Good morning, Halifax!

I usually use these intros for complaining about the news, but every now and again I ask you all to provide me with your opinions on a given topic.

Today is one of those days, folks. Get your keyboards ready.

Halifax regional council has been discussing and debating several different topics in regards to its budget problem, which they say if left unchecked could see property taxes rising by over 10 percent.

Now, most folks upset about this are landlords—especially the big ones—who don’t want to lose money on their precious investment (as if it would impact their bottom line all that much). Small landlords and homeowners would also be impacted, and I do feel for them. If the city had only marginally increased the tax rate over the last decade or so, this probably wouldn’t be much of an issue today.

Alas, raising taxes is often seen as a way to get your butt kicked in the next election, even if those taxes pay for essential services and projects that are now on the chopping block.

One of the projects on the chopping block is the AAA bike lane network, with the A’s standing for all ages and abilities. This means barricades—not just paint on the road—to separate cyclists and motorists so people stay safe. Any cyclist can tell you, paint on a road doesn’t do much for safety. However, cement tends to help.

With council asking staff to find ways to reduce the costs of the bike network by finding non-AAA solutions, I’m left curious. Who amongst our readership would be impacted by this change? Do you commute via bicycle? How do you find it now, and what would you like to see change? What are your feelings on ditching the AAA framework?

Check out the poll below and let me know your thoughts. I’m pretty set on my position on this, but I always appreciated hearing different opinions on the subject. Leave a little note with your thoughts, while you’re at it.

Best,

– B

📷 @creamy_yet_smooth

Today: 🌤️ -2°

Tomorrow: ☀ -1°

Next Day: ☀ -3°

7-day forecast

🚗 Driving, biking or busing today? Check out the current traffic conditions and ongoing road closures.

One-in-five children in Nova Scotia are living in poverty.

That's the biggest takeaway from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives-Nova Scotia (CCPA-NS) 2025 report card on child and family poverty in the province, which analyzes the most recently available tax-filer data to identify gaps within our system. The report was released on Wednesday, Feb. 18, alongside partners Campaign 2000 and Fed Family Lab.

This report is dropped days after Brendan Maguire, the minister of education, announced that the province will not meet it's $10-a-day childcare deadline on March 31.

The Coast’s Brendyn Creamer goes over some of the statistics from the report, as well as the recommendations made for government.

🏒 Framed jerseys signed by Sidney Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon have been stolen from the Big Leagues Brew Pub, with the business sharing video footage of the incident—the owner, Jamie Latter, got the jerseys at an auction in Cole Harbour, where both players grew up.

💰 An investment firm owned by John Risley is facing a lawsuit from longtime business associate Brendan Paddick who says Risley owes him $22 million—this happened on the same day that Risley submitted a plan to the Nova Scotia Supreme Court to transfer the firms’ assets to a new owner.

🚨 A 48-year-old man is facing five charges after he slammed into an RCMP vehicle when they tried to make a traffic stop—no officers were injured in the crash and the man will appear back in court on April 28.

🇨🇦 A new historical resource by the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 explores Canada’s history through Indigenous, immigration and policy perspectives. Visit timline.pier21.ca today!*

🍜 Indulge in HFX cuisine. Dine Around menus at $10, $20, $30, $40, $50, or $60 offer unforgettable culinary experiences.*

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👩‍⚕️ The province seeks to make good on a 2024 election promise by opening a menopause centre, the first in Atlantic Canada—the province expects the clinic to open next winter, but a location has yet to be determined.

❌ Halifax council is looking at cancelling a sobering centre for publicly intoxicated people as they struggle to find a location and as the city faces a looming tax rate increase if it doesn’t reign in spending—Halifax’s community safety director says no private landlords have offered space for the project.

💸 The executive deputy minister of the provincial finance department has responded to criticism of the province’s overspending, saying it was necessary to meet the needs of the people—she also rejected the need for the auditor general’s recommendation to amend a law making it necessary to track any spending that isn’t within the budget.

Looking for something to do this week? Check out these Coast picks:

🗓 Better Times Comedy at Good Robot Brewing: This weekly comedy show features regulars like Clare Belford, Dan Hendricken, Travis Lindsay, Adam Myatt, and a rotating cast of local and visiting comics. | Feb. 19 | 7:30PM | $15 |

🗓 Yuk Yuks Halifax presents Mike Dambra: The Smart-Ass King of Comedy is back this weekend, taking the stage with host Liam Godson and featuring comedian Steve Mackie. | Feb. 20-21 | 8PM | $25+|

🗓 Carnaval Na Hali: The biggest Brazilian Carnaval party in Halifax is happening at UNKNWN this Friday. Wear your brightest and most colourful clothes and get ready to dance the night away. | Feb. 20 | 10:30PM | $19.00+|

Have an event to share? Let us know at [email protected].

🚢➡️ The Atlantic Sun container ship arrives in Halifax from Norfolk at 5:20am and departs for Liverpool at 4:30pm.

🚢 The Nolhan Ava container ship arrives in Halifax from St Pierre at 8:15am.

🚢➡️ The Bakkafoss container vessel arrives in Halifax from Portland (Maine) at 8:15am and departs for Argentia at 6pm.

🚢➡️ The ZIM China container vessel arrives in Halifax from Valencia at 3:50pm and departs for Norfolk at 11pm.

➡️ The Federal Hunter bulk carrier departs Halifax for Montreal at 10pm.

🥪 Terra Cafe has a new veggie sandwich with layered cream cheese, avocado, cucumber, tomato, freshly pickled red onion, fresh local greens on a East Coast Bakery bagel or sourdough bread.

🍗 The Stubborn Goat Gastropub is serving Cinnamon Heart Chilli Crisp Wings, tossed in a rich blend of chilli crisp, soy sauce and maple syrup, topped with sesame seeds.

🥞 A Canadian consumers are eager to purchase locally-made goods, the federal government has made an investment into one Dartmouth business with a certain specialty: bakery mix. On Tuesday, MP Braedon Clarke announced on behalf of Minister Sean Fraser that the federal government, through the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, would be supporting Dartmouth-based pancake mix manufacturer CanaPacking with repayable funding of $475,000. This money will support a facility expansion, the addition of automated equipment, and allows CanaPacking to hire seven-to-10 new full-time workers. According to a press release from ACOA, this will allow CanaPacking to package their own mix on-site in resealable pouches, using less material than traditional packaging. The government agency touts that this will allow the the company increase production to meet growing demand for flour mixes across Canada and the world. On top of pancakes, CanaPacking also creates baking mixes for bread, cakes and muffins while also working with supply retailers. It is the only flour mixing plant in Atlantic Canada, and only one-in-four throughout Canada.

⚡ Nova Scotia’s potential for offshore wind projects is high but the amount of energy is lower than politicians project, according to an engineering firm enlisted by the feds and the Atlantic provinces—this is due to several factors, including geographical limitations like ocean floor conditions and ice issues as well as economic challenges.

🫁 Nova Scotia’s new lung screening program has serviced 1,500 people so far, with 55 people having been diagnosed, or in the process of being diagnosed, with cancer—this is a positive result as radiologists are picking up more cases of Stage 1 cancer, which is sometimes curable.

Thanks for reading The Coast Daily today.

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