St Barbara gets provincial approval to mine 3 million tonnes of 'stockpiled ore’ at its Touquoy gold mine: why no environmental assessment? - Halifax Examiner The provincial government still collects a rock bottom 1% net value royalty on gold mined in the province.

The provincial government still collects a rock bottom 1% net value royalty on gold mined in the province

Commentary by Joan Baxter @joanbaxter.bsky.social

A poster for the Kidical Mass Halifax 'Spring Social'. The following details are includes: 18 April 2026, Rain Date April 19, 3:00-5:00pm. Meet at the Emera Oval, 5775 Cogswell St, Halifax. There are logos for supporters of the event, including: Bike Brigade Halifax, Halifax Cycles, and the Ecology Action Centre. Along the bottom of the poster, there are more event details such as: Cargo Bike Demos, Bicycle Buy and Sell, Stuff-a-Bike Food Drive, Cargo Bike Show and Share, and Social Meet Up. The poster has a bright green background with a drawing of a sun, a bicycle, and pink flowers.

Where did March go?! We've been planning the #KidicalMassHfx Spring Social all month, and now it's just 9 days away?!?!!

We’ve got a fun afternoon planned for the cargo bike curious and family cycling crowd in #BikeHfx. 1/4

Riding straight on Kempt Rd, I got used to the feel and was eventually able to make enough turns to get home 😅
But let’s make this easier! If you’d like to test this, and other cargo bikes, join Kidical Mass Halifax for our spring social at the Oval. April 18, 3-5pm. More details at the link! 2/2

Do we know what is going in there?

I think that bike counts for a given month are the best index for the quality of weather that we could hope for. It is essentially a crowd-sourced aggregate of perception.

Let’s fix this confusing intersection YouTube video by Streetcraft Shorts

HEY, HALIFAX!!! ARE YOU PAYING ATTENTION???

...actually you aren't 'cause you gave permission for that new building to go all the way to the corner.

Great job. #sarcasm

youtube.com/shorts/3CoI6...

Poster IN BLACK, white and grey with yellow text: ALL HANDS ON DECK WE WON’T STOP SINGING FRIDAY MARCH 27 NOON PROVINCES HOUSE 1724 HOLLIS ST,KJIPUKTUK / HALIFAX RAISING OUR VOICES TOGETHER WE ARE ALL TREATY PEOPLE

I hope to see many at the rally today at noon. We need to keep telling Houston and reminding the public we have leadership in solidarity.

It hasn’t got a lot of press but cycling and active living are deeply impacted. #bikehfx

Letter to TSC: IMP Update Should go Back to the Drawing Board - Halifax Cycling Coalition The long awaiting IMP Update is weak and raises many concerns. With an ambition of only 30% modal share for sustainable mobility, it dooms us to 73% more vehicles on the streets of HRM.

Joint response from the Halifax Cycling Coalition and Walk 'n Roll Halifax:

Bernie Sanders @berniesanders One family, the right-wing Trump-aligned Ellisons, will soon control: TikTok CBS CNN HBO Discovery Channel BET Cartoon Network Comedy Central DC Studios Fandango Miramax MTV Nickelodeon Paramount PlutoTV Showtime TBS The CW TNT Warner Bros. And more This is oligarchy.

The Ellison Family - Aka the owners of SailGP that Tim Houston is giving a million of our provincial tax money to and Andy Fillmore is giving a million of our municipal tax money to, so billionaires can sail around our harbour for just 2 days.

Shameful

#Halifax #HailSky #NovaScotia

The Houston government seems to have no idea where people like Anne Murray, Sarah McLachlan, or Joel Plaskett come from. They all had publicly funded music educations in Nova Scotia. Artist development doesn’t happen on its own. #nspoli

I’m glad someone got their funding back, but this still doesn’t help my job, or my family, and we are hurting. HURTING. So don’t tell me how my job is less important than other people’s funding. I’m saying, NO ONE in ANY government wants to pay for art or music, and it is killing me and my family.

Gosh, I wonder who would demonstrate that kind of damaging leadership? 😉

Yes, I see it as an ongoing battle. I’m focused on ways to solidify public support so they are not swayed by the naysayers. One thing we are doing is producing a series of short videos showing ordinary people getting around by bike (and enjoying it). Still need volunteers to be filmed.

Excellent news. Thanks, Terri.

#bikehfx I was away in Amsterdam (lovely, of course) and missed the capital budget debates. Can anyone tell me if the cycling infrastructure survived?

In Amsterdam at night, woman in cream-coloured jacket over black dress poses with her bicycle, the basket filled with three unfinished bottles of wine and a bridal bouquet.

I’m in Amsterdam right now. What a wonderful diversion from Halifax winter and the never-ending battles for decent cycling infrastructure in #bikehfx

Here, a photo of a new friend, at the end of a wedding night, bike basket filled with three unfinished bottles of wine and the bridal bouquet.

The best thing about Halifax is its people.
This thread of folks speaking at budget committee this week is a beautiful demonstration of people who care for each other and this city.

Kathryn Morse on facebook BUDGET UPDATE; FUTURE OF HALIFAX FORUM; PROVINCE DRIVING HIGHER TAXES FOR HRM?; DUTCH VILLAGE ROAD; YOUTH SERVICES SURVEY HRM BUDGET: TEN NEW BUSES AND BETTER ROAD SAFETY The HRM budget is almost done. As we do every year, Council listened to residents before making budget decisions. We heard many residents are struggling to pay their bills right now and many residents asked us not to raise property taxes. On the opposite side of the equation, many residents asked us not to cut tax-funded municipal services that make life more affordable, such as transit. Slowly, carefully and transparently, Council has worked through the budget, cutting spending in some departments and increasing spending in others, trying to find a balance for our growing municipality. HRM has a $1.3 billion annual operating budget. Most of that budget pays for essential services such as policing, fire protection, transit service, garbage collection, snow clearing, and road maintenance. In terms of new spending there is very little this year, but here are a few highlights: -there will be new spending to improve road safety (fast-tracking improvements for problematic intersections; more coordination around enforcement; increasing crosswalk upgrades); -there will be $14.5 million in new spending for 10 articulated (extra long) buses to improve key transit routes; -and there will be new spending to add firefighters in Sackville.

To help offset these and other costs, parking fees will be going up and drivers will have to pay for on-street parking downtown on Saturdays. Transit fares will also be going up by 25 cents, likely sometime in the fall. Property taxes are still to be finalized but they will also go up, however not by the 10-11% initially proposed. Here are some of the items that were suggested for budget cuts that Council did NOT approve: -we did not eliminate Sunday and holiday transit service -we did not cancel transit service after 10 pm -we did not reduce ferry service -we did not lower bus stop snow clearing standards -we did not lower sidewalk snow clearing standards -we did not eliminate curbside collection of larger items -we did not cut the library collection by $300,000 (HRM residents use their libraries more than the national average) -we did not raise property taxes on non-profit organizations -we did not cut arts, affordable housing, heritage, and low income grants by 10% Council received more emails about the 2026/27 budget than we usually do, many prompted by a social media campaign spearheaded by HRM's largest rental property owners. The rental landlords were demanding Council cut municipal jobs and services to reduce taxes. However there were residents who argued they would rather pay slightly more this year for the services that keep the city liveable and affordable. As one resident put it to Council: "Please just bite the Bullet of Unpopularity and increase taxes to the level required. We must all pay for a healthy, functioning community." The budget numbers will be finalized next week.

HALIFAX FORUM DECISION There is one more step in the budget process before Council can confirm the amount of the upcoming tax increase. On Tuesday, Council will consider the capital budget which includes major projects like the Windsor Street Exchange, the Mill Cove Ferry and the Halifax Forum. It's expected that Council will decide the future of the Halifax Forum as part of the capital budget. The Forum is almost 100 years old. Councillors had a tour of the building a few months ago and saw firsthand how the bricks are crumbling. The Forum doesn't meet modern standards and the building is in such poor condition it has to be closed temporarily when the snow load on the roof gets too heavy. Mayor Fillmore has stated his wish to see the Forum torn down and the site sold to a private developer for higrise housing. Others on Regional Council believe the Forum should be rebuilt and modernized on its historic site, a plan approved by the previous Council. Whether you play hockey there, attend graduations there, go to craft shows there, or remember Kiss concerts there, the Halifax Forum is an important landmark and a valuable public space in the city's North End. I don't think the Forum should be seen as just another piece of real estate that could be developed. If we start selling our municipally-owned public spaces and heritage sites, what will be left of Halifax? Public buildings and common land should be safeguarded for the common good.

NEW PROVINCIAL POWERS MAY DRIVE HRM TAXES HIGHER The Houston government introduced legislation last week that will give provincial ministers new powers over HRM. Some of these new powers may increase property taxes for all HRM residents in future years. The powers in the bill (Bill 212 - An Act Respecting Administrative Measures for Housing) will allow the Province to expand HRM's service boundary and dictate where new suburban housing development will happen. This will force HRM to set up new water, sewer and other services outside the existing municipal service boundary. Here's the downside of Bill 212 for HRM residents: by cherry-picking the locations of new housing developments and ordering HRM to expand suburban sprawl, the provincial government will create a situation where HRM property taxes will have to go up to pay for the infrastructure. By green lighting development on the edges of the city the Province will force HRM to raise taxes higher than if the housing had been built inside the municipal service boundary. Sprawl costs us all, as the saying goes. Here's why: it's expensive for HRM to build new infrastructure like water and sewer pipes to serve low density housing in more remote areas. These new subdivisions will also require additional municipal services such as police, fire, transit, garbage collection, and snow removal. Typically it is much more cost-effective to add new and denser housing inside the service boundary, where municipal infrastructure already exists.

Councillor Kathryn Morse doesn’t post on here, and I know some of you aren’t on facebook, so I’m sharing this informative post from her.

Thanks for the post @danp.net. I managed to say what I wanted to with 2 seconds to spare. (I trimmed out one paragraph.)

This booing is fucking delicious.

Thank you, Terri, for this amazing public service of live blogging!

My loyal subjects have arrived! Welcome! Listen to those cheers! #nspoli

Thanks!

I would happily pay one more percentage point on the HST, for bridge tolls, and for parking to help fund grants, museums, bus passes for students, and more #taxmedaddy.

He needs to hear this in every city, town and village, at every gathering. We are all under attack. Solidarity.

Halifax Cycling Coalition asks HRM to prioritize bike projects amid rising cyclist injuries David Trueman's message as co-chair of the Halifax Cycling Coalition was simple and largely ignored on Thursday.

New: With over 100 cyclists injuries last year, not to mention 67 vehicle-cyclist collisions between 2024-2025, the Halifax Cycling Coalition addressed the city's transportation standing committee this week.

They were met with silence.

My latest for @thechronicleherald.bsky.social.

This is a truly embarrassing performance by the minster who is responsible for devastating so much of what we value in Nova Scotia. It’s not long because he doesn’t have much to say.

N.S. culture minister faces questions about cuts to tourism, arts On Wednesday, Communities, Culture, Tourism and Heritage Minister Dave Ritcey deferred to staff when asked if stakeholders would be given a reason why certain programs were chosen for funding cuts.

Perhaps little known is that all the provincial grant support for Active Transportation I.e. walking and cycling was moved into Community, Culture, Tourism and Heritage. So, these programs were most eliminated along with arts, tourism, etc. Watch the responsible minister: www.cbc.ca/player/play/...

Huge protest happening next week in #Halifax #NovaScotia against the Houston Conservative government - March 3, 2026 #NovaScotiaLegislature

Be there if you can!!!

#RespectTheTreaties #DemocraticRights #MakeYourVoiceHeard

Halifax Cycling Coalition asks HRM to prioritize bike projects amid rising cyclist injuries David Trueman's message as co-chair of the Halifax Cycling Coalition was simple and largely ignored on Thursday.

Yesterday, I addressed (on behalf of HCC) the Transportation Standing Committee on prioritization of cycling infrastructure. Covered in the Chronicle Herald by Josh Healey: www.saltwire.com/nova-scotia/...

And yes, that is black ice this morning in the Almon St bike lanes #bikehfx