In the News – NS Democracy Issues

NAVIGATION
This page is a subpage of www.nsforestmatters.ca/In the News
See In the News for other subpages.
Subpages:
– Background
Related:
– Letter from Premier Jan 21, 2025

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BACKGROUND Lack of transparency surrounding NS Governments’ handing of forestry and of environmental issues more broadly has been a major issue for decades, and regardless of the party forming government. Those governments more recently were formed by PCs (1999-2009), NDP (2009-2013), Liberals (2013-2021) and PCs again (2021, ongoing)…Read more
Page created 27Feb2025

Aug 28, 2025:
– Nova Scotia government stops releasing glyphosate spraying details
By Francis Campbell in the Chronicle Herald “An aerial pesticide spray could be coming to a wooded area near you over the coming weeks but the Nova Scotia Environment Department is keeping the time and location under wraps. “We are no longer sharing (parcel identification numbers) for safety and security reasons,” Cindy Porter, a communications specialist with the department, said in an emailed department response…This year, no news release. Nova Scotians would have to take the initiative to go to the department website to find the spray applications that had been approved, the application number, the applicant company, the date of approval and the expiry date of the approval..“They’ve really removed almost all of the information that gave any kind of public oversight at all,” said Nina Newington, a longtime environmental activist who has protested spray programs and other forestry practices that some deem environmentally suspect…Newington said the lack of information provided is “part and parcel of this government’s move away from any kind of transparency or accepting public input or oversight.”

Aug 21, 2025:
– Halifax council hears that John Lohr’s rejection of regional plan will actually stall building of housing
Suzanne Rent in the Hfx Examiner. Intro in Morning File
– Nature Nova Scotia: Join Us As We Mount A Defence
FB Post. “Where do we start? Though required to protect 20% of lands and waters by 2030, the province is so far behind schedule that no new protected areas have been designated since Premier Houston’s first term. Meanwhile, lands that are still under assessment for protection are being clearcut as companies scramble to take what they can, while they can. To make matters worse, last winter, the province tabled several bills aimed at opening previously banned natural resource extraction activities, reducing public access to information about government decision making, and attempting to reduce the powers of the Auditor General. All without public consultation or link to government’s current mandate. We are concerned that government is getting ready to sell the province to wealthy foreign industry empires by making it harder for Nova Scotians to participate in the democratic processes that inform natural resource management decision making. Join Us As We Mount A Defence
https://naturens.ca/actions/stand-up-for-nature-democracy/
Please note that our work at Nature Nova Scotia, including the creation of this educational timeline, would not be possible without the dedication of smart journalists at CBC and the Halifax Examiner. An attack on the media is an attack on science is an attack on democracy. As a science based organization, we strongly reject Premier Houston’s scapegoating of the mainstream media and we ask our supporters to please also support your local and national newspapers.”

Aug 19, 2025:
– Quebec government tries to ease growing tension over forestry blockades
Maura Forrest The Canadian Press “The Quebec government is trying to ease rising tensions between forestry workers and Indigenous protesters who oppose a new bill they say threatens their way of life…The conflict stems from a bill tabled in the Quebec legislature this spring that aimed to protect communities dependent on the forestry industry. The legislation would divide public forests into zones designated for conservation, multi-purpose use or forestry. According to the bill, actions that “restrict the carrying out of forest development activities” would be prohibited in the forestry zones, as would conservation measures.” Related, see below, items under June 3 and June 6, 2025.

Aug 12, 2025:
– By rejecting Halifax’s regional plan updates, the Houston government is abandoning its own environmental policies
Tim Bousquet in Morning File (Hfx Examiner) “Recall that when the Houston government killed the Coastal Protection Act, the very same John Lohr who is now killing the Halifax Regional Plan update said that: As the level of government responsible for land-use planning, zoning, building permits and building bylaws, municipalities are best equipped to take a holistic approach to planning, designing and building coastal communities so that they are resilient to climate change. They have strong processes and systems to ensure community development and building is done in a way that is sustainable and safe. But now, when HRM is actually trying to use its knowledge from on-the-ground experience to implement land-use planning, zoning, and building bylaws to prepare for climate change-induced flooding, the province steps in to stop it from doing so.”

Aug 11, 2025:
– Province rejects Halifax regional plan, says wetland setbacks ‘impede’ housing
by Haley Ryan · CBC News, Aug 11, 2025 “…The minister said he was specifically concerned about new requirements for outlets that can accommodate electric-vehicle chargers in new homes or apartments, and increasing setbacks around watercourses and wetlands to 30 metres from 20. “If developers can’t figure out how to do a development that’s not 30 metres away from a lake or wetland, well then we don’t want those developments,” Deputy Mayor Tony Mancini said Monday. “The lakes are such a precious place. Why would we threaten that?…This is the latest move from the province to intervene on municipal issues in Halifax…Recent examples include Premier Tim Houston’s direction for council to reverse its decision on a bike lane design, and consideration of strong mayor powers. “This is a new environment for us where we have the province stepping in. You know, some say it’s an overreach — they do have the authority to do that. Should they do it? There’s another issue, but we’ve got to figure out how to make this work,” Mancini said.”

 

Jul 25, 2025:
– Debunking NS Politicians and MANS about Nova Scotia Uranium
Dr Elisabeth Kosters in latter to Valley Journal Advertiser
– ‘It is not the time to take a nap’: Readers respond to possibility of strong mayor powers in Nova Scotia
Yvette D’Entremont in the Hfx Examiner “in recent weeks, many readers have become increasingly alarmed by discussions about the province granting strong mayor powers to Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) Mayor Andy Fillmore.”

Jul 24, 2025:
John DeMont: Why even have a Halifax council if its powers keep getting eroded?
In Chronicle Herald “…A poll released by the Halifax Chamber of Commerce Wednesday shows that 57 per cent of the city’s business community supports giving Fillmore and future mayors more power, compared to 42 per cent who oppose such a change. The biggest benefit cited by proponents is quicker decision-making, while for those against the main worry was the potential for mayoral overreach…The clash is the latest in Halifax’s ongoing cars versus bikes debate, highlighting the deep divisions over the reworking of a transportation system badly in need of rejigging. But the controversy is about something else too. If the province can just jump in whenever it dislikes a street rezoning, or ferry rechristening, municipal council has lost an arrow in its quiver…Strong power mayors, as they are known, have the power to hire and fire high level staff. If the Ontario experience is any guide, our mighty mayors alone would prepare and table city budgets…Which raises the question: if things keep going the way they are going why bother having a Halifax regional council at all? We all know the answer to that. As James Surowiecki writes in his book The Wisdom of Crowds, under the right conditions – when there is diversity of opinion and independent thinking – groups constantly outperform individuals in everything from predicting stock markets to solving policy issues. Following this unassailable logic, the 16 councillors on Halifax regional council – which includes nine women, two African Nova Scotians and a member of the LGBTQ+ community – are more likely to arrive at more nuanced and thoughtful conclusions than a single semi-omnipotent mayor.”

Jul 23, 2025:
Using bike lanes as red herring for power grab, government endangers lives of people cycling
Talan Iscan in the Hfx Examiner “I live in Halifax and am a board member with the Halifax Cycling Coalition (HCC), coordinating their advocacy committee. In my capacity as a resident and a safety advocate, I am following the relentless attack on our democratic rights. I grew up in Türkiye, and know through my connections there that a similar onslaught chipped away everyone’s rights, leaving behind a society that is frustrated and highly demoralized…We cannot improve the quality of life in Halifax without expanding our public and green spaces, without a decent public transit system (it takes us 1.5 hours at times to travel by bus from the peninsula to Burnside), without protected bike lanes that go beyond the currently planned but not implemented so-called “all ages and abilities (AAA) bike network,” which lacks neighbourhood level connectivity. The future Mayor Fillmore is promising to the residents of Halifax is not a vibrant and healthy one, but one that is overcrowded, entrenched in neoliberal austerity (so that his wealthy pals would not pay higher property taxes), one that constantly faces cuts to services and higher user fees, all presented to us as a “gift.” While many are rightly criticizing Fillmore for his unacceptable behaviour, I have not seen a single media outlet asking him what his vision for a livable, affordable, and healthy Halifax looks like. Is he thinking beyond stuffing the pockets of his developer friends? What are his plans for affordable, convenient, and reliable public transportation? What are his plans to protect the natural environment? What are his plans to make this city an attractive place to live? Finally, as a family, we spent about a week in Apeldoorn (pop. 125,000) in the Netherlands this summer, just returning back to Halifax. After witnessing their bike infrastructure, spacious and well maintained parks and public spaces, the quality of public transit, and pedestrianized neighbourhoods, my daughter told me that she now finds Halifax a much inferior city to live in.”

Jul 18, 2025:
–Dismantling Democracy: the 30-year project to take power away from the people
Tim Bousquet in Mornung File (Hfx Examiner)
– Halifax mayor says it’s premier’s job to intervene when council is wrong
Anjuli Patil · CBC News “…If council doesn’t budge, Houston said the province would use Bill 24 for the first time. The bill, which was passed this spring, allows the public works minister to override decisions by municipal councils related to transportation.”

Jul 17, 2025
– Houston threatens to override Morris Street decision
Philip Muscovitch in Morning File (Hfx Examiner). Comment: Now the Premier, apparently wannabe Halifax Mayor, wants control of street by street traffic direction in Halifax.
– Councillors, advocates say premier’s plan to block Halifax bike lane about strong mayor powers
Haley Ryan · CBC News “Citing safety concerns, Premier Tim Houston says his government will overturn Halifax council’s decision on a local bike lane, but some councillors and advocates say the move is likely about setting the stage for strong mayor powers.”

Jul 14, 2025:
– Tim Houston and Andy Fillmore plan to undermine the bedrock principle of Halifax city government
Tim Bousquet in Morning File (Hfx Examiner)
“…That municipal structure wasn’t just dreamed up out of nothing. It’s the way it is because over the course of two centuries, all sorts of things went wrong — scandal, misuse of public funds, corruption, a government that worked at cross purposes to the citizens, and more — and the system of government was adjusted to make it less likely those problems would happen again.”
– Halifax council to ask Nova Scotia for consultation on strong-mayor powers
The Canadian Press on castnet.net “Halifax’s city council has directed the mayor to ask the Nova Scotia government for consultation on whether it is considering strengthening his authority. Council voted last week in favour of the motion to make the request for collaboration in a letter to Municipal Affairs Minister John Lohr, with only Mayor Andy Fillmore voting against it. Coun. Sam Austin presented the motion and told council that a move towards strong-mayor powers would undermine councillors’ ability to adequately represent their constituents.”
–Geoscientists Nova Scotia threatens people opposed to uranium mining with fines, jail time
Joan Baxter in Hfx Examiner. Intro in Morning File “Joan Baxter reports on how regulations designed to protect the public from fraud are seemingly being used to silence critics of uranium exploration in the province. Baxter writes about Brad Redden, who has worked as an exploration geologist but has not received a professional geologist designation — something he has made clear at public meetings during which he has been critical of the province’s Department of Natural Resources, calling it more of a facilitator than a regulator.”
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July 11, 2025
‘This is bigger than any of us’: Council votes in favour of Sam Austin’s strong mayor motion
Suzanne Rent in Hfx Exminer, Intro inMorning File “Suzanne Rent reports on a motion brought to Halifax regional council by Sam Austin, on strong mayor powers. Among other things, the motion called for a staff report on how strong mayor powers have played out in other cities, and for a letter to be sent to Minister of Municipal Affairs John Lohr, asking him to consult with the municipality before making any changes…Morse said she is also concerned about the potential politicalization of the senior staff, who councillors rely on for advice and expertise.”

– Premier Tim Houston hates the Morris Street bike lane so much he will upend Halifax governance and give Mayor Andy Fillmore superpowers
Tim Bousquet in Hfx Examiner. Intro in Morning File“First, it seems truly absurd that we have provincial premiers, here and in Ontario, intervening in the minutiae of municipal decision-making. But these are people who think their way is the right way, and who dislike any disagreements. And they are willing to micro-manage everything to death (except for things like, you know, coastal development, where it’s essentially a free-for-all).
“This is going to set us off in a terrible direction. We have to have independent senior management, not one that is influenced politically,” Morse said. “To me, I feel like we’re going back to the days of patronage when it’s more important who you know than what you know.”

Jul 10, 2025:
Premier blasts Halifax council, cites ‘serious disconnect’ from citizens
Richard Cuthbertson, Michael Gorman · CBC News · “Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston has issued a scathing appraisal of Halifax regional council, saying there’s a “serious disconnect” between the decisions being made and the desires of citizens, and indicating the province is examining whether to give the mayor more power…Municipal Affairs Minister John Lohr told reporters on Thursday he first broached the topic of strong-mayor powers with former Halifax mayor Mike Savage in 2021, but he said Savage turned down the idea.HRM Coun. Sam Austin said he has two concerns about the potential of Houston’s government making such a major change to the way municipal governments operate.One, he said, is whether members of the civil service can provide good, unbiased, professional advice if they’re worried about the mayor’s ability to fire them. “The other one is a fundamental democratic piece, which is one person — no matter who you are — can’t encompass all the different kinds of diversity and views of this municipality,” he told reporters.”

Jul 5, 2025:
– Dartmouth councillor pushing for consultation on possible strong mayor powers
By Jen Taplin in Chronicle Herald “Vetoes, appointing staff, part of strong mayor powers that would align with the province’s priorities…Austin said the power that scares him the most is the ability for one person to hire and fire senior staff…He said he thinks the public should also have their say on it, and any changes should be effective as of the next election in 2028. “We just had an election in which we had a mayor elected with the lowest percentage of the vote (42.52 per cent) in the whole municipality’s history. It would be quite a thing to turn around and say, ‘Well, now’s the time for strong mayor powers.“That would really be quite dangerous and would risk undermining the impartiality of the civil service. One of the most important things that happens at the municipal level is we get non-partisan, just-the-facts advice from staff. If staff are suddenly turned into political appointees of the mayor, are you going to get that same level of evidence?” “

Jun 23, 2025:
– Nova Scotians rally outside Environment Minister Tim Halman’s office to protest uranium mining
Madiha Mughees in Hfx Examiner, intro in Morning File “A grassroots citizens’ group held a noon-hour rally on Friday outside Environment and Climate Change Minister Timothy Halman’s Dartmouth office to protest uranium mining in Nova Scotia.”
– Speakers share concerns about density, infrastructure, loss of nature at public hearing
Suzanne Rent in Hfx Examiner, intro in Morning File “On Thursday, dozens of speakers showed up at a public hearing at City Hall to have their say on the regional plan.”

Jun 20, 2025:
– N.S. government pushes for buy-in as some municipalities balk at resource development
Taryn Grant · CBC News “Finance Minister John Lohr says it’s too early to say if funding is on the line for municipalities”.

June 19, 2025:
– Special planning areas, Halifax’s regional plan, and changing how we design communities
Suzanne Rent in Morning File (Hfx Examiner) “…Last week, council approved the first reading of the regional plan, which sets the long-term vision for planning, and where and how the municipality should grow. In 1971, the Metropolitan and Area Planning Commission (MAPC) identified Lower Sackville and Cole Harbour as areas where more housing could be built. And build they did. Many of the homes were smaller starter homes, some of which were built via co-ops, but over the years, the homes got bigger, and the sprawl continued. It’s still continuing. Now, the province and city are responding to a new need for housing, so it’s designated places where that growth can happen, including in Sandy Lake, an area of wilderness between Bedford and Hammonds Plains.Last month, Colton LeBlanc, the minister for growth and development, asked HRM to start the secondary planning for Sandy Lake, as well as another area near Highway 102, near the Blue Mountain-Birch Cove Lakes. Nearly 20,000 units of housing are proposed for those areas. LeBlanc said there’s no requirement that those housing units be affordable…”

– Premier Tim Houston’s eye on Halifax
Suzanne Rent in Morning File (Hfx Examiner) “On Tuesday, Angela Capobianco at Global Halifax had this story for which she spoke with two Halifax councillors on their thoughts about Premier Tim Houston. This after Houston said last week that he supported Mayor Andy Fillmore’s motion on bike lanes, which of course failed. Oh, Fillmore recorded this video detailing his disappointment with the motion’s failure. Councillors Shawn Cleary and Kathryn Morse told Capobianco what they think about Houston weighing in on municipal issues…In her cabinet roundup from last week, Madiha Mughees wrote about strong-mayor legislation after reporters asked Municipal Affairs Minister John Lohr whether he’s considering giving Fillmore such powers…”

June 17, 2025:
– ‘The premier wants to run Halifax’: Councillors call for Houston to stay out of city business
By Angela Capobianco Global News “Some members of Halifax Regional Council are taking issue with the province weighing in on municipal issues. Last week, Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston sided with the city’s mayor on his motion calling for all bike lane construction to be halted. Now, some are wondering how far provincial overreach will go between Houston’s government and Mayor Andy Fillmore.”
– Premier writes Nova Scotia municipal leaders who voted to pause uranium plans
Lyndsay Armstrong in the National Observer
– TOM URBANIAK: Leisurely legislature?
In the Cape Breton Post “NS House of Assembly heavy on tributes, light on policy”

Jun 13, 2025:
N.S. uranium proposal draws zero bids, says Premier Houston
By Alex Allan for surge105.ca

Jun 12, 2025:
Continued failure to consult on uranium exploration a harmful mistake: Mi’kmaw Chiefs
Lyndsay Armstrong, The Canadian Press “Pictou Landing First Nation Chief Tamara Young said the Mi’kmaq people were neither consulted nor notified when Nova Scotia introduced then passed a bill that opens the province up to potential uranium mining and fracking.”

June 11, 2025:
– 3 more municipalities ask province to hit the brakes on uranium exploration in N.S.
Taryn Grant · CBC News

– Some ‘special interest groups’ seem more special than others when it comes to bending N.S. Premier Houston’s ear
Joan Baxter in Hfx Examiner. “A guy with a big toothy smile campaigned for premier promising to make Nova Scotia ‘more livable,’ and when he won, the fangs came out and he rolled back decades of environmental protection and government accountability”

June 9, 2025:
– Nova Scotia’s Ambitious ‘Wind West’ Offshore Energy Plan Wins Support With Conditions
The Canadian Press on www.energynow.ca. “Two leading environmental groups are giving a thumbs up to Nova Scotia’s ambitious plan to dramatically expand its fledgling offshore wind energy industry. But both groups were quick to add caveats…Gretchen Fitzgerald, executive director of Sierra Club Canada, said the premier’s bold plan, which includes building transmission lines across the country, represents an exciting opportunity for the province…While Fitzgerald applauded Houston’s clean energy plan, she criticized what she described as the premier’s populist penchant for taking decisive action before consulting with experts and the public…Despite the hype, the industry must also earn acceptance from Nova Scotia’s fishing industry, which in 2023 contributed $2.5 billion to the province’s economy and employed 19,000 people. In Halifax, a spokesman for the Ecology Action Centre called on the provincial government to build public trust, especially with coastal communities.“There really needs to be a priority on stakeholder engagement for all ocean users,” said senior energy co-ordinator Thomas Arnason McNeil.”

– Halifax Mayor Andy Fillmore’s power play: It’s not just about bikes
Tim Bousqet in Morning File (Halifax Examiner) “…In 2021, Fillmore [as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Infrastructure and Communities] came to Halifax to excitedly announce that the feds had earmarked $400 million for active transportation projects, and poised himself before a bunch of bikes: “Today is the day we put active transportation networks within reach of every community.”…That was four years ago, ancient history I guess. Now, as Suzanne Rent reports, Fillmore is calling for a “pause” in the Integrated Mobility Plan (IMP), citing “Increasing frustration among residents, businesses, and transit users about worsening traffic congestion and a lack of system wide planning….I don’t see Fillmore as simply interested in power for his own sake. I suspect he’s serving some greater master. And who might that be? Premier Tim Houston. It is Houston who is reaching for political power, overriding the norms of democratic process, as the Examiner has detailed in our Dismantling Democracy series. One aspect of Houston’s reach for power is an intrusion into and takeover of the traditional ares of municipal government, first with development planning and then with transportation. On the latter, the Houston government now claims the power to order the municipality to build or remove any transportation infrastructure the Houston government wants built or removed. As part of this intrusion into municipal politics, Houston wants a “strong mayor” system, which basically means that the mayor will have veto power of council votes. That is, your vote for your particular city councillor won’t mean a hill of beans if Houston has a different policy agenda.Becoming that strong mayor is just a happy happenstance for Fillmore, not the goal itself. The actual goal is to serve Tim Houston.”

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Jun 6, 2025:
– Why Quebec’s forestry reform is facing backlash from Indigenous groups, conservationists
Cassandra Yanez-Leyton · CBC News “Bill adopts new forestry zoning model backed by a Quebec researcher, but even he says it falls short…Biodiversity and forest management professor Christian Messier presented the triad model to Blanchette Vézina a few years ago. But, he says, the bill doesn’t quite reflect his application of the model, which he’s been experimenting with in central Quebec forests for the last 15 years.Biodiversity and forest management professor Christian Messier presented the triad model to Blanchette Vézina a few years ago. But, he says, the bill doesn’t quite reflect his application of the model, which he’s been experimenting with in central Quebec forests for the last 15 years. “The objective is to decrease the amount of conflict among the different users [of the forest]. And maybe that’s the first problem I see,” he said. “I think the government developed this triad idea without a very strong consultation where you sit everybody around the table and you decide what will be the best zoning you do between protected areas, multi-use areas and intensive forestry.””The objective is to decrease the amount of conflict among the different users [of the forest]. And maybe that’s the first problem I see,” he said.”

– Premier Houston, we are asking you to pause before granting any licences for uranium’: Concerned residents gather in River John
Joan Baxter in Hfx Examiner (subscription requried) Intro in Morning File Comments Philip Muskovitch: “As always, Baxter provides helpful history and context. There is also this entertaining bit: On May 27, DNR sent letters to property owners living in the areas for which it has issued RFPs, seeking companies interested in uranium exploration and mining. The DNR letters state that uranium exploration “will help people manage their health and safety in terms of well water and radon gas in homes.” This evoked loud laughter in the firehall.”

Jun 3, 2025:
– We reject your bill:’ First Nations heads urge Quebec to scrap forestry reform bill
By Morgan Lowrie Canadian Press “QUEBEC – Representatives of the Assembly of First Nations Quebec-Labrador urged a provincial legislature committee on Tuesday to abandon a forestry reform bill that would reserve large swaths of the province’s forests for logging. AFNQL Chief Francis Verreault-Paul and three other leaders called on the government to work with them to develop a new bill from scratch because they say Bill 97 does not respect First Nations’ ancestral rights. The proposed legislation would divide the province’s public forest land into three zones: conservation zones, multi-purpose zones and forest development zones where the forestry industry is prioritized…”

Jun 2, 2025:
– Hants County residents voice concerns over ‘undesirable’ uranium mining proposal
Josh Hoffman · CBC News “Residents organize meetings ahead of June 11 deadline for companies to apply for exploration licences”

May 29, 2025:
Druhan won’t say why public won’t see environmental racism report
Francis Campbell in the Chronicle Herald. “Justice Minister Becky Druhan would not say Thursday if she had seen the Environmental Racism Panel’s recommendations and why the panel’s report would not be made public.
…In June 2023, the majority Houston government announced seven experienced community leaders with a broad range of expertise would be joining team lead Augy Jones on the panel that was to address Nova Scotia’s checkered history involving environmental racism. Touting the panel as the first of its kind in Canada, the government tasked the group with making recommendations to address environmental racism, one of the government’s commitments to diversity, equity and inclusion delineated in its Environmental Goals and Climate Change Reduction Act…Section 17 of the Environmental Goals and Climate Change Reduction Act required the government to set up a panel to address environmental racism by the end of 2022, with the panel’s recommendations due by the end of 2023.”

May 28, 2025:
– COMMENTARY: Expediency and environmental protection: Nova Scotia can have both
Geoffrey V. Hurley, Contributed for Chronicle Herald “Nova Scotia claims that it is modernizing its environmental assessment (EA) process so that it supports sustainable development while protecting the environment. While mandatory public consultation is to be extended by several days, the level of scrutiny in the EA process of proposed initiatives such as large biomass, biogas and small modular reactors (SMRs) is much reduced by reclassifying them from Class 2 to Class 1 and exempting small biomass from the process altogether.The government claims that these steps aim to enhance accessibility and align with its climate commitments – phasing out coal by 2030 and achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. Critics argue the changes prioritize speed over accountability and risk greenwashing unsustainable industries….” Hurley makes constructive suggestions on how to improve the EA process.
– Mi’kmaq and mining companies give politicians earful over resource development
Jennifer Henderson for Hfx Examiner. Subscription Required for full access. Intro in Morming File “Henderson notes that mining companies think approvals take too long, the Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaw Chiefs is concerned about a lack of consultation, and individual landowners are worried that they won’t be able to say no to mining exploration on their private property.”

May 20, 2025:
– Commentary: Nova Scotia Continues its Race to the Bottom
Linda Pannozzo in The Quaking Swamp Journal “Climate change being used to justify green-lighting dirty and dangerous ‘critical’ and ‘strategic’ mining operations…”
– ‘A total surprise’: Municipalities unprepared for uranium exploration in their backyard
Frances Willick · CBC News “Some municipal leaders are feeling unprepared and uninformed after learning their regions could become home to the first uranium exploration in Nova Scotia in almost 45 years.”

May 16, 2025:
An open letter to Evan Solomon, Minister of Artificial Intelligence
Teresa Heffernan in Hfx Examiner “Dear Minister Solomon, Congratulations on your new post as Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation. I hope you will use this position to ensure copyright laws are enforced, to stop the theft and sale of data, to protect Canadians from resource-intensive and invasive surveillance technology, and to ensure we have good search engines. Above all, I hope you will fight for a democratic and sustainable future, now under threaten by the authoritarian technocrats that own the AI infrastructure…”

May 15, 2025:
The Houston government says Nova Scotia will mine its way to prosperity, one day in the distant future
Tim Bousquet in Hfx Examiner (subscription required). “Nova Scotia has added four minerals to the province’s “critical minerals” list — high purity silica, silver, tellurium, and uranium. That brings a total of 20 minerals on the list. The list was created in 2022 with 16 minerals: antimony, cobalt, copper, graphite, germanium, gallium, indium, lithium, manganese, molybdenum, niobium, rare earth elements, tantalum, tin, tungsten, and zinc…Along with the expansion of the critical minerals list, the province also named four “strategic minerals”: aggregate, gold, gypsum, and potash. What makes them “strategic” is simply that they can be mined for profit.” Informative summary of major issues.

May 8-9, 2025:
Nova Scotia to Speed up Environmental Reviews for Clean Energy Projects
EnergyNow Media “The Nova Scotia government is accelerating the environmental review process for a number of clean energy projects to meet its climate goals and get off coal by 2030. Under changes announced Thursday, large biomass, biogas and clean fuel projects have been changed to Class 1 from Class 2, meaning they can be approved within 50 days. The more rigorous Class 2 assessment, which can take more than two years, is now reserved for projects such as pulp mills, cement plants, incinerators and large energy plants. The government is also classifying small modular reactor projects, previously not covered by regulations, as Class 1, a designation that had previously been reserved for renewable projects involving wind, tidal and solar energy, as well as for biofuels, mines, quarries and alterations to large wetlands. Environment Minister Tim Halman says the province has committed to reaching net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. “Without the ability to build faster we will not be able to meet our climate change and energy security commitments,” said Halman. “These changes are intended to speed up our transition to clean energy, fight global climate change and support sustainable development.” Under the changes, small wood biomass projects will now be exempt from the environmental review process and will be managed through the Environment Department’s industrial approval process…” “View related NS Gov News Release (May 8, 2025)

Related:
– The EAC’s statement on the N.S. government’s updates to the environmental assessment process
EAC, May 8, 2025 “..a lack of transparency and accountability to the public”
– Forest Nova Scotia: New Nova Scotia Environmental Assessment Changes
Forest NS Blog Post “On May 8th, 2025, Forest Nova Scotia’s Executive Director, Todd Burgess, joined the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Timothy Halman, as he announced changes to environmental assessments that support the province’s transition towards a clean economy.” Comment: it’s worth noting that Burgess’s predecessor at Forest NS was Stephen Moore, now the Premiers’ director of communications. For one perspective on Stephen Moore’s role, view Tim Houston follows Donald Trump’s playbook in dismantling Communications Nova Scotia (Halifax Examiner, Feb 11, 2025.)
– N.S. ‘modernizing’ environmental assessment process
Francis Campbell for Chronicle Herald “…Karen McKendry, senior wilderness outreach co-ordinator with Ecology Action Centre, an environmental charity and watchdog, said the changes were announced as an appropriate move to a cleaner economy. “A lot of the changes made today were not what people were asking for and don’t move us in that direction,” McKendry said. McKendry said the department called for public consultation on changes to the process in October 2023 and there were 419 submissions made. “One of the main things that people brought up is the need for more transparency in the process and from what I saw today, nothing helps with that,” she said. “We do need more clean energy projects, like wind energy projects but when Nova Scotians go through the (environmental assessment) process right now they tend to lose faith in government and lose faith in the process because they feel like they are not heard.”

May 6, 2025:
N.S. government outlines priority areas for research funding
Michael Gorman · CBC News “Recipients must show how work makes ‘measurable changes’ to economy” Also view comments by Phulip Muskovitch in University research priorities (Morning File/Hfx Examiner)

May 5, 2025:
Canadian Association of University Teachers ‘condemns’ Nova Scotia’s political interference with higher education
Tim Bousquet in Morning File (Hfx Examiner) “Friday afternoon, the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) unanimously approved this motion: That CUAT condemns the Province of Nova Scotia’s omnibus Bill 12, An Act Respecting Advanced Education and Research. This Bill represents unprecedented political interference in the operational affairs and autonomy of Nova Scotian Universities. University funding should never be required to be tied to nor aligned with political priorities as this Bill will require. Political interference, as enacted by Bill 12, will limit Nova Scotian Institutions of Higher Educations to the detriment of society.”

The motion was brought forward by the Saint Mary’s University Faculty Association and seconded by the Acadia University Faculty Association.

Apr 25, 2025:
University agreements with N.S. government outline funding, accountability rules
Frances Willick · CBC News “…Universities have previously expressed concern about Bill 12, legislation that would increase government oversight of schools, forcing them to align academic programs with the government’s social and economic priorities, and allowing the minister of advanced education to appoint up to half of members on the board of governors. It appears that some of those priorities are reflected in the agreements. The news release says the agreements include a stipulation that universities must undergo a program review to ensure they “meet current educational standards, respond to labour market demands and are economically viable.” An internal memo from Acadia University president Jeffrey Hennessy that was obtained by CBC News this week called program rationalization — which he said involves reducing or discontinuing programs with low labour market need, low utilization and high program costs — was “perhaps the most sweeping and impactful section of the agreement…The president-elect of the Dalhousie Faculty Association, David Westwood, echoed the concern about cutting programs…Westwood said the agreements undermine university autonomy. “Universities are not a department of government. We are meant to be independent. Provincial government is meant to be there to support and fund our needs, not to interfere and micromanage what universities do. And this is a very troubling intrusion in academic freedom and institutional autonomy. It’s a real step backwards for our sector.” He added that it’s possible the issue will play out in the courts.”

Apr 23, 2025
– N.S. cuts contract with agency that runs restorative justice program in Halifax
Canadian Press on CityNewsEverywhere “…The Canadian Union of Public Employees says it learned April 7 that the Progressive Conservative government was cutting its service agreement with the Community Justice Society, the non-profit that employs the six caseworkers…Nan McFadgen, the president of CUPE Nova Scotia, said today she’s concerned the 25-year-old relationship was ended “without cause or consultation” and fears it is because the workers are unionized. She says the society’s workers are the only unionized restorative justice administrators in the province, and that CUPE has been told the work is temporarily going to a non-unionized agency.”
– Halifax restorative justice caseworkers losing jobs
Francis Campbell for Chr Herald (Subscription may be required) “Six Halifax caseworkers employed by Community Justice Society (CJS) voted to accept a tentative agreement with the province mere days after learning they were losing their jobs. “I don’t know what’s going on here,” said Nan McFadgen, president of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Nova Scotia, which represents the six workers in Local 4764. “They have been doing this work for 25 years. Why they (government) would just quit it without cause, that just doesn’t make any sense to me, except that we have a government that when they rolled themselves into a supermajority tried to get rid of the auditor general, got rid of law amendments (committee), the information and privacy commissioner, they shut down the communications office, they stopped inviting a plethora of union-related voices to the budget lockup.” The six caseworkers had been bargaining their next collective agreement for more than a year and appeared headed to conciliation in May before receiving notice on April 7 that their service agreement with the province’s Justice Department had been terminated…In a statement, the Justice Department responded that it has exercised a provision within the service provider agreement that allows either party to end that agreement upon 90 days’ notice…The province’s restorative justice program started in 1999 as a pilot program for youth and evolved into a permanent youth program by 2001. It was expanded to include adults in 2016.Bigler said no explanation for the terminations has ever been provided. “All that we have been told is that we have been terminated without cause and within 90 days we will be officially terminated, we’ll be done,” Bigler said.”

Apr 8, 2025:
Channelling Snowdrops
Linda Pannozzo in The Quaking Swamp Journal “…An experience I’ve been having for several years now is a sense of disorientation. I didn’t, and still don’t, feel that my own core beliefs, principles, or views are all that different from what they’ve always been. Economic justice, protecting our life support systems, the rule of law, civil liberties including our constitutional rights and freedoms—these have always been important to me, and still are. But around me, things have been shifting, sometimes in unrecognizable ways…Division must be seen for what it is: a delusion. We are all interconnected, and safeguarding what were always fragile achievements—democracy, the rule of law, and our rights and freedoms—will require a collective effort. Meanwhile, amid all the turmoil we’re witnessing in the world and the deep sadness I’m feeling, Galanthus is whispering the message that beauty and resilience are still possible amid harsh conditions. We just need to stay rooted and reach for the light.”

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Mar 28, 2025:
– Mi’kmaw chiefs reject fracking in Nova Scotia
Michael Gorman · CBC News “Assembly of Mi’kmaw Chiefs considering legal action after Bill 6 passes…”The Mi’kmaq of Nova Scotia and the Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaw Chiefs continue to remain opposed to hydraulic fracturing and will not see it happen in our unceded and traditional territory,” reads a letter to the premier that is signed by the 13 chiefs who comprise the assembly.”

Mar 26, 2025:
– N.S. legislature sitting marked by moves to consolidate power: political scientist
Lyndsay Armstrong and Keith Doucette, The Canadian Press in burnabynow.com

Mar 25, 2025:
– Nova Scotia municipalities threatened by Premier Tim Houston’s transportation bill
Jennifer Henderson in Hfx Examiner. “On Monday, the province’s public bills committee met to consider Bill 24. The Houston government’s Bill 24, section 7 proposes to give the provincial public works minister order-making power to compel municipalities “to build, change, reconfigure or remove transportation infrastructure.” If the municipality doesn’t comply fast enough (the time period is to be spelled out later in regulations), the province can hire its own contractor and send the bill for the construction work to the municipality.”

Mar 21, 2025:
– When a little controversy unites N.S. politicians
CBC video “It hasn’t exactly been a conventional spring sitting in the House of Assembly. CBC’s Jean Laroche and Michael Gorman explain how some controversial bills and amendments have created some unexpected unity.”
– Committee meeting reveals sour mood of Nova Scotians
Paul Pross in Chronicle Herald. Text also available here. “…Last week, the Public Bills Committee heard from ordinary citizens. Anger dominated. Most felt that fundamental safeguards were under threat from a government that had gone well beyond the mandate it won in the last election…There are steps that caucus members can take to persuade the government to retreat. The British parliament in recent years has resorted to several that Canadian legislatures have not really explored…”

Mar 20, 2025:
– Tim Houston presents his pre-federal election wish list to Mark Carney and Pierre Poilievre
Tim Bousquet & Jennigfer Henderson Subsacription required. Intro in Morning File, Mar 21 “Pay for the repairs to the Chignecto Isthmus. Finance a new pulp mill. Build the Energy East pipeline. Extend the day care subsidy to private operators. Buy us some trains. Those are the demands Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston has supplied to new Prime Minister Mark Carney and to Opposition leader Pierre Poilievre, in the form of a letter sent today to each, in anticipation of an election call Carney is expected to make this weekend.”
– In response to critics, Nova Scotia amends bills on interprovincial trade, info law
Keith Doucette for Canadian Press, reported on yahoo news. “The government is also amending proposed legislation on the province’s freedom of information rules, following criticism the bill would threaten the public’s right to access government records and documents. Houston said the amendments address concerns raised by Tricia Ralph, whose term as information commissioner ended last month.Ralph had taken issue with proposals that would have allowed departments to refuse access requests on the basis they’re “trivial, frivolous or vexatious,” and that would have required applicants to provide details such as precise times or locations in connection with the documents or records being sought.”

Mar 18, 2025:
– Majority PC committee rejects motions to revise bills, sends them back to House
Francis Campbell in Chronicle Herald “Despite rigorous criticism, six Nova Scotia government bills have been sent back to the House from the newly named Public Bills Committee and its majority Progressive Conservative membership.”
– Faculty members, students pan Houston government’s university restructuring plans
Jean Laroche · CBC News “Six of the seven people who appeared Tuesday before the Nova Scotia legislature’s new public bills committee worried the changes proposed in Bill 12 would give the province too much control over what universities teach and what research they do.”
– People are really angry about the Houston government’s power grab
Jennifer Henderson in the Hfx Examiner, Summary by Tim Bousquet in morning File
– Government subsidizing multi-billon dollar American corporations faults EAC for accepting grants from cash-strapped U.S. foundations
Tim Bousaquet in Morning File (Hfx Examiner)
– Public Bills Committee Proceedings (Part 2)
– The students are not alright–with Bill 12
By Lauren Phillips, in The Coast. ” Nova Scotia student rep explains why legislation package should worry us all”

Mar 17, 2025:
– N.S. advocates say bill to allow for uranium exploration and fracking is dangerous
Lyndsay Armstrong, The Canadian Press on coastreporter.net “A Nova Scotia government bill that would open the door to fracking for fossil fuels and exploring for uranium is dangerous and should be scrapped, environmental advocates and physicians told a legislature committee on Monday”
– Public Bills Committee Proceedings (Part 1)
YouTube Video of public comments on Bills 1 & 6
– Public pushes back against government bill that would lift N.S. ban on uranium mining, fracking
Michael Gorman · CBC News ·”Presenters call out premier’s claim that ban was the result of lazy policy-making”

Mar 16, 2025:
The silence of DNR: trying in vain to get answers about fracking from the N.S. Department of Natural Resources
Joan Baxter in the Hfx Examiner “This article was supposed to have been about fracking and how it is going to be regulated in Nova Scotia, now that Premier Tim Houston’s government has decided to lift the ban on hydraulic fracturing for onshore fossil gas, often called “natural gas,” because that has a more benign ring than fossil gas or methane, which is what natural gas mostly is. Instead, because the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) refused to answer any of my questions about fracking, it has become an article about a government department that is stonewalling the media, and refusing to provide basic information to which all Nova Scotians are entitled.”

Mar 15, 2025:
NN To the Public Bills Committee regarding Bill No. 1
Comments by NSFM writer Nina Newington to the Law Amendments Committee “As someone who has made use of FOIPOPs to get information about activities within the particularly opaque Department of Natural Resources, I can say with certainty that our Access to Information provisions should be strengthened not weakened.”

Mar 13, 2025: Uranium exploration and mining in Nova Scotia – the radioactive issue that Houston’s government reactivated
Joan Baxter in the Hfx Examiner “Joan Baxter’s latest article looks at the push for uranium mining in Nova Scotia, the myths being promulgated by those who want an end to the uranium ban, and the history of how that ban came to be.”

Mar 11, 2025:
– LINKS: PUBLIC BILLS – UPCOMING SCHEDULE & INFO: Re Bills 1 and 6
https://nslegislature.ca/legislative-business/committees/standing/public-bills
PRESENTING TO BILL COMMITTEE
https://nslegislature.ca/get-involved/democratic-participation/presenting-to-committees
Upcoming Meetings Monday, March 17, 2025 9:00 am – 11:00 am
Location: Committee Room, Granville Level One Government Place 1700 Granville Street Halifax
Witness/Agenda: At that meeting, the following Bills will be considered:
– Bill No. 1 – An Act Respecting Government Organization and Administration (with representation)
– Bill No. 6 – An Act Respecting Agriculture, Energy and Natural Resources (with representation)…and 5 other bills.
After Public Bills have received second reading in the House, the Standing Committee on Public Bills gives representations from any interested persons or organizations… Print and electronic submissions to the Public Bills Committee are public documents and are posted on our site.
Tip of the Hat to BW for this item.

– Keeping the “Know” in Nova Scotia
Ecology Action Centre Webpage with links to 4 FactSheets “written to clear the air on how certain industries would actually affect Nova Scotia and our communities, air and water.”

• Fracking and the renewable energy transition
• Lithium mining and battery recycling
• Royalty payments
• Uranium exploration and mining

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Mar 7, 2025:
– Poilievre vows to repeal environmental assessment law to fast-track resource projects
By Abdul Matin Sarfraz in the National Observer “Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has vowed to repeal a key Liberal environmental law if his party wins the next federal election to streamline approval of major projects, such as pipelines, mines, and LNG plants. Undoing Bill C-69 is a central plank in his plan to strengthen Canada’s oil and gas sector and reduce reliance on the United States. At a press conference in Toronto on Friday, Poilievre criticized the current regulatory framework, claiming it has stifled investment, hindered economic growth, and left Canada in a “weak” position in the face of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs. “We will unleash the production of our resources for our own benefit,” Poilievre said.” COMMENT ‘Not the intent to follow national politics here, but this item makes it clear that Houston’s much earlier initiatives in the same vein were ‘ahead of their time’.

Mar 6, 2025:
– N.S. Premier Tim Houston tries to defend his lack of consultation with Mi’kmaw Chiefs
Joan Baxter in Hfx Examiner. “Tim Houston: I have great respect for our First Nations leaders. Tremendous respect. We’ll be meeting with them later this week, the minister [of L’nu Affairs] and myself, to talk about some of these issues, Madam Speaker. But I understand the realities of the world…We will consult as projects arise.”

Mar 5, 2025:
– ‘Beware Tim Houston, we’re coming’: “Special interests” rally held in Halifax
Suzanne Rent in the Hfx Examiner. “The rally was organized by numerous groups, including Mi’kmaw activists, local chapters of The Council of Canadians, Ecology Action Centre, Extinction Rebellion NS, CUPE Nova Scotia, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives-Nova Scotia, Action Against Canso Spaceport, and Annapolis Waterkeepers…Charles Bull, dressed in a top hat and suit, addressed the crowd as Joseph Howe, not far from where a bronze statue of Howe, now green from oxidization, stands on a pedestal in a small greenspace.“I return to my old haunts at Province House, the birthplace of responsible government, where for many years I faithfully served Nova Scotia as an elected official, as speaker of the house, and as premier,” Bull said. “
– Halifax rally takes aim at Houston government proposals
CBC News (Video) “Hundreds of people gathered outside Province House on Wednesday to rally against what they call an attack on democracy by the Houston government.”
– ‘Special Interests’ for Democracy Rally (Announcement)
Event by South Shore Chapter of the Council of Canadians, Sierra Club Atlantic Canada Chapter and 2 others. Wednesday, March 5th @ Noon, Province House, 1726 Hollis Street, Halifax. “Background:
In the past month, Houston’s government has:
– Given themselves the power to fire civil servants without cause, keep government information hidden from the public, fire the auditor general, and keep auditor general reports private (Bill 1) – Limited the amount of time that Opposition MLA’s are allowed to speak in the Legislature – Shut out the media at Province House, changing the way the media are allowed to question them and stating their intention to “bypass” the media – Revoked the moratorium on fracking without consultation (Bill 6), in spite of thorough public consultations and solid scientific evidence on the dangers of fracking that led to the moratorium – Revoked the ban on uranium exploration without consultation (Bill 6), in spite of thorough public consultations leading to the ban due to the overwhelming majority of Nova Scotians being against uranium mining – Shut down Communications Nova Scotia, ending non-partisan communications from the government to its people – Ended annual reports of emergency room services – Given themselves power to override municipalities decision-making about infrastructure (Bill 24) – Given themselves more control over universities and research (Bill 12) …”
– N.S. Mi’kmaw chiefs say they should have been consulted on natural resources legislation
Michael Gorman · CBC News “Bill 6 would lift ban on uranium exploration and mining, create potential for fracking…In their letter to the premier, the chiefs write that they are not opposed to “ethical and well-planned” development that respects their treaty rights and provides opportunity for their people. “However, when the province pushes through hurried legislative changes that reverse longstanding policies in the name of Nova Scotia being ‘open for business,’ it sends a clear message that our rights and our voices do not matter to this administration.”
– University professors association pushes back against N.S. government bill
Francis Campbell for Chronicle Herald “…The Association of Nova Scotia University Teachers says the bill as tabled on Feb. 19 would give the advanced education minister unprecedented power to appoint almost half of the members of university boards, dictate that research align only with government priorities, and provide unchecked authority to force universities into a revitalization process.”

Mar 4, 2025:
– COMMENTARY: A balanced path forward for Nova Scotia’s resource development and environmental sustainability
Geoff Hurley in the Chronicle Herald Also here. Geoff Hurley offers specific, practical recommendations for ensuring long-term well-being of Nova Scotians and our natural environment while moving ahead with more resource development in NS.
– Chief Micelle Glascow comments on Premier’s presentation to Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada in Toronto
On The Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaw Chiefs (Public FB Page)
Text reproduced here. “He talked about how Nova Scotia was ready for exploration, mining, and fracking precious minerals, lithium, uranium, copper, lead, gold, just to name a few. Not once did he acknowledge the land of Nova Scotia as the Unseeded Territory of the Mi’kmaq. To me, it just felt like “Nova Scotia was up for sale to the highest bidder”. So come on down into our territory and rape our lands and take our precious natural resources.
– Nova Scotia Advancing Critical Mineral Opportunities
Natural Resources & Premier’s Office news release. “Premier Tim Houston attended a major international mining conference to tell developers and investors that Nova Scotia is open for business and eager to advance critical minerals opportunities. The Premier spoke at the annual Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada conference in Toronto today, March 4.”
– Mi’kmaw Chiefs send stinging rebuke to N.S. Premier Tim Houston
Joan Baxter in Hfx Examiner “The Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaw Chiefs have sent a stinging rebuke to Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston over recent legislation that would remove the longstanding bans on fracking and uranium mining and exploration in Mi’kma’ki, the unceded land of the Mi’kmaq…The strongly worded reprimand came in a two-page letter dated March 4, 2025, signed by the three co-leads on environment, energy, and mining for the Kwilmu’kw Maw-klusuaqn (KMK): Chief Carol Potter, Chief Cory Julian, and Chief Tamara Young. KMK works on behalf of the Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaq Chiefs on the best ways to implement Aboriginal and treaty rights.”
– Proposed changes to Civil Service Act raise job security questions
Michael Gorman · CBC News “Recent emails from the premier and his top deputy minister to members of the public service, coupled with legislation being debated at Province House, have some bureaucrats wondering about job security…Houston writes that Nova Scotia finds itself in a period of significant change and that the province needs “a strong, innovative public service…The premier goes on to say that he believes all workplaces have two types of people: problem solvers and problem stretchers.”Our province needs you to be a problem solver who is sympathetic to the needs of the Nova Scotians you are serving with a devotion to finding a solution to their challenge or issue. Our civil service needs problem solvers and I have faith in you to be a problem solver.”
– Dismantling democracy in Nova Scotia: readers respond
Yvette D’Entermont in the Hfx Examiner

Mar 3, 2025:
– From the NS Legislature to the Oval Office — the Mainstreet Spinbusters on politics in the age of Trump(Audio)
CBC Mainstreet with Jeff Douglas “Barbara Emodi, Chris Lydon and Michelle Coffin speak with guest host Alex Guye”. View audio bar. View Rough Transcript of the first 20 minutes in which recent political happenings in NS are discussed…’Houston behaves more like Musk than Trump…
– COMMENTARY: Premier Houston, please don’t go MAGA
By Tom Urbaniak, professor of political science at Cape Breton University in Cape Breton Post.
– Former N.S. privacy commissioner wants office to gain resources, more powers
By Michael Tutton The Canadian Press on Global News “The 43-year-old lawyer says her former office needs order-making power, which would give more weight to its decisions. If a commissioner decides that a document should be public, then the government agency would be required to go court to appeal, not the person who had requested the record.“Of all the legislative change that we’re looking for, that’s by far the most important,” Ralph said.
– Municipalities call for changes to ‘tremendously concerning’ N.S. transportation bill
Haley Ryan · CBC News “The advocacy group for Nova Scotia municipalities has asked for changes to a bill that would allow the province to charge towns and regions for new transportation infrastructure, a power that is “tremendously concerning” to their members. The Progressive Conservative government’s proposed Bill 24 grants sweeping powers to the public works minister over transportation and transit decisions. It states the minister could order a municipality to build or remove infrastructure, and “do anything necessary” to ensure the smooth movement of people and goods.”
– NDP wants pause on lifting of uranium, fracking bans as doctors warn of health risks
By Suzanne Rent in Hfx Examiner. In Dismantling Democracy Archives“On Monday, NDP Leader Claudia Chender held a press conference at Province House demanding an immediate pause to lifting those bans. With Chender were Dr. Nancy Covington, a retired family doctor, and Dr. Laurette Geldenhuys, a pathologist and chair of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE).”

Mar 1, 2025:
Premier, NDP leader spar over accountability, transparency
Francis Campbell in Cape Breton Post Chandler referenced a fundainig request sent out to PC Party members…”Will you pitch in here right now to help us withstand NDP attacks, overpower the special interests and professional protestors, bypass media when we need to and stay on track with our plan…”

Feb 28, 2025:
– On Houston’s Walk Back
Martin Bauman in The Coast Daily Today (Newsletter)
– University sector concerned about Houston government’s ‘short-sighted’ education bill
Frances Willick · CBC News. “…Last week, the Progressive Conservatives introduced a bill that would link the university’s funding decisions to the government’s social and economic priorities. Bill 12 would allow the minister of advanced education to appoint up to half of the members of the university’s board of governors, and force a university into a revitalization plan. The legislation also would allow the Nova Scotia Community College to grant degrees.” The articles includes interviews with faculty; admins would not comment.
– N.S. Tories criticized for removing online data about people seeking family doctor
By Michael Tutton The Canadian Press In the Toronto Star
– JOHN DeMONT: Don’t let the anti-media bias spread here
In the Chronicle Herald “…A 2023 report from the Reuters Institute at the University of Oxford showed that in Canada overall trust in the media has plunged from 55 per cent in 2016 to 40 per cent in 2023. Among English-speaking Canadians – although we are delighted to serve readers in any language – trust in the news is even lower, with just 37 percent of those surveyed in 2023 saying they believed in the media…Everywhere the traditional media turns in 2025 its independence is under siege. Just look at the last week: in the United States where the Trump government – which has already banned The Associated Press from press briefings for refusing to follow the Gulf of America dictate – took control of the Washington press corps by announcing it would decide who gets to cover the president inside and outside the White House.In Ottawa, Pierre Poilievre has been at war with the mainstream media since he became Conservative leader …Some will argue that this erosion of trust in the media is the proper state of affairs. Except here is the thing: you need us, just like you need the Auditor General’s Office, the Privacy Commissioner and Elections Nova Scotia…Since the days before Confederation, the premier and provincial ministers took reporter’s questions right there in the House of Assembly. At the start of the current session of the legislature the scrum format was out. Instead, reporters trooped across the street from the legislature to One Government Place, which houses various government departments and officials, where a moderator controlled the questioning of the premier and his ministers. “This is a bald-faced frontal assault on press freedom in a province where secrecy has long trumped transparency,” said Brent Jolly, the president of the Canadian Association of Journalists, which on Tuesday formally requested that the Houston Nova government withdraw the policy…”

Feb 27, 2025:
– PC government uses supermajority to change N.S. legislature rules
Michael Gorman · CBC News “Changes include ability to restrict debate time and invoke closure”
– PERSPECTIVE: A love letter to special interests
Miia Suokonautio, YWCA Halifax executive director, in the Chronicle Herald “…So, who are Nova Scotian special interest groups? Well, all of us. Because we all have needs. When our government dismisses particular perspectives as special interests, maybe this is just shorthand for people being dismissed because their perspectives are deemed ignorable?”
– Premier Tim Houston has a hate on for ‘special interest groups’ but won’t say who they are. Here are the actual special interests in Nova Scotia
Joan Baxter in Halifax examiner. Introduction to the piece by Suzanne Rent for Morning File (Hfx Examiner) “One of the early warning signs that Premier Tim Houston was about to take a hard right turn and flood the political zone with legislative changes designed to dismantle democracy in Nova Scotia came in January, when his rhetoric took on an ominous, mean-spirited undertone,” writes Joan Baxter.”
– Premier is pushing extractive industries, but is anyone even interested in Nova Scotia’s uranium, lithium, and fracking?
Elizabeth Kosters in Hfx Examiner

Feb 26, 2025:
– N.S. premier may adjust plans to amend access to information rules
ichael Gorman · CBC News “The change would be the second notable update to Bill 1…Among other things, Bill 1 proposes giving the power to reject freedom of information requests to heads of government bodies and municipalities if they determine they lack specificity, are frivolous or vexatious. Privacy Commissioner Tricia Ralph issued a statement on Tuesday calling on Houston to withdraw the proposed amendments and engage in meaningful consultation with her office and the public.”

Feb 25, 2025:
– TREPA Letter 25Feb2025
To John Cunningham, Warden, Municipality of Yarmouth from Barrie MacGregor President, Tusket River Environmental Protection Association “I’m writing on behalf of TREPA in regard to the unusual letter sent to NS Mayors and Wardens from John Lohr, Minister of Municipal affairs. He is encouraging all of you to encourage resource development. We call it “resource extraction”. The main purpose of this letter is to encourage you and council to scrutinize resource extraction proposals with an eye to potential negative impacts…”
– PC Party fundraiser asks supporters to help ‘bypass the media’
\Michael Gorman · CBC News “The letter also takes aim at unnamed ‘special interests’ and the Opposition NDP”
– N.S. information commissioner says government bill threatens right to access records
Michael Tutton · The Canadian Press on CBC
– Houston backs down on auditor general changes, but it’s still full steam ahead on other elements of dismantling democracy
Tim Bousquet in Morning File (Hfx Examiner)
Also introduced: “Issues of transparency and accountability are now in question,’ law prof says of Houston government’s legislative changes.”
– What’s there to hide?’ Nova Scotia proposes sweeping reforms designed to enhance dysfunction and keep citizens in the dark
Canadian Association of Journalists

Feb 24, 2025:
– N.S. wants to deny ‘vexatious’ information requests. Critics say they are concerned
Angela MacIvor · CBC News “Province introduced changes to the Freedom of Information and Privacy Act in surprise bill..”We were not notified at all that change was coming,” Tricia Ralph, Information and Privacy Commissioner for Nova Scotia, told CBC’s Mainstreet.”
– N.S. premier withdrawing changes that would have allowed auditor general to be fired without cause
Michael Gorman · CBC News “Houston told the legislature on Monday that he will withdraw the first seven clauses of Bill 1, omnibus legislation that makes a number of changes to government entities. The first several clauses pertained to the Auditor General Act and would have given the government the ability to fire the auditor general without cause if it had two-thirds support from the House and give cabinet ministers the power to make reports or parts of reports from the office private. The Progressive Conservatives hold 43 of the 55 seats in the House. “After discussions with the Nova Scotia auditor general and her team, I am no longer supporting the proposed amendments,” Houston said in a statement.”
– Commentary: The BlackRock Boy Makes Good
Linda Pannozzo in the Quaking Swamp Journal “Last week, the Nova Scotia government led by Premier Tim Houston introduced a series of government bills that will make them a lot less accountable, transparent, and accessible to the media and the public.” She reviews earlier efforts by Houston & Co. to weaken envronmental protection, e.g. “Houston’s government also displayed its contempt for democracy when it created a “new interpretation” of the Wetland Conservation Policy”
– Dismantling democracy: this is not business as usual
PHILIP MOSCOVITCH in Morning File (Halifax Examiner) “In times of crisis, the public needs critical information quickly. Public safety and our collective well-being come first,” Examiner publisher Tim Bousquet writes this morning:

We are in another time of crisis.
The current sitting of the provincial legislature is not business as usual. As I wrote Friday, this is not about one election or another. Governments come and go, left, right, and centre. But never before have previous governments, even super-majority governments, made such radical changes in the institutions of government itself.

Also introduced in Morning File: Assault on press freedom…Today, Joan Baxter looks at its impact on access to information; Silencing the opposition: Jennifer Henderson reports on changes being brought in by the Houston government that “give it the power to stop debate at any time on proposed laws or bills,”; University research and government values: Dr. Karen Foster, a professor of sociology and social anthropology at Dalhousie University, has written a commentary on the dangers of the provincial government granting itself the power to influence research at Nova Scotia universities.” AND Tariffs and energy for Nova Scotia: Larry Hughes has written an analysis of Nova Scotia’s reliance on natural gas, and looks at where the gas will come from in future with he United States no longer considered a “trustworthy” source.

Feb 22, 2025
– JOHN DeMONT: Even governments need referees
In Chronicle Herald “…At issue: A bid to clamp down on an agency, the auditor general’s office, whose central job is to monitor how the government spends our money. At a time when the headlines are dominated by government overreach and lack of transparency in the United States, I expect the outcry will be loud and long. As it should be”. In the op-ed DeMont cites several past examples of why NS has had a reputation as “the most secretive provincial government in the country.” COMMENT: For those of us whose interactions with the NS Gov. tend to be focussed on a few issues or areas. to learn that the NS Gov has long had such a reputation surely helps.

Feb 21, 2025:
– Power Grab: Tim Houston is dismantling democracy in the birthplace of responsible government
Tim Bousquet in Morning File (Halifax Examiner) “The core values of this office are independence, integrity and impact. Those values are tied to this office no matter who sits in this chair. And it’s been that way for a century.” That’s how Nova Scotia Auditor General Kim Adair began her press conference yesterday morning, correctly centring the foundational governance changes Premier Tim Houston is ushering through the legislature in the broad sweep of Nova Scotia’s history. This is not about one election or another. Governments come and go, left, right, and centre. But never before have previous governments, even super-majority governments, made such radical changes in the institutions of government itself.”
–Legal column: Houston government giving itself sweeping new powers (audio)
CBC Info AM with Portia Clark. “Premier Tim Houston has introduced legislation this week to vastly increase his government’s powers. Legal columnist Wayne MacKay looks at the checks and balances in a parliamentary democracy, and how they fall short when a government has a supermajority.”
– Citizens respond to Bills 1 and 6
Page on this website. Three letters circulating on social media in which citizens respond to the PC Gov’s recently introduced Bill 1 (An Act Respecting Government Organization and Administration) and Bill 6 (An Act Respecting Agriculture, Energy and Natural Resources).

Feb 20, 2025:
– With great power, Nova Scotia’s PCs want to make great changes
CBC News (Video) “Nova Scotia’s government is flexing its supermajority by giving itself the legislative muscle to make changes that impact how government is held accountable. Michael Gorman and Jean Laroche explain why.”

Feb 19, 2025:
– Nova Scotia universities to become ‘more accountable’ says Premier Tim Houston
Jennifer Henderson in the Hfx Examiner
– The erosion of democratic norms
Philip Musquovitch in Morning File (Halifax Examiner. Cites Premier Tim Houston floods the zone with sweeping changes to government by Tim Bousquet in Hfx Examiner. “Tim Bousquet reports on the “sweeping changes” coming to Nova Scotia. They come in two bills introduced yesterday: The Government Organization and Administration Act, and An Act Respecting Agriculture, Energy and Natural Resources. These bills were introduced yesterday, the same day as the budget — which brings significant changes of its own.”
– Premier Tim Houston floods the zone with sweeping changes to government
Tim Bousquet for Halifax Examiner “Nova Scotia’s fracking ban is repealed. The government will start mapping the province’s uranium deposits, the first step to opening up mining. MLAs and the premier are getting a big raise. The legislature now has the power to keep auditor general reports private, and to fire the auditor general at will. Non-unionized government employee are now also at-will and can be fired without cause. Communications Nova Scotia is abolished…”

Feb 18, 2025:
– Nova Scotia government bill would lift ban on fracking, uranium exploration
Lyndsay Armstrong · The Canadian Press on CBC “Premier says changes needed to make the province more self-reliant”
– N.S. government tables deficit budget with more talk about resource development
Michael Gorman · CBC News “Budget includes $200 million in contingency for U.S. tariffs response”
– Nova Scotia government giving itself the power to fire the auditor general
Michael Gorman · CBC News “Proposed changes would also allow government to make some or all of an auditor general’s report private”

Feb 17, 2025:
– Nova Scotia taking more steps toward offshore wind development
Taryn Grant · CBC News “Offshore wind industry faces uncertain future amid hostile action from Trump”

Feb 16, 2025:
Digging Ourselves Into a Hole: The Predictable Scam of Rural Resource Hype
John Wesley Chisholm in thebeans.substack.com “..In Nova Scotia, the resource extraction cycle isn’t some organic economic shift; it’s a script written by the politically connected and a few traveling advancemen, grifters from big mining firms. They show up like clockwork, manufacturing urgency, selling the idea that digging up the land is the only way forward, despite decades of evidence proving otherwise. They prey on economic desperation, cozying up to politicians, and pitching short-term job booms as the magic bullet for long-standing struggles….”

Feb 15, 2025:
– January Was An Embarrassing Month To Be A Nova Scotian
By Neal Livingston in The Macdonald Notebook. View Text in full
– Digging into Nova Scotia’s uranium ban — and what may come next
Frances Willick · CBC News COMMENT: Balanced coverage of a controversial topic

Feb 14, 2025:
– Trump’s tariff threats spur ‘mature conversation’ in N.S. on lifting fracking, uranium bans
Aaron Beswick in the Chronicle Herald. COMMENT Informative, thoughtful, balanced treatment of a controversial topic by A.B. – david p
– Speech from the Throne – First Session of the 65th General Assembly of the Nova Scotia Legislature “Giving groups vetoes that impoverish our fellow Nova Scotians will no longer be tolerated…”

Feb 10, 2025:
– Houston government eliminating provincial communications arm
Jean Laroche · CBC News “Premier Tim Houston is getting rid of the agency that has provided communications advice and marketing services to successive Nova Scotia governments for almost 30 years. Communications Nova Scotia is being dissolved and staff are being reassigned to individual government departments, sources tell CBC News. Neither the premier nor Leah Martin, the cabinet minister responsible for CNS, were available Monday to answer questions about the shift. An emailed statement from Houston’s press secretary, attributed to Martin, suggested the reorganization was part of an effort to modernize the delivery of government messaging.” Alos view comments by Tim Bousquet in Morning File for Feb 11.

– Houston vows to ignore environmentalists, lean into resource industries
Jennifer Hnederson in the Halifax Examiner. Subscription required. Short into in Morning File “As Houston’s speech gathered steam, it became clear that “mature discussion” does not include Nova Scotians aligned with groups who want the environmental risks and rewards of megaprojects weighed before they go ahead. Here’s Houston describing how PC members of his caucus should deal with dissenting voices: It will require the ability to pin your eyes back, grow thick skin and just do the right thing. We’ve had to do that. It’s exactly what we did on the Coastal Protection Act. We pinned our ears back and did the right thing. So my message to special interest groups and the professional protesters that we see showing up around the province is: ‘join us’ in putting Nova Scotia first and moving this province forward. Or, as I like to say, ‘problem stretchers out, problem solvers in.’

Feb 7, 2025:
– Nature NS Letter to Premier
From Bob Bancroft (President, nature NS) and Becky Parker (Executive Directore, NatureNS). “Dear Premier Houston, On January 21st, you sent a letter to your caucus addressing potential actions your government could take in response to US President Trump’s threat of tariffs, later made available as an advertisement intended to serve as an open letter to the public in the Chronicle Herald. We are extremely concerned with some of the content of your letter, the follow-up information provided in news conferences and statements, as well as the disrespectful way you have described the interests of Nova Scotians and the environmental groups that represent them, referring to opposition voices to unsustainable resource extraction activities as “special interest” groups…” View full letter.
– Nova Scotia steps over private landowner to allow for lithium exploration
Taryn Grant · CBC News “The move aligns with the Tory government’s new push for resource development..The land that Continental Lithium has been granted access to is owned by a company called Green Bear Woodland and managed by Vladi Private Islands, which has offices in Halifax and Hamburg, Germany. A spokesperson at the property manager’s Halifax office said the land is used for sustainable forestry and doesn’t have any buildings on it.”

Feb 4, 2025:
– VOICE OF THE PEOPLE: Have courage to engage special interest groups
Fernando Moncayo in the Chronicle Herald “We have big problems and opportunities and we can’t navigate them well if we split our boat into crews of entrenched views and villainize each other. The premier appears to be using the rhetoric of division to avoid the necessary, messy work of democratic leadership. I want him to be better than that. I believe he is. I pray that Premier Houston finds the courage and energy to engage the concerned, knowledgeable and dedicated members of Nova Scotia’s organized civil society, like the Mining Association of Nova Scotia as well as the Ecology Action Centre, in good-faith discussions around these bans and that these and other groups engage likewise.”
– Global markets could limit N.S. government’s ability to attract more critical mineral development
Taryn Grant · CBC News “In 1997, John Wightman found lithium in southwest Nova Scotia and saw the potential for a mine. But nearly 30 years later, a commercial mine has yet to start operating. Wightman, a longtime geologist and prospector based in Bridgetown, N.S., said the biggest barrier to getting the operation going is money. “It’s always money,” he said with a laugh…The case demonstrates how global demand is a key driver of where the mining industry invests its time and money. Despite Premier Tim Houston’s new refrain that he will open the door for more resource extraction, there are limitations to how much the provincial government can do to influence industry decisions.

Feb 2, 2025:
Houston’s January Surprise
Letter from Nina Newington to Chronicle Herald, full text available on HFC website. “What a remarkable letter Tim Houston just sent his caucus.  Remarkable, first, because it bears no resemblance to the platform they ran on two months ago. Healthcare, housing, affordability are so yesterday. Instead we are to pin our province’s health and prosperity on … resource extraction…”

Jan 31, 2025:
N.S. environment minister on the push for more resource development (Audio)
CBC InfoAM with Portia Clark “Environment Minister Tim Halman responds to reporters’ questions about his government’s plans for more resource extraction in Nova Scotia, and the Province’s messaging around that – including why those plans were not a campaign issue in the recent election.”

Jan 29, 2025:
– National Farmers Union Nova Scotia concerned by Premier Houston’s suggestion to “take the no out of Nova Scotia”
REGION 1-DISTRICT 3 | LETTER “Nova Scotia’s food sovereignty is being put at risk by Premier Houston’s suggestion to open up the province to extractive industries including uranium mining, fracking for natural gas, and oil and gas exploration on fertile fishing grounds”
– Environmental non-profit groups challenge N.S. premier on resource extraction
Francis Campbell in the Chronicle Herald “A pair of environmental non-profit organizations say Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston should have been up-front with voters during the recent election campaign about a move toward potential resource extraction and development…In a letter to caucus dated Jan. 21, Premier Tim Houston said Nova Scotia is blessed with “untapped opportunities primarily because governments before ours lacked the courage to act on them.” Robin Tress, campaign director with the Council of Canadians, a non-profit that advocates for clean water, fair trade, green energy and public health care, said the only dangerous special interest groups in Nova Scotia are people with large bank accounts and corporate agendas…Plourde said the premier in his letters said “that in fact every previous government before his was stupid, lazy and gutless in the face of these awesome, influential dark forces, these so-called special interest groups,” Plourde said.“It’s simply a false narrative, a cooked-up, deliberate false narrative and misdirection of the public to be very divisive.”

– Should the Premier be calling the Ecology Action Centre a “special interest group”? (Audio)
Interview with EAC’s Raymon Plourde on CBC Info AM with Portia Clark. Read Rough Transcript. For some background, view Premier’s Jan 21 Letter & followup

Jan 28, 2025:
– Disaster Capitalism 101 comes to Nova Scotia
Tim Bousquet in Morning File (Halifax Examiner “The term “Disaster Capitalism” was coined by Naomi Klein in her 2007 book, The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism. She defines it as a form of extreme capitalism that advocates privatization and deregulation in the wake of war or natural catastrophe.Donald Trump is Disaster Capitalism personified. He is a chaos agent, creating so much confusion and disorder that the powerful can bulldoze through an exploitive agenda for their own profit. And here in Nova Scotia, Houston is using the excuse of Trump’s chaotic tariffs to bulldoze through a similar exploitative agenda.”

Jan 27, 2025:
– N.S. premier clarifies his government stands by Georges Bank moratorium
Michael Gorman · CBC News Comments “Tim Houston blames special interest groups for promoting ‘falsehoods'”
– Todd Veinotte Show Jan 27, 2025
46 mins on… Discussion of Premier’s letters etc. Interview with Raymond Plourde (EAC) 1 hr45 min on; tomorrrow will talk with Sean Kirby from the NS Mining Association
– Drill Baby Drill? In Defense of Nova Scotia’s environmental ‘bans’
Stewart Lamont in Front Lines Lobster Report “Dear Mr. Premier:
Belated Congratulations on your massive Election win. Belated Best Wishes also for a Healthy and Happy New Year. Kudos in all respects, you have been on an incredible ‘winning streak’ that I for one did not anticipate….
At the risk of appearing disrespectful, may I say I watched your Jan 22nd Press Conference with dismay and astonishment. Subsequently I read your Jan 24th “To whom it may concern” reassurance letter with even greater concern. Finally, I received the Jan 25th Full Page Front Page advertisement in the Chronicle Herald. I read it carefully three times and tucked it away for posterity. As a Nova Scotian who cares about this province, worries about the economy and the environment, and who would very much like all of us to succeed including your government, you have literally turned my world upside down…Mr. Premier, I know you are proud of your reputation for impatience and quick action. However, discretion remains the better part of valour. Think of your grandchildren and their future in ‘Canada’s Ocean Playground’ before wading into this debate one step further. Don’t frack around, if you will forgive the expression. One environmental disaster would be one too many…
There are demonstrably better ways to proceed, and those of us in the seafood sector can actually help you succeed. We’re a ‘special interest’ ironically, proven to be sustainable and more than ready to engage on these issues.”
– Some people have been wondering, is Stephen Moore* writing this stuff?
*Stephen Moore was appointed Communications Director for the Premier’s Office last August after serving as CEO of Forest NS. Comment, Read more

Jan 25, 2025
–  Letter from the Premier to Fellow Nova Scotians  “I have no intention of bowing to special interests….Special interests have captured too many parts of our economy and have had an outsized voice in policy creation. That will end….”
N.S. Premier Tim Houston

Jan 24, 2025:
– Revisiting Georges Bank moratorium goes against ‘good political management,’ says fishery rep
Michael Gorman · CBC News “Premier Tim Houston’s musings about revisiting the petroleum development moratorium for Georges Bank was met with forceful opposition from an industry that’s fought for four decades to protect the lucrative fishing grounds from oil rigs.”
– Letter from the Premier to Whom it May Concern
“…Many in the media will echo the false statements made by special interest groups because it makes for stories that generate clicks and capture attention. We can not let these false narratives take hold and we owe it to each other nto have serious coinversations about important issues…”

Jan 23, 2025
– EAC Response
“The EAC’s statement on the Nova Scotia government’s intention to increase resource extraction
“Yesterday, Premier Houston sent a shocking letter to all PC caucus members, signalling his intention to expedite an array of resource extraction projects – even though it would mean lifting long-standing and hard-won bans on fracking and uranium mining, ending a moratorium on offshore drilling in the important and highly sensitive fishing grounds of Georges Bank and reviving the proposed Energy East pipeline…”

Jan 21, 2025:
– Premier Tim Houston unveils push for more natural resource development in Nova Scotia
Michael Gorman · CBC News “Houston says it’s time to take the ‘no’ out of Nova Scotia as economic concerns loom”…Houston’s office called the news conference ostensibly to discuss potential new tariffs on Canadian exports to the United States. Instead, the premier spent the bulk of his time discussing a letter he provided members of his caucus during a meeting earlier in the day.” The letter is attached to the CBC News Story, it’s also viewable here. ” COMMENT: Perhaps exhibit A to illustrate Why we should never give any party a majority. Update/Related: The EAC’s statement on the Nova Scotia government’s intention to increase resource extraction (Jan 23, 2025). Major points were reiterated in a paid advertisement in Chronicle Herald on Jan 25, 2025 – view here.