Eric Goulden, chairman of the Astor Theatre Society, speaks to theatre supporters on Thursday. Karen Murphy, of the J&W Murphy Foundation, and Lynn Cochrane, vice-chair of the Astor board, look on. (Rick Conrad)

The board of the Astor Theatre on Thursday unveiled some details of a plan they hope will make the theatre the centre of arts and culture on the South Shore.

“We are definitely the envy of a lot of other theatres in Nova Scotia,” Astor Theatre Society chairman Eric Goulden said.

“And it is a very, very valuable treasure.”

The historic Liverpool theatre, which opened in 1902, recently received a $500,000 donation from the J&W Murphy Foundation. The five-year funding commitment will help with the Astor’s operational expenses, and help improve its marketing, promotion and fundraising efforts.

Board members invited the community on Thursday afternoon to learn more about the foundation’s support.

The contribution will help the Astor work on long-term projects to make the theatre sustainable. Three consultants will be hired to come up with fundraising and communications plans and oversee the process.

Heather White Brittain, the director of development with the Imperial Theatre in Saint John, will lead the Astor’s fundraising and sponsorship development efforts. That will include creating a fund development database that will help the Astor secure more sustainable donations from corporations and other foundations.

Cathy Neumiller, a communications and marketing professional based in Halifax, will help create a new marketing and communications plan for the theatre. That will include a newly designed website, a subtle rebranding and more community outreach.

“We don’t have the capacity in house to do this work,” said Lynn Cochrane, vice-chair of the Astor board. 

“(The employees) do miracles every day with what they have to work with. But the fund development and marketing communications side are specialist areas and require specialists to do them.”

Cochrane said a lot of the work for the first year will be behind the scenes. But lovers of the Astor should start seeing some changes by the end of this year.

Neumiller says she hopes to harness the enthusiasm of the Astor’s sizable and dedicated group of volunteers.

“It’s really about relationships,” she said in an interview.

“The ultimate with communications is striking up a relationship with someone and finding out what they’re passionate about. The goal is to find the people that are the most passionate and get them on board to help achieve the things that need to be done because there’s a lot.”

Jean Robinson-Dexter, a former executive director of the Astor and longtime chair of the Liverpool International Theatre Festival, will act as a project manager.

The president of Horizons Community Development Associates also helped Cochrane create the funding proposal to the Murphy foundation.

“I guess I’ll be a bit of a trouble-shooter and a bit of a historian about the organization and the kinds of things that the theatre does,” Robinson-Dexter said in an interview.

“I’ll be doing regular check-ins with the two wonderful consultants and sharing that back to the board, making sure we’re on track in terms of deliverables and timelines. It’s a great opportunity to be back and contributing to the Astor again.”

The Astor announced the “life-changing” contribution from the J&W Murphy Foundation in April. 

The foundation was established in 2008 by the late Janet and Dr. William Murphy, longtime Liverpool residents. Dr. Murphy co-founded the thriving Mersey Seafoods in 1964. 

It contributes to a wide variety of charitable causes, especially in Queens County.

The foundation’s Karen Murphy told QCCR on Thursday that they had many discussions with the Astor board about how to help.

“And our conclusion was that we could assist in some funding to take away some of the operational worries so the focus could be on future-proofing the facility,” she said.

“It’s often capital projects that get a lot of attention. But we found with especially small- and medium-sized organizations, operational funding is often forgotten. And sometimes that’s the key to all the other creativity-building that needs to happen.”

She said that she and her family have been longtime supporters of the Astor and were happy to help “take it to the next level”.

“When people find out I’m from Liverpool, they invariably mention the Astor. That tells you what a legacy is already in place. And it’s on all of us to keep adding to that and to keep building it up. This place has to be here for the next 100 years like it has been already.”

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People participate in a walk audit near the Thomas H. Raddall Library off the White Point Road in Liverpool. (Rick Conrad)

People took to the streets this week to brave some cool and wet conditions, and traffic, to get an idea of how safe it is for walkers around the new Liverpool library location.

Hike Nova Scotia held a walk audit in the area. Program manager Catherine Droesbeck said the organization has done about 15 walk audits around the province through its NS Walks program. But this was the first one for Liverpool.

The Region of Queens asked the group to hold the event to help get community input on how to encourage people to use active transportation, like walking and cycling, to get to and from the library.

“We’ve been doing walking audits now for the past nine months or so all over the province in communities big and small, who are all interested in improving the experience for pedestrians in getting around their communities,” Droesbeck said in an interview.

“Then we’ve been going in and helping them do the audit, which gives us some good data in terms of people’s experience, but also it’s a great way to engage community with government officials and other organizations to bring people together to say, ‘This is what we love about our community, but this is how we we’d like to make it better.’”

About 15 people participated in the walk audit, which took participants on a two-kilometre route from the library, along Harley Umphrey Drive, up to White Point Road, along Payzant Street, across Parker to Union, over to Waterloo and back to the library.

Morgan MacDonald, the region’s new physical activity co-ordinator, said walking is one of the most popular and accessible forms of physical activity. 

“And one of the barriers to walking for many people is safety,” he said.

“So having a walkability audit allows us to take a certain portion of the region, which is around our new library location in Liverpool, and looking at the accessibility and the barriers to active transportation around this location and tying it into the existing infrastructure of the town of Liverpool. So by trying to address some of the barriers to people walking and rolling, we’re hoping that they’ll feel comfortable and confident to make that part of their everyday life.”

When participatns got back to the library, they were asked to rate the route on various factors, such as traffic, sidewalks, crosswalks and safety, out of an overall score of 120. Most were in the 40 to 50 range, with one as high as 92.

They said that even though there are no sidewalks on roads around the library, the shoulders are wide enough in some areas for walkers. But they added that the unevenness of the unpaved shoulders would make it difficult for people in wheelchairs to navigate.

They also talked about the lack of clearly marked crosswalks on the route, and suggested installing crosswalk flags at certain intersections.

When regional council decided to move the library from downtown to the new location, residents were concerned about safety because the area has no sidewalks and limited lighting.

Sylvia Hurley of Liverpool was one of the walkers. She says she loves to walk, but it can sometimes be hazardous.

“And I have a lot of concerns about areas of walking, crosswalks, how walkers are treated locally, not stopping at crosswalks, not paying attention to us. I wanted to express my concerns big time,” she said on the route.

“I used to walk out on this street (White Point Road), but I haven’t walked here for a very long time. It’s dangerous, very dangerous. It’s narrow. But I’m fortunate because I can come up George Street from my house and be to the library which suits me. I don’t have to come out on to this road, but not everyone’s that fortunate.”

Hurley said she thinks the walking audit is a great idea.

“But if they’re going to do an audit, do the audit but honour what people say. Don’t just, ‘Oh yeah, they complained about this, they complained about that.’ Let’s do something about it.”

Hike Nova Scotia’s Droesbeck said responses from the walk audit will be compiled in a report to the municipality.

“I think we identified some, what we’ll call low-hanging fruit today, that the community can do that will go a long way to make people feel safer when they’re walking this particular route. So whether it’s marking the crosswalks better, looking at speed limit signs, more some benches and things that will make it look more like, OK, people want to walk here and walk safely. So I think there’s some possibilities there.”

The region’s MacDonald said this was only the first of a few community consultations about active transportation, including walking and cycling. More are planned this summer through Cycling Nova Scotia in Caledonia, Greenfield and again in Liverpool.

He said the results of this week’s walk audit are important to highlight for regional staff and council the community’s concerns about walking in the area.

“So it was looking at how all of these different systems interact and how we can make infrastructure and spaces that work for everybody and encourage healthy activity and safe activity in our community.”

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Dan Roscoe is the CEO of Roswall Development, which owns Renewall Energy, the company behind Mersey River Wind. (Renewall Energy)

Work may start soon on the Mersey River Wind project in Milton.

Dan Roscoe is the CEO of Roswall Development, the company that plans to build a 33-wind turbine farm on 80 hectares of Crown land west of the Mersey River, under its Renewall Energy subsidiary.

He told QCCR this week that the company is still on track to erect its first batch of windmills by late 2026.

“We still hope to start in the next few months and take advantage of the summer season,” Roscoe said in an interview.

“Turbines are still scheduled to arrive likely next June, but generally the middle of next year. It’s still our plan to do 20 turbines in ’26 and 13 turbines in ‘27.”

Roscoe said most of the site-clearing work has been done. And he expects crews to begin working on the roads this spring and summer.

“We would’ve all loved to have a shovel in the ground by now, but we’re still on schedule for ’26.”

There’s a lot of excitement locally about the project, which promises to sell electricity directly to consumers, bypassing Nova Scotia Power. And Renewall says their rates will be lower and more stable than the privately owned utility.

When about 24 windmill blades showed up in Port Mersey Commercial Park in Brooklyn recently, people thought they were for the Mersey River project.

Roscoe says that equipment doesn’t belong to them. Those are for a wind farm in Benjamins Mill near Falmouth.

“Those are going to a project in Hants County. But that is the same route that we’re planning to use for all of our components, not just the blades.”

Roswall has about 30 commercial, industrial and institutional customers signed up for Mersey River Wind so far, including the Region of Queens and other municipal governments in Halifax, Shelburne and Bridgewater.

And he said hundreds of individuals have added their names to a list of early residential customers. Those who live near the wind farm, essentially anybody in Queens County, will get priority access.

“With many of our customers, there’s this push for stability, especially in the public sector where you’re trying to operate under a fixed budget. If your electricity cost goes up, your cost of water treatment goes up, but if you can stabilize your cost of energy well that major input into your water treatment cost is now is now stabilized and predictable. I suggest that climate and so forth, bring us together, but it’s really the commercial terms that they could save money and have predictability going forward which really is what gets people the most excited.”

Roscoe says the company’s community liaison committee will keep people updated as construction begins.

Residents can also subscribe to the company’s newsletter on the Mersey River Wind website and sign up to be a customer on the Renewall Energy website.

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Horse pull at Queens County Fair. File photo: Doreen Holdright

Eleven community groups have been granted more than $62,000 from the Region of Queens community investment fund.

Non-profit groups from Queens County can apply to the $175,000 fund each year to help offset operational, capital, event, training or travel expenses.

The groups approved for $62,216 in operational funding this week represent only the first stage of grants from the fund. Steve Burns, the region’s community economic development officer, told council that they were time-sensitive.

Any requests from the community investment fund higher than $1,000 have to be approved by council.

Burns said council will be asked to vote on more funding requests now that their 2025-26 budget is approved.

Groups can apply to three different streams for operational funding: up to $10,000 annually if they own their own facility or are in a long-term lease and their programs or services are well-established and open to the general public; up to $5,000 to help community organizations that offer year-round programs or services to Queens County residents and up to $1,000 for groups that offer new, expanded or seasonal programs.

Community groups must submit financial statements, including their current bank balance, what the money will be used for and any other funding sources.

Here is a rundown of what each group received:

• CJQC Radio Society, which operates QCCR, for eligible operating expenses up to $5,000
• South Shore Flying Club up to $6,047
• Friends of Hank Snow Society up to $10,000
• Medway & Area Heritage Society up to $2,267.50
• South Queens Chamber of Commerce up to $3,750
• Mersey Band Society up to $3,121
• Milton Canoe & Camera Club up to $2,030.50
• Carroll Baker Society up to $5,000
• Queens County Fair Association up to $10,000
• Seaside Recreation & Community Centre up to $5,000
• North Queens Board of Trade up to $10,000

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Dan McDougall, interim CAO of the Region of Queens, and Mayor Scott Christian on Tuesday as councillors voted on their 2025/26 budget. (Region of Queens YouTube channel)

Region of Queens councillors approved a $31-million budget on Tuesday that held the line on tax rates while boosting support for people on low incomes.

The 2025-26 spending plan of $31.1 million is about $1.3 million higher than last year.

Councillors also approved a five-year, $46.2-million capital investment plan. That includes projects like the South Queens outdoor pool and the multimillion-dollar upgrades and extensions to water and sewer systems in Liverpool.

Mayor Scott Christian said it was a challenging process, but he’s happy with what this council helped accomplish in their first budget since the 2024 municipal election.

The municipality will add new staff positions that they say will help increase the region’s effectiveness. Those include a new human resources manager, a deputy chief administrative officer and a person dedicated to looking for funding opportunities for the region and non-profit groups. They’ve also made the senior safety co-ordinator a municipal employee.

“It’s frustrating because we have so much that we want to do outwardly in the community, but it’s challenging when you need to address this stuff inside the organization first,” Christian said after the meeting.

“I think that the approach was looking at what’s important, what’s a priority for us, and what improvements to the organization are required and then working from there.”

Councillors were helped again by rising property assessments, which increased by about $87 million, and generated $900,000 more in tax revenue.

That gave councillors room to raise the low-income tax exemption rebate by about 25 per cent. Those who qualify can now get up to a $500 discount on their property taxes.

They’ve also set up a $15,000 fund to help low-income water ratepayers deal with expected hikes.

And community groups are also getting more than $50,000 in extra help, including an annual rent subsidy for the Queens County Food Bank, more funding for Queens County Transit’s vehicle replacement fund and more help for Greenfield Recreation’s operations.

“Just recognizing the need, recognizing the affordability, making the changes that we did to the low-income tax piece, carving out money … around the big increase that we’re going to see to the water rate, trying to protect against the impacts of that on low-income households and then making investments like with the the food bank and some of those other groups. I think those are the highlights for me,” Christian said.

Residents on the municipal water and sewer system should brace for a significant jump in their bills in the coming year.

The municipality’s water utility is projecting a deficit of $813,099 for 2025-26, and shortfalls of $708,039 in 2026-27 and $745,280 in 2027-28.

Consultants are reviewing the region’s water rates. The results of that study are expected soon and will be submitted to the province’s Utility and Review Board for approval.

“We do know we are expecting a considerable increase to the water rate,” Christian said. 

“With respect to that north of $800,000 deficit on the utility, … we need to pay down that deficit and then accumulate a bit of a reserve so that when maintenance and repairs need to be performed to the water utility, that there is a reserve to pull from and that we don’t have to take money from the general revenue that’s provided by all taxpayers across the municipality. 
It’s supposed to be the water rate users who pay for the water utility.”

Councillors began their public budget deliberations on April 24. Christian has said that he hopes next year to begin budget talks as early as January, and to involve more public consultations.

Other highlights from the budget:

• Adding protective services co-ordinator to provide leadership and support for police, fire, emergency management and occupational health and safety
• Two new water/wastewater operators
• Creating full-time programmer/aquatics co-ordinator
• Increased budget for street sweeping and catch basin clearing
• Grey box site reconfiguration and signage in north Queens
• South Queens water/wastewater upgrades and Mount Pleasant extension – two kilometres of piped infrastructure to be replaced, eliminating overflows and addressing sea-level rise effects
• Caledonia wastewater system upgrades
• Dry hydrant installation
• Walking track fees waived at Queens Place Emera Centre
• Floating dock replacement on Henry Hensey Drive
• Creation of $1-million operating capital project reserve to fund smaller capital projects

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The Region of Queens has hired a new human resources manager. (Rick Conrad)

A former human resources director at Global Empire Corporation is now in charge of human resources at the Region of Queens.

Holly McConnell will begin the job of director of people and culture at the municipality on May 26, according to a region news release on Tuesday afternoon.

McConnell was born in Liverpool, and has spent most of her life in Queens County.

According to her LinkedIn profile, she most recently worked for Global Empire at their Liverpool call centre as its HR manager.

“Holly’s experience in leading workplace teams through periods of transition was recognized as a significant asset in the recruitment process, and she is someone with a genuine warmth and caring for the well-being of staff,” interim CAO Dan McDougall said in the release..

“Her background of 16 years in corporate human resources management has given her significant experience and skill in employee relations and workforce engagement.”

The region, which has about 130 full-time and part-time employees, hasn’t had a dedicated human resources manager until the position was created recently.

The municipality has struggled to recruit and retain employees over the past few years.

“The position is called director of people and culture to reflect our administration and council’s commitment to an uplifting work environment that embodies inclusion, safety and mutual respect,” McDougall said.

“Holly is proficient in these areas, and will focus on strengthening employee engagement by way of leadership development, human resource planning, and recruitment and retention plans.”

McConnell has 16 years’ experience in human resources positions. She is a graduate of the Institute of Professional
Management and has a Canadian Management Professional designation.

“My specialty is employee relations,” McConnell said in the release. “I derive great satisfaction helping people successfully grow in their roles and always work towards those ‘win-win-win’ situations to help drive a positive work culture.”

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Inside Global Empire Corporation’s call centre in Liverpool. (File photo by Ed Halverson)

A company that operates a call centre in Liverpool has been ordered to pay almost $200,000 to 69 former employees it laid off last March.

In a May 1 order by Nova Scotia’s Labour Standards Division, Global Empire Corporation must pay the laid-off workers a total of $193,115.04.

That’s because the company failed to give proper notice, as outlined under Nova Scotia’s Labour Standards Code.

In a mass layoff of 10 to 99 employees, a company must give at least eight weeks’ notice, or pay instead of notice. 

The decision amounts to pay of five weeks and one day for most laid-off workers. Two are entitled to five weeks and two days’ pay.

• Read the Labour Standards decision here

According to the reasons accompanying the order, Global Empire terminated 74 people on March 15, 2024, three weeks after it issued layoff notices on Feb. 26, and before the original termination date of April 19.

Debra Lalonde-MacDonald, who moved to the area a few years ago from Ontario, was one of those people who lost her job. She filed a complaint with the Nova Scotia Labour Standards Division shortly after the layoff. She provided QCCR with a copy of the decision.

Lalonde-MacDonald told QCCR this week that management assured employees that their jobs were secure, despite the February layoff notice.

“There was just an abundance of reassurance from our management that it was precautionary and that our jobs were very secure,” she said.

“For many, it was tragic, especially (those) who had moved from out of province to come here and work. For my personal situation, after three years of a local job search with valid skills and exhausting so many employers in the community, it was challenging. … Very disappointing news at that point in my life thinking of re-entering the job market that had closed its door repeatedly for three years.”

According to the decision by Labour Standards officer Kyle Barrie, the Liverpool call centre lost a contract with Lifeline Systems Company on March 1, 2024, which led to the job cuts. 

Lifeline, which provides medical alert services, claimed that Global Empire wasn’t fulfilling its obligations under the contract it signed in November 2021. 

Lifeline said the call centre failed in “providing guaranteed minimum number of agents per month, the minimum number of service hours, and meeting average speed of answer obligations.”

But according to Global Empire’s February layoff notice that was quoted in the Labour Standards ruling, it needed 130 employees to cover the Lifeline work and that it was never able to hire that many people.

“Unfortunately after many promises and failed attempts to provide our client the needed 130 employees, they no longer have faith in our hiring abilities and as such will be terminating their contract with us. We are a service provider for them, and we have not been able to provide them with the service.”

It also blamed minimum wage increases, a lack of affordable housing in Liverpool, and the provincial government for not following through on promised payroll rebates.

In the ruling, Labour Standards said Global Empire didn’t do enough to avoid the layoff.

”While (Global Empire) did take some steps to meet its obligations, such as posting ads online, going door to door, and hiring foreign workers already situated in Canada, I find it has not demonstrated on a balance of probabilities that it exercised sufficient due diligence to foresee and avoid the cause of the layoff,” Barrie wrote in his decision.

“(Global Empire) could have done more due diligence prior to entering into the service agreement of November 2021, to confirm whether it would be able to meet its staffing obligations.

“There was nothing sudden about the problems the (company) says prevented it from reaching the required staffing levels from the beginning of the service agreement with Lifeline Systems in 2021.

“In reviewing the evidence, I find the reason for the layoff was within the (company’s) control. Simply put, the (company) entered into an agreement it could not fulfill. Its failure to fulfill its responsibilities under the service agreement in 2024 cannot excuse its inability to fulfil its responsibilities from the end of 2021, through the beginning of 2022, and forward. I find the employees’ terminations were within the (company’s) control.”

For her part, Lalonde-MacDonald says she’s not celebrating yet. The company has 10 days to appeal the order to the province’s labour board. If it does, that would further delay a payout to laid-off employees.

“I’m hesitant to be elated about it,” she said.

“With the appeal process pending, only time will tell. Should they be able to collect that, it would be fantastic. That would be a relief for us all. It was hard news for us to receive for so many reasons. … I’d be happy to see that we have policy makers’ support to make sure that that money’s collected.”

Lalonde-MacDonald said it’s difficult to find a well-paying job in the area. And being properly compensated for the layoff would be a help. 

“Fourteen months later, … it’s just good to know that there’s protection but questionable on whether or not they’re going to be able to collect it.

“All we can do is hope that that order to pay is strong enough, so that the 69 of us that have been deemed entitled to our five weeks of pay in lieu of notice that we actually receive it.”

She said she’s upset that municipal and provincial governments didn’t provide more support to the former employees of Global Empire in Liverpool.

The Region of Queens signed a long-term lease with the company in December 2021 to move into the municipally owned Business Development Centre building. At the time, it was the company’s only Canadian location.

Before the layoffs, about 120 people worked at the call centre.

In early February 2024, the company wanted to renegotiate its lease with the region, saying it was using half the space it originally needed.

The region signed a new lease with the company on Feb. 1. It was approved by council in a closed-door session on Feb. 13.

The lease has never been made public.

Mayor Scott Christian said he’s not familiar with the terms of the lease, since it was signed before he was elected.

He said it’s “problematic” when employers in the community are found to have violated labour rules, but he said it doesn’t mean the region should impose its own values on one of its tenants.

“I think it’s too bad that that operation hasn’t been successful and that there have been layoffs and that they never really were able to stand up the labour force to be able to make that a vibrant and successful operation. I think that that is regrettable.”

The Department of Labour, Skills and Immigration would not comment on the ruling or say whether the company has appealed or honoured the order to pay back wages.

Neither the company nor its lawyer responded to requests for comment.

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Queens County Transit says the success of a recent fundraiser will help them keep their vans running. (Rick Conrad)

A recent fundraiser for Queens County Transit roared past all the group’s expectations.

The rural transit charity based in Liverpool held its first major fundraiser last Saturday. They teamed up with the Yuk Yuk’s standup comedy tour for a show at the Astor Theatre.

Gil Johnson, chairman of the Queens County Transit board, said it was a “huge success.”

“We had a good turnout and everybody seemed to enjoy the show and now the end result was is that we made a little over $13,000.”

Organizers were hoping to raise $10,000 from the show and a 50/50 draw. Johnson thanked the sponsors and community for their support. And he credited fellow board member Tara Smith with making it all happen.

“Tara Smith has been the driving force behind this fundraiser and if it wouldn’t have been for her, it wouldn’t have happened. She put a team together of volunteers and made this the success that it is, so the rest of us were just along for the ride.”

The service began seven years ago with one used accessible van and a team of volunteers. Its fleet has grown to eight vans, five of which are accessible. It also employs 11 people. Nine of those are drivers.

It’s one of 23 rural transit services in Nova Scotia.

Johnson says the success of the fundraiser shows people appreciate the services that Queens County Transit provides.

“It is now part of the infrastructure of Queens County. That service of moving people, keeping people connected one ride at a time. And people are starting to understand that we are there to serve.”

Johnson says the money raised will go toward their vehicle replacement fund. 

“Right now, we have an immediate need to replace one of our older vehicles that’s costing us as much in the garage as it does to get it down the road.”

​​If you need a ride on Queens County Transit, they ask that you contact them at least 24 hours in advance by contacting them at 902-356-2670, by email at info@queenscountytransit.ca or message them on Facebook.

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Members of the South Queens Middle School Grade 7/8 band perform at the Queens County Music Festival in late April. (Rick Conrad)

It looks like the band program at South Queens Middle School in Liverpool will live to play another day, though it’s unclear in what form.

Parents and others vented their frustrations online a couple of weeks ago when they heard the school planned to cut the program for next year.

It came on the eve of the 80th annual Queens County Music Festival at the Astor Theatre. The festival features young musicians and vocalists from school and private music programs being scored on their performances by trained adjudicators.

The middle school’s Grade 7 and 8 band competed at the festival.

Principal Stacy Thorburn told QCCR on Wednesday that she hopes to have good news for students and parents by the end of the week.

“It’s in the works. I’m in conversations to find out how it will look next year.”

The program includes about 40 students. 

In a message to students and their families on Friday, the school said they’re looking at ways to continue offering it next year. 

“School administration is having ongoing conversations with nearby schools to explore potential collaboration opportunities and are looking at creative staffing solutions, all with the intention to continue offering the band program,” the note read.

“Additionally, discussions regarding the band program are planned with the school advisory council.”

Thorburn didn’t want to comment on what led to the worries about the program’s survival.

“I would rather not because there are lots of things that go into play. And I’ve had conversations with our (school advisory council) and members of our community who have asked so I’d rather keep it at that for now, until we know for sure what’s happening.

“It will be here next year in some form.”

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Dave Schofield, president of the Kiwanis Club of Liverpool, Stacy Thorburn, principal of South Queens Middle School, and Ted Bulley of the Kiwanis Club at an announcement on Wednesday at the school. (Rick Conrad)

Sports teams at South Queens Middle School will be getting a new electronic scoreboard thanks to a donation from the Kiwanis Club of Liverpool.

The service organization donated $7,000 toward the $17,000 piece of equipment that will hang in the gymnasium at the Grade 6-8 school.

Principal Stacy Thorburn said the donation is “amazing”.

“To know that one of our organizations in Queens donated $7,000, it’s just unheard of. Even through our fundraising, as thankful as we are to everyone, we weren’t able to raise that much money, so a one-time donation of $7,000 is huge.”

Currently, a scoreboard is projected onto one of the walls of the gym. 

“Which is great when technology’s working, but it had its time,” Thorburn said. “And so we thought well, we don’t have a scoreboard and we have lots of community basketball coming in, we have sports teams from other schools coming in, so we thought that would be a priority for right now.”

Thorburn said the whole community pitched in. A youth in the community donated what he made from giving basketball lessons, Liverpool Regional High School donated proceeds from their annual alumni basketball tournament, the school itself held an online auction and the school’s advisory council contributed $2,000.

“We couldn’t have done it without the community and the parents from South Queens, which is amazing.”

Dave Schofield, president of the Kiwanis Club of Liverpool, said usually the club gives up to $1,000 for specific projects.

“Initially we were thinking a smaller amount. And one of our members said, we got extra money this year from running the canteen at Queens Place, let’s go all in on the scoreboard, so that’s what we did.

“You like to see everyone working together for a common goal.”

The school held a short ceremony on Wednesday morning to unveil the Kiwanis contribution. Students, staff and Region of Queens Mayor Scott Christian were there, as well as Kiwanis Club members from Liverpool, Halifax and Kingston, Jamaica.

Pam Rodney-White is governor of the eastern Canada and Caribbean district for Kiwanis International.

As part of her duties, she’s touring Canada’s six districts. And she was in town on Wednesday visiting the Liverpool chapter.

She said the Liverpool chapter’s support for the scoreboard is an example of the kinds of contributions Kiwanis clubs make to help kids and communities.

“It’s fantastic. I really want to congratulate the Kiwanis Club of Liverpool for the donation of the scoreboard. I’m sure the students are going to be happy when they look up there and see that they are making some runs, not fouls.”

Thorburn says she hopes to have the scoreboard installed over the summer in time for when students return in the fall.

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Willa Thorpe is the new chief administrative officer for the Region of Queens. (Region of Queens Municipality)

UPDATED Mon., May 12

The Region of Queens has hired a new chief administrative officer.

Willa Thorpe will take over as the municipality’s top staffer on June 16, after regional councillors unanimously approved her appointment on Tuesday.

Thorpe is from British Columbia, where she is the director of parks, recreation and culture for the City of Port Alberni.

She has 10 years of experience in local government, though she has 20 years working in senior leadership roles. This will be her first job running a municipality.

Mayor Scott Christian said he’s excited to welcome Thorpe to the region and to the community.

“She demonstrated throughout the recruitment process that she’s incredibly skilled when it comes to directing organizations and the people within organizations and in meaningful ways and getting the best out of them,” he told QCCR Tuesday evening, after councillors approved her appointment.

“
And we know that that’s really what we need. We need a leader who’s going to be able to get the best out of the team and get this organization moving in a new direction, in a better direction. We know that there’s modernization that needs to occur. 
We know that there’s going to be changes, significant changes to the way that we do business, to the way that residents interact with the organization and the way that they receive services. And so that’s the first thing is her her skill set, her credentials, that she brings to the table.

“And then the other thing that really set her apart was her value that she placed on being of and in community.”

Christian said residents and regional councillors emphasized the importance of having a CAO that lives in Queens County and is involved in the community.

“We heard loud and clear from our residents,” he said.

“There was a lot of feedback on previous CAOs that weren’t very involved in the community. Some didn’t live in the community and there were a lot of expectations to say, ‘Hey, our next CAO should really be someone who lives in the community, is involved in the community, is engaged, active, visible in the community.'”

Christian said that during the hiring process, Thorpe “really shone” by demontrating her involvement in her community in Port Alberni through coaching and volunteering.

“And so she just demonstrated how she shows up in community and what that looks like. 
And how important it would be to her if she is the next CAO for our municipality to be really, really involved in Queens.”

Thorpe has a PhD in industrial/organizational psychology, as well as a masters in leadership. She also has a kinesiology and health studies degree, and she’s a certified coach.

Thorpe told QCCR she’s “very excited” to start the job and move to the region, especially since it has so many waterfront areas.

“I’m really trying to replicate the lifestyle that I’ve got on the West Coast and so when I was looking at Queens noticed that there’s lots of local community pride, which is very exciting and everyone I talked to in the community just seems so ecstatic to be in Nova Scotia, from Nova Scotia and being from the Queens area. And I also love the inclusiveness of Nova Scotia as well so seems like just a great fit.”

Thorpe is originally from Ontario, but has worked and lived in various places in Canada. This will be her first time living on the East Coast.

Her wife Carrie and their rescue dog Hershey will also be making the move with her. They plan to head out in early June in their camper van to drive the TransCanada Highway from B.C. to Nova Scotia.

“I’ve done portions of it, but I’ve never done the whole thing in one shot, so excited for the beginning of June to be doing the entire trek from West to East.”

She said she’s impressed with what she’s seen so far.

“It seems like there’s a great investment in community. It seems very exciting and something that I want to be part of, so I thought as my first opportunity to be a chief administrative officer, I thought it really ticked all the boxes and it seems like there’s a lot of really good stuff going on in the region.”

Thorpe said that she and her wife have already been house shopping in the area.

“Hoping to set down roots as soon as we can.”

The region has been searching for a new CAO since they fired Cody Joudry in December 2024. 

Dan McDougall has been filling in on an interim basis since January.

Thorpe will be the region’s sixth permanent CAO since amalgamation 29 years ago.

Christian said Thorpe will be making in the range of $170,000 a year.

According to the federal job bank, wages for CAO positions in the southern region of Nova Scotia ranged from a low of $50.35 an hour to a high of $111.30 an hour.

Cathie O’Toole, the CAO for Halifax, makes an annual salary of about $292,000, according to Halifax’s Sunshine List salary disclosure. The Town of Kentville is searching for a new CAO and promising a salary range of $150,000 to $180,000.

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Regional councillors are back to budget talks on Tuesday evening. (Rick Conrad)

The Region of Queens is about to announce who its new top staffer will be.

Councillors will publicly appoint the region’s new chief administrative officer at a special meeting on Tuesday at 6 p.m.

In a staff report, acting municipal clerk Heather Cook says more than 40 applications for the job were received from across Canada.

Shortlisted candidates went through two interviews with the region’s CAO selection committee. That committee included Mayor Scott Christian, and councillors Maddie Charlton, Stewart Jenkins and Courtney Wentzell.

Councillors fired the previous CAO Cody Joudry in mid-December. No reason was given for his dismissal. Joudry was on the job for just over a year, hired in September 2023.

Dan McDougall has filled in as interim CAO since Joudry was fired.

The region’s new CAO is set to start the job in mid-June.

Queens councillors are also back to budget discussions on Tuesday evening. 

This will be the third public meeting about the 2025/26 budget.

Councillors began their budget deliberations on April 24 by looking at capital and infrastructure spending. Last week, they tackled the operating budget. 

On Tuesday evening, they’ll address issues that came up in the first two meetings, as well as any other changes or requests from councillors.

Mayor Scott Christian told QCCR last week that the region has about a $1-million surplus from 2024/25. But he said the specific surplus won’t be known until finance staff go through the final numbers and release the audited figures later this year.

Residents or the media were not provided with draft budget documents as they were last year. So far, only the region’s staff and councillors have a complete picture of the actual numbers from 2024/25 and the forecasted totals for this year.

The special meeting will be held at council chambers on White Point Road and livestreamed on YouTube and Facebook.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

Donna Croft and Gil Johnson of Queens County Transit in Liverpool are gearing up the group’s Yuk Yuk’s fundraiser at the Astor Theatre on Saturday. (Rick Conrad)

Queens County Transit got on the road seven years ago with one used wheelchair-accessible van catering mostly to seniors in Liverpool.

“When we started out, we had one old used wheelchair-accessible van that we got from over in Clare. And I think it was in the garage more than it was on the road,” says chairman Gil Johnson.

Now, the community organization based in Liverpool provides affordable transportation around Queens County and beyond.

It’s one of 23 rural transit services around Nova Scotia.

The Queens County Transit fleet has grown to eight vans, five of which are accessible. And it employs 11 people, nine of whom are drivers.

Ridership is up too, by almost 30 per cent over the past two years. In 2023/24, the service completed 8,218 trips. About three-quarters of those were for seniors. Ridership so far this year is up by more than 1,000, with only half of overall passengers seniors.

But with increased popularity come increased costs. 

“Without community support we would be dead in the water, we wouldn’t be operating,” Johnson says.

“Seven years ago, Queens County was one of four counties in the province that did not have a transit system. Today, we’re one of the leaders and we’re proud of that and we want to be able to keep going but we can’t do it without funding partners, fundraisers. ”

That’s why Queens County Transit has organized its first major fundraiser at the Astor Theatre for this Saturday, May 3. They’ve teamed up with the Yuk Yuk’s standup comedy tour for a show at the historic theatre at 7:30. 

Comedians Francois Weber, Andrew Evans and Ian Black are set to hit the Astor stage.

“That’s going to be a good event,” Johnson says. “It’s going to be something new. Yuk Yuk’s haven’t been to Liverpool in quite some time.”

They’re also planning a silent auction at the event.

Queens County Transit gets about 35 per cent of its operational funding from the province and some other funding from the Region of Queens. 

That funding and community support are vital so that the service can continue to offer rides to residents at reasonable rates.

A round trip within Liverpool, Brooklyn or Milton costs $10. That goes up to about $15 for longer rides to other areas of the county.

But the service also offers much-needed subsidized rides for medical trips to Queens General Hospital in Liverpool or to Halifax.

Manager Donna Croft says that through funding from the Queens General Hospital Foundation, it can offer a round-trip to an appointment in Halifax for as little as $100. The full cost is usually $160.

“It’s not only the seniors we’re catering to,” Croft says. “We’re catering to all ages. Say a mom with an infant has to go to the city to the IWK and she has no means of getting there or she has to wait for an ambulance to take them through. We have the monies through (the hospital foundation) that we can do that drive for them to get her to the IWK.”

“That’s a huge piece of the mandate of community transit, is to be able to get people to those appointments in an affordable fashion because it goes back to our funding partners,” Johnson says. “They’re the ones who help us subsidize those rides. But if you wanted to rent Queens County Transit to go shopping just on your own or to go for a drive, that’s available as well. It wouldn’t be subsidized. It would be fully funded out of pocket.”

Tickets are still available for the Yuk Yuk’s comedy fundraiser through the Astor Theatre box office or Ticketpro.ca.

And if you need a ride on Queens County Transit, they ask that you contact them at least 24 hours in advance by contacting them at 902-356-2670, by email at info@queenscountytransit.ca or message them on Facebook.

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Shelly Panczyk is the chairwoman of the Queens County Food Bank in Liverpool. (Rick Conrad)

The Queens County Food Bank won’t have to worry about its rent for the next four years as Region of Queens councillors voted this week to give the group a rent subsidy.

As part of its budget talks, councillors agreed to the food bank’s request for an annual grant of $15,500 to cover the rent at its Main Street location in Liverpool. 

Shelly Panczyk, chair of the Queens County Food Bank, told QCCR on Thursday that “it’s a wonderful thing.”

“That helps us out because it will give us more working capital to purchase food,” she said.

“We’ve been back and forth with the last council. This is probably our fourth time trying to get something and this council has done it. And I’ve got to give them a good clap around, because they’ve done a good thing. And I think people will step up and be aware that this council is a workable council.”

Before the food bank was forced out of a derelict municipal property in 2019 and began leasing space on Main Street, it paid no rent. Demand for their services has grown, as food costs have risen and donations have plummeted by about 50 per cent.

About 240 families a month use the Liverpool group’s services.

Food bank representatives appealed to councillors at their March 25 meeting for rent relief after the organization was hit with a $10,000 bill to fix its freezer. It’s also committed to begin food pantries for elementary and high school students throughout Queens County.

Mayor Scott Christian said councillors are trying to make more room in the region’s budget to help residents on low or fixed incomes. Council is also considering expanding the region’s low-income property tax exemption program.

“It’s really hard when you’re an organization like Queens County Food Bank when you don’t have certainty of available resources, like you’re constantly competing for available grants,” he said.

“
Their board members did a good job of articulating the financial need that that group has and those are the type of investments I think this council likes to make, so I’m pleased to see if we spend $20 to $25,000 on the low-income tax exemptions and another $15,500 on the food bank, again, it’s challenging, and we need to make sure that the province pays their fair share as it relates to community wellness, but from my perspective, that’s money well spent from the municipality.” 

Council has another budget meeting scheduled for Tues., May 6 at 6 p.m.

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Region of Queens Mayor Scott Christian, right, wraps up the municipality’s second budget meeting on Monday night. Also pictured is interim CAO Dan McDougall. (Region of Queens YouTube channel)

Region of Queens councillors began their 2025/26 budget discussions with some money in the bank from 2024/25, as they look to make life a little easier for people on low or fixed incomes.

Mayor Scott Christian said the region has a surplus in the million-dollar range. But he said it’s difficult to know for sure until finance staff crunch the final numbers.

Last year, council began budget deliberations with a $650,000 surplus from 2023/24. Nova Scotia municipalities are not allowed to run an operating budget deficit.

Councillors are following a different process this year. While the meetings are public, residents don’t have access to draft budget documents as they did in last year’s discussions.

“I think in past years, there was a lot of emphasis on starting with a tax rate and then working down or whittling away at that or as you add things, the tax rate implications,” Christian told QCCR.

“I think that this year we wanted to focus on funding the right things, identifying what are going to be appropriate things to include in the capital investment plan, and then get that operating budget right. 
So I think it was a conscious decision but that was staff-driven that they thought that let’s try to get it right, try to set the appropriate budget given what the needs of the community are, and then look at it on balance with revenue and see what the implications are for the ratepayer.”

In their second public budget meeting earlier this week, councillors discussed boosting the low-income property tax exemption and helping the Queens County Food Bank with its rent.

They also found out that the region has about $325,000 left over from the renovations to the new Thomas H. Raddall Library space. Councillors had approved up to $1.26 million for that work.

And revenue at Queens Place Emera Centre is forecasted to be down this year because of less advertising and sponsorship and no major full-facility rentals planned to March 31, 2026.

Heading into 2025/26, the region expects to get $20.5 million in property tax revenue, an increase of $900,000, based on the current base tax rate of $1.04 per $100 of assessment.

That increase is mostly due to higher property assessments, which rose by $86.9 million.

Director of corporate services Joanne Veinotte took councillors through the region’s preliminary operating budget.

It was a chance for councillors to request changes, more information or additional funding.

Councillors like District 4 representative Vicki Amirault want the low-income property tax exemption increased to give more relief potentially to more people. 

“I would like to up the income level,” she told councillors. “
I think we should up it $5,000 on each stage there, and up the rebate as well. I think it would be very helpful to our residents.”

Last year, the region increased the maximum income threshold to $35,000. Those in the lowest income range, up to $25,000, can get a $400 break on their taxes. Those in the top group can apply for up to $300 in relief.

Veinotte said she would report back to councillors on what relief the region could offer depending on how much more money councillors devote to the program.

District 3 Coun. Courtney Wentzell said he wants council to have a serious look at the Mount Pleasant water and wastewater extension. The region has budgeted $10.8 million toward the $21-million project. The Nova Scotia government is covering the rest.

The project would extend municipal water and sewer access to two new private housing developments in Liverpool. It would also improve existing infrastructure.

“The extension to Mount Pleasant boggles my mind when we have so much infrastructure need, including sidewalks … but not just that, with the upgrades needed in water on the west side of town, up till Union Street, I’m really having some reservations about the extension at all,” Wentzell said.

“And I’m speaking from the heart. I’m sorry if that upsets some people.”

Christian said after the meeting that councillors want to understand what exactly is involved in that project and potentially look for ways to lower the municipality’s share of the cost. 

“This council’s not OK with incurring a huge amount of debt that could potentially be paid for by the general ratepayer and/or utilizing reserves that have been accumulated from the general ratepayer to pay for that service extension. And we currently don’t have any federal monies that are committed to that project. I think that that’s problematic. What is the plan with service extension? What impacts does that have on preparing us for future growth but also what impacts does it have, attending to known and foreseeable issues associated with the existing infrastructure for our utilities?”

Councillors will resume budget talks on Tues., May 6 at 6 p.m. at council chambers on White Point Road.

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Queens General Hospital. Photo Ed Halverson

The emergency department at Queens General Hospital in Liverpool will be closed at 5:30 a.m. Thursday, May 1, until 8 a.m. Friday, May 2.

The ER is usually open 24 hours a day from 8 a.m. Monday to 1:30 p.m. Friday. Nova Scotia Health gave no reason for the Thursday closure.

Virtual urgent care will be available at the hospital from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Patients are accepted up to 60 minutes before closing time.

Patients of Queens Family Health can access the same-day clinic for certain conditions by calling 902-354-3322.

There’s a mobile primary care clinic scheduled for the North Queens Community Health Centre in Caledonia on Thurs., May 22 from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

An undated aerial photo of the former Bowater Mersey plant in Brooklyn. (Queens County Historical Society Photo Collection, housed at the Queens County Museum)

Northern Pulp has asked for another extension in protection from its creditors as it continues to look for financing to build a new kraft pulp mill in Liverpool.

The company, owned by Domtar-controlled Paper Excellence, has been under creditor protection since June 2020 after it closed its pulp mill in Abercrombie Point, Pictou County.

On March 10, the company and the Nova Scotia government announced that Northern Pulp would get a five-week extension while it tried to make a profitable business case for a new kraft pulp mill in Liverpool.

That was after the company said that its nine-month feasibility study found that a new mill in Liverpool didn’t make business sense. It said it would spend the five-week extension looking for private and public financing.

The multinational corporation estimated a new mill would cost $2.5 billion in government and private funding to design and build. And it would require an annual rate of return of at least 14 per cent, as outlined in a settlement agreement signed with the Nova Scotia government and approved by a B.C. court in May 2024.

Bowater operated a pulp and paper mill in Brooklyn, near Liverpool, from 1929 to 2012, over the years employing thousands of people in Queens County.

In a news release Tuesday evening, Northern Pulp said it filed documents earlier in the day requesting the extension under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act until July 18.

“The company will use this time to further advance preparations for a potential sale of its assets, should a new mill not be feasible,” the release said. “Additionally, Northern Pulp will continue discussions with various stakeholders and rights holders regarding the feasibility of establishing a new bioproducts hub in Liverpool, Nova Scotia.”

Premier Tim Houston sent a letter on March 20 to Prime Minister Mark Carney and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre asking them both to support the company’s application for federal financing through the Canada Infrastructure Bank.

Natural Resources Minister Tory Rushton told QCCR in March that the province has been working with the company to make a new mill work.

“We know we need a home for the low-grade wood fibre but at the end of the day, this is going to be a business decision from their part,” Rushton said.

“We’re willing to work with them to meet the environmental standards of a new-era mill that would find a home for ecologically produced forest products.”

Paper Excellence has said a new mill would also potentially produce biogas and biochemicals used in food, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and adhesives.

Last May, Houston announced a deal with Paper Excellence to settle the company’s $450-million lawsuit against the province after Northern Pulp was forced to close its mill because of environmental concerns.

The hearing on the company’s latest request is set for Fri., May 2.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

Newly elected South Shore-St. Margarets MP Jessica Fancy-Landry speaks to a voter in Liverpool earlier in the campaign. (Rick Conrad)

UPDATED TUESDAY at 5:20 P.M.

Voters in South Shore-St. Margarets went back to the Liberals on Monday night, electing first-time candidate Jessica Fancy-Landry in a decisive victory.

Fancy-Landry beat Conservative incumbent Rick Perkins by about 7,000 votes, grabbing 55 per cent support.

The Liberal got 27,871 votes to Perkins’s 20,854, according to preliminary results from Elections Canada.

“I think it was our positivity,” she told QCCR in an interview.

“We ran a very positive and clean and energetic campaign and I think that really resonated with a lot of people here.”

Turnout in the riding was just over 72 per cent, which was higher than the national rate of about 67 per cent.

Fancy-Landry is originally from Caledonia and now lives in Bridgewater. She’s a teacher at Forest Heights Community School in Chester Basin.

Perkins was first elected in 2021, ousting then-fisheries minister Bernadette Jordan.

Fancy-Landry said the big issue on the campaign trail was affordability and people’s concerns over the cost of living.

“Also, Trump and tariffs and then being a coastal riding, definitely fisheries,” she said. 

“But I really think right now it’s time to unify all of our community and really build on this positivity and build trust back where the Liberal Party might have lost trust in a couple of different areas within the riding.”

She said she believes growing up in the area helped cement her win.

“I think that was my secret sauce. We need someone who has been here, has their feet on the street, has raised their kids here and really knows those intimate concerns and issues for the area and has the connections to bring people together.

“I really think it was that positivity in bringing people together that really spoke to a lot of people because politics right now is just so divisive. And we need to unify as a nation. And I really felt like … now that we have that mandate, we can start doing a lot of really good work.”

She said she’s already heard from municipal leaders from around the riding, as well as other Liberal MPs to help her in her new role.

Fancy-Landry said that in the next few weeks, she’ll be getting orientation as a first-time MP and meeting with the rest of the newly elected Liberal caucus.

She’ll also be wrapping up her career as a teacher.

But she’s looking forward to getting to work as the MP for South Shore-St. Margarets.

“That’s been my tagline for the last 37 days: ‘Let’s get to work,’” she said. 

“And now we’re here and we’ve got to put our money where our mouth is and work really hard for our constituents, all constituents.”

The Green Party’s Mark Embrett finished third with 818 votes. Patrick Boyd of the People’s Party of Canada was the choice of 698 people and independent candidate Hayden Henderson got 460 votes.

Elections Canada said 50,701 of 70,205 eligible electors voted. That included just over 19,000 people who turned out for advance polls over the Easter weekend.

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Katharina Cochrane, vice-president of the South Queens Chamber of Commerce, says voters seem to be ‘dialled in’ during this election. (Rick Conrad)

Nova Scotia’s South Shore is known for its ocean breezes and waterfront vistas, drawing thousands of tourists each year to relax on its many beaches.

But in the 2025 federal election campaign, there’s nothing laidback about the race to win the riding of South Shore-St. Margarets.

Incumbent Rick Perkins is trying to keep the seat for the Conservatives, while newcomer Jessica Fancy-Landry hopes to win it back for the Liberals. Mark Embrett is running for the Green Party and Patrick Boyd is representing the People’s Party of Canada. Hayden Henderson is running as an Independent.

In the 2021 election, Perkins beat Liberal incumbent Bernadette Jordan by about four per cent, or 1,800 votes. The NDP finished a strong third, capturing 19 per cent of the vote. Turnout was about 63 per cent.

This time, however, with no declared NDP candidate, it appears to be a two-way race between Conservative Perkins and Liberal Fancy-Landry in the April 28 vote.

2025 FEDERAL ELECTION: QCCR INTERVIEWS THE CANDIDATES

• Conservative Rick Perkins
• Liberal Jessica Fancy-Landry
• Green Party’s Mark Embrett
• People’s Party of Canada’s Patrick Boyd

Perkins lives in St. Margarets Bay and says this is the most enthusiastic voters have been since he first ran in 2019.

“I’m getting a great response, a lot of people appreciating the job I’ve done for the last four years, and we’re almost running out of signs,” he told QCCR in early April.

Fancy-Landry is originally from Caledonia, Queens Co., and now lives in Bridgewater. The teacher, community volunteer and first-time candidate says it’s been an energetic campaign so far, with lots of great conversations with voters.

“Tariffs and Trump seem to be on the lips of everybody that we are talking to,” she says.

“Affordability. We’re hearing a lot about environmental (concerns), coastal impact, whether it’s fishing, whether it’s Christmas tree farming, whether it’s some of our forestry. People have really been reaching out to see what we can do to help bolster and support the different economies along our South Shore.”

The Greens’ Embrett is an implementation scientist with Nova Scotia Health. This is the Queensland resident’s first full campaign, though he’s had his name on the ballot in previous elections for the Greens.

“I decided to align myself with the Green Party because their values around equity and transparency and government and fairness and policies really echoed my own beliefs and my own values.”

The People’s Party’s Boyd is originally from Vancouver and moved to Sable River three years ago, after spending some time overseas in international banking. This the first campaign for the consultant and hobby farmer.

“We’re sicker than we’ve ever been. We’re poorer than we’ve ever been. We’re more censored than we’ve ever been. And at the same time, you can see the parties that are running, they can really be described as a globalist uniparty. So whether you’re on the Liberal side or the Conservative side, it’s really hard to differentiate or distinguish between policies.”

The riding covers a vast territory, stretching from Head of St. Margarets Bay outside Halifax to Clark’s Harbour at the southwestern tip of Nova Scotia.

In the 2021 election, it counted just under 80,000 voters. But it lost some of those electors when the boundaries were redrawn in 2023.

People seem motivated this time to get out and vote. About 19,000 people voted in advance polls over the Easter weekend, mirroring early turnout in the rest of Nova Scotia at about 25 per cent.

Katharina Cochrane is vice-president of the South Queens Chamber of Commerce. 

“I think people are really dialed in on this election this time which in the past people (were) not really that interested, but even younger people, first-time voters, they’re very anxious about the whole situation with America. And in general, it’s not as easy to get yourself in a situation where you can afford a house or get a place, live a middle-class life.

“So I think people are very anxious to see some changes.”

Cochrane says some of the main concerns in the Liverpool area are housing, poverty and rural development.

“There’s a lot of low-income housing that needs to be built. We’re one of the poorest ridings, probably in Nova Scotia, so that needs to be addressed. 
And then the whole rural development for small businesses, like what can be done to help small businesses to get on their feet when they start up. Come up with maybe tax breaks that would be helpful for the community.”

She said the commercial fishery and the environmental impacts of open-pen fish farming are also among the issues at play.

At a recent candidates meet and greet in Liverpool, voters said the lucrative lobster fishery, the fear of Trump tariffs and the overall tenor of politics were on people’s minds.

Danielle Robertson of Port Joli said she wants to see the federal government enforce fisheries regulations to help protect an industry that generates close to $500 million for southwestern Nova Scotia.

Fishermen are upset with what they see as illegal fishing in the wake of the Marshall decisions that guaranteed Indigenous communities a moderate livelihood in the fishery.

“Where I live I can see evidence of abuse of the fishery and overfishing,” Robertson said.

“And I’ve talked to fisheries officers who feel like they’re not able to do their job. And I think our resources are really taking a hit. I think our fish are being overfished. And I’m really hoping that the federal government will step up and enforce their federal fishing policies.”

Conservative Perkins says he’s been a big advocate for fish harvesters since he was elected in 2021. And he says the Liberals haven’t done enough to crack down on poachers.

“We believe it begins with enforcing the law, and then sitting down once the law is enforced and people are abiding by the law and negotiating for more access for First Nations. As long as there’s no penalty and no enforcement, why would I come to the table to negotiate when the government lets me do whatever I want, whenever I want?”

Liberal Fancy-Landry says that she wants to bring all sides to the table, while acknowledging the Department of Fisheries and Oceans must be allowed to enforce the law.

“Another thing is how many of the fishermen have actually been brought to the table when policy and draft bills have been in place. So it’s that engagement piece,” she says.

“I think a lot of the time people feel disenfranchised or disempowered because they haven’t been asked to be at the table. … The line’s drawn in the sand right now with Conservative versus Liberal versus whatever party. It’s time for us to all come together and actually have some courageous conversations.”

Scot Slessor, a stained glass artist in Liverpool, says this election is an opportunity to tackle interprovincial trade barriers. But he says regardless of the issue, he wants more co-operation among the parties.

“I’m looking for people who are going to be willing to work together,” Slessor says.

“You know, we’ve seen that minority governments get a lot done for our country, but the way people are interacting has been extremely negative. And I’m really hopeful that we can bring that a little bit back to some civility.”

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A Queens County man is the latest victim of intimate partner violence in Nova Scotia, RCMP say. (RCMP)

RCMP have charged a man with second-degree murder in a domestic assault in Queens County in late March.

On March 28 at 3:30 a.m., Queens District RCMP and paramedics responded to a weapons call at a home in Mill Village.  

They found an 84-year-old man with life-threatening injuries after being stabbed. Another man fled earlier in a vehicle.

Officers arrested a suspect later that morning, at about 7:45 a.m. at a home in Voglers Cove.

Derek Dominix, 60, of Mill Village was charged then with attempted murder.

The 84-year-old man died on April 11 in hospital, where he had been since the attack.

The Nova Scotia medical examiner’s office ruled the death a homicide, according to an RCMP news release.

Police say it’s a case of intimate partner violence.

The Southwest Nova RCMP major crime unit took over the investigation and upgraded the attempted murder charge to second-degree murder on April 22.

Dominix remains in custody and will appear in Bridgewater provincial court on May 15, at 9:30 a.m.

This is the ninth person killed because of intimate partner violence in Nova Scotia since Oct. 18, 2024. Seven women have been killed in cases linked to their male partners. In one of those cases, a woman’s father was also killed.

An RCMP spokeswoman said they won’t be releasing the victim’s name.

Anyone experiencing, or at risk of, intimate partner violence can seek help anonymously by calling 211 or 1-855-225-0220.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

Rick Perkins, Jessica Fancy-Landry, Mark Embrett and Patrick Boyd are four of the candidates running in South Shore-St. Margarets. 

QCCR has interviewed four of the candidates running in the riding of South Shore-St. Margarets in the April 28 federal election.

Conservative Rick Perkins, Liberal Jessica Fancy-Landry, the Green Party’s Mark Embrett and Patrick Boyd of the People’s Party of Canada spoke to us about various issues, including those specific to Queens County. Independent candidate Hayden Henderson did not respond to our request for an interview.

The riding covers more than 8,000 square kilometres and stretches from Tantallon outside Halifax to Clark’s Harbour in southwestern Nova Scotia. It was redrawn after the 2021 election and lost some its areas to the riding of Halifax West.

Conservative Rick Perkins defeated Liberal incumbent Bernadette Jordan in the 2021 election by about 1,800 votes. In that election, the NDP candidate got about 19 per cent of the vote.

This time, however, there is no declared NDP candidate. And the riding has lost some of its suburban Halifax voters after it was redrawn in 2023.

QCCR will be airing each of the four interviews with the candidates at 99.3 FM in Liverpool at 2:30 p.m. each day, beginning Thurs., April 24 through to April 27.

You can also follow the links below to listen to each of the interviews.

• Conservative Rick Perkins
• Liberal Jessica Fancy-Landry
• Green Party’s Mark Embrett
• People’s Party of Canada’s Patrick Boyd

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

Rick Perkins is the Conservative candidate in South Shore-St. Margarets. (Rick Perkins photo)

Rick Perkins is trying to hold onto the South Shore-St. Margarets seat for the Conservative Party of Canada in the April 28 federal election.

He was first elected in 2021, ousting Liberal MP and then Fisheries Minister Bernadette Jordan by about 1,800 votes.

He’s up against Liberal Jessica Fancy-Landry, Green Party candidate Mark Embrett, People’s Party of Canada candidate Patrick Boyd and Independent Hayden Henderson.

The riding covers more than 8,000 square kilometres and stretches from Tantallon outside Halifax to Clark’s Harbour in southwestern Nova Scotia. It was redrawn after the 2021 election and lost some its areas to the riding of Halifax West.

This is the first in a series of interviews QCCR conducted with candidates about some issues specific to Queens County.

The interview was recorded on April 3 and edited for length.

Listen to our interview with Rick Perkins here:

Jessica Fancy-Landry is the Liberal candidate in the riding of South Shore-St. Margarets. (Jessica Fancy-Landry)

Jessica Fancy-Landry is trying to take back the riding of South Shore-St. Margarets for the Liberals in the April 28 federal election.

She’s up against incumbent MP Rick Perkins, who won the seat in the 2021 election over Liberal MP Bernadette Jordan by about 1,800 votes.

Fancy-Landry, a Bridgewater resident and first-time candidate, is a teacher at Forest Heights Community School in Chester Basin.

She’s also a community volunteer, including serving as past board chair with the Rural Communities Foundation of Nova Scotia.

Fancy-Landry grew up in Caledonia, Queens County. We asked her about various local issues in the campaign, including the commercial fishery and the prospect of a new kraft pulp mill in Liverpool.

The interview was recorded on April 9 and edited for length.

Listen to our interview with Jessica Fancy-Landry below:

Mark Embrett is the candidate for the Green Party in South Shore-St. Margarets. (Rick Conrad)

Mark Embrett is trying to make a breakthrough in the federal riding of South Shore-St. Margarets for the Green Party of Canada in the April 28 federal election.

The Queensland resident is an implementation scientist with Nova Scotia Health.

In the 2021 election, the Green Party captured just under three per cent of the vote in the riding.

Embrett told QCCR in this instalment of candidate interviews that he realizes the Green Party likely won’t form government, but he said it’s important to have a party raising issues around equity, the economy and the environment.

The interview was recorded on April 7 and edited for length.

Listen to our interview with Mark Embrett below:

Patrick Boyd is the candidate for the People’s Party of Canada in South Shore-St. Margarets. (Rick Conrad)

Patrick Boyd is the candidate for the People’s Party of Canada in the April 28 federal election.

The consultant and hobby farmer lives in Sable River, Shelburne Co., and is a first-time candidate.

Conservative incumbent Rick Perkins, Liberal Jessica Fancy-Landry, the Greens’ Mark Embrett and Independent Hayden Henderson are the other candidates.

This is another in our series of interviews with candidates in the riding.

We asked Boyd about his and his party’s views on immigration and the temporary foreign worker program, as well as the commercial fishery and the prospect of a new kraft pulp mill in Queens County.

The interview was recorded on April 11 and edited for length.

Listen to our interview with Patrick Boyd below: