Kim Jackson, president of the Nova Scotia Native Council Zone 9, organized the National Indigenous Peoples Day event in Liverpool on Friday. (Rick Conrad)
People from indigenous communities across Canada celebrated National Indigenous Peoples Day on Friday.
In Liverpool, the Nova Scotia Native Council Zone 9 organized an event at Great Oak Park near the Hank Snow Home Town Museum on Friday afternoon and evening.
People from around Queens County turned out for the cultural celebration featuring dancing, drumming, a vendors market with Mi’kmaw artisans and some traditional foods.
QCCR spoke to Kim Jackson of Milton, president of the Nova Scotia Native Council Zone 9, and other people at the event.
Minister Kim Masland announces funding for new athletic facilities at Liverpool Regional High. Photo Ed Halverson
New athletic facilities and a walking trail are coming to Liverpool Regional High School.
Public Works Minister and MLA for Queens Kim Masland announced a combined $2.75 million from three levels of government to replace the school’s existing soccer field with artificial turf and build a 400-metre-long gravel running track.
The new artificial turf field will resolve long-standing issues with drainage.
At Friday’s announcement Masland said Queens has a history of producing world-class athletes and construction of the new field will support future athletes by allowing them to train closer to home.
“The big thing for us is we want to make sure that we’re providing a facility that people can use in our community. We have amazing athletes. We talked a little bit today about Sarah Mitton and [in] the announcement we talk about our special Olympians,” said Masland. “Many of our athletes have to travel to Bridgewater to be able to adequately train, so this will be able to keep people home and also bring people here for events.”
LRHS Principal Todd Symes says the effort to replace the school field began about six or seven years ago.
“Students always went to other schools and were kind of jealous or envious of facilities in other schools had and then logistically, a lot of our students had to travel to participate, to have the same advantages that a lot of other areas already had,” said Symes. “So, the students themselves came up with an idea. They came up with the design to come up with a plan and they were adamant that they wanted something done. So, we had students that were with us for 3-4 years. They worked the whole time they were here to engage community members, to draw designs, to work with staff members, to initiate development of a non-profit society and they were the ones who started the dream.”
Symes says the current funding will build the track and field and students will be approaching the community to help raise another $200,000 to realize the entire vision, including a Mi’kmaw learning trail.
Masland says the tender to replace the track and field will be released later this fall and the new field is expected to be completed in 2024.
Damaged retaining wall on Shore Rd in Western Head. Photo Ed Halverson
Also announced Friday was $1 million in funding from the federal and provincial governments to protect two stretches of Shore Rd in Western Head which are dealing with erosion and flooding.
Work will include reinforcing an existing retaining wall and excavating existing rock and gravel to provide more protection against the effects of climate change.
Masland says work on that project will be performed by local Public Works staff beginning this fall and finishing in spring of 2024.
To hear the broadcast of this story click play below.
Region of Queens administration building. Photo Ed Halverson
The Region of Queens Municipality’s Council has hired a new Chief Administrative Officer (CAO).
During the September 26 regular council meeting, councillors voted unanimously to appoint Cody Joudry.
Joudry has over 16 years of municipal experience with previous leadership positions in Development and Tourism and Economic Development in Ontario, and management experience in Annapolis County. His diverse expertise spans community engagement, strategic planning, economic development, and customer relations.
Joudry’s family originates in Caledonia and he is a proud member of the L’sitkuk First Nation.
In a statement released by the municipality Joudry is quoted as saying, “I am honored to serve Region of Queens Municipality and look forward to leveraging my experience and passion in the service and for the prosperity of the residents.”
The Region of Queens has been without a full time CAO since Chris McNeill resigned in May.
Interim CAO Dan MacDougall, who held the position since May 2023, will work alongside Joudry during a brief overlap period to ensure a smooth transition. Mayor Darlene Norman expressed her gratitude to MacDougall, who came out of retirement to assist the municipality, as well as the Department Directors who served as acting CAOs during the summer months.
Cody Joudry becomes the fifth CAO for the Region of Queens Municipality since amalgamation in 1996 and promises to build positive and collaborative relationships with staff, Council, community members, and stakeholders in his new leadership role.
Joudry will start his tenure as CAO in mid-November.
To hear the broadcast of this story click play below.
A picnic in Kejimkujik. Photo courtesy Parks Canada
If the early bookings are any indication, it’s going to be a busy year at Kejimkujik.
Almost 10,000 campers raced to book their favourite spots at the National Park and Historic Site when the online reservation system opened on March 31, a nine percent increase over last year.
The feat is more remarkable considering Parks Canada rolled out a new online booking system this year, requiring all users to create new accounts.
Visitor Experience Manager at Kejimkujik National Park and Historic Site Sophie Borcoman says Keji is consistently one of the most popular parks in Canada.
“Kejimkujik, every year we have such a loyal fan base of 85 percent repeat visitation who come back year after year, multiple generations,” said Borcoman. “And we’ve for, between Jasper and Banff, as being the most popular site.”
The park, which straddles Queens and Annapolis Counties features a variety of sites for tents trailers and RVs, located near services and washrooms, or in the backcountry, far away from anyone.
The washrooms were completely renovated just two years ago to provide a toilet and sink behind a private door in the washroom facilities and private individual showers, making them more inclusive and eliminating the need for traditional separate male and female facilities.
Borcoman says despite the large number of bookings there are still lots of sites available between the May long weekend and the end of October when the park closes.
In fact, the park is offering a new service that will make it easier to book last minute.
Every Tuesday, staff will post how many sites are available in the coming week on their Facebook page, listing unbooked sites as well as any last-minute cancellations.
Borcoman says staff at Kejimkujik are constantly looking for ways to highlight the attributes of the park and historic site and encourages people to visit their web page for dates and times of several special events taking place including an ultra-marathon and the dark-sky weekend.
Kejimkujik also hosts many interpretive programs honouring the Mi’kmaw, the First People of the area.
Visitors can take a guided petroglyph tour, visit a Mi’kmaw encampment or watch and talk to master-builder Todd Labrador as he builds birchbark canoes.
