The Chronicle Herald (Provincial)

CONSTRUCTION HEADACHES BUILD

Construction along Dutch Village Road continues to affect local businesses after over a year of road and sidewalk disruptions. The project stretched small businesses to a critical point, says Mohammad Ashiq, co-owner of Hello Pets on Dutch Village...

HOUSING PRICES WOULD BE 10% LOWER IF CANADA HAD KEPT PACE WITH U.S.: CMHC

Canada’s housing stock would be about 30 per cent larger and prices 10 per cent lower if this country’s building industry had been as responsive to demand as its American counterpart over the last couple of decades, says a new report from the federal...

WORKING THE LINE

Volunteers form an assembly line as they prepare zaatar for the opening of the Lebanese Cedar Festival at Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Catholic Church in Halifax. The festival runs throughout this weekend.

SPRUCE BUDWORM’S KNOCKING AT OUR DOOR

Daniel George took his power saw to the Cape Breton highlands in 1979. He was 18, had a strong back and there was good money on offer cleaning up after the spruce budworm. What he saw there shocked him. “Everything was dead. The only green we’d see...

Upset seniors describe deteriorating living conditions inside nursing homes

Carl Snyder paints a troubling picture of what life is like right now inside his nursing home. He is a two-year resident at Ocean View Continuing Care Centre in Eastern Passage and he says living conditions have deteriorated badly ever since the...

MEET THE 85-YEAR-OLD MAN STILL BUILDING LOBSTER TRAPS

On the mornings he’s up early enough, Gerald Hatcher’s hands and mind are occupied with twine. Perched by the window, looking down over the small northern Cape Breton harbour of New Haven, he watches his son, Blair, steam out of the harbour. “Lucky,...

‘EVIL WALKS AMONG US’

Kayla Deveau says she was a little girl when she went to Halifax in the fall of 2010. She came back a broken individual. Now, 16 years later, she is turning the tables on the person who hurt her and who changed the trajectory of her life. She says...

FEDERAL MINISTER POURS MORE COLD WATER ON N.B.’S LNG IDEA

Canada has reached a landmark deal to export liquefied natural gas to Germany — but it’s from the Pacific coast. And federal Energy Minister Tim Hodgson has poured more cold water on the possibility of an East Coast export terminal, even as New...

ENERGY TRANSITION

Former Central Nova MP Elmer Mackay at the site of a proposed natural gas plant on his land in Marshdale, Pictou County. Over the coming decade, Nova Scotia is going to onshore much of its power via a hard turn to wind, potentially locally fracked...

Mother of newborn found dead in woods dies in hospital

A woman who was admitted to the hospital in critical condition on May 22 after giving birth to a baby whose body was later found in the woods has died, adding to the tragedy in the case. Halifax Regional Police announced the 23-year-old woman’s death...

COSTS CONTINUE TO RISE FOR ALL INVOLVED AT WANDERERS GROUNDS

A recent city-mandated ticket and drink surcharge is the latest foul for fans looking to enjoy soccer at the Wanderers Grounds, but it may just be the start as HRM looks to recover costs on its investment. The question is: is it possible to find an...

Nova Scotia expands push for onshore natural gas exploration

Premier Tim Houston says Nova Scotia is moving aggressively to explore onshore natural gas development, arguing the province needs to capitalize on its natural resources as it faces mounting fiscal pressures and rising energy costs. The comments came...

MISSING NEWBORN BABY FOUND DEAD NEAR HALIFAX

The search for a missing newborn baby in Halifax ended in tragedy. On Sunday at about 3:20 p.m., searchers found a deceased infant in a wooded area off Old Coach Road in Goodwood. A 23-year-old woman who had arrived at hospital in Halifax on Friday...

POLITICIANS SEEK TO EASE FOOD COSTS, BUT ARE BATTLING MARKET FORCES

Call it the coriander conundrum. Like with parsley, carrots, dill and most other members of the apiaceae family of edible plants, the retail price of coriander has been growing like a weed. While the prices of many items on grocery store shelves have...

POSITIVE FORCE

Small-business owners share challenges at mayor’s address

The Halifax Convention Centre was packed with politicians and business people of every stripe, a special Haligonian who’s who ahead of Mayor Andy Fillmore’s state of the municipality address. Fillmore outlined the city’s position plainly in his...

‘Nothing less than shocking’

A former Yarmouth man has been sentenced to nine years in prison less remand credit for sexually abusing a 14-year-old girl during a trip to Halifax in the fall of 2010. The victim reported Bruce Douglas Hatfield’s actions to police in October 2022....

‘STAFF DIDN’T QUITE ENVISION THIS’

Kate Macintosh’s grandparents built their house on Preston Street in 1929, the first of a series of five bungalows constructed by the same developer nearly a century ago. Today, Macintosh lives in the house, the steward of her family’s legacy in...

CORVETTE RECOMMISSIONED

Royal Canadian Navy veteran Lorne Baird wore his old uniform for a ceremonial recommissioning event for HMCS Sackville, Canada’s last surviving Flower-class corvette from the Second World War, on the Halifax waterfront. Baird said he did five...

UNDERCOVER WORK

Amanda Rundle was 40 feet in the air and revealing the Eye of God. “It’s painstaking but satisfying when you reveal the brush strokes,” said Rundle. “No one has seen these in a lifetime.” Rundle and fellow conservator Ruth del Fresno-guillem peeled...

Halifax Transit boss rides ahead

Time flies when you’re riding the bus, and no one knows that better than Halifax Transit executive director Robin Gerus. Gerus, who started his role 15 months ago, publicly committed to riding transit as he aimed to help guide the organization forward...

DARTMOUTH GENERAL HOSPITAL OUTPACES ORTHOPEDIC STANDARDS

The Dartmouth General Hospital continues to grow as a regional leader in orthopedic surgeries. The hospital’s doctors already handle the highest load of hip and knee procedures in the province, but they are poised to become busier and even more...

15 YEARS OF FOOD, COMMUNITY IN NORTH END

“When you give, it’s coming back to you.” Abdul Kadar Sadieh – better known as Chef Abod of Chef Abod’s Café and Catering – said he lives by this sentiment. It helped propel him from humble beginnings in Syria to working as the personal chef for a...

NO MICROMOBILITY, NO TRANSIT, NO PROBLEM

EV car shares just might be the transportation solution Mahone Bay needs. Too small a population for transit, too big an area for micromobility, rural communities like this are looking for green options for their residents to get around. “The town is...

SUPREME COURT SET TO WEIGH IN ON HUGE INDIGENOUS TITLE CLAIM

The clock began ticking April 7 on what could be one of the most important Supreme Court of Canada cases in New Brunswick’s history. That’s the date the country’s top court told several law firms involved in the Wolastoqey Nation’s landmark title...

STAR POWER

Jane Alexander, an Oscar-nominated actor who lives in Lockeport, discusses her latest project, Lillian, Next Door, which is shooting in Halifax.

TENTS POP UP IN PARK

P.J. Mckay watched four new tents be set up at the Green Road Park homeless encampment in Dartmouth over the weekend. She said it’s part of a cycle she’s seen before, having just wrapped up her third winter at the camp, with warm weather inviting...

Old Burying Ground secrets explored

Halifax’s first cemetery is said to have close to 10,000 unmarked burials. On Friday, a group of Saint Mary’s archeology students, in partnership with the Old Burying Ground Foundation, were able to confirm the location of several of those burials,...

HOSTS DIVE INTO SMALL-TOWN N.S.

HGTV stars Colin and Justin found themselves in Louisbourg – tears streaming down their faces. They were shooting an episode of their latest project called Small Town Escapes. “There were 19 couples and only one single … Michelle was our single...

‘WE HAVE A VOICE’

After more than a year without seeing his neurologist and a hefty list of cuts in the recent provincial budget, Jorge Mora decided to write to Premier Tim Houston about his experience navigating multiple sclerosis care in Nova Scotia. For the Bedford...

WHY IS WASHINGTON STILL SO ANGRY OVER BANS ON U.S. ALCOHOL?

It has been more than a year since most provinces banned U.S. alcohol from liquor store shelves, but the United States government is still feeling the hangover. Late last month, the issue of U.S. alcohol bans by every province except Alberta and...

SEARCH FOR ANSWERS

All of Lansdowne Station is hurting. “Every day I look out my kitchen window and think of them,” said a neighbour who didn’t want her name published. “There’s not a person in this neighbourhood who doesn’t wake up every morning with the children on...

MAPLE SYRUP FARM DISPUTE GETS STICKY

The dispute between the embattled owners of a Nova Scotia maple syrup farm and the provincial government took another heated turn. Chris and Anna Hutchinson, who own Hutchinson Acres in Lake Paul, near Aylesford, have been given notice by the Nova...

Rising bills, confusing charges

Editor’s note: Electricity powers every home and business in Nova Scotia, yet few understand how the system works or why the rates keep rising. In our four-part series, Power Play, we examine rising costs, potential solutions, and lessons from last...

DIEHARDS TOAST PATIO SEASON

Although poet T.S. Eliot declared April the cruelest month, establishments across the region are happily opening for patio season, with some Haligonians stirring for fresh air and drinks with friends. Joe Mcguinness, who owns Durty Nelly’s, said he...

FORMER BOUNCER GETS FOUR-YEAR SENTENCE

A former Halifax Alehouse bouncer found guilty in the death of a bar patron has been sentenced to four years in prison, which the victim’s family says does not adequately reflect the loss of life. Alexander Pishori Levy, 40, was found guilty of...

MILITARY RECRUITMENT SOARS AFTER PAY RAISES, SOVEREIGNTY THREATS

The Canadian Armed Forces has recorded its highest recruitment levels in over three decades, enrolling 7,310 personnel in the last fiscal year. That’s up 600 new members year-over-year. Officials said the new numbers show strong or stable recruitment...

HOPE ON HORIZON

For a girl described as a dragon with fire in her veins, she sure can enter a room sweet as sugar. The school bus was pulling away from their Cole Harbour home as eight-year-old Harper Tanton walked in, taking jolting steps in her butterfly-adorned...

‘I’M ACTUALLY SMILING FOR A CHANGE’

Derrick Pye doesn’t recommend living in your car. It’s cramped and uncomfortable and cold in the winter. There’s also the issue of finding a spot to park – be it a Walmart lot or some forgotten back road – where you won’t be woken up by police tapping...

Hail ride on Halifax Harbour highway

It looks like water out there in Halifax Harbour but, to these entrepreneurs, it looks like opportunity. “It was something we were always looking at … how the harbour is underutilized from a water transportation perspective. Obviously, there’s...

Councillor shaken by road rage incident

Becky Kent knows about aggressive driving. As the councillor for Dartmouth South-woodside-eastern Passage and a police board commissioner, she knows the stats. But it’s something else entirely to experience it firsthand. “It was very intense. I had...

Rural homelessness hides in plain sight

Chuck Lowther knew he had to get out. The 59-year-old had been living in Dartmouth but he said he couldn’t stay once the friend he was living with started drinking. He decided to head back to the Musquodoboit area, which he’d called home for most of...

‘SCENARIOS ARE ALL EITHER BAD OR VERY, VERY BAD’

Grocery prices are elevated, gas prices are high, job markets are cooling, and U.S. President Donald Trump is sticking to his tariff plans while the world eyes a shaky ceasefire with Iran. The truce between the U.S. and Iran has raised hopes and...

ARTPORT’S WINGS CLIPPED

Ilze Lucis and J. Marshall Burgess are two of the artists who run the co-op gallery at Halifax Stanfield International Airport. They are dismayed the site is soon closing as the airport is not renewing the lease.

‘THESE PEOPLE AREN’T MAKING ENOUGH MONEY’

Tabatha Khoury’s regular visit with her ailing father was even more heart-wrenching than usual on Monday. The mother of two from Hammonds Plains goes to see her dad, Gary Abric, every day at Glasgow Hall in Dartmouth. The 75-yearold is in the late...

MAN IS KILLED ON AMHERST STREET

First came the sound of someone jumping a fence and running by his window Monday at about 6:50 p.m. “I thought, ‘Alright, what’s going on now?'” said the man, who did not want to be named due to safety concerns. He stood up and went to the window...

‘Challenging times are ahead’

A national survey offers a snapshot of Nova Scotians’ feelings toward the government following a tense spring sitting at Province House defined by spending cuts, affordability pressures and questions of public trust all wrapped in a historical...

LONG-TERM CARE WORKERS ON STRIKE

With pickets going up at long-term care homes across Nova Scotia on Monday, the provincial government released selected details of the offer that has been rejected by the Canadian Union of Public Employees executive. According to a written statement...

FEWER CANADIANS CROSSING BORDER — AND DUTY-FREE SHOPS ARE PAYING

Canadians still have their elbows up when it comes to travelling south of the border, and those fewer trips are having a disastrous effect on a key business: duty-free shopping. Tariff spats, Donald Trump’s “51st state” rhetoric and encouragement by...

EAT WITH ANDY

Chef and TV host Andy Hay, slicing vegetables in the kitchen of his Dartmouth home, has a new food-travel show, Andy’s East Coast Kitchen Crawl, premièring on the Food Network. Inspired by Anthony Bourdain, he travels throughout Atlantic Canada looking...

She works full-time but can’t afford a home

She emerges from a nearby path, a stone’s throw from the Green Road Park homeless encampment, and asks to tell her story just as the cameras and microphones are being put away. The Chronicle Herald was there on Tuesday for another assignment, covering...

‘TOO MUCH DEBRIS’

There was a rabbit in P.J. Mckay’s camper on Easter weekend – one of the lost creatures she’s rescued at the Dartmouth homeless encampment. But the real holiday spirit arrived on Tuesday as city staff started cleaning up Green Road Park. People...

HOUSTON SAYS MI’KMAQ DON’T HAVE A TREATY RIGHT TO SELL POT … OR DO THEY?

Seven RCMP cruisers were vandalized and four provincial highways were blocked or slowed by protesters over raids on Mi’kmaq cannabis dispensaries. Over the Easter weekend, Premier Tim Houston and Mi’kmaq leadership offered conflicting accounts of...

Housing construction ‘levelling off’

So far in 2026, housing construction in Halifax is cooling, some demand is ebbing, and it’s taking far, far longer than ever to finish projects. “I know builder sentiment from the single-family builder perspective is not the best right now. And some...

PROTESTERS PUSH BACK

Demonstrators from Sipekne’katik First Nation (colonially called Indian Brook First Nation) picket at Exit 10 on Highway 102 in response to cannabis seizures on First Nation territory, near Shubenacadie, earlier on Thursday.

CLOWN CAR

A painting on a freight train in Dartmouth is a bit of a mood brightener as April kicks off with a predictable dose of wet weather.

Infilling company launches legal action

Already embroiled in legal action with the municipality, the company looking to infill on Dartmouth Cove is launching legal action against the federal government and the local MP. In a news release issued Monday, Bruce Wood, chief financial officer of...

‘IT’S TIME FOR A NEW STORE’

It’s suspected that it was a carelessly flicked cigarette in the neighbouring alley that led to an alarming phone call at 5:45 a.m. on Oct. 4: “Your store’s on fire.” Harold Knickle got that phone call about the Tian Phat Asian Grocery, which he runs...

JEWISH LEADERS WARN OF IRAN-INSPIRED TERROR THREAT

The Jewish community throughout North America has faced a shocking 900 per cent rise in antisemitic incidents since 2014, according to the Anti-defamation League data. Since the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack in Israel, synagogues, community centres,...

STEERING A COURSE

Mark Carney came to Halifax on Thursday to explain how Canada’s military plans to adapt to what he described as an increasingly unsafe world. The prime minister held a news conference on HMCS Margaret Brooke at the Halifax Dockyard to announce...

HAMMONDS PLAINS BECOMES ROW HOUSING CENTRAL

Matt Flynn never set out with the aim of building row housing. As a local who grew up in Dartmouth, Flynn spent years in commercial construction before branching out with his four partners to start the Harbourtown Group just over two years ago. But...

‘IT’S JUST A SHAME’

Lil Macpherson can’t help but feel disappointed whenever she sees the Eisner Cove Wetland development project. “I drive by all the time, look in and just shake my head,” the local business owner and environmental activist told The Chronicle Herald....

Mother fights for autism services for daughter

GEORGE MYRER Martha Rose feels she is in a race against time to get critical support for her three-year-old child. Rose said her daughter, Lulu, is non-verbal and autistic, with significant developmental needs. She is waiting for an assessment for...

CANADA’S LANGUAGE WATCHDOG TRIPPED OVER A DOG’S TAIL ...

It was not Ai-generated, computer-translated from English or the work of anglophones. The Valentine’s Day message was written by real, live francophones — and, yes, they knew some would read it as a reference to part of the male anatomy. Internal...

CANADA

Two Loblaw-owned grocery stores in Toronto have been fined for mislabelling imported products as Canadian. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has issued two penalties of $10,000 each to the stores for misleading country-of-origin claims on in-store...

BRING THE NOISE

Ziggy Kirch, student union president at NSCAD University, leads chants at Dalhousie University in Halifax as part of a provincewide university student strike. Among their demands are a 20 per cent reduction in tuition and divestment from companies...

Row housing hailed as bright spot

Although it’s still a step too far to say Halifax has found the “missing middle” to the city’s housing affordability issues, recent numbers shared by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. indicate things are on the right track. The report, which...

CUTS BOOKED FOR SCHOOL LIBRARIES?

Although there’s uncertainty around her future as a school librarian, Kristin Welbourn is certain of one fact: she loves her job. “It’s one of the most rewarding jobs,” she told The Chronicle Herald. “There’s so much more to it than just books. I help...

Rare earth elements potential mined

The Canadian and United States governments have pumped tens of millions into a Nova Scotia company to help it loosen China’s tight grip on rare earth mineral supply. Halifax-based Ucore Rare Metals Inc. has received US$22 million from the U.S....

OFFICIAL INTRIGUED BY ANTI-DRONE SYSTEM FROM TRIO AT HEART OF EXPLOSIVES TRIAL

A senior official at the Department of National Defence says he wants to learn more about the anti-drone system three men charged in an Ontario gun and explosives investigation are working on, once their legal problems are resolved. But developing...

DUNES UNVEIL HISTORY

Remnants of the Swift, a British sloop that sank in 1812, are exposed by eroding dunes to Parks Canada staff on Sable Island. If verified, they represent a rare instance of researchers being able to confirm artifacts from a historical wreck before the...

LOOKING FOR NEW LEASE ON LIFE

Jane Muir is still struggling to make sense of why the lease wasn’t renewed for her popular La Cucina Italian restaurant. On May 31, her lease with North American Development Group will expire at the Dartmouth Crossing location, ending a successful...

HOUSTON WALKS BACK SOME CUTS

The Nova Scotia government is reinstating $53.6 million in grants and funding for programs that support seniors, people with disabilities and Indigenous and African Nova Scotia students following criticism of cuts in the recently tabled provincial...

Caplan’s budget videos strike chord

Most Nova Scotians probably know Ben Caplan for his baritone voice and traditionally rooted tunes but it’s his political videos commanding an encore lately. Caplan, who moved to Halifax in 2005, recently started posting videos on social media...

‘IT’S WORTH KEEPING’

As a teenager, Karen Mitchell would eagerly open the doors of the Halifax Memorial Library on Spring Garden Road. “The sense of atmosphere filled with its books and friendly staff was representative of a time relevant to an era which can never be...

RUSSIA MAY SEE CHANCE TO BENEFIT FROM MIDEAST WAR

For Russia, the assassination of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was the latest blow to President Vladimir Putin’s network of anti-western partners, and it exposed Moscow’s diminished influence on the world stage, from the Middle East to...