to know the theatre, its staff members Ashley-Rose Goodwin, Katy Hopkins and Malcolm Freeman and the community.
She’s already impressed.
“We’re really blessed to have Ashley and Malcolm and Katy here who are so incredibly skilled,” she said in an interview.
“I just observed over the past few days how wonderful the people are in this community and how much they adore this theatre and so I feel very fortunate.”
She says she doesn’t plan any big changes, because she knows what it’s like to balance a tight budget for a charitable organization like the Astor.
“I learned a lot when I started South Shore Summer Theatre. But it really helped me especially with this job understand the accountability you need as a non-profit, understanding the balance of providing an opportunity for professional training at no cost to the community, especially youth, and how you balance that cheque book.”
She says the key will be continuing the work the Astor has done in the past couple of years to bring people back to the theatre after the pandemic.
With homegrown productions like the musical Follies, opening Feb. 22, she says it’s an exciting time to be here.
“I’m coming at a really great time because we have Follies opening on Feb. 22 and it’s going to be a great show. But it’s also given me an opportunity to meet some really interesting characters who come through the doors and really take ownership of the building adn the theater. They are so giving and generous with their time, often their money. We’re very blessed to have such a great hub of the community here with this theatre.”
Southcott says it’s her priority to get to know the community and what they want from the Astor. It’s important to keep people coming back to the theatre, she says, whether that’s for great entertainment or by offering more training and workshops for youth, regardless of their financial background.
“This has always been a really strong passion of mine to make theatre, dance, music accessible to families who don’t have the money to pay for expensive music lessons … or private dance classes.”
With her background in government communications, Southcott says she is optimistic that the Astor can become the theatre destination for the whole South Shore.
“How do we get that message out there and how do we continue to let people know we’re here? When you look at the big picture, on the South Shore we are the biggest theatre. We have the potential for Bridgewater, Mahone Bay, Lunenburg to take ownership of this as their theatre on the South Shore because there isn’t a venue as big anywhere in the area. So I think that the future looks really bright.”
Debris from the fish farm near Coffin Island on Beach Meadows Beach in 2021. (Rick Conrad photo)
By Rick Conrad
If you’re concerned about a proposed fish farm expansion in Liverpool Bay, there’s a letter writing session planned for the Thomas H. Raddall Library on Saturday from 1 to 4.
Kelly Cove Salmon, which is owned by Cooke Aquaculture, has applied to add to its operations near Coffin Island and to add two new sites off Brooklyn and Mersey Point.
If successful, Kelly Cove’s operation would grow to 60 pens from its current 14. It would mean about 1.8 million salmon would be farmed in the bay, compared to the current estimated 400,000.
The Nova Scotia Aquaculture Review Board has public hearings scheduled for Liverpool beginning March 4.
Residents contacted QCCR this week concerned that their letters were being rejected by the board. In an email to QCCR, the review board said individual comments from those who are listed as members of one of the five intervenors in the application will be rejected.
A notice posted at Queens Place Emera Centre.
For example, some supporters of Protect Liverpool Bay had their submissions rejected because the grassroots group listed their names as members when it applied for, and was granted, intervenor status. The others are the Region of Queens, the Brooklyn Marina, a group of 23 lobster fishermen, and Kwilmu’kw Maw-Klusuaqn, which is representing the Acadia First Nation.
The review board told QCCR that “in the interests of efficiency, if a single body can present those interests, those concerns can be dealt with by a single entity.”
“The board encourages public participation and does want to hear from everyone,” Stacy Bruce, the board’s clerk said in the email.
“However, as (Protect Liverpool Bay) is a party to the hearing representing all its members, if a member’s name is on the list PLB provided, they may not submit written statements as they are already being represented by PLB as an intervenor and not as a member of the general public. Only members of the general public that are not party to the hearing are permitted to submit written or oral submissions.”
Opponents of the expansion got a big morale boost this week when Premier Tim Houston told a business luncheon in Liverpool that he personally opposes more fish farms in Liverpool Bay.
“I think some areas are great for aquaculture and I think that some others are maybe not the best place for it,” he told about 80 Liverpool businesspeople and others at a luncheon on Wednesday, sponsored by the South Queens Chamber of Commerce.
“On this specific question on Liverpool Bay, … I personally don’t think Liverpool Bay is a suitable place for it.
“That’s my personal opinion. I respect the process, the independent review board will do their process and will have hearings. They’ll do their thing. But my personal opinion is I don’t think Liverpool Bay is a suitable place for it.”
Kim Masland, Queens MLA and Nova Scotia’s Public Works Minister, says chronic ER closures in her riding are worrisome. (Rick Conrad photo)
By Rick Conrad
Queens MLA Kim Masland says the Nova Scotia government is making progress in its efforts to keep the emergency department at Queens General Hospital open more often, but she admits there’s more work to do.
“I know right now we’ve been open pretty much 50 per cent of the time which is very, very concerning,” Masland said in an interview this week.
“We need to make sure that our ER is open and available to people when they need it. We’re 30 minutes away from Bridgewater, we’re further away to the next ER.”
She pointed to efforts by the Queens General Hospital Foundation and Nova Scotia Health recruiters to bring more health care workers to the area.
“We are making progress. We’ve recruited six (ER and family practice) doctors in the last year which is absolutely fabulous. But it’s a staffing issue. We need to make sure that we can recruit and then retain. So we’ll keep working at it.”
Masland and Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston were asked about the ER closures during a Q&A session at an event in Liverpool on Wednesday organized by the South Queens Chamber of Commerce.
The ER in Liverpool was closed all last weekend. And this week, it is open most days only from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. It will be closed all day Saturday. According to Nova Scotia Health, the ER was closed for part or all of the day for 13 days in November, 15 in December and 15 in January. A Nova Scotia Health official told QCCR in January that the Queens General ER needs 10 more nurses to be open more often.
Houston told the crowd Wednesday that the province has made many changes to how health care is delivered. He pointed to the expanded scope of practice for many health care workers, including pharmacists, nurse practitioners and others who are now able to do more of the duties once restricted to doctors.
“Our pharmacies did, since we started opening up this access path, almost 19,000 strep tests over the last three or four months. I can tell you where pretty much every one of those 19,000 people would have went if not for a pharmacy.
“So we’re really trying to mobilize everyone. … Then we can take a little bit of pressure off everyone else. And if we can take a little pressure off everyone else, then we can start to attract more people who want to be part of an innovative, leading edge health care system.”
Houston said that while there’s no quick fix, it’s important that people know that they don’t always have to wait in an ER for treatment.
“So we want to make sure that everyone knows where they can go to access the health care that they need. And it might be the emergency department and we want it to be open, but it doesn’t always have to be the emergency department for everything … when there’s something else that will work just as effectively.”
Masland says the province’s focus is on recruiting more health care professionals to the area.
“We’re very committed to improving health care and that’s where our focus is going to remain.”
Licensed physiotherapists in Nova Scotia will soon be able to order X-rays. (Matias Maiztegui photo via Pixabay)
By Rick Conrad
Physiotherapists in Nova Scotia will soon be able to order X-rays.
Physiotherapists employed by Nova Scotia Health or IWK Health can already order the scans. But the province will expand that ability to those in private practice in early spring.
“Ensuring all physiotherapists can request necessary X-rays for their patients means more timely access to the care people need,” Health and Wellness Minister Michelle Thompson said Thursday in a news release.
“This change will reduce unnecessary demands on family physicians, nurse practitioners, and emergency departments, and save patients and physiotherapists time.”
Physiotherapists must be in good standing with the Nova Scotia College of Physiotherapists to request an X-ray.
Nova Scotia Health and IWK Health are working with the Nova Scotia College of Physiotherapists and the Nova Scotia Physiotherapy Association to get the practice up and running provincewide.
Kim Masland, Queens MLA and Nova Scotia Public Works Minister, and Premier Tim Houston take questions at a business luncheon in Liverpool on Wednesday. (Rick Conrad photo)
By Rick Conrad
Opponents of a proposed fish farm expansion near Liverpool got a big morale boost on Wednesday as Premier Tim Houston told a business luncheon that he personally opposes the plan for more fish farms in Liverpool Bay.
“I think some areas are great for aquaculture and I think that some others are maybe not the best place for it.
“On this specific question on Liverpool Bay, if I say some places I think are suitable and some aren’t, I personally don’t think Liverpool Bay is a suitable place for it,” Houston said to applause.
“That’s my personal opinion. I respect the process, an independent review board will do their process and will have hearings. They’ll do their thing. But my personal opinion is that I don’t think Liverpool Bay is a suitable place for it.”
About 80 Queens County businesspeople and others were at the Best Western Plus in Liverpool for the event, which was organized by the South Queens Chamber of Commerce, and featured the premier and Queens MLA and Public Works Minister Kim Masland.
The premier’s comments came during a wide-ranging question and answer session, in response to a question about Kelly Cove Salmon’s application to expand its operations near Coffin Island, and to add two new sites off Brooklyn and Mersey Point.
If successful, Kelly Cove’s operation would grow to 60 pens from its current 14. It would mean about 1.8 million salmon would be farmed in the bay, compared to the current estimated 400,000. Kelly Cove would also farm trout at its operation at Coffin Island.
The Nova Scotia Aquaculture Review Board has public hearings scheduled for Liverpool beginning March 4.
The grassroots group Protect Liverpool Bay is one of five groups granted intervenor status at the hearing. The others are the Region of Queens, the Brooklyn Marina, a group of 23 lobster fishermen, and Kwilmu’kw Maw-Klusuaqn, which is representing the Acadia First Nation.
In an interview afterward, Houston said he wanted to make sure those gathered for the event knew where he stood personally.
“The review board will do their process and we certainly respect that process, but on a personal level I believe that there are places where aquaculture makes sense and great opportunities in this province. There are other places where it doesn’t make sense. And I don’t think Liverpool Bay is one where it makes the best sense.”
“The hearings will start in March, people will have their chance to have their say. That’s my personal opinion. There will be many other opinions shared through that process and the board will take those all in and look at the science and make their decision. I just thought for this room here, it was important that they knew where I personally stood.”
Masland repeated her opposition to the fish farm expansion. She had spoken against it as an opposition MLA.
“I think my position has been communicated very well from the very beginning,” she told the crowd. “I take this job as your MLAs very seriously and I always take the time to listen to the constituents within the area I represent.”
In an interview, she said she was happy with the premier’s comments.
“We do have a process that needs to be followed. I do understand that. But certainly we have a premier who listens, and understands and respects the value of people’s voices in the community and I think that was shown today by his comment.”
Jeff Nickerson, business development manager for Cooke Aquaculture, which owns Kelly Cove Salmon, was at the event on Wednesday. He did not want to comment on the premier’s remarks. He referred media questions to Cooke spokesman Joel Richardson.
“We’ve been going through the provincial review process for the Liverpool Bay project for many years, since we first submitted the application in 2019 and we look forward to going through the government’s review process,” Richardson said in an interview.
“As the applicant that is bringing the Liverpool Bay project forward, we appreciate that the premier respects the aquaculture review board process.”
Brian Muldoon, president of Protect Liverpool Bay, said he was surprised at the premier’s comments. Protect Liverpool Bay is one of five intervenors at the upcoming hearing.
“I was really impressed. I didn’t expect that he would come out and actually say personally that he is against having open net pen fish farms here in Liverpool Bay.”
Region of Queens Mayor Darlene Norman said she understands it’s only the premier’s personal opinion, but that it is welcome news.
“It’s wonderful to know that he believes they are not suited for our bay,” she said in an interview.
“I think his personal views and the separation from the ARB are very distinct but it does sort of give you that at least the premier understands and is of our same mindset.”
Members of the public can also have their say on Kelly Cove’s application. The review board is accepting public submissions until Feb. 12.
The emergency department at Queens General Hospital in Liverpool is on restricted hours until next week. (Rick Conrad photo)
By Rick Conrad
The emergency department at Queens General Hospital in Liverpool will be on restricted hours until next Wednesday (Feb. 14).
It will be open most days this week from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. It will be open all day Thursday (Feb. 8) at 8 a.m. It will be closed at 1:30 p.m. Friday, all of Saturday, and reopen Sunday at 8 a.m.
Here is when the ER will be closed this week, according to Nova Scotia Health:
from 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 6 and reopens Wednesday, Feb. 7 at 8 a.m.
from 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 7 and reopens Thursday. Feb. 8 at 8 a.m.
from 1:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 9 and reopens Sunday, Feb. 11 at 8 a.m.
from 1:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 11 and reopens Monday, Feb. 12 at 8 a.m.
from 1:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 12 and reopens Tuesday, Feb. 13 at 8 a.m.
from 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 13 and reopens Wednesday, Feb. 14 at 8 a.m.
The ER at South Shore Regional Hospital in Bridgewater will be open.
Patients of Queens Family Health can call 902-354-3322 for same-day treatment for certain conditions.
According to the latest numbers from Nova Scotia Health, as of January, 1,113 people in Queens County were still looking for a family doctor or nurse practitioner. That’s about 10 per cent of the population.
Melanie Perron, co-owner of Hell Bay Brewing in Liverpool, says she hopes summer 2024 is better than the 2023 season. (Rick Conrad photo)
By Rick Conrad
Fires, floods and downpours combined last year to keep visitors away from the South Shore, according to numbers released recently by Tourism Nova Scotia.
Hotel stays, or room nights sold, for the May to October 2023 period were down about five per cent over 2022. That compares to an overall decrease of two per cent in all of Nova Scotia. The only regions that saw more people in 2023 were the Eastern Shore and the Annapolis Valley.
The South Shore was one of the hardest hit areas of the province. Yarmouth and Acadian Shores saw the biggest drop at six per cent over 2022.
Stephanie Miller Vincent, co-ordinator of the South Shore Tourism Co-operative, says the wildfires in Barrington and Shelburne, and torrential rains and floods later in the summer conspired to keep people away from the South Shore.
“We had an odd beginning to our peak season in 2023,” she said in an interview. “We had fires in the Barrington area that shut down (Highway) 103 so folks weren’t travelling this coast. So that affected numbers.
“2023 numbers are tough to look at because we’re looking at numbers that are coming the year following a couple of years of pent-up travel demand.”
The numbers aren’t really surprising to businesses and organizations in Queens County that rely on summer tourist traffic to help float them through the rest of the year.
Melanie Perron, the co-owner of Hell Bay Brewing Company in Liverpool, says she saw a lot fewer visitors from the Maritimes last year.
“We rely so much on our patio season to bring in tourism and people from the city and other places,” Perron says.
“And it seemed like it rained every weekend so those would have been when we would have had a surplus of people coming and enjoying our beaches and our parks and then coming and stopping and having a flight (of beer) or getting beer to go. So I found our numbers were way down because of the weather.”
At the Queens County Museum, which relies partly on donations from tourists, visitor numbers dropped by more than 3,000 across its four properties over 2022. Besides the main museum, Perkins House, Fort Point Lighthouse and the Queens Museum of Justice are also part of the museum complex.
Dayle Crouse, the museum’s administrative assistant, said that despite a spike in visitors in 2022 when people were doing more post-Covid travelling, the numbers still haven’t recovered to 2019 levels.
“We found that after Covid and everybody had a little bit of freedom they really spiked and everybody was spending their dollars and going out. But then I think the next year, people really started to rein in their dollars and numbers have dropped.”
Crouse says a combination of rising gas prices, bad weather and news coverage of the wildfires contributed to the decrease.
Miller Vincent says that while tourists from outside the Maritimes tend to book their vacations six months to a year in advance, those closer to home are more spontaneous.
“As Atlantic Canadians and Maritimers we look on Wednesday and say, ‘OK, what’s the weather this weekend? Should I go or should I stay?’ And if it’s calling for rain, you’ll see those accommodation numbers not pick up where they need to be.”
Perron says she hopes 2024 brings brighter weather and more people back to the area’s beaches and the brewery’s patio.
“We usually bank on the summer to get through the winter. So our summer was so dismal that we’re just scraping by to get through the winter and hopefully we’ll have a nice sunny hot summer to bring out all the beer drinkers.”
Lucy the Lobster saw her shadow in Barrington on Friday morning. (Nova Scotia Lobster Crawl photo)
By Rick Conrad
Lucy the Lobster didn’t crack a sweat when she saw her shelly shadow on the wharf in Barrington on Friday morning.
That means six more weeks of winter, at least for the South Shore of Nova Scotia.
Lucy made her prediction as the Nova Scotia Lobster Crawl Festival kicked into high gear. It’s a whole month of shellabrations along the South Shore involving the scrumptious crustacean.
Nova Scotia’s official winter prognosticator had a different prediction. Shubenacadie Sam did not see his shadow, which means spring is around the corner.
Stephanie Miller Vincent, co-ordinator of the lobster crawl, said it was prime shadow-seeing conditions in Barrington.
“We had sunshine, I’m sorry that they didn’t in Shubenacadie. We were there. We believe what Lucy saw.”
Now, Lucy gets to hang out in a tank at Capt. Kat’s Lobster Shack in Barrington Passage for the rest of the lobster crawl.
“Lucy is spending some time at the spa. You can pop in and take a shellfie with her while she relaxes for the rest of the month of February.”
Susan Inglis and her daughter, snowshoe athlete Rebecca Delaney, will be part of Team Nova Scotia at the Special Olympics Canada Winter Games in Calgary, starting Feb. 27. (Rick Conrad photo)
By Rick Conrad
Queens County athletes are getting in some last-minute training as they prepare for a big national sporting event in Calgary later this month.
And Queens County will be well represented on Team Nova Scotia.
Liverpool’s Rebecca Delaney, 27, will be one of three local athletes on the six-person snowshoe team. She’ll be racing in the 100-metre and 200-metre events, as well as the 4×100-metre relay.
This will be the 27-year-old’s first national winter games, though she’s competed and won at provincial winter games before. And she’s a veteran of summer games where she has won many medals in track and field.
She’s excited to do well, but racking up more medals isn’t what it’s all about.
“It doesn’t really matter to me,” she says. “I just want to go and have fun.”
Team Nova Scotia will be sending 69 athletes, coaches and mission staff to Calgary. Of those, 45 athletes will compete in eight sports – five-pin bowling, alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, curling, figure skating, floor hockey, speed skating and snowshoeing.
The other team members from Queens County are Michael Moreau and Jillian Young, who are also on the snowshoe team, and Ben Theriau, who is on the curling team.
Delaney’s mother Susan Inglis is the snowshoe team’s assistant coach and Inglis’s partner Earl Mielke is the head coach.
Delaney and her teammates have been training twice a week, either indoors at Queens Place Emera Centre or outdoors when there’s enough snow.
She does some extra cardio and strength training at the Queens Place gym.
She’s going into Calgary as the fastest female on the Nova Scotia team.
“I’m competitive, very competitive. I play fair.”
Inglis says that while the games are a competition, they’re also a social event for athletes, coaches and their families.
“It’s very important. We have one athlete, our Jillian who has never been on a plane, doesn’t spend a whole lot of time outside of Liverpool so this is a really big deal for her. Whenever we go somewhere with the athletes, it’s one big social occasion.
“Everybody’s excited and happy because they don’t always get a lot of opportunities to socialize. They’re scattered in different smaller communities so Special Olympics provides a big social outlet for them. And getting to go away like this all together they’re going to have a great time. So am I.”
Still, Delaney says she won’t have much time for many social activities before she competes, because she needs to focus on her events. And that dedication usually pays off.
“It’s worth it when you bring it home,” she says.
Delaney has been involved in Special Olympics since 2014. When she graduated from high school, she was in a transition program at Verge House in Bridgewater for people with developmental delays.
She met a friend there who told her she should try snowshoeing.
“When she went to Verge House it opened up a whole new world,” Inglis says.
“She ended up going to the (Nova Scotia) winter games that year and came home with three medals and she was hooked and then I was hooked too.”
Inglis and Delaney say it would be great if more people would get involved with Special Olympics locally.
“I just wish more athletes would come for Special Olympics, we need more athletes,” Delaney says.
“It is a wonderful place to volunteer,” Inglis says. “I obviously got involved because Rebecca was involved but it’s something that just draws people in, the enthusiasm. When you volunteer with Special Olympics you feel like you a member of the royal family or a rock star because everybody is always so excited to see you.”
The games in Calgary are also a chance to qualify for the Special Olympics World Winter Games in March 2025 in Torino, Italy. For now, though, Delaney says she’s focused on doing well in Calgary and having fun.
And she doesn’t plan to retire any time soon.
“Probably a long time till I want to give up. Because it’s fun, I get to socialize with people.”
And you can help too. Buy a Special Olympics donut from Tim Hortons Feb. 2 to 4 and 100 per cent of the proceeds support programs and athletes across Canada.
Delaney, Inglis and the rest of the team plan to leave for Calgary on Feb. 25 to have a day or two before the Games begin. And after the closing ceremonies, all of Team Nova Scotia will visit Lake Louise and Banff before they head home.
The emergency department at Queens General Hospital will be closed at 1:30 p.m. Friday for the whole weekend and reopen Monday at 8 a.m.
Earlier Thursday, Nova Scotia Health said the ER would be closed from Thursday morning (Feb. 1) and reopen Friday morning before closing again Friday afternoon for the whole weekend.
But in an advisory sent after 5 p.m., it amended the ER’s hours, saying it reopened at 4 p.m. on Thursday.
Nova Scotia Health did not give a reason for the temporary closure. The emergency department at South Shore Regional Hospital in Bridgewater will remain open.
The ER at Queens General was closed for part or all of the day for 13 days in November, 15 in December and 15 in January. A Nova Scotia Health official told QCCR in January that staffing is the main reason.
The ER at Roseway Hospital in Shelburne is also open.
Patients of Queens Family Health can call for same-day appointments for certain conditions at 902-354-3322.
If you’re still waiting to be assigned a doctor or nurse practitioner, Nova Scotia Health says you can also access VirtualCareNS.
The Mental Health and Addictions Crisis Line is also available any time by calling 1-888-429-8167.
The Nova Scotia Lobster Crawl Festival kicks off Thursday. (Nova Scotia Lobster Crawl Facebook page)
By Rick Conrad
Get your shell cracker ready, sharpen your lobster pick and loosen your belt. Thursday marks the beginning of the Nova Scotia Lobster Crawl Festival.
The month-long celebration of the succulent shellfish includes businesses all along the South Shore, from Barrington, the lobster capital of Canada, to Peggys Cove, and as far inland as Kejimkujik and New Ross.
Things really get going on Friday, when Lucy the Lobster marks Groundhog Day in her own special way. If you’re at the Cape Sable Island Causeway at 8 a.m., you’ll get to see if Lucy predicts a longer winter.
The South Shore Tourism Co-operative launched its first lobster crawl in 2018 to help bring visitors to the South Shore in a typically slow time of year.
Stephanie Miller Vincent, the co-ordinator of the co-operative and the festival, says that with more than 100 events at 80 different businesses around the South Shore, it’s a great excuse to get out of the house.
“February is the longest shortest month of the year and we all need a reason to get out and crawl,” she says.
“There are just always great reasons to either come and visit the South Shore or crawl around the South Shore if you already live here.”
The festival features five signature events — Lucy and her shadow on the 2nd, the Lobster Roll Off competition at the Michelin Social and Athletic Club in Bridgewater on Feb. 4, the inaugural Chowder Chowdown Showdown on Feb. 11 at the Black Loyalist Heritage Centre in Birchtown, the Tail End Party at the Old Fish Factory in Lunenburg on Feb. 23, and the Beachside Bingo Brunch Buffet at the Quarterdeck Inn in Hunts Point on Feb. 25.
The chowder showdown is already sold out and there are only a few tickets left for the lobster roll competition, Miller Vincent says.
But there are events all over the South Shore to tickle your lobster fancy. The Region of Queens is also getting in on the lobster-loving action with Light Up Queen’s, an outdoor nighttime party in Centennial Park on Feb. 24.
“The economic value of lobster crawl has increased every year,” Miller Vincent says. “It’s now an anticipated event. We have businesses that stay open because of lobster crawl or extend their hours because of lobster crawl.
“It’s a little bit of everything. It’s truly taken a month where hibernation might have been the most popular activity and really encouraged people to get out.”
If you’re really into the crawl, you can find something to do for all 29 days of February, Miller Vincent says. You can pick up a passport at participating businesses or on the website at lobstercrawl.ca, track your progress and enter to win prizes.
As for Lucy, she gets to return to her bottom-dwelling ways a few days after she sees her shadow or not.
“Lucy is often a different Lucy. She does her duties, spends a couple of days at the spa at Capt. Kat’s (Lobster Shack in Barrington Passage) so you can pop by and get a ‘shellfie’ with her and then Lucy gets released,” Miller Vincent says.
“We do not eat Lucy, nor do we allow anyone else to eat Lucy. Lucy gets released.”
Lorna MacPherson, vice-president of the Liverpool Curling Club. (Rick Conrad photo)
By Rick Conrad
The Liverpool Curling Club will be hosting some of the best curlers in Nova Scotia starting on Thursday.
The provincial mixed doubles championship will be held from Feb. 1 to 4 at the club in downtown Liverpool. Twelve teams will be competing to represent Nova Scotia at the Canadian championships in Fredericton from March 17 to 22.
Club vice-president Lorna MacPherson says it’s a great chance to see some high-level curling.
“The games are approximately an hour and a half in length and they’re fun to watch because it’s fast curling. It makes it really fun for spectators to watch the games.”
Canada won the first ever mixed doubles curling Olympic gold medal in the sport’s debut at the 2018 games in South Korea.
“It has created quite a following and it’s becoming more and more popular.”
MacPherson, who is co-chairing the event with Cheryl Innes, says they hosted it last year with nine teams competing. This year’s 12 teams also include hometown duo Matt Sheffield and Megan Trimm, who will be representing the Liverpool Curling Club.
The mixed doubles championship is free. People can just drop in for any of the games or practices beginning Thursday morning at 9:30.
“So our kitchen will be open for breakfast and for lunches and we welcome anybody from the community to come in and join us,” MacPherson says. “It’s certainly going to be fun curling to watch but we also are going to have great food to enjoy and I think they’ll find that it will be very warm hospitality at the curling club.”
All four of the rink’s ice sheets will be in play. There will be two draws on Thursday at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.. And three on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
“We welcome the community. We want people to come in, and feel free to ask questions if they don’t understand what’s happening. It’s an opportunity for people in our community to see some fun curling, but also these are competitors, they’re athletes, they want to win and so there’s the combination of the competitiveness but in an environment that everybody can enjoy.”
Some Nova Scotians will be able to access their medical records via the YourHealthNS app. (Communications Nova Scotia photo)
By Rick Conrad
Patients of Queens Family Health in Liverpool will be part of a pilot project that will give people access to their medical records through the YourHealthNS app.
About 12,000 patients at four clinics around Nova Scotia will get information from their clinic this week about how to log in to see their medical history.
The other participating clinics are the New Waterford Collaborative Practice, Westville Medical Clinic and Greenwood Family Health.
“We made it easier for Nova Scotians to navigate the healthcare system and now we’re taking it one step further by giving patients more access and control over their health information,” Premier Tim Houston said Tuesday in a news release.
“The addition of patient records makes it easy, convenient and faster for Nova Scotians to access their own information, all in one place, to better manage their own healthcare.”
Nova Scotia Health says patients can choose whether to participate and access their records. If they do, they’ll be able to see their complete health history.
That includes visits to their doctor or nurse practitioner, including date, time and reason; virtual care appointments; hospital and emergency department visits; their list of medications; lab results such as blood tests and information on diagnostic imaging scans like X-rays and MRIs.
The YourHealthNS app was launched in November 2023 at a cost of $10 million. It has been downloaded more than 175,000 times.
Nova Scotia Power customers may see less of an increase on their electricity bills.
The Nova Scotia government says it wants to help extend the time period that ratepayers have to cover a portion of the utility’s fuel costs.
That would mean a rate increase of 1.1 per cent instead of the planned seven per cent for residential customers and 13 per cent for industrial users, according to a news release Monday.
“If we did not take action, Nova Scotia Power would seek another large power rate increase this year,” said Tory Rushton, minister of natural resources and renewables.
“While we would prefer no increase at all, we are proposing a solution that would mean a considerably smaller increase of about 1.1 per cent instead.”
The amount ratepayers owe for fuel costs is included in the utility’s fuel adjustment mechanism. Each year, it files a proposal with the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board to recover its fuel costs. The board sets power rates based on those costs.
The government would buy $117 million of Nova Scotia Power’s outstanding $395 million fuel adjustment cost. It would get it back from ratepayers through their power bills over a 10-year period.
The government said it sent its proposal to the review board on Monday.
Nova Scotia released its red tape accountability report Monday. (Communications Nova Scotia photo)
By Rick Conrad
Reducing the time doctors spend on things like sick notes is one example of how red tape is being reduced in Nova Scotia, Premier Tim Houston said Monday.
To mark Red Tape Awareness Week, organized by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, the government released its annual report on smoothing services and reducing regulations for Nova Scotia businesses and citizens.
“This common-sense solution allows government to be more efficient, focused and effective, especially in our healthcare system where we’re actively identifying red tape and getting rid of it,” Houston said in a news release.
The province’s Office of Regulatory Affairs and Service Effectiveness produced the report. It employs about 15 people.
The report said that by the end of 2023, doctors saved 250,000 hours because government reduced unnecessary paperwork, like changing requirements for sick notes and complex insurance forms. The government’s goal is to reduce 400,000 hours of red tape for doctors by the end of 2024
The report also touted the government’s controversial decision to take more control over housing development in the Halifax area.
Co-operating with other provincial governments to standardize things like construction codes, energy standards and safety requirements also helped reduce red tape.
The South Shore Regional Centre for Education closed all schools Monday morning. Reynolds Pharmasave in Liverpool and the Queens County Museum closed for the day. Some other businesses and organizations remained open.
Environment Canada is predicting continued blowing snow in the afternoon and wind chill of up to -10 Celsius, with temperatures dropping further overnight.
