Good morning!

We finally heard back from the federal Fisheries Minister on the Dartmouth Cove infilling project, a controversial project from a private developer who has repeatedly blocked public access to the area without prior approval.

On Monday afternoon, Minister Joanne Thompson issued a statement which read that projects along the Dartmouth Cove would destroy the ecosystem for marine life, adding that the permanent destruction of the area is of no benefit to the community.

The feds have spoken. It will not be approving this project.

The developer is associated with Tom Hickey’s Atlantic Road Construction. Their CFO, Bruce Wood, has been quite outspoken about his intentions, recently telling CityNews in an interview that the company had been planning a lawsuit against Thompson and Dartmouth-Cole Harbour MP Darren Fisher for political interference. Notice of the suit was allegedly sent out on Friday.

In reality, the company has done nothing to help themselves. They enraged municipal and provincial officials by putting barriers up, blocking nearby trails. Most recently, they put up a sign restricting public access. From an outside perspective, acts like this really aren’t helping their case.

It looks like the developer will not be getting their way, for now.

Best,

– B

📷 @creamy_yet_smooth

Today: ⛈ 7°

Tomorrow: 🌨️ 4°

Next Day: 🌧️ 1°

7-day forecast

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

If buying a home in Halifax wasn’t costly enough, a new report from Ratehub shows that it has only gotten worse.

Analyzing the change in the average home price in 13 Canadian cities from January to February, Halifax came out as the second-worst shift, only falling behind Montreal.

Halifax’s average home price shot up from $545,200 to $558,600—an increase by $13,400. In comparison, Montreal saw an increase of $14,300. The third-worst shift, belonging to Hamilton, saw a $11,600 increase.

While 11 out of the 13 cities analyzed saw increases in the average home price, two cities came out with marginally cheaper prices. Surprisingly, Vancouver is amongst them, touting a minuscule $1,600 decrease on a home price just over $1 million. St. John’s is the real winner, with a $6,300 decrease with an average home price of $389,200.

Ratehub used this home price to calculate the average income required to purchase a home in one of these cities, as well as the average monthly mortgage payment. The income required for Halifax in February is $120,850—lower than some other cities, but still quite high. The monthly mortgage payment is said to be averaged at $2,843.

🏛️ Two independent MLAs are extending debates in the house, making this legislature session on track to be the longest since Tim Houston became premier—both MLAs formerly sat with the Progressive Conservative caucus.

🐟 The provincial government has no concrete plans to compensate fish harvesters if Nova Scotia’s offshore wind projects impact the industry—fisheries minister Kent Smith says they’re hoping for coexistence, but those in the industry are certain the turbines will have a negative impact.

⚡ Nova Scotia Power confirms it has deleted all of its customers’ social insurance numbers, meeting its March 31 deadline—President and CEO Vivek Sood says the utility is working hard to gain back trust after the cyberattack last year.

🛋️ Feeling low? Unmotivated? Disconnected? Support matters, and talking to someone can help. Begin to move forward today—start the conversation with Your Counselling.*

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🆘 Research into emergency evacuations on the Halifax peninsula show it would take 23 hours for around 100,000 people to escape—this is an eight-hour increase from 2017.

🚨 An off-duty Bridgewater police officer struck and killed a pedestrian in a vehicle late Saturday night near Upper Tantalon—the Serious Incident Response Team is currently seeking dash cam footage from that evening.

💸 The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives continues to say that Nova Scotia’s minimum wage is not high enough—according to the institute, the hourly minimum wage is $10.85 shorter than its true living wage, $27.60.

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

🗓 Summerland @ The Pond Playhouse: Summerland tells the haunting story of William H. Mumler, a 19th-century spirit photographer whose images claimed to reveal the faces of the dead. | March 26-April 11 | 8PM | $15+ |

🗓 Live Jazz with The Matt MacLennan Trio: Bassist Matt MacLennan brings his three-piece band along for velvety ballads and smooth bossa novas at the Obladee. | April 1 | 7PM |

🗓 QMJHL Playoffs : Halifax Mooseheads vs. Chicoutimi Sagueneens: The hometown heroes take on the Chicoutimi Sagueneens in the second home game of the playoff season. | April 1 | 7PM | $27.25+ |

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

➡️ The Atlantic Sealion barge departed Halifax at 3am.

🚢 The CB Pacific merchant chemical vessel arrives in Halifax from Albany at 6:15am.

🚢 The Oceanex Sanderling container vessel arrives in Halifax from St. John’s at 7:20am.

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

➡️ The Morning Camilla vehicle carrier departs Halifax for Southampton at 11:30am.

➡️ The Mersey Venture factory fishing vessel departs Halifax at 1pm.

🚢 The Atlantic Sail container vessel arrives in Halifax from Norfolk at 3:20pm and departs for Liverpool at 11pm.

🚢 The Oceana container vessel arrives in Halifax from New York at 3:20pm.

🍦 The Fog Company is back again on April 1, serving sweet treats for yet another amazing season. Make sure to try out one of their signature Fog Cones.

🍨 A new miso honeycomb flavour is available at Churned, combining saltiness and sweetness. Extra honeycombs are available for topping. Comes in scoops and pints.

🏛️ On Wednesday, March 24, a group of spectators sat in the public gallery of Province House at 11:30pm and watched the government pass a budget that is doing real harm to real people across Nova Scotia. They didn't go there to protest. They didn't go there to sing. They went to look the government in the eye while they voted in the budget that was set to decimate their communities. Then someone started singing. No one knows who. It wasn't planned. But within moments, the entire gallery joined in — twenty minutes of singing, spontaneous and full-throated, echoing through a building that belongs to all of us. Opinion writer Liz LeClair writes about the Speaker’s decision to close the Province House to the public and why she believes it to be hypocritical.

🐀 The rat problem in Halifax has left some residents upset, and some experts are saying that the city needs to have professional staff on board to deal with rodent management—while municipal staff recommended a rodent management team for HRM in 2017, it never came to fruition.

🚗 Premier Tim Houston has spoken about New Brunswick’s plan to build a toll on the Trans-Canada Highway near the Nova Scotia border—he says it’s an unfortunate decision that is “really a tariff on Nova Scotians.”

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