• ‘Cart before the horse’: Site prep work approved before development plans in HRM

  Source: Nova Scotia - Halifax & Regional News
  Date: 2026-11-02 22:25:29.0
  Tags: [Nova Scotia, Municipal, Housing, Infrastructure, Environment, Governance]

  The Government of Nova Scotia has approved site preparation work—including tree removal, blasting, and earthwork—at 16 special planning areas within the Halifax Regional Municipality, including the Sandy Lake project in Bedford, prior to the finalization of development plans or public consultation. Housing Minister John White defended the approvals as a proactive measure to address regional housing and traffic challenges along Hammonds Plains Road. Critics, including Ecology Action Centre senior wilderness outreach coordinator Karen McKendry and Halifax Regional Municipality Councillor Kathryn Morse, argue that the 'cart before the horse' provincial intervention undermines municipal planning, circumvents public input, and risks unnecessary environmental degradation of old-growth forests, wetlands, and streams.

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• Diana Fox Carney appointed as Canada's ocean envoy, chair of Our Ocean Conference

  Source: CBC Politics
  Date: 2026-09-16 21:20:08.0
  Tags: [National, Nova Scotia, Environment, Fisheries, Governance]

  Diana Fox Carney has been appointed as Canada's ocean envoy and chair of the 12th annual Our Ocean Conference, which is scheduled to take place in Halifax in 2027. In her unpaid role, announced by Minister of Fisheries Joanne Thompson, Fox Carney will coordinate efforts connecting ocean conservation, climate action, Indigenous leadership, economic resilience, and maritime security. The appointment supports Ottawa's target to protect 30 per cent of Canada's marine and coastal areas by 2030.

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• N.S. government tables bill to review new regulation system for Nova Scotia Power

  Source: Nova Scotia - Halifax & Regional News
  Date: 2026-09-09 20:24:12.0
  Tags: [Nova Scotia, Energy, Environment, Governance, Affordability]

  The Government of Nova Scotia, led by Premier and Minister of Energy Tim Houston, tabled a bill requiring the Nova Scotia Energy Board to review the regulation system for Nova Scotia Power Inc. The proposed legislation examines implementing a performance-based regulation that would link a portion of the utility's revenues, earnings, incentives, or penalties to measurable outcomes such as reliability, emissions reduction, and customer service. The review is mandated to begin 30 days after the law takes effect, with a final report to be published publicly.

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• More Nova Scotians add their names to petition calling for return of uranium ban

  Source: Nova Scotia - Halifax & Regional News
  Date: 2026-09-08 16:34:55.0
  Tags: [Nova Scotia, Mining, Energy, Environment, Resources, Governance]

  More than 10,000 Nova Scotians have signed a public petition calling on Premier Tim Houston's government to reinstate a provincial ban on uranium mining. The petition includes over 8,000 existing signatures alongside more than 2,000 new signatures being tabled by the opposition Liberals and NDP at the Nova Scotia legislature. The ban, which previously required mining operations to cease if uranium was discovered at greater than 100 parts per million, was repealed by the Progressive Conservative government in March 2025. Petition organizers, community groups, and medical professionals such as Dr. Catherine Cervin of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment argue that lifting the ban risks releasing radioactive material into air and water, while Premier Houston maintains that resource development is necessary to improve the provincial economy.

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