🗞 Film festival makes a splash return

CITY HALL

HRM council nixes tents on the Common, scraps Wi-Fi on buses and mulls buying out homeowners on Bedford’s flood plains

Halifax council has decided not to go ahead with putting an encampment on the Common. On Tuesday, Sept. 12, councillors briefly considered treating the housing crisis like the immediate and ongoing emergency it is. But ultimately, as The Coast’s Matt Stickland reports, their decision was underwhelming.

Elsewhere during HRM council’s meeting, councillor Waye Mason suggested that putting Wi-Fi on regional buses won’t be feasible in the short-term, so council directed Halifax Transit to stop looking into it and instead focus on making transit more reliable.

And Tony Mancini has a bone to pick with the provincial government about housing.

Need to know

🌀 Hurricane Lee is looking weaker than before, but meteorologists say to brace for a whole lot of weekend wind and rain.

💰 Unlike the half-billion dollar deficit Nova Scotia’s government had forecast last year, the province has posted a $115.7M surplus. Here’s why.

⚠️ Some Halifax residents are calling on the HRM to update its emergency planning process after a summer that brought both historic wildfires and floods.

💉 Health Canada has approved a fall Covid-19 booster shot. The health authority is reviewing two others amid an expected surge in cases.

📈 New data shows suicide rates are higher than ever in Nova Scotia—a statistic that mental health advocates say requires the province’s attention.

🌱 The HalifACT community update is an overview of the many projects that are happening in the municipality as part of our once-in-a-generation Climate Action Plan.*

🎭 Support4Culture is a proud supporter of arts, culture, and heritage in Nova Scotia. From the Highland Village Museum to Neptune Theatre, see the impact Support4Culture makes here.*

*Sponsored Post

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As much as gaming is a part of the company's DNA, so is giving back to Atlantic Canada. Atlantic Lottery has existed for almost 50 years now and 100% of profits have always been returned to the region. Every penny is reinvested in our communities—which was over $400 million last year alone. This money helps fund important social services and programs in all four Atlantic provinces and has a lasting impact on our communities, where everybody benefits.

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On The Coast

SPONSORED BY NOCTURNE HALIFAX

Waterfront Chalets available to Community Groups this Nocturne

Nocturne and Build Nova Scotia would like to invite Kjipuktuk/Halifax-based Community Groups to submit an Expression of Interest to use one of seven Waterfront Chalets during Nocturne and to be part of our signature night-time art experience taking place Saturday, October 14, 2023. 🌖

In other news

👮🏿‍♀️ Halifax council names its first-ever Black police chief, Don MacLean. He has served as deputy chief since 2020 and was the HRP’s first-ever diversity officer from 2004-06.

🍕 Jubilee’s late-night pizza shops are getting a compromise from HRM council—one year after council’s “War on Pizza” began.

🚒 At least 8 Halifax fire trucks responded to a blaze at a Pockwock auto shop Wednesday morning.

🌍 The Canadian Federation of Students-Nova Scotia is taking issue with Nova Scotia minister Brian Wong’s recent statements about international students needing to take responsibility for their own housing, calling it “unacceptable” and raising “concerns of xenophobia.”

🏫 Canadian Press’ Michael Tutton has an inside look at the campus-wide Me Too campaign that has taken over a Nova Scotia university.

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Everything you need to know about the Atlantic International Film Festival

Queer director Fawzia Mirza was well into her twenties before she went to her first gay bar. Born into a Muslim family in London, Ont. and raised in Sydney, NS, the Pakistani-Canadian wasn’t ready to come out as lesbian—“so instead, when I met a woman, I’d tell her that I was 50% gay,” she says in her 2012 short, The Queen of My Dreams, now a feature-length film opening the Atlantic International Film Festival tonight.

In TQOMD, Mirza takes her audience into the lives of two generations of women: A “queer daughter struggling to find her place” in Cape Breton in the 1990s, and her mother, growing up in 1960s-era Pakistan.

The film headlines a talent-packed roster of offerings at #AIFF23, from documentaries to award-winning book adaptations to homegrown talent.

Allow Coast reporter Martin Bauman to be your festival guide.

🗓 Things to do

Looking for something to do over the next week? Check out these Coast picks:

Thursday

• Atlantic International Film Festival: The annual celebration of film returns tonight, with an opening gala screening of The Queen of My Dreams—a film that spans both the misty shores of Cape Breton and the busy streets of Pakistan. | Sept. 14 | 7-9pm | $40.25

Friday

• Halifax Oktoberfest: Enjoy German beer, music and food at The Halifax Beer Garden on the waterfront. | Sept. 15 | noon-midnight | No cover.

Saturday

• Sin City Illusions: Magician Matt Disero has worked with the likes of Jerry Seinfeld and appeared on Penn & Teller’s Fool Us. He’s joined by Ken Margoe and Ken Pham in a lineup of comedy and magic at the Bella Rose Arts Centre. | Sept. 16 | 7:30pm | $29-$35

  Mushkat Trio Live at The Loose Cannon: Bill Travis, Mark Merrimen and Chris Brown play a mix of originals and lesser-heard covers spanning the ‘60s to today. | Sept. 16 | 10pm | No cover.

• Illia Ovcharenko at The Stage at St. Andrew’s: The Ukrainian pianist has played twice to sold-out crowds at Carnegie Hall and won more than 20 international piano competitions. | Sept. 16 | 7:30pm | $12.50-$37.50

Sunday

• The Heritage Park Hike: Join Hike Nova Scotia on a free, 4.5km guided walk through the Cole Harbour Salt Marsh Trail. Registration requested. | Sept. 17 | 10am | Donations welcome.

Monday

• Trivia at Stillwell Freehouse: Test your knowledge every Monday with trivia host Dan Hendricken, with pub specials on beer. | Sept. 18 | 8-10pm | No cover.

• Mega Comedy Monday at Gus’ Pub: Catch pro and amateur stand-up comedians alike at one of Halifax’s longest-running comedy nights. | Sept. 18 | 8pm | No cover.

Find more Halifax events in The Coast listings.