Nova Scotia Legislature. Photo Communications Nova Scotia

The newly elected PC government laid out their priorities for Nova Scotia as the fall sitting of the legislature opened with the speech from the throne Tuesday.

Topping the list is improving the province’s ailing healthcare system.

Premier Tim Houston and his team will be working to fulfill the promises he made while campaigning to get more access to family doctors and reduce wait times to see health professionals.

In his speech, Lieutenant Governor Arthur J. LeBlanc says government will listen to the needs and advice from healthcare workers.

“Doctors, nurses, paramedics, CCAs and everyone delivering healthcare has an important voice that is respected and valued,” said LeBlanc. “They will help guide us forward.”

The speech from the throne identified several areas of improvement in the healthcare system including: attracting and retaining more healthcare professionals, improving access to primary and mental healthcare, supporting seniors in their homes and in long-term care and tackling wait times.

The new PC government promised more accountability and is starting down that road by establishing fixed election dates in the Nova Scotia.

The province is the last one in Canada to do so.

“Election dates will be set immediately so that every Nova Scotian knows the timeline upon which they will be able to exercise the ultimate right of holding this government and every subsequent government to account. This session will see the creation of fixed election dates in Nova Scotia,” said LeBlanc.

The speech also outlined plans for tax breaks to incentivize young trades people to remain in the province and giving employers the chance to increase workers wages instead of paying that money in tax to government.

The 64^th General Assembly will begin working on those priorities when session resumes Wednesday.

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Region of Queens Mayor Darlene Norman. Photo Ed Halverson

No word yet on whether or not Region of Queens employees will be have to be vaccinated.

Halifax is the largest municipality in Nova Scotia to join the federal and provincial governments in requiring employees to be vaccinated in order to come to work.

Region of Queens mayor Darlene Norman says directives on how to keep people safe during the pandemic are constantly evolving and council hasn’t yet addressed the issue.

Norman says a municipality like Halifax has many more employees and are better positioned to deal with gaps in service created by workers who may have to be put off work.

“We’re all small municipality. It’s not like there’s a lot of people lined up for work,” said Norman. “But what if we lost some of our key people that keep our operations going?”

Norman doesn’t have an answer for that question and is looking to see if the provincial department of municipal affairs is going to provide any direction.

An email response from department spokesperson Krista Higdon indicates the province is leaving the decision up to individual municipalities.

Higdon writes, “As an independent level of government, municipalities have the right to decide whether to adopt their own vaccine policies, although we would encourage it. We understand that a number of municipalities across Nova Scotia have already implemented their own policy in this regard, and many others are in the process of doing so.

Municipalities, like all employers in Nova Scotia, must decide what kind of vaccine policy is appropriate for their employees, communities, and the people they serve.  In implementing a vaccine policy, we expect that municipalities will adhere to the minimum standards established by the provincial policy and the various public health directives. Policies need to take legal and ethical implications into consideration.”

That leaves Queens and other smaller municipalities to figure it out.

“Our acting CAO has been checking recently with other municipalities to see what going on and [they do] not yet have a policy, not yet had that discussion,” said Norman.

She says in the meantime, the Region of Queens will continue to follow all public health orders to keep the public and their employees safe.

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Premier Tim Houston. Photo Communications Nova Scotia

The government of Nova Scotia has announced all 11,000 direct provincial employees will be required to be vaccinated by November 30.

Those who fail to do so could be placed on unpaid leave.

The measure comes as the province reports another death from COVID and 25 new cases Wednesday.

Chief medical officer of health Dr. Robert Strang says Nova Scotia is currently averaging about 40 new cases each day, about what is his department expected to see during this fourth wave of the pandemic.

At Wednesday’s COVID briefing Strang also addressed concerns about the number of cases that have been found in schools.

He says parents should not keep their children out of school unless directed to by public health.

“High vaccination rate and mild symptoms in the vast majority of children means that we can have some tolerance for this. And I firmly believe that the risk of not being in school is greater than the risk of COVID,” said Strang. “I believe that schools remain safe even though we may have some virus activity.”

Strang says if public health feels a school needs to be closed they will not hesitate to do so.

Commenting on the implementation of proof of vaccine requirements that took effect October 4, Premier Tim Houston says the feedback he’s heard from businesses and the public has been mostly positive.

And those who do not support the measures should not take their frustrations out on employees doing what the province have told them they must.

“If you don’t want to do the things that keep us all safe, just stay home. If you’re unhappy, feel free to flip me the bird when I’m walking down the street, or yell at me but don’t yell at the person that’s just doing their job,” said Houston. “Please, take that out on us but not them.”

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COVID-19 has spurred home sales in Queens. Photo: Ed Halverson

The Region of Queens is looking to keep the property assessment CAP in place, for now.

Nova Scotia’s Capped Assessment Program is tied to the Consumer Price Index and limits how much property assessment can increase year over year.

The Nova Scotia Federation of Municipalities, the organization that lobbies the provincial government on behalf of their members, has been pushing to eliminate capped assessment on homeowner’s property taxes.

Region of Queens Mayor Darlene Norman says council wants the federation to put aside their efforts to eliminate the CAP program.

She is concerned lifting the CAP during the hot housing market will price people out of their homes.

“That program was designed to protect low-income people from losing their properties and paying excessive tax. When we look at properties that have quadrupled and ten-folded in their value, average-income people are going to need that CAP to save them thousands and thousands of dollars in increased tax,” said Norman.

Property tax is one of the only ways municipalities can raise money.

The tax is set as a percentage of a property’s assessed value, so the higher the property is assessed, the more money the municipality will receive.

By asking not to lift the CAP, the Region of Queens is actually receiving less money.

For Mayor Norman, the income is not as important as keeping people in their homes.

“It’s not about less money in our coffers, it’s about looking after the people who we represent,” said Norman.

President of the Nova Scotia Federation of Municipalities Emily Lutz says the CAP system has always disproportionately favoured higher income earners at the expense of those who make less.

Lutz says NSFM has proposed a phased approach to lifting the CAP, which would involve municipalities easing their tax rates.

However, Lutz says discussions around the CAP may become part of a larger conversation with the province.

She says the new provincial government is looking to overhaul their relationship with municipalities and that will include looking at how those units are funded.

“Our stance, at the current moment on CAP is that, we are sitting and waiting and seeing how discussions with the province around renegotiating the entire relationship between municipalities and the province goes because we are fairly sure it will be part of those discussions,” said Lutz.

In the meantime, Norman says the Region of Queens will be advocating keeping the CAP in place.

“Who would have ever assumed that everywhere in this province the increases in property assessments are going to be unrealistic. They’re going to be unheard of,” said Norman. “It’s just so important to keep that CAP, at least for now, to see where these land prices are going to go.”

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COVID-19 precaution posters meet visitors to non-essential services at the door. Photo Ed Halverson

The latest COVID-19 proof of vaccine requirements is causing headaches at Queens Place Emera Centre.

Beginning Monday October 4 Nova Scotians wishing to enter any non-essential businesses, including gyms, arenas and fitness studios, will have to show they’ve been vaccinated by showing a picture ID and a proof of vaccination record.

Mayor Darlene Norman says the region doesn’t have the staff at the facility to perform the checks and are currently trying to hire people to do the job.

“We need to hire six to eight people, maybe more, if people are part-time. But we can’t have someone working on desk, and every time someone wants to come in the person leaves their desk and runs to a door,” said Norman.

In Wednesday’s COVID briefing Dr. Robert Strang said known members of a club or gym won’t have to continually show picture ID but will have to present proof of vaccine each time they enter.

Norman says the money to hire the staff at Queens Place is coming out of emergency COVID funding the province provided to help municipalities offset additional expenses they were facing as a result of the pandemic.

She is concerned about the ability to check crowds at larger events held at Queens Place such as hockey games and the upcoming Canada curling qualifiers.

Norman is grateful the Region of Queens doesn’t have to find money from its budget for the new position but worries about other non-profit community groups who may not have the resources to meet the new proof of vaccine standards.

“I think of all the facilities, the rinks that are owned by not-for–profit organizations,” said Norman. “They weren’t given the big chunk of COVID money. It’s going to be a struggle.”

She worries smaller community rinks and their volunteers won’t be able to cope with the volume of participants, family and spectators that come along with events such as hockey tournaments.

Premier Tim Houston says based on conversations government has had with business owners, he doesn’t anticipate any issues with the proof of vaccine checks in their establishments that would require more government support.

However, this is the first time he’s heard non-for-profits may struggle to meet the requirements.

“We haven’t made that decision to provide support yet. We’ll wait for some feedback. You’re raising something there that I haven’t heard, I haven’t heard from a certain type of organization… I’m not at the point where I’m saying there’s some funding that is necessary. But we’ll listen to those specific situations, like you’ve just raised and see if there’s something that is necessary,” said Houston.

As for Queens Place, Norman says they have posted the available positions on the usual job posting sites. Anyone interested in applying can also reach out to Queens Place directly.

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Dr. Robert Strang provides COVID-19 update with Premier Tim Houston and Health Minister Michelle Thompson. Photo Communications Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia’s phase 5 reopening plan will see social distancing and gathering limits lifted for businesses but will require healthcare workers and school employees to be vaccinated.

If those employees aren’t vaccinated by November 30, they could be put on unpaid administrative leave and could eventually be fired.

In the technical briefing ahead of Wednesday’s COVID update, Dr. Robert Strang stressed the importance of vaccination.

“If you’re caring for somebody, whether it’s in a hospital [or] long-term care facility. If you’re teaching somebody, who, because of their age can’t be vaccinated, you have an obligation to get vaccinated so you can do your job safely,” said Strang.

Beginning Monday October 4, anyone wishing to enter a non-essential business or activity will need to show proof of vaccination.

Those include full-service restaurants and bars, gyms or indoor sporting events.

People will not be asked to show proof of vaccination at essential services such as retail stores, banks, hair salons, doctor’s offices, hotels or faith services.

For a complete list of where proof of vaccination will or won’t be required, follow this link.

When asked if requiring proof of vaccination to fully participate in the reopening was a way to encourage more people to get vaccinated Strang says that is not the intent of the regulations, but is a welcome side-effect.

“Right now the way we look after each other or the main way in a pandemic, is to get vaccinated because that protects everyone else around us. I’m sorry if people don’t like that but you have an obligation to care for your neighbour. Care for the healthcare worker who’s going to be there for you if you get sick,” said Strang. “I won’t apologize for having to take these strong measures to get to the level of safety that we need to have.”

Nova Scotians who received their vaccinations in the province can obtain a copy of their record digitally by visiting the Nova Scotia government coronavirus web page.

That record will be updated October 4 to include a QR code.

Businesses will be able to download an app on October 22, which will read the code and simply show a green check or red X to indicate if a person is vaccinated without revealing any further personal information.

At Wednesday’s COVID-19 briefing, Premier Tim Houston took a decidedly different tone from past efforts to convince Nova Scotians to get vaccinated.

Premier Tim Houston. Photo Communications Nova Scotia

After thanking the majority of Nova Scotians who have been vaccinated, Houston spoke to some of the 60,000 who are eligible but have yet to get their shots.

“Some of you don’t want to and I also know that you want to convince me that there is a reason not to get vaccinated. But let me be very clear, I don’t agree with you,” said Houston. “No matter how many YouTube videos or conspiracy theories from so-called experts that you send to me, we will not agree. Getting vaccinated is important. For the sake of those around you, please, please, get vaccinated.”

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Executive Director Annette Hartlen looks on as Queens Mayor Darlene Norman and MLA Kim Masland cut the ribbon to open the Caledonia home support office. Photo Queens County Home Support

Queens County Home Support is expanding their services into North Queens.

The agency celebrated the opening of their Caledonia satellite office in the old Credit Union building on Highway #8 on Monday afternoon.

Executive Director Annette Hartlen says with the launch of the satellite office the agency can expand their services beyond home care in North Queens.

Hartlen said the new location is, “Basically a one-stop shop for seniors to get information about supports that may be available to them, whether it’s supports to stay in their own home or whether it’s information on what grants they may qualify for housing and repairs.”

Hartlen says services at the Caledonia office will mirror some of those already in place in Liverpool such as providing clients with help to navigate, print and complete government forms.

She says home care workers have already identified a specific need in North Queens for people to be able to do laundry when wells run low.

“There’s no public laundry facilities there, so we’ve put a washer and dryer in our office. For our clients, that service is authorized through the department of health but they’re scared their well may run dry. Our workers will take their laundry, or bring them if they want to come, to our building and have their laundry done for them,” said Hartlen.

The office will also act as a home base for the agency’s home support workers.

“They have gaps between client visits. They have no place to go. They either sit on the side of the road in their car, or whatever,” said Hartlen. “So this office will enable them a spot to come in, eat their lunch or bathroom break, whatever it may be.”

Hartlen says initially, administrative staff from Liverpool will rotate through the Caledonia office to ensure someone is there to assist during the day Monday to Friday but she hopes to hire people to staff the local office full time.

She says the office is a one-year pilot project to determine if the model can provide better services to seniors by setting up in a smaller community.

If it is successful, Hartlen would like the provincial government to replicate the model across Nova Scotia.

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Minister of Public Works, Queens MLA Kim Masland. Photo Ed Halverson

Queens MLA Kim Masland is opening the public purse in her first official announcement as Minister of Public Works.

Masland was at the public works depot in Liverpool to announce an additional $32.5 million dollars in funding to upkeep rural roads.

The money will go to improve Nova Scotia’s 8,400 kilometres of gravel roads through the purchase of materials and new equipment such as excavators, backhoes and graders.

Masland says the money will improve the lives of rural residents.

“Many people travel these everyday to go to work. We needs to make sure that our roads are in good structure for ambulances [and] fire trucks that need to get to people.”

The minister says an investment in infrastructure now will save taxpayers money in the long run

“The gravel road capitol program; that, is proactively rebuilding our already existing roads. And once we build those to the standard that they need to be built, it reduces our maintenance costs.”

It costs $100,000 to $125,000 per kilometre to repair a gravel road, which will function for approximately 15 years.

Masland says department staff is assessing which roads will be repaired first based on need, current condition and traffic volumes and a list of projects will be released once the jobs are put out to tender.

Monday’s announcement will increase the annual budgets of the programs involved in gravel road maintenance from $31 million to $62 million.

The minister also announced a $1 million Rink Revitalization Fund to help repair community rinks.

The money can be used to replace boards, update mechanical systems as well as improve spectator’s experience through refurbished seating and canteen facilities.

Masland says the department of Communities, Culture and Heritage will soon detail an application process on their website.

“The program will actually be a formula-based program for rink owners and operators to apply looking at lots of criteria: the age of the rink, the capitol requirement, the vicinity of the rink within the community.”

Masland says the province will begin accepting applications from rink managers in the next few weeks.

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Photo Ed Halverson

A new program from the Region of Queens aims to bring senior men together to address mental health.

The Men’s Shed program is a chance to socialize in much the same way as people would in a garage or workshop.

Facilitator and Physical Activity Coordinator for the municipality Norm Amirault says research has shown as men get older they have a more difficult time than women connecting with their peers.

“Sometimes older men lose their way a little bit. So much of their identity is tied to their work,” said Amirault. “If they haven’t kept up connections, like with Kinsmen or their church or with whatever, they can, very much, get lost a little bit.”

Each Men’s Shed group decide for themselves their activities.

Many pursue interests such as woodworking, repairing bicycles and music, all with the aim of providing an outlet for men to socialize with each other.

Amirault says after decades of working, many older men are isolated which can lead to mental health issues such as depression.

“The overall impression is that men’s self-worth or men’s self image is often tied to their career and when they retire and perhaps they don’t have as many community things, they tend to lose their way,” said Amirault.

The Men’s Shed movement started in Australia in 2007, spreading to New Zealand, the UK and arriving in Canada in 2015.

The movement has caught on in Western Canada and Ontario and this will be the first Men’s Shed group in the Atlantic provinces.

Amirault says the group will be a men’s only organization but for the first meeting, wives and female friends are encouraged to attend.

“Because often times the males of the species need a little push to get involved in things,” said Amirault.

The first meeting of the Men’s Shed group is Wednesday September 29 at Queens Place.

Due to COVID restrictions, anyone wishing to attend is asked to confirm they are coming in advance by calling Norm Amirault at (902) 354-5741.

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Rick Perkins and Bernadette Jordan at candidates debate September 7, 2021. Photo Ed Halverson

Twenty-four hours after the results of the election, the outgoing and incoming MPs are both upbeat about the result.

Conservative Rick Perkins defeated two-term Liberal incumbent Bernadette Jordan to take the riding of South Shore St. Margaret’s by a 2,000 vote margin.

Perkins ran in 2019 and says the experience helped as constituents recognized him when he came to their door.

“Well, there’s no question that this time I was much better known. Knocking on 15,000 doors in 2019 and then continuing my relationship with many of the people in the riding, the fisherman and the businesses that employ most of us in the riding, has made it easier in this campaign,” said Perkins. “When I went door to door people recognized me and remembered me.”

Perkins says he had a sense people were looking for change when he was on the doorsteps.

“The three biggest issues I got at the door was Justin Trudeau fatigue, health care and a view that people wanted a change in who their actual member of parliament was,” said Perkins.

For her part, Jordan acknowledges her role as fisheries minister contributed to the voter dissatisfaction in the riding.

“I think that it’s been a tough year and a half as the fisheries minister. Obviously the fisheries issue was a big concern for a lot of people and it translated to votes,” said Jordan. “It’s always tough being the fisheries minister because nobody really likes the person who makes the rules.”

Jordan says plans to enjoy the first stretch of time off she’s had in six years as she plans her next move.

“Community has always been extremely important to me and just because I’m not the elected official it does not mean that I will not be involved in my community. I will still be. I’m just trying to figure out in what capacity now,” said Jordan.

The outgoing minister also acknowledged her staff of five in Bridgewater and 18 in her ministerial office will now be looking for work.

“They’re all going to be fine because they’re all very smart and very capable people but it’s still really hard to see,” said Jordan. “They’ve been an amazing team that have supported me through a lot and it’s hard for people who have put their heart and soul into everything for six years to now be in a position where they are looking for something else.”

Reflecting on her time in office Jordan is proud of many accomplishments including: enshrining owner/operator into law, the removal of the Cormorant from the LaHave River and being instrumental in establishing a law to remove derelict vessels from waterways across the country.

But most of all, it’s the constituency work that Jordan will remember most.

“The individual people who have come into our office for help, who have had problems navigating the government system or who have challenges and we’ve been able to help them with whatever they’re dealing with. Often times, people forget that’s one of the main jobs of an MP is to help their constituents,” said Jordan.

Perkins plans to make constituent concerns the focus of his mandate.

To that end he will set up his primary office in Bridgewater and open another office in Shelburne to ensure people can access their MP.

Perkins says he’s keen to get going and won’t take for granted the faith placed in him by the people of South Shore-St.Margaret’s.

“It’s overwhelming and humbling at the same time. As many of your listeners would know, I was the candidate in 2019 and the result was a little different than this one,” said Perkins. “It was exciting to see the results [Monday] night and now the work begins.”

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Conservative Rick Perkins is the new MP for South-Shore St.Margaret’s. Photo Ed Halverson

Canadians have re-elected a Liberal minority government but South Shore-St.Margaret’s will have new representation in Ottawa.

With 269 of 270 polls reporting, Conservative Rick Perkins has defeated incumbent Liberal Bernadette Jordan by almost 2,000 votes.

Slightly more than 60 percent of eligible electors in South Shore-St.Margaret’s cast a ballot which is just above the national turnout of 58 percent.

The results of Monday’s election are a reversal of fortunes for Perkins who lost by 7,000 votes to Jordan in the 2019 election.

Since 2019, Jordan has been Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard.

She was the only federal minister in Atlantic Canada, in a role closely tied to the economy of the region.

During the campaign, opponents called on Jordan to defend her record after a decades-long dispute regarding First Nations fishing rights boiled over in the riding last year.

The Liberals are leading or elected in 158 of 338 ridings across the country with 98 percent of polls reporting.

If the numbers hold, the election has meant little change in the House of Commons.

The Liberals will add three seats for a total of 158, the Conservatives stay steady at 119, the NDP gained one to hold 25 seats, the Bloc Québécois saw a two and the Green Party held fast at two seats.

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Region of Queens administration building. Photo Ed Halverson

Non-unionized staff at the Region of Queens will see a significant pay hike this year.

At their September 14 meeting, council voted to increase wages to that group by four percent.

Mayor Darlene Norman says yearly cost of living increases are normally tied to the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

The provincial index sits at 4.6 percent for 2021 while the Canadian CPI is 3.7 so council decided to split the difference and arrived at the four percent increase.

Norman says the Region works to be fair to all their staff.

“As an operation, which has union and non-unionized employees, we try to keep things pretty well equal,” said Norman.

During the 2020 pandemic, the CPI stayed flat and non-unionized employees didn’t receive a pay bump, while, because of the terms of their contract, unionized employees added two percent.

Norman says union members will receive another two percent increase this year and the four percent non-unionized workers are getting will put them back on equal footing again.

The municipality will pay an extra $52,000 this year for the cost of living increases.

The new wages go into effect October 1.

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Thomas Trappenberg at the candidates debate September 7, 2021. Photo Ed Halverson

The former leader of Nova Scotia’s Green party is calling it a career.

Thomas Trappenberg has stood for the Greens in both provincial and federal elections but has never won a seat.

“I was hoping for more impact by now, after 15 years and it’s still a long road ahead,” said Trappenberg.

The announcement to step away from politics comes as Trappenberg is currently running to represent South Shore-St. Margaret’s in the federal election.

He doesn’t plan to run again but a win in this campaign could change his mind.

“If I’m elected, of course I’m staying on and I will really work very hard to do this, yes, of course.”

Throughout his political career, Trappenberg has worked to push environmental issues to the forefront of public discourse.

He says he wants to be able to tell his grandchildren that he stood up for their future.

Despite his best efforts, he is concerned about the effect climate change is going to have on the world in which they grow up.

“It’s actually worse than you think. If we now do something really drastic, we will still have climate change,” said Trappenberg. “The question is how much we will have when we survive this.”

After spending the better part of a couple of decades building awareness of the Green party in Nova Scotia, Trappenberg remains optimistic that voters will see the the party as a viable option.

“I hope they will appreciate, and I think they do, I get this feedback, that we are serious, we are not just a protest movement. We are actually deeply thinking people, that we are really thinking about the future,” said Trappenberg.

Voters go the polls in the federal election Monday September 20.

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Cars burned by fire Photo Pam Innes-Westhaver

A local racing organization is looking for help identifying the person responsible for setting fire to three cars.

At approximately 5:30pm Sunday night someone entered the track area of the Roughneck Offroad Racing Club destroying the vehicles and ransacking the canteen.

Club president Pam Inness-Westhaver says they’re hoping the public can provide information on who did it.

“We have a description of a vehicle. As of today, [we’re] waiting to see what the RCMP say on that. We have some tips on a person, a description of somebody coming out around that timeline but nothing has been 100 percent confirmed at this point,” said Inness-Westhaver.

Located off exit 20A on Highway 103, the track has been in operation for close to 30 years.

Inness-Westhaver says over the ten years their organization has been using the track for stock car and off-road races she’s seen the odd break-in or minor vandalism but never damage to this extent.

She’s says the cars that were lost were mainly being used for parts and the damage could’ve been much worse as a good deal of heavy equipment such as loaders and excavators were parked alongside the burned vehicles.

“Thankfully they picked three cars that, at one point had been owned by somebody else but now had just been left there for the track,” said Inness-Westhaver.

Fire crews were quick to respond and extinguish the flames.

Inness-Westhaver says the 50 members in their club come from all over the Maritimes to race at the track.

She says it’s fortunate people were in and out of the site that day preparing for races taking place this weekend when the fire was set.

“If somebody wouldn’t have been going up to paint our grandstands at that time, it’s almost frightening what would have happened ‘cause the cars are right by the woods,” said Inness-Westhaver. “There’s still enough fuel in them to make them explode.”

Inness-Westhaver says they’ve forwarded the information they have to investigators and are asking the public to come forward to RCMP with anything that can help identify the people responsible.

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Dr. Robert Strang. Photo Communications Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia will not be easing COVID restrictions Wednesday as they had hoped.

At an update last week, Premier Tim Houston and Dr. Robert Strang said the province could move into Phase 5 of the reopening plan, lifting requirements for masks, social distancing and reduced gathering limits if the number of Nova Scotians who are double vaccinated reached 75 percent and if the epidemiology determined it was safe to do so.

“The reason we’re delaying moving from Phase 4 to Phase 5 is not because of our vaccination. We’ve always said it’s vaccination plus epidemiology. We’ve had a rapidly evolving situation in the Maritime Provinces in the last few days, including Nova Scotia,” said Strang. “There’s too much risk for us to open up gathering limits when we don’t have the proof of vaccination to restrict those gatherings to only people who are vaccinated.”

Strang says all current COVID protocols will remain in place as the province aims to move to Phase 5 October 4.

That is the day Nova Scotia will require proof of vaccination to be shown to access any discretionary businesses, shops or services such as going to restaurants, gyms or movies.

Proof will not need to be provided at essential services like the grocery store, faith services and doctors offices.

A link to the complete list can be found on our website.

Among those still required to wear masks will be school staff and students.

Despite Nova Scotia having some of the highest vaccination rates in the world, a large cohort of the population still cannot be immunized, and those are children under 12.

Dr Strang said it could be early next year before a vaccine is ready for that group.

“Everything that I keep hearing is that it’s, through the fall before we get the vaccine companies with enough of their clinical trial data, to bring that in front of Health Canada, who is the regulator in this country,” said Strang. “So in all likelihood, to get through all of those regulatory steps and get final approval, get vaccine out and et cetera and develop a program, it’s likely that’s it’s going to be at earliest in early 2022 before we start immunizing people under 12. If it’s sooner than that, that would be great.”

Strang says at the outset of the pandemic the priority was to develop a vaccine for the most at-risk group of the population, which were seniors.

He says clinical trials weren’t started for children under 12 until much later, which is why there is a delay in bringing a vaccine for that cohort.

The news comes as Nova Scotia is reporting it’s highest single-day case count in months with a cluster of 61 cases in the Northern Zone accounting for the bulk of the 66 cases announced.

There are currently 173 active COVID-19 cases in Nova Scotia.

Dr. Strang says he understands people have different perspectives on vaccination and that choice is important as he again, pleaded with those who are not yet vaccinated to step forward and get their shot.

“But personal choice cannot be all that you think about when it comes to COVID vaccines. I’d ask that you think about others and that you focus on the We, not the Me. The choice to be vaccinated or not has implications for those around you,” said Strang. “We are experiencing a pandemic of the unvaccinated. Because of the risk of further spread, we are having to slow down our reopening. That impacts, directly, people, families, the healthcare system and our economy.”

Strang says we trust basic grounded science for the vast majority of things we do in our daily lives and the vaccine should be no different.

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Melissa and Todd Labrador sit in front of the beginnings of a birch bark canoe. Photo Ed Halverson

Todd Labrador is taking his canoe building on the road.

The Queens-County based artisan and builder has set up shop at the Lunenburg School of the Arts for the next month to construct a 16-foot birch-bark lake canoe.

Labrador says part of what inspires him to build is passing on knowledge to others.

“We can build it in the privacy in the backyard and nobody gets to learn anything except whoever’s there at the time. But if we go out in public and build it in front of people and allow them to come in and ask questions and watch the process, come back every other day and see how we progress, that way we get to share with everyone, what we do. That’s important to me,” said Labrador.

He and his family harvest the materials themselves often spending days scouring the woods for pliable birch bark and digging for spruce roots.

Labrador uses many traditional techniques to build his canoes but welcomes some modern tools into his methods.

“If great-grandfather, who was born in 1874, died in 1961, if he had a nail, boy, he would use it. And I know if he had a band saw, he would’ve used that too.”

His daughter, Indigenous Guardian and artist, Melissa Labrador is helping with the build.

While their family’s roots are in the Wildcat Reservation in Queens, Melissa says they have a Lunenburg connection.

The Labrador family was known to have a home near the harbour close to where the fall hall currently sits.

“It’s really neat to be able to return to an area that our family occupied and create something here that probably hasn’t been done for a very long time,” said Melissa Labrador.

Her father has built several canoes over the past few years.

Some have gone into private collections; others have been acquired by museums or Indigenous communities.

Todd Labrador says each canoe always finds a home.

“Usually what we do is we build them. We don’t think about where they go. The joy for us is to build them,” said Labrador. “It’s my hobby, my passion and we paddle them as long as we can but eventually someone comes along and says we’d like to have that for our museum or cultural centre.”

The public is welcome to watch the Labrador family build the canoe at the Lunenburg School of the Arts Monday through Friday between 11:00am and 3:00pm.

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Preliminary proposed design of park. Contributed by Queens universally designed play park committee

A four-year fundraising effort to build an accessible play park in Liverpool has exceeded its goals.

The Queens Universally Designed Play Park fundraising committee had a goal of $450,000 when they launched the campaign in 2017.

Chair Debbie J Wamboldt hasn’t had a chance to compile the final total but says the community has stepped up in a big way this summer; in particular, the anonymous donor who came forward to match community donations.

“I was just so humbled and grateful for someone to say, I really want to help you. I want you guys to get across the finish line and this is how I think we can do it and I’m committed to helping you guys do it,” sad Wamboldt. “And then when the community stepped up, I was flabbergasted. I’ve never seen anything like it in my life.”

At the beginning of August, the group needed to raise $35,000 to reach their goal.

The community pitched in and with the help of the matching donations the fundraisers took in almost $45,000, $10,000 more than they had hoped for.

Another source came from the generosity of the Fralic family who asked donations be made to the park in memory of Todd Fralic.

The community isn’t finished giving yet as the Liverpool Tim Horton’s will be donating the proceeds from the sale of their smile cookies to the play park.

Now that the funding is secured Wamboldt is keen to get a final design approved.

“The technology, even since our first talks with these companies has changed. It changes every year and the standards and things change every year so I’m super excited to see what they come up with,” said Wamboldt. “Now knowing we have a little bit more money to play with, it’s really exciting.”

Wamboldt expects to issue tender requests shortly for a company to design and build the universally designed play park.

The final design will need to meet seven standards of universal design to ensure the park can be used by people of all ages and abilities.

Wamboldt says once the design is in place and the contractor hired, she expects the park, to be located next to Queens Place, will be ready to use in spring 2022.

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SSRCE School Bus. Photo Ed Halverson

A parents group wants masks to stay on in public schools.

Nova Scotia Parents for Public Schools, a Facebook group with close to 18,000 members is raising their concerns after the province’s chief medical officer for health Dr. Robert Strang announced students and staff would no longer be required to wear masks beginning September 20.

Co-chair Stacey Rudderham says the decision whether or not to wear a mask can’t be left up to students.

“Kids don’t know how to make personal choices that are always in their best interests.”

Rudderham says many of the parents in her group are worried ventilation issues at their schools still haven’t been addressed.

That combined with the decision to drop the masking requirement has shaken their faith in public health direction being put forward by the province.

“Last year we saw a lot of people saying that they trusted the situation was going to be fine and after the spring, we’re not seeing a lot of that in the group anymore,” said Rudderham.

Unlike Nova Scotia, many provinces are requiring teachers to either prove they have been fully vaccinated or undergo regular COVID testing.

The lack of proof isn’t an issue for Rudderham.

Despite having any hard numbers to confirm her speculation, she’s confident the majority of teachers have had their vaccines.

“We were very aware of last spring was that the NSTU (Nova Scotia Teachers Union) and the teachers were asking to prioritized; that they should be treated like healthcare workers and they wanted to be vaccinated,” said Rudderham. “They were very much stressed out about the amount of risk that they were facing.”

The Nova Scotia Parents for Public Education group is putting together a letter outlining their concerns to present to the newly appointed Minister of Education Becky Druhan.

Rudderham expects to send that letter off to the department within the week.

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Candidates (L-R) Rick Perkins, Bernadette Jordan, Thomas Trappenberg, Olivia Dorey. Photo Ed Halverson

The four candidates vying to represent South Shore-St.Margaret’s met Tuesday for what will likely be the only debate this campaign.

The event, organized by the Bridgewater Chamber of Commerce, was hosted at the Best Western in Cookville.

Candidates Olivia Dorey with the NDP, Liberal Bernadette Jordan, Conservative Rick Perkins and the Green party’s Thomas Trappenberg took turns answering five questions provided to them in advance by the chamber.

Questions focused on the housing crisis, healthcare, the environment, infrastructure and support for small and medium-sized businesses.

All candidates see a role for the federal government in increasing housing stock, providing more funding to provinces to address healthcare shortfalls, protecting the province’s coastline from sea-level rise and ensuring smaller businesses survive and thrive through the pandemic.

Naturally, how those aims are achieved vary widely along party lines.

The evening was a relatively tame affair punctuated by jabs between the PCs Perkins and Liberal Jordan.

Perkins took aim at Jordan and the Trudeau government’s record while Jordan poked holes in the Conservative platform.

The Greens’ Trappenberg took all parties to task and called for government to look for new ways of solving problems while the NDP’s Dorey highlighted the fact that at 27 years old, she was a generation younger than the other candidates and would be feeling the brunt of the decisions made by whomever is elected for much longer.

After the candidates were through the pre-arranged questions the moderator opened the floor to the public.

When asked when Canadians could expect to see a return to balanced budgets Perkins says the Conservatives have a plan to do so in ten years. Jordan said the priority for the country is getting through the COVID recovery not balancing the books. Trappenberg said now is the time to invest and Dorey cautioned people to temper their expectations, as there is no way to balance the books in the next ten years.

All candidates agreed more supports should be extended to veterans, especially those dealing with PTSD. They also agreed conversion therapy should be banned, more should be done to prevent gender-based violence and increasing immigration needs to be a priority to fill vacant jobs and grow the population.

The candidates reinforced their talking points in their closing arguments. Jordan stepped off-script to comment on the level of anger on display in this election, citing the rock throwing incidents and verbal assaults being lobbied at Justin Trudeau. She says she and her campaign workers have had similar experiences campaigning in this riding.

This was the only time all four candidates were scheduled to engage in a public forum together prior to the election.

Voters will go to the polls September 20.

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Curling rings. Photo Ed Halverson

Queens County will play host to another high profile sporting event this fall.

Curling Canada has announced the Home Hardware Curling Pre-Trials will be held at Queens Place in Liverpool October 26-31.

Winners of the tournament will advance to the Tim Horton Curling Trials in Saskatoon where teams will compete to represent Canada at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.

Liverpool Championship Host Society chair Greg Thorbourne says their record for hosting successful major events paired with a large pool of dedicated volunteers made Liverpool an easy choice to host the event.

“When you have a good group of volunteers that are willing to step forward then events become easier to put on and reputations travel fast in the community of hosting and they don’t hesitate a lot to give us these events,” said Thorbourne.

A championship of this size normally requires 150 to 180 volunteers.

Region of Queens mayor Darlene Norman says she’s excited to see the region and Queens Place once again being featured on the national stage.

“It’s been two years since we’ve really had any large event in there,” said Norman. “So we’re looking forward to welcome curlers across Canada back to our home again.”

Thorbourne hopes this event will help bring more business to the local economy.

He’s concerned if the province doesn’t get to the fifth phase of its reopening plan organizers may not be able to open ticket sales to the public.

“So that’s what we’re looking at now is trying to get to Phase 5, hopefully, so that we can sell tickets,” said Thorbourne. “If we can’t then we will be having an event without any ticket sales.”

So long as Nova Scotia can reach Phase 5 reopening, Thorbourne is optimistic tickets will sell out even if it doesn’t happen until the end of September.

Thorbourne says due to the condensed timeline and COVID restrictions the upcoming event is one of the more difficult this group has organized.

“Most of this stuff should’ve been done six to eight months ago and we’re still in the process of doing it. But we’ll catch up and when it’s all said and done it will be another great event,” said Thorbourne.

Games will be live streamed throughout the event and the finals will be broadcast on TSN.

Anyone looking to volunteer can do so through the Liverpool Championship Host Society Facebook page.

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Photo Elections Canada

The riding of South Shore- St. Margaret’s is one of the larger constituencies in the country.

Candidates do their best to reach voters but can’t always make it to all corners of the riding.

Each of the people vying to represent the region were given five minutes to explain who they are and their vision for South Shore-St. Margaret’s.

Click below to hear the audio from each candidate.

Olivia Dorey – NDP

Bernadette Jordan – Liberal

Rick Perkins – Conservative

Thomas Trappenberg – Green Party

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COVID-19 has spurred home sales in Queens. Photo: Ed Halverson

Since the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic housing prices in Queens have climbed while the number of units available for sale have fallen.

Co-owner at Exit Realty Interlake Kristopher Snarby says that has created a sellers market.

“How things were before was that, there was so much inventory, it really was always a buyers market because the buyers would have 20 or 30 choices when they were looking at a house and now they’re down to only having two or three,” said Snarby. “I don’t really see it changing unless there’s a sudden surge of inventory.”

Snarby says sales between January and April of this year broke records.

Another lockdown in May and June took the wind out of the sails but Snarby says the market has already rebounded since July.

And while he doesn’t see the market cooling anytime soon, he says the buying frenzy has leveled off.

“A few months ago, in January to April we’d see if there was a new house on the market there might be five offers on it. Now we’re seeing one or two,” said Snarby. “So the quantity of offers coming in is lower so the prices aren’t going quite as crazy as they were but they are holding.”

Snarby says in the first part of 2021 home prices were 20 percent higher than the same period in 2020.

And a two-year average shows sellers are getting 40 percent more for their properties now than when the pandemic started.

Snarby says that jump is good news for people moving out of their homes but is putting others in a tough spot.

“It’s a horrible situation for people looking to rent or for first-time homebuyers who might not be able to be approved for a higher value property. It means that the properties that are under the $100,000 or under $150,000, they are selling very quickly.”

Snarby expects the trend to continue at least through the end of November.

He says anyone looking to buy a home needs to set themselves up for success.

“We always recommend that people go and get pre-approved. So go to your bank, go to a mortgage broker, find out what you can afford, find out what your timeframe is like. If you have that, that gives you an advantage, right off the bat. Then we recommend sitting down with a realtor, going through what your looking for and often times, if you do that, you’ll have an inside track on what’s coming on the market.”

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Bridgewater Mayor David Mitchell addresses crowd at the groundbreaking ceremony for Treehouse Village Ecovillage. Photo Ed Halverson

After three years of planning Atlantic Canada’s first co-housing project is becoming a reality.

A groundbreaking ceremony for Treehouse Village ecohousing took place Saturday in Bridgewater.

The 30 unit co-housing project is the dream of co-founders Cate and Leon deVreede.

Cate says they didn’t take the conventional route to buying a house.

“We initially started when we were still renting an apartment. We skipped the single-home ownership and went to let’s build a whole neighbourhood,” said deVreede. “That’s the ambitious part maybe, or the dreamer part in us.”

Cohousing is unique in that the future residents work together to decide on the design and pay for the project. It balances privacy with community involvement.

Homes in Treehouse Village will be arranged to allow residents to easily socialize.

Each family will live in their own townhouse-style home but will have access to a large communal kitchen, playroom, library, co-working space, fitness area and dining room for shared meals.

Cate deVreede says going through the process of figuring out how decisions will be made to planning the design has helped the community form before the first foundation is poured and she’s excited to see it taking shape.

“This is really the first physical example that we have of the social community that’s come together already to design and get this thing built,” said deVreede.

Cate and Leon deVreede address the assembled crowd. Photo Ed Halverson

Treehouse Village isn’t just socially progressive. When it is complete, the development will be Atlantic Canada’s largest multi-unit Passive House construction.

That means all structures will be built and tested to meet extremely high-energy efficient standards to lower energy costs and save on long term maintenance.

Bridgewater Mayor David Mitchell was on hand for the groundbreaking ceremony. He is pleased not only with how the development is attracting people to the town from all over but also how the ecohousing project aligns with the energy saving goals of the town’s Energize Bridgewater initiative.

“As we try to be more green, reduce our carbon footprint and try to find innovative ways to reduce our energy consumption, that this is the largest passive community in Nova Scotia, it’s a great template that we can build upon,” said Mitchell.

Of the 30 units only six are still available.

After three years of planning, the development is scheduled to be complete in the fall of 2022.

Leon deVreede says when Treehouse Village is complete, moving truck companies better be ready.

“We’re looking at having everything done and having everyone move in together so we can be a community, all at once,” said deVreede. “[It’s a] single-phase build, the money’s in place. It’s going to happen.”

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Premier Designate Tim Houston and Dr. Robert Strang provide a COVID update August 23. Photo Nova Scotia Government

Students may only have to wear masks for a week once schools open across the province on September 7.

Premier Designate Tim Houston and Nova Scotia’s chief medical officer of health Dr. Robert Strang announced the schools reopening plan Monday.

Students will be required to mask up for the first week but with the province projected to move into the fifth phase of the COVID reopening plan on September 15, that requirement could be short-lived.

Phase five of the reopening plan assumes the epidemiology is good and 75 percent of Nova Scotians will have received their second doses of vaccine.

Strang says as a result, rules around mandatory masks and social distancing will be lifted.

“I’m sure there are mixed views on this. Some will be thrilled to get rid of masks and others will be nervous to stop wearing them and that’s totally normal. It’s time to start living more with COVID,” said Strang. “Even if we see rising case numbers that would have previously meant province-wide restrictions, our vaccine coverage means that we can carry on with only border restrictions and maybe, if necessary, targeted local restrictions.”

Despite the impending easing of restrictions, Strang says it’s not time for Nova Scotians to let their guard down.

“But we also need to keep practicing the good habits that help reduce the spread of COVID-19 and quite frankly, will also help reduce the spread of influenza and a range of other organisms that cause other respiratory and other gastro-intestinal illnesses. So staying home when you’re sick, washing your hands regularly, coughing and sneezing into your elbow and regularly cleaning high-touch surfaces are important whether restrictions are in place or not,” said Strang.

He added, Nova Scotians need to accept that a fourth wave of COVID is coming.

“We will get the fourth wave here. We will get some cases. We may get little clusters in unvaccinated populations,” said Strang. “How we minimize the impact of the fourth wave, it really is, the key driver there is our vaccination rate.”

Dr. Strang was also asked how businesses can restrict admittance to individuals based on their vaccination status.

The chief medical officer of health says he has been advising private businesses to ensure that whatever policy they decide to put in place does not discriminate against people or infringe on their rights.

In his first appearance at a COVID briefing since winning a majority in last week’s election Houston echoed Strang’s remarks and added his government will not be issuing vaccine passports.

“There was some talk towards the end of the campaign about a scotia-pass concept. That was not something that bubbled up from public health,” said Houston. “So the province is contemplating phase five re-opening with restrictions removed.”

Premier Designate Tim Houston appearing at his first COVID briefing August 23. Photo Nova Scotia Government

Houston also announced that due to a steep uptick in the number of COVID cases over the past couple of weeks, anyone travelling from New Brunswick who has not been double vaccinated will have to quarantine, beginning Wednesday.

Houston says his government plans to continue to follow public health advice in order to make the best decisions for Nova Scotia around COVID.

“The reality is being cautious has kept this province safe and we will continue to be cautious.”

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South Shore Public Libraries new Bookmobile. Photo Ed Halverson

South Shore Public Libraries has replaced their aging mobile library with a state of the art, purpose-built bookmobile.

Driver and library clerk Dave Smith says the new vehicle comes with a new name as a nod to the way the service is already perceived in the community.

“You know, I’ve been with the library for many years, I always associate it, it’s the bookmobile and when you go into communities people always say, oh the bookmobile is there, which is great. Nice to have it back,” said Smith.

The library’s new bookmobile has the wide variety of books and videos patrons have come to expect as well as several new advantages over the previous version.

The old mobile library was, essentially, a repurposed school bus. The aisle was narrow, climate controls were basically non-existent and it was difficult for anyone with mobility issues to gain access.

The new bookmobile features a wide aisle and brightly lit shelves. It is fully air-conditioned and heated and has an accessible lift at the end to allow people with mobility issues to come on and freely access any part of the vehicle.

Bookmobile staff Dave Smith and Crystal Madill. Photo Ed Halverson

Crystal Madill has worked with South Shore Public Libraries for almost 40 years, the past 12 years in the mobile library.

She says the new bus creates a social environment where people can come in, sit on one of the two opposing benches and browse the collection while interacting with their neighbours.

“You can sit down and enjoy the atmosphere. This is also very much a community spot,” said Madill. “So they sit on the benches and have a little chat and a visit with each other and gossip.”

A couple of bookmobile patrons enjoy a chat on the new benches. Photo Ed Halverson

That community hub mentality extends outside the bookmobile as well.

A large antenna allows people to connect wirelessly to high speed internet, something that is sorely lacking in many of the communities the bookmobile visits.

The new bookmobile further integrates itself into the community by providing an awning for shade, and a white board and speakers that allow the vehicle to show movies.

External outlets powered either by an inverter or generator provide people a place to plug in their laptops or even charge their electronics in the event of an emergency.

Smith and Madill say patrons have been giving the new bookmobile rave reviews since it launched in late July.

A schedule for stops in Queens county can be found by visiting South Shore Public Libraries website.

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