Photo Ed Halverson

Region of Queens council were on the road at the fire hall in Port Medway for their latest meeting.

Council gave the go ahead on a plan to build a “Lost at Sea Memorial” in Fort Point Park.

Councillors offered broad support for the project but took note of staff recommendations to avoid underground infrastructure on the site and to place the monument without disturbing existing trees.

Following a discussion, a motion will come before council at a future meeting to spend up to $12,000 for leadership training to provide better coordination between the five fire departments and the municipality.*

The training comes at the request of the five department chiefs and the money will be spent on a facilitator to provide the training.

A request has also been extended from the Emergencies Measures officer to neighbouring municipalities to enter into a mutual aid agreement in the event of severe storms or other large-scale emergencies.

Queens currently has an agreement in place with Shelburne and would like to include the municipalities in Lunenburg County as well.

The second quarter budget update shows deed transfers are already above budgeted expectations.

It appears land sales, particularly in the Molega Lake area are driving the increase.

The municipality is spending more for waste collection as fuel surcharges are averaging $8,000 – $10,000 more per month due to the high price at the pumps.

Mayor Darlene Norman added an item to the agenda requesting council permission to send a letter to the province voicing opposition to any expansion of fish farms in Queens.

Norman is concerned untreated fecal matter from farms will pollute the shallow bays in which they are located damaging the environment and negatively impacting other industries, most notably, the lobster fishery.

“I would sincerely hope that the provincial government recognizes and somehow finds a way to simply state, this province is not a suitable place, in our coastal bays, to be growing salmon”

Finally, council approved a motion that came from in-camera to sell four small parcels of land to the Queens Care Society around the Lawrence and Brunswick Street area of Liverpool.

The aim is to use the use the land to provide affordable, co-op housing.

The plan will come to a public hearing at the council meeting on November 22.

Council will hold their next meeting back in council chambers at 9:00am November 8.

* A previous version of the story indicated council had approved spending $12,000 for leadership training of the fire chiefs. The story has been edited to reflect a discussion was had and the motion will come before council at a future meeting.

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Striking school workers walk a picket line in Liverpool, N.S. October 25, 2022. Photo courtesy Susan MacLeod

Members of NSGEU Local 70 began their strike Tuesday morning carrying signs and waving at passing motorists as they marched along Bristol Avenue.

The union is bargaining with the South Shore Regional Centre for Education to ensure every member of the union is being paid the same for doing the same work no matter where they work in Nova Scotia.

Workers on the picket line were appreciative of drivers who honked as they passed.

One worker, who didn’t wish to be identified, said despite the support, the line is the last place anyone wanted to be.

“We were all wishing we were at work, for sure. I work with pre-primary, and I was certainly missing the kids and we saw some of them go by. Definitely, wishing we were at work, for sure, but feeling that it was time to take a stand.”

The Nova Scotia Government and General Employees Union represents the 130 workers who walked off the job Tuesday.

NSGEU officials want the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development to ensure if a worker does a job in South Shore, they’re paid the same as anywhere else in the province.

It appears government has no intention of intervening in the negotiation process between the workers’ union and their employer, the regional centre for education.

In an email, Government of Nova Scotia spokesperson, Andrew Preeper wrote:

“The NSGEU and its members have identified wage parity across regional centres for education as a key priority. The employer proposed a way to achieve wage parity, including wage increases as well as a process to review positions to ensure compensation fairness and parity. The exact mechanism to achieve this would be discussed at the bargaining table. We respect the parties and the bargaining process and believe discussions with labour unions should happen at the bargaining table, not in public. 

Our ongoing hope is that employers can reach an agreement with their locals through the collective bargaining process.”

The worker on the picket line says they will settle for nothing less than equal pay with their counterparts across the province.

They warn these walkouts could be the first of many that will involve other school staff.

“We hear rumblings that the bus drivers are next, and the TAs in the South Shore will be in the new year. Because, down here, that the teaching assistants aren’t part of this union, but same issues is [sic] wage parity.”

In addition to the walk outs, NSGEU is taking their strike action online and asking people to fill out messages of support from their website and Facebook page.

Currently union locals in the Annapolis Valley and South Shore regions are on strike.

They could soon be joined by Local 74 in Tri-Counties who rejected their latest contract offer by 98 percent.

The NSGEU and local representatives have decided to hold off on that strike action until they see if an updated offer is coming from the employer in the next week.

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NSGEU workers in Annapolis Valley strike October 24, 2022. Photo Courtesy NSGEU

Workers at schools across the South Shore will be on strike Tuesday morning.

The South Shore Regional Center for Education issued a statement informing parents schools will remain open for grade primary to 12 students, but because Early Childhood Educators won’t be in the classroom the pre-primary program will not be offered.

Members of the Nova Scotia Government and General Employees Union Local 70 including Early Childhood Educators; Outreach Workers, Student Support Workers, Office Administration Assistants; Clerks and IT Support Specialists voted with a 92 percent majority to reject the latest contract offer from the South Shore Regional Centre for Education.

They’re unhappy people who do the same jobs are paid differently depending on which Centre for Education they work for in the province.

Across Nova Scotia, each of the seven Regional Centres and the French school board negotiate their own contracts with their employees.

NSGEU president Sandra Mullen says it doesn’t make sense to have separate contracts with different rates of compensation when the money is coming from one source: the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development.

“It’s one department and it should be the same wage across,” said Mullen. “ And you know, we have government on record saying they want to get there too. So, now’s the time.”

South Shore Regional Centre for Education Executive Director Paul Ash says the Regional Centre will do its best to get people into key positions to minimize the disruption.

“Obviously when you lose 160 individuals as a result of an impending strike action, we won’t have the same number of resources available but our first and primary goal is to focus on continuing to support the needs of our students,” said Ash.

He says since the days of the old school boards, each region has negotiated contracts with their own employees.

Ash believes a fair offer was made to the Local to stave off a strike and says steps are being prepared to provide parity across all school districts.

“There is a plan to conduct a comprehensive review of all the jobs within all the entities and then align that compensation across the province,” said Ash. “Unfortunately, we’re not at a point where that is happening right now.”

Of the seven regional centres, NSGEU represents five, including Tri-County, South Shore, Annapolis Valley, Chignecto-Central and Halifax.

NSGEU President Sandra Mullen (left) on the picket line with an Annapolis Valley worker October 24, 2022. Photo courtesy NSGEU

NSGEU President Mullen says she’d like to see the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development take a more prominent role in negotiations to ensure parity across all regions.

“They’re not sitting in the room when we negotiate, but I’m sure they’re behind the curtain,” said Mullen.

The South Shore is the second local to strike after NSGEU members in Annapolis Valley already walked off the job Monday.

Mullen says her members would rather be in school doing what they love instead of walking a picket line.

“That’s the heartbreaking part of all this. It is not the children or the school administrator they’re upset with. It is government,” said Mullen. “And it’s government who can make this right.”

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Nova Scotia Legislature. Photo courtesy Communications Nova Scotia

The leader of Nova Scotia’s NDP is warning recently introduced government legislation eliminating several independent agencies is putting too much power in the hands of government departments.

Premier Tim Houston’s PC government announced several pieces of legislation last week that would bring the housing authorities, municipal finance corporation, gaming and Perennia under direct control of the provincial government.

The premier argued that if he is to be accountable for the work of these departments his government should have a direct hand in managing the day-to-day operations.

Leader of the NDP Claudia Chender says that interpretation is too broad.

“Well, it will ultimately make him directly accountable for what goes on, of course, because he is the Premier and Nova Scotians will have a referendum in 2025 on whether he remains the Premier. But in the meantime,” said Chender, “the government should be accountable to the people. And by making these changes it is no longer nearly as accountable as it once was.”

A series of government news releases outlines the new pieces of legislation, saying they will increase accountability and create a new Crown corporation responsible for public housing in Nova Scotia; reduce duplication of roles, improve efficiency and bring Nova Scotia in line with other Atlantic provinces by having the staff who conduct and manage gaming part of government and make Perennia Food and Agriculture Inc. a Crown corporation so it can work more closely with the government, increase public awareness of its services, and be more transparent.

Chender says the PC government has established a troubling pattern of centralizing power around them, starting with the firing of the Nova Scotia Health board, shortly after taking office.

“Made it accountable to a CEO who reported up to the premier. Now we’re seeing that repeated with multiple formally independent agencies and crown [corporations] right across government. I think we lose a level of accountability; I think we lose the benefit of expertise and I think it fundamentally politicizes basic services from housing to finance to a number of other operations of the government,” said Chender.

Following the recent firing of several high-profile CEOs from their positions in crown agencies and corporations, Chender is concerned about the morale of public sector employees.

“I would say that most people who interact with government would agree that there is what I think would best be described as a chill in the public service. People are afraid of making a misstep and losing their job or being reprimanded and my assumption is that that will only intensify.”

Chender says it is arguable that reform was required in some cases but in many, government is doing exactly the opposite of what reviews have indicated is needed.

As an example, Chender says the Affordable Housing Commission recommended establishing an independent, arms-length body to oversee affordable housing and instead Nova Scotians are getting another department of government.

“The rationale for that is that you can make good policy driven decisions that are not subject to political whims. What we’ve seen from Premier Houston’s time in government is that nothing in government is immune to political whims from hiring his friends to firing well-respected civil servants,” said Chender. “Everything seems to go through the Premier’s office, and this will just solidify that pattern.”

Should the legislation pass during this sitting of the house, as expected, the Housing Act and Housing Nova Scotia Act will be repealed and replaced with the Housing Services and Supply Act effective December 1.

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Performers at the 2022 Liverpool International Theatre Festival. Photo courtesy LITF. Credit Chris LaRocque

Organizers of the 2022 edition of the Liverpool International Theatre Festival are hailing the event as a great success.

Over the weekend, audiences enjoyed performances by seven troupes from around the world.
Festival chairperson Jean Robinson-Dexter said from the outset the community rallied behind the event.

“Opening night and having the block party and sunset market on main street in front of the theatre, the town arts and culture centre. That was the work of our South Queens Chamber of Commerce and just gave a totally different kind of kick off to the festival but really engaged the community and folks are still talking about what a good time they had that evening,” said Robinson-Dexter.

Adjudicator Paul Fowler had a tough job to determine how to allocate the awards but, in the end, named The Italian Movie Factory performed by Avanzi di Scena Cultural Association as the Outstanding International Production.

Robinson-Dexter said it’s an unenviable task to be the one judging such unique talents.

“My gosh, what a difficult experience it must have been for him because the plays were so, so different.,” said Robinson-Dexter. “As he said, it’s subjective. Folks may not agree with the choices that he made but those were his choices on that day, and I would say, he got it pretty correct in terms of the choices and the awards that were presented on Sunday night.”

The festival didn’t go off without some adversity. Three of the scheduled 10 troupes booked to perform couldn’t get into Canada due to visa issues.

Robinson-Dexter said it is something they will need to keep in mind for the 2024 edition.

“I guess it’s the way of the world now in terms of folks getting visas to come to Canada. That’ll certainly be something that we’ll be looking at.”

Robinson-Dexter said the Liverpool International Theatre Festival team will take some time to review what went well, what could be improved upon and what changes they would like to see from this year as they begin to make plans for the next festival in 2024.

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Community mailboxes. Photo courtesy Canada Post

A notice indicating they had less than 24 hours to claim their mail came as a surprise to some residents of Brooklyn last week.

Canada Post left the notices in post boxes at the Brooklyn office Tuesday October 11 and before noon the next morning, the mailboxes were cleaned out.

In an e-mail, a spokesperson for Canada Post said, “that due to reasons beyond our control, we were notified that the Brooklyn Post Office would close at end of day Wednesday, October 12. Customers were notified of the closure on Tuesday, October 11 by letter and flyers posted on-site.”

Letter sent by Canada Post to Brooklyn residents. Photo courtesy Vicki Amirault

The post office was in the Wa-Su-Wek building on Hillside Road and operated by one of their staff members.

Board member Grace Conrad says they just couldn’t afford to operate the postal outlet any longer.

“One person is supposed to be doing that plus being able to look after some of the Wa-Su-Wek stuff,” said Conrad. “We don’t actually get enough money from [the] post office, or whatever, to pay a worker. We’re only getting a little bit of money.”

Conrad says the Wa-Su-Wek board members met Friday October 7^th and decided they couldn’t continue to operate the post office at a loss.

She contacted Canada Post that day to inform them of the board’s decision.

The board was prepared to continue running the postal service for 30 to 60 days to give Canada Post time to come up with an alternative method of delivery.

Conrad was surprised when a postal worker showed up at 10:00am on Wednesday and cleared out the mail.

Anyone with an outside post box is unaffected by the change while roughly 300 people who used the interior boxes, as well as those looking to buy stamps or collect larger parcels now need to travel to Liverpool for postal service.

District 4 Councillor Vicki Amirault has been working to get answers for her constituents since the notices went out.

She says it’s not just the 5 km drive to Liverpool that is a problem for Brooklyn residents.

“They are very upset. It’s the drive and as you know, our parking spaces are very limited in front of the Liverpool post office,” said Amirault. “So, if those parking spaces are full that means they either have to park in back of the Royal Bank or they have to park down in the parking lot and walk. It’s very inconvenient.”

Canada Post will be installing 19 community mailboxes on the Wa-Su-Wek property to service the 300 customers who have been displaced.

While that solves the problem of getting letters and smaller parcels to Brooklyn residents Amirault is concerned moving services to Liverpool could cause other issues.

“It’s creating confusion for Liverpool post office workers as well. They have taken on a lot of extra work. And the residents of Liverpool as well, there’s only so many workers so their mail is going to slow down, probably, as well,” said Amirault.

The Canada Post spokesperson says the community mailboxes have been ordered and will be installed as soon as possible.

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Planting eel grass. Photo courtesy of Ecology Action Centre. Credit: Nicolas Winkler

A pilot project to protect eel grass along part of the coastline in Port Medway got underway this summer.

While the process is established in other parts of the world it is relatively new to Nova Scotia.

Eel grass conservation technician with the Ecology Action Centre Aaron Clausen says eel grass is vitally important as part of a healthy marine ecosystem.

“It’s kind of hard not to overstate the importance of eel grass… kind of hard not to overstate the importance and the benefits that eel grass meadows provide both to the environment and just humans. First and foremost, they provide a great deal of support to our fish populations and commercial fisheries. They create tons of structural habitat for a lot of these species and an area for kind of juveniles as a nursery ground, things like lobster, eel, salmon, and some shellfish,” said Clausen. “Additionally, they improve water quality, oxygenates the water column, remove toxins, excess nutrients and increases clarity and eel grass meadows also protect our Coastline it can dampen strong waves, buffers the shoreline from storm surges and this all helps to slow coastal erosion.”

Clausen says the small aquatic plant could also be part of a solution to a global problem.

“And the last thing that we still don’t really have a great concept of the extent that eel grass can help at least in Nova Scotia, but it captures and stores carbon from the atmosphere in these sediments so it’s potentially a nature based solution.”

The site was selected after a local property owner notified the Ecology Action Centre of dead eel grass washing up on their shore.

Teams from the Ecology Action Centre and Dalhousie University’s Future of Marine Ecosystems Lab partnered to determine which methods work best to restore eel grass in Nova Scotia.

Over 6,000 seed, 250 shoots and 25 sods were transplanted from a donation site to the Port Medway location.

Clausen says they’re hopeful the techniques used in Port Medway can be applied to restore eel grass at other locations in Nova Scotia and beyond.

“One of the main goals of this project is to find a, if there is a way that works and b, if it’s a scalable method,” said Clausen. “Obviously, you want to do as much of this as possible especially with all of the great benefits that eel grass provides. You want to upscale it quickly.”

The Ecology Action Centre has set up a site where citizen scientists can help track the location of eel grass across the province.

Input from everyday Nova Scotians will be added to a map of eel grass meadows that will help government, academic researchers and other non-profit and community groups monitor the location and conditions of the meadows.

Follow this link to participate in the eelgrass mapping project:

www.inaturalist.org/projects/eac-eelgrass-mapping-project

Clausen says the team will continue monitoring the eel grass transplant site late into the fall and will return in the spring.

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Entrance to Region of Queens council chambers. Photo Ed Halverson

A pair of public hearings to determine land-use issues in Milton led into Tuesday’s Region of Queens council meeting.

The first was an application for a development agreement to allow Samantha Corner and Robie Leigh Murphy to establish an automobile repair shop at 16 Edward Street.

Several letters supporting the application were received and no one in the gallery rose to speak against.

In session, Council voted unanimously to enter the development agreement.

The second public hearing involved a zoning change to permit the construction of a multi-unit building on the former Garika land on the corner of Highway 8 and Bridge Street in Milton.

Several people rose to speak in opposition to the project citing road safety issues, loss of a public view of the river and the need for fire departments to have access to a dry well on site to fill trucks.

Mayor Darlene Norman says council discussed the fact the road is already at the lowest speed limit permitted of 50km/h and there are no passing lanes along that stretch of highway.

Norman also indicated Milton already has several public park areas including the outdoor pool and Pine Grove Park and is well serviced in that regard.

Norman says council listened to Planning and Development Director Mike MacLeod when he said fire department and public access to the site would be guaranteed when the sale agreement is finalized.

“Ensuring that there’s access for fire departments to that dry hydrant as well as there’s a public boat launch on that site and public access to that will also remain,” said Norman.

During the session council voted to allow the zoning changes by a margin of 6-2 with Councillors Brown and Fancy voting against.

Council started their session by approving a tender for bulk salt trucking.

They accepted a submission by Van Dyk Excavation and Trucking in the amount of $49.95 plus HST per metric tonne.

Director of Engineering & Public Works Adam Grant said every municipality across the province is experiencing large increases for salt delivery and Queens is no different as the $49.95 approved by council is roughly $8.50 per tonne higher than last year.

Next council voted to send the province the results of the Municipal Electoral Boundary review.

As previously reported, the review recommends keeping council composition the same with 7 councillors and one mayor but realigning the districts so the former Town of Liverpool will now only have representation from two councillors.

Council then approved a request from the South Queens Chamber of Commerce to allow alcohol consumption on municipal property as part of the Liverpool International Theatre Festival opening night festivities.

A review of job descriptions for public works employees was the next item on the agenda followed by a funding request from the Greenfield Community Park Society.

The organization is developing a community recreation area behind the Greenfield recreation centre and school, starting with a walking trail.

Council agreed to contribute $9,400 from the community investment fund to the project.

The two public hearing items were then discussed and decided before council voted on a new deputy mayor.

Councillor Jack Fancy was elected to serve in that role for the last two years of this council’s mandate. Fancy replaces outgoing Deputy Mayor, Kevin Muise.

The Deputy Mayor receives no additional pay and fills in for the mayor when they are unavailable.

In the discussion portion of the session, council received a report from staff on the Lost at Sea Memorial being proposed for Fort Point Park.

Staff raised concerns about disturbing underground infrastructure on the site and the removal of trees from the park.

Members of the Diversity and Inclusion team also recommended that proponents of the memorial consult with local Mi’kmaq regarding their inclusion on the memorial.

Council then discussed a request from Yarmouth Mayor Pam Mood asking Region of Queens to forward on to the province a letter of support for the Maine Ferry.

Finally, council added an agenda item to discuss whether traffic safety studies should be included by developers looking for permission to build in Queens.

Staff will contact other municipalities in Nova Scotia to determine what common practices are in place and bring a report back to council.

According to the Region’s Calendar, the next council meeting will be on the road in Port Medway.

The meeting will take place at the fire hall starting at 6:00pm.

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Proposed site for multi-unit housing on former Garika lands. From Region of Queens public meeting package

Region of Queens council approved zoning changes that clear the way for the construction of a proposed 15-unit housing development in Milton.

At Tuesday’s meeting, council voted 6-2 to rezone three parcels of land on the Mersey River to Multiple Unit Residential to accommodate the development.

Council previously agreed to enter into a purchase and sale agreement with developers Eric and Dawn Fry at their August 9 meeting.

The rezoning allows the Frys to build an apartment building on the former Garika land at the corner of Highway 8 and Bridget Street.

Several councillors raised concerns about maintaining public access to the boat launch and the fire service maintaining the ability to fill trucks from a hydrant on site.

Mayor Darlene Norman says those public resources will have to remain accessible for the sale to be considered.

“There was reference given to a meeting the developer had. Those were all preliminary drafts designs,” said Norman. “Unless the developer is able to satisfy the requirements of the agreement, which will be access to the boat launch, access to the dry well, then that agreement will not go through.”

Four members of the public showed up to voice their objection to the rezoning.

They raised concerns about maintaining the public access of the on-site services, asked how traffic safety issues will be addressed and the fact a public piece of land will be lost to a private developer.

Norman says in their discussion council heard the traffic issues are a result of drivers not following the laws.

“It was Councillor Gidney. He said the traffic issues are created by excessive speed and people not obeying the rules. We have traffic issues throughout Queens County,” said Norman. “I am certain that the developer is going to take those issues in.”

Norman says she grew up in Milton and remembers when the only buildings on the Garika site were run down and derelict.

She says the proposed building will bring much-needed housing to the area.

“The activity that was once there on that corner is no longer there. Sadly, I believe people like the quietness of the neighbourhood, but we need places for people to live. And yes, it’s not going to be $700 affordable because we need the province to subsidize housing. You cannot build for that amount of money,” said Norman.

The mayor says the changes to the Municipal Planning Strategy have been sent to the province for approval and realistically it will be months before ground is broken and construction begins.

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Region of Queens administration building. Photo Ed Halverson

Voters in Liverpool will likely see big changes when they go to the polls in the next municipal election.

The Region of Queens is proposing to cut the number of councillors representing the former town from three to two.

Currently Liverpool is represented by councillors from districts 2, 3 and 5.

The recommendation comes as part of a municipal boundary review mandated by the provincial government.

Every ten years municipalities across the province must review their districts and number of representatives to ensure residents in areas across the region receive equal representation.

Mayor Darlene Norman says the proposed changes won’t impact the sitting council.

“These new boundaries will not come in force until the next election,” said Norman. “So, at this point in time, who knows who will be sitting in those seats.”

The mayor says most councillors believed the public impression is that three councillors representing the town is putting too much focus on Liverpool and not enough on other areas in the Region.

Following public consultation and a staff report, council decided to submit the option of keeping one mayor and seven councillors for the provincial government’s approval.

She says council recognizes that some of the districts are still geographically quite large, but the review dictates it’s the number of voters to be represented within each district which must be considered and not necessarily the distance a councillor would have to travel.

Norman says considering the new boundaries will likely be in place for another ten years, she wants residents to be aware of the changes before they’re sent off.

“The final recommendation will come at our next council meeting. I encourage, if people have concerns or support or questions as to the breakup and the make-up of these that they contact myself or they contact their councillor,” said Norman. “The final decision will rest with the Utility and Review Board.”

Council will vote on the changes when they meet in council chambers at 9:00 am on Tuesday October 11.

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Queens County Food Bank shelves have lots of space for more donations. Photo Ed Halverson

Queens County Food Bank Staff are hoping as the leaves fall, donations go up.

Executive Director of the Queens County Food Bank Shelly Panczyk and her staff of 20 volunteers supply 350 people in Queens with food every month.

Panczyk says warmer weather means a significant drop in donations.

“There’s not a lot of groups getting together saying, okay, we’re going to do this for the food bank, we’re going to run this, this week for the food bank or this month for the food bank. We don’t have any of that in June, July, and August,” said Panczyk.

The Queens County Food Bank has been relying on a shipment of food it receives each Monday from Feed Nova Scotia.

But Panczyk says even that source is drying up since pandemic restrictions have lifted and people have started to return to their normal routines.

“People were donating to the food bank like crazy during this all, they were loaded. Feed Nova Scotia was loaded. Now they’re getting down, they have nothing,” said Panczyk. “I probably was getting 1,200 kilograms and we’re down now to eight (800kg). And each week it’s going down and down, what supplies are coming in from them.”

Shelly Panczyk at Queens County Food Bank. Photo Ed Halverson

Donations from Sobeys and Superstore account for the rest of the supplies currently lining the shelves at their Main Street, Liverpool location.

Panczyk says the decline in donations come as the food bank is seeing an increase in the number of people using their services since the pandemic.

She says what’s needed to ensure they can continue to serve the community is a regular stream of donations either through the drop boxes at local grocery stores or by monthly donation to Feed Nova Scotia.

To learn how to donate to the Queens County Food Bank you can head to their Facebook Page.

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Belgian troupe Lucky Leo performing their play, The Raise. Photo courtesy Liverpool International Theatre Festival

The play’s the thing once again in Liverpool.

After four years the Liverpool International Theatre Festival is returning to the Astor Theatre.

Nine acts from around the globe will walk the boards in what is considered one of the top ten amateur theatre festivals in the world.

Chairperson of LITF Jean Robinson-Dexter says given the international nature of the performers, one of the things the selection committee looks for are plays that can be understood whether acted in English or not.

“It can transcend the language barriers. We’ll often look for plays that are less verbal or not language heavy, so to speak, so that they can make that crossover so that folks can understand what’s happening,” said Robinson-Dexter.

The festival has been held every two years since it began in 1992.

The last edition of LITF was scheduled for 2020 but like so many other events, was cancelled due to COVID.

This year the festival will start Thursday October 13 with a parade of flags down Main Street leading to the opening ceremonies in the Astor Theatre.

LITF has partnered with the South Queens Chamber of Commerce to round out opening night with a block party featuring live music and events beginning at 8pm.

The weekend will be jammed with performances followed by social evenings at the Liverpool Curling Club.

The 2022 edition of Liverpool International Theatre Festival will also see the return of the ever popular “Coffee Critique” which is open to all performers and all-access pass holders.

Robinson-Dexter says the critique started as an opportunity for performers to discuss their work amongst themselves but has become one of the most unique and popular components of LITF.

“Our audience very quickly wanted to be involved in that. They wanted to hear it and they wanted to ask questions,” said Robinson-Dexter. “It’s usually a jam-packed room. People are just so engaged in learning about how theatre happens in other countries.”

Sales of the all-access passes ends Wednesday October 5, but Robinson-Dexter says there are still multi-performance packages and individual passes available through the Astor Theatre box office.

The Liverpool International Theatre Festival runs from October 13-17.

More information can be found on the festival website.

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Main Street in Liverpool, NS. Photo Ed Halverson

Across Canada, regions are struggling to provide housing.

An online survey has launched to help provide more data on housing issues across Nova Scotia.

The government is working to identify current and projected housing gaps and guide future housing policy and initiatives.

Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister John Lohr says government recognizes the entire province is experiencing the housing problem, but the needs vary from place to place.

In a release, Lohr said, “To make good policy decisions, we need to hear directly from Nova Scotians about their experiences.”

He is encouraging everyone to take a few minutes to complete the survey which will remain open until December 4.

The Department will also collect feedback from Nova Scotians this fall through a series of focus groups, interviews, workshops and stakeholder meetings.

The survey and housing needs assessment are part of recommendations made in the Affordable Housing Commission report.

To participate in the survey got to: https://www.nshousingneeds.ca/.

The final report from the Housing needs Assessment is expected to be released this winter, the results of which will be available to the public.

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Horse pull at Queens County Fair. Photo Doreen Holdright

Hurricane Fiona not only devastated the northern end of Nova Scotia is also cut short the reopening of the Queens County Fair.

It was the first time since the start of the COVID pandemic residents enjoyed a full showing of agricultural displays and the horse and ox pulls.

Queens County Fair Secretary and manager Doreen Holdright says when they realized Fiona was going to shut them down, organizers quickly reshuffled the schedule to ensure the most popular pull events would go ahead.

Holdright says exhibitors rolled out following the pulls to get their animals home to safety before the winds hit.

In addition to the regular exhibits, she explains community spirit was also on display this year.

“The Fire Chief called and wanted to know if we needed help put stuff away. He sent down a bunch of men in a vehicle and we got our garbage cans and all that, anything that might blow around, they helped get it all undercover and got the buildings all locked up and secured,” said Holdright. “It just went so smooth we have been a lot, a few more hours getting it done if we hadn’t had their help,”

Holdright says it’s unfortunate a lot of the musical entertainment had to be cancelled but the board is thinking they may try to make it up.

“That was one of the things that we do specifically for the seniors because, you know that that’s what they enjoy. So, we missed quite a bit of the musical entertainment which disappointed them but they were very understanding.,” said Holdright. “So, somewhere down the line we might do a little music in the dining room or something like that through the winter.”

She says organizers are looking ahead to next year and thinking about bringing back more events for younger people.

“Well, we used to do a farmers Olympics and we haven’t done that for a few years. So, we’re thinking along those lines.  It would be, like, relay races and an all related basically to agriculture”

Holdright says over the past few years a number of young families have moved to the area and organizers want to welcome the next generation to come out and enjoy the Queens County Fair.

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photo Ed Halverson

Region of Queens council discussed proposed electoral district boundary changes and decided to formalize their  agreement with donors to build a new outdoor pool.

The evening meeting started with a minute of silence in recognition of Truth and Reconciliation Day on Friday.

Council then passed two items that were discussed at previous meetings: a policy for tree maintenance on municipally owned land and choosing which roads would be submitted for upgrade under a provincial cost-sharing plan.

The Region will go 50/50 with the province on whichever road the province determines they will upgrade out of a list of four roads prioritized by the municipality.

In order they are College Street from Shore Road to Pleasant Avenue, Roxbury Road, Oliver Street and Fostertown Road.

The province will decide if work will be done on any or all of those ahead of the release of next year’s provincial budget.

The bulk of the meeting was taken up with a discussion around realigning the electoral districts within the municipality.

Every municipality in the province must review their districts and number of representatives every ten years to ensure the appropriate number of councillors are representing an equal number of residents.

Following public consultation and a staff report, council decided the preferred option was to keep one mayor and seven councillors but that the number of councillors representing portions of the former Town of Liverpool would be reduced from three to two.

Mayor Darlene Norman says council felt it was a matter of fairness.

“The majority of councillors believed that it’s misrepresentation, from the public’s view, when you have three councillors representing the town.”

Norman says council recognizes that some of the districts are still geographically quite large but the review dictates it’s the number of voters to be represented within each district which must be considered and not necessarily the size of the area a councillor would have to travel.

A final recommendation on the electoral boundary review will come before council at their next meeting.

Following the in-camera portion of the meeting Norman says council accepted a recommendation to enter into an agreement with Holly Murphy and Michael Murphy for the construction of an outdoor community pool.

“Part of the agreement with the very generous donors is that the terms of this agreement remain confidential as well as their gift amount,” said Norman.

The mayor says timelines and budget decisions around the construction will be made public as the project goes forward.

She’s optimistic the pool will be ready sometime in 2024.

The next council meeting will be held October 11 at 9:00am in council chambers.

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Parks Canada Staff taking measurements of blanding’s turtle with Terranaut Club participants. Photo Courtesy Terranaut Club

A program launched through Parks Canada got young girls into the woods and working on science.

Kejimkujik National Park and Historic site has joined with the Terranaut Club to encourage women and under-represented genders to enter STEM fields.

According to reports, those groups account for just 25 percent of people involved in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics across Canada.

This past summer Parks Canada staff and Terranaut Club teamed up to offer youth aged 9-18 the experience of working on three separate projects mentored by women.

Terranaut Club founder Julia Whidden says you never know what event will spark someone’s passion for learning.

“Sometimes all you need is one really meaningful experience that can change everything for you and open a lot of new doors to careers that maybe you never considered,” said Whidden.

Over three outings the youth and their mentors studied funghi, worked on conservation programs involving piping plovers, sea birds and seals, looked into the impacts of invasive species like chain pickerel and monitored the progress of blanding’s turtles.

Whidden says the association with Keji happened after an executive with Parks Canada heard her being interviewed on the radio and approached her with the thought both groups had something to offer.

Parks Canada Environmental Scientist Megan Gallant was one of the mentors involved in the program.

She says Kejimkujik is the perfect place to introduce youth to STEM.

“We are among a few national parks and systems in the world that have a great system wide ecological integrity monitoring and reporting program,” said Gallant. “So across the country we have more than 700 scientific measures that inform park-specific priorities and guides to restoration action so we certainly do have a lot of exciting and hands-on science and nature experiences to offer youth.”

Gallant says she remembers being a young girl and feeling that the environmental field wasn’t for her based on her gender.

She’s glad to now mentor other girls and show STEM is for everyone.

“I’m so happy, on a personal note, to see programs like this because I would have loved to have these when I was a little girl growing up to kind of reinforce yourself and see other females in the field doing the work that you are very capable of doing.”

Whidden says it’s important for the group to make the experience available to everyone and so they offer a pay what you can model.

The Terranaut Club receives funding from corporate donations, grants and fundraising.

Families are asked to pay what they can so those that can pay a little more help provide an experience for those who maybe can’t afford as much.

Whidden says STEM fields are only going to become more important and the people working to drive technology need to represent everyone.

“It’s essential that they are diverse so that we can make sure that when we’re tackling these problems were tackling them from, you know responsible points of view, diverse points of view,” said Whidden. “Making sure that the challenges that we face, we’re really thinking of outcomes that are going to benefit everyone and not just people who look like we do.”

She expects the mentor program will continue next year is hopeful collaboration between the Terranaut Club and Parks Canada will become a formal partnership.

To learn more about the STEM mentorship programs, head to the Terranaut Club website.

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A house in Halifax feels the effect of Hurricane Fiona. Photo Ed Halverson

Hurricane Fiona blew by Queens saving its full fury for other parts of Nova Scotia.

Power is almost completely restored in Queens and clean-up is underway in the wake of Hurricane Fiona.

The South Shore managed to avoid the devastation experienced in northern parts of the province and Cape Breton.

Region of Queens Mayor Darlene Norman says municipal staff were getting ready well in advance of the storm.

“Probably about a week ahead when it looked like something was coming our way our public works department started clearing out storm drains, ditches, picking up as much debris as possible,” said Norman. “When it became very clear that Fiona was indeed going to impact Nova Scotia then equipment was put down, you know any unneeded signs, people noticed the Main Street area that detour signs those were put away. At Beach Meadows we put away our mobi mat. We prepared ourselves.”

Norman says residents also took the warnings seriously and took steps to weather Fiona.

“It was also great to see people preparing themselves. People were flipping their trampolines and they were putting away lawn furniture and they themselves were getting prepared.” Said Norman.

According to Nova Scotia Power over 50,000 customers were affected in the Western Zone of Nova Scotia, including Queens.

Most of the power failures were a result of trees either falling on or bringing down power lines.

Restoration efforts got underway Friday night and as of Monday morning only a few homes in Queens County remain in the dark.

Many people were unable to communicate following the storm as cell service across all providers was down in many areas of the province.

Life in Queens is returning to normal as schools across the South Shore reopened Monday.

Several comfort stations that were opened immediately following the storm have been closed with the exception of Queens Place which is still offering access to showers, by appointment.

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Photo Ed Halverson

About 30 customers in the area surrounding Old Kettle Road outside Mill Village awoke without power this morning.

That will likely mark the start of what is predicted to be a very busy weekend for Nova Scotia Power crews as Hurricane Fiona prepares to make landfall early Saturday morning.

Chief Operating Officer with Nova Scotia Power Dave Pickles says the utility has learned from previous storms and is taking measures to ensure fewer outages and faster restore times.

“Having the right level of resources and properly located around the province for where we expect to see the most damage,” said Pickles.

He says the combination of leaves on the trees and soft ground could mean more downed trees and a larger number of power outages and that restoration efforts will be at the mercy of the weather.

“There will be a want to get out there very quickly. This event is expected to start late Friday into Saturday morning, but sustained winds will continue throughout the day. That will make it a little bit tough for us to get out when people want us to get out,” said Pickles. “The weather on Sunday is forecasting to be nice so that will help with restoration efforts. But, yeah, there are many challenges.”

Pickles says Nova Scotia Power currently has 800 personnel ready to respond and are prepared to ask neighbouring provinces for assistance if the need arises.

Any outages should be reported through the NS Power outage map or by calling 1-877-428-6004 and people should monitor the map for restoration times.

Officials from all levels of government and Emergency Management Office are warning Nova Scotians to prepare to be without power for 72 hours and to stock up on items such as water, batteries, candles and food.

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Screen shot of the path Hurricane Fiona will take as it approaches Nova Scotia. From Environment Canada web page

Department of Natural Resources and Parks Canada officials are taking no chances despite expectations Hurricane Fiona will be downgraded to a tropical storm by the time it makes landfall in Nova Scotia,

As Hurricane Fiona bares down on Nova Scotia officials with Parks Canada have decided to temporarily close Kejimkujik Park effective at noon Friday, September 23.

Anyone camping or visiting the site is being asked to leave and no one will be permitted to enter after that time.

The measures include the entire park and historic site as well as Kejimkujik Seaside in Port Joli.

Guests with bookings between Sep 23- 26 will be contacted, their reservations cancelled, and fees fully refunded.

To ensure the safety of all visitors Parks Canada officials say the closure will remain in place until conditions are safe.

The public will be updated on park conditions again on Tuesday, September 27 at noon.

Later Thursday morning the Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources followed suit and announced all provincial parks would be closing Friday at noon as well.

Parks will be reopened once officials have assessed any damage and addressed safety concerns.

As of Thursday morning, Environment Canada predicts Hurricane Fiona will transform into a post tropical storm bringing very heavy rain and strong to severe wind gusts beginning Friday afternoon with the heaviest rain and wind peaking overnight into Saturday.

They are advising the public the storm has the potential to produce severe and damaging wind gusts, very high waves and coastal storm surge, and intense rainfall.

Officials from the province’s Emergency Management Office are urging all Nova Scotians to monitor local weather forecasts and be ready for the storm’s arrival by ensuring they have enough food and water for 72 hours and preparing their storm kits.

The basic checklist includes:
— having enough food and water for 72 hours
— monitoring local media outlets for updates
— securing gates, doors and windows
— moving yard furniture and securing trash cans, hanging plants and anything that can be picked up by wind
— checking radio batteries
— filling vehicles with gas and parking them away from trees
— keeping pets inside
— moving any type of watercraft to high ground
— ensuring personal and family safety
— checking on neighbours
— not leaving candles unattended.

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Washrooms under construction at Queens County Fairgrounds. Photo Carolyn Tufts

The sights and sounds of the working farmer are returning once again to Caledonia.

Following a two-year pandemic hiatus, the Queens County Fair gets underway Tuesday.

Secretary/Manager of the fair board Doreen Holdright says while they did manage to host a couple of smaller events over COVID, people are eager to attend the full fair once again.

“It was nothing like having an exhibition. Now everybody’s really excited about getting back to the normal thing where everything is open for five days and you’ve got lots of opportunity to get in and see and do what you want to do,” said Holdright.

The full schedule includes horse and oxen pulls, barrel racing, woodsman competitions, entertainment for adults and kids, live music, the ever-popular fry-pan and toilet seat toss and much more.

The pandemic did create time to allow improvements to the fair site.

The entertainment pavilion received a refresh and visitors will enjoy the new washroom complex.

The event is not going off without a little unexpected excitement this year.

Holdright says just last week the water system at the fairgrounds failed.

“It’s on a drilled well and our conditioner just completely failed so we had to put in a whole new system. I think they finished it on Wednesday, or something, was when the last part came in to get it working,” said Holdright. “I tell you; we were all in panic mode. Nothing comes easy.”

According to the Queens County Fair webpage, agricultural exhibitions have been held in the area since the 1880s.

The fair has called its current location home since 1886.

Holdright estimates over five days the Queens County Fair will welcome about 5,000 people through the gates.

She says a 14-member board serves on several committees in the year leading up to the fair to ensure all their bases are covered and she’s grateful for the team of 80 – 100 volunteers who ensure the event runs smoothly.

The Queens County Fair runs from Tuesday through Saturday.

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Authors Francesca Ekwuyasi, Ronan O’Driscoll and Morgan Murray take questions at Lunenburg Lit. Photo contributed by South Shore Public Libraries

An annual celebration of authors is returning to the South Shore.

The Lunenburg Literary Festival, or Lunenburg Lit as it has come to be known, is preparing to welcome some of the country’s top authors in their genres to Lunenburg for the seventh year in a row.

South Shore Public Libraries CEO Ashley Nunn-Smith says bringing these authors into smaller venues allows attendees to get up close and personal.

“I think the beauty of Lunenburg Lit Fest it’s quite an intimate setting. You are going to get a chance to walk up and say hello to the author, ask them to sign your book. They’re going to have a chance to have some pretty informal chit-chat. They’ll also be able to ask some questions from the audience,” said Nunn-Smith.

Lunenburg Lit was fortunate to be one of the events that continued throughout the pandemic by following protocols and cutting the number of attendees in half.

The library’s Communication and Engagement Coordinator Christina Pottie says the events held over those two years were special for the audience but especially so for the authors.

“Many of the authors, this was their only public speaking event in two years,” said Pottie. “They were just so thrilled to have that live audience and have that audience participation and just the feel that you get when you read in front of people instead of reading from a screen.”

Lunenburg Lit is back to full capacity for all events this year and is offering a full schedule over the weekend of September 22 – 24.

Author Lyndsey Ruck gives copies of her books to Bluenose Academy students Charlie Francis and Vivian Halverson at 2021 Lunenburg Lit. Photo Courtesy South Shore Public Libraries

The festival kicks off Thursday the 22 with two free events: poet and novelist Gloria Ann Wesley leads a youth event at the Heritage Bandstand to discuss her novels, Chasing Freedom and If This Is Freedom.

That’s followed by a panel at St. John’s parish hall on Thursday evening, where writers and publishers answer audience questions about first steps in literary publishing.

Friday, the Lunenburg School of the Arts will host readings from novelist and short-story writer David Bergen, poet and journalist El Jones, and multiple-genre writer Heather O’Neill.

The festival offers a full slate of events Saturday with a Literary Walking Tour of Lunenburg at midday, journalist and University of Kings instructor Trina Roache will interview writer and politician Charlie Angus in the afternoon and the festival wraps up that evening with novelist and screenplay writer Shyam Selvadurai, Newfoundland author Megan Gail Coles, and Halifax novelist Jane Doucet.

Tickets are available at all South Shore Public Libraries in person or by phone and information is available on their website.

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Rendering of Queens Daycare expansion courtesy Well Engineered Inc.

It appears Queens new daycare building will be in place before enough staff are found.

The planning and design phase of the new annex is complete and permits are in place to break ground this fall.

The addition of the 3,800 square foot annex will nearly double the daycare’s existing 4,000 square feet allowing the facility to increase the number of children it can support from 42 to 91.

Chair of the Queens Daycare Association Scott Christian says the $2 million investment from the provincial government will mean a new facility tailored to the needs of a daycare.

However, finding qualified Early Childhood Educators will be more challenging.

Christian says with waitlists in the three streams of infant, pre-primary and afterschool care it will take time to find staff to allow them to reach their capacity.

“There’s going to be a lot of excitement around this,” said Christian. “We have this big, new shiny building. The reality is we’re not going to be able to flip a switch and welcome 90 children into our program.”

Christian says the issue is that many initiatives are only now coming online and it could be several years before today’s students are ready for the workforce.

“The requirement is that two-thirds of your staff need to be certified ECEs and the reality is that the labour force does not exist right now,” said Christian. “The province is doing wonderful things in terms of working with the colleges, working with Mount St. Vincent University to really ramp up those programs and the capacity of those programs to be churning out ECEs.”

The entire daycare project, managed by Well Engineered Inc. out of Dartmouth will be completed in two phases, construction of the annex then renovation of the existing school building.

Christian says they expect to welcome children into a fully expanded and renovated Queens Daycare by December 2023.

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Screenshot of the Employment Insurance page on the Government of Canada website

The Nova Scotia Federation of Labour is calling on the Canadian government to extend COVID recovery measures for those on employment insurance until a new system is in place.

The current temporary measures are set to expire September 24.

When they do, the number of hours required to be eligible for EI benefits will increase from 420 to as many as 700, depending on what part of Nova Scotia an applicant lives.

President of the Nova Scotia Federation of Labour Danny Cavanagh says some Nova Scotians struggle to get enough hours to qualify for EI benefits due to the seasonal nature of their work.

“In both the Eastern and Western regions of this province it could end up being pretty devastating for a number of people working in those seasonal industries,” said Cavanagh.

The federal government is currently working to revamp the EI program and Cavanagh says it would be better to maintain the lower 420 qualifying hours until the new system is in place.

Cavanagh estimates anyone in Western Nova Scotia (including Queens) will need 630 hours to qualify for EI after September 24.

He is also in favour of raising the minimum wage from $13.55 to $20 an hour to bring it closer to the approximate $23 an hour cost of living announced by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives last week.

“Whether the employers like it, or anybody likes it or doesn’t like it, workers have been falling behind for a number of years and I think that we’re just going to have to buck up here and make sure people are getting paid a decent wage for the work they do and that employers see value in the workers to be able to pay them that wage,” said Cavanagh. “Those that can’t keep up, I guess are going to fall behind, meaning, the employers. We’re just not going, I don’t think, be able to see every business survive. That’s the reality we’re in today.”

Cavanagh is urging workers to contact their local Member of Parliament to ask them to put pressure on government and keep the existing temporary COVID measures in place until his group and others can work with officials to modernize the EI system to reflect the realities of 2022.

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Photo Ed Halverson

A new report suggests Nova Scotians need to make more money than ever to afford to live in the province.

The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives released their latest living wage report earlier this week which shows people in Halifax have the highest requirements and now need to make $23.50 an hour.

That’s $10 more than the provincial minimum wage of $13.55/hour.

Residents of the South Shore have the second highest need in Nova Scotia at $22.55/hour.

Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives Executive Director Christine Saulnier says the two reasons why the South Shore scores so high are shelter and transportation costs. These costs are the second highest in the calculations. Shelter is less than Halifax, but food and transportation are higher.”

The Centre defines a living wage as the calculation that shows how much a household must earn to cover all necessities and allow families to enjoy a decent quality of life.

The calculations are based on two parents raising two young children.

Nova Scotia will raise the minimum wage in roughly 30 cent increments every six months until April 2024 to get the rate up to $15/hour.

Suzanne MacNeil, organizer with the Nova Scotia chapter of Justice for Workers says the results of the study shows that’s no longer good enough for Nova Scotian families and the province needs to do more.

“On October 1 instead of raising the minimum wage by 25 cents, I would say we need to raise the minimum wage to $20/hour now,” said MacNeil. “We believe that that can happen now.”

Premier Tim Houston addressed the minimum wage during a media scrum following Thursday’s cabinet meeting.

He says Nova Scotia is not immune to the cost pressures that are being felt around the world, but he will wait for a recommendation from the Minimum Wage Committee scheduled to meet again this fall.

“This is a committee of smart people, well respected people, people that I have respect for. They’re not naïve to what’s happening around them so we’ll look forward to their work,” said Houston.

MacNeil says another benefit government could enact right away would be to include 10 paid sick days for every worker in the province.

“The living wage calculations also include government benefits that people might be able to access,” said MacNeil. “So, when we have good social supports, good publicly funded programs, that takes the pressure off the household budget.”

MacNeil says relieving low-income Nova Scotians of financial stress will not only allow them to have happier lives but will lead to other positive impacts such as better health outcomes.

For her, the answer is obvious.

“It’s our belief, and I don’t think this is an overly radical belief, that the wages that Nova Scotia workers earn need to be within the same realm of realty of what it actually costs to live.”

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A selection of offerings from Pleasant Street Living. Photo contributed by Susan Lane

From Lane’s Privateer Inn to Pleasant Street Living, Susan Lane continues supporting local artisans and introducing guests to the finer things Nova Scotia has to offer.

After selling the Liverpool inn and restaurant which still holds her family name in July of 2020, Lane and her partner Cameron took time to think about what was next.

After scouring the South Shore, the pair decided to buy a 200-year-old home in Bear River.

While they went to work repairing the house, they also tried their hand at gardening and Lane, who is also a certified sommelier, got to know the local vineyards.

Lane also acquainted herself with the local shop owners and artisans but says it was a stint managing the local tourist information centre that really brought a plan into focus.

“That’s where I really got the idea that Bear River could really use another little retail shop.”

Lane had previously run her retail shop Snug Harbour in Liverpool as a passion project while trying to maintain the restaurant and inn.

Manager Milan Virani, new owner Ankur Viirani and Susan Lane outside Lane’s Privateer Inn, July 2020

With her new shop, Pleasant Street Living, she wants customers to enjoy a curated collection of antique and restored items as well as an assortment of carefully selected dry goods, flowers and health and beauty products from local and international suppliers.

“That’s been really important to me,” said Lane. “It’s actually taken me about a year to really look at what the other places are offering and do what I can to compliment what they are offering and create something unique.”

Lane says she and her partner have involved themselves with their new community and have quickly settled into a more rural lifestyle.

It was that change in pace and attitude that helped her settle on the name for her shop.

“The reason I chose the name is because, when we moved here, we live on pleasant street and our lives have really changed since we’ve moved here,” said Lane. “In the fact that, when I was in Liverpool, we were working over 100 hours a week. We really didn’t get to enjoy a lot of down time and [now we get] to work on our land and to do the things that I think really, just give a person overall health and wellness.”

Pleasant Street Living opened in mid-August and Lane says the website and Facebook pages are up and running.

She says they are happy to deliver and are always pleased when familiar faces from Queens pop in.

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