🗞️ Frack this

Happy Monday Halifax,

On Saturday night, I went late to the party to see Best Picture winner Anora at Park Lane for the 6pm show—I found it mid and very long, but that’s a story for another day.

The real show was afterwards, when we emerged from the dark to find the entire concession area and lobby of the theatre crowded with police and we were told that we had to sneak out the emergency exit.

When we stumbled out onto Spring Garden Road, the street was blocked by half a dozen police cars and ambulances. I quickly went to social media to find out what was up, but then remembered that Meta hates us and has blocked all news, and even if they hadn’t, none of the local news outlets were on the scene anyway. 

I found a guy that worked at Cineplex and he told me that there was “a fight”, but it must have been a huge one because the police presence was giving active shooter vibes. After rubbernecking for a while, I saw the EMTs helping a man with a huge bandage on his face leave the scene. He was walking, so the injuries didn’t seem major.

Fast-forward to this morning (Sunday) and…I still don’t know what was going on 🤷🏻‍♀️ There are 30 stories on the tolls being removed, but nothing on the dystopian police state that was Spring Garden on Saturday night. 

Did I imagine the whole thing? I mean, maybe! 

Incidentally, with all the police converging on one place, it was probably the most lax Saint Paddy’s Day celebration of all time, with the youths having the freedom to go full Gremlins on the rest of the city.

Have a great day out there,

– Julie

📷 @editorjulesl

🌡️ Traffic & Weather

Today: 🌧️ 13°

Tomorrow: 🌧️ 8°

Next Day: 🌤️ 8°

7-day forecast

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

NEWS

“The height of arrogance:” prof calls out Bill 6, Houston’s dismissal of provincewide movements to ban fracking, uranium exploration

“Let’s not mince words,” Jonathan Langdon tells The Coast. “Anybody who tells you that the evidence around fracking has changed—that it's more healthy, that it's safer—this goes against all the studies up-to-date which show the health risks are the same or more acute than they were 10 years ago when we put this ban in place.” 

Langdon is a professor at St. Francis Xavier University and a Canada Research Chair. He’s concerned about a new provincial bill—Bill 6—that seeks to overturn longstanding bans on fracking and uranium exploration.

He was deeply involved in the groundswell of people organizing to support the ban on fracking in Nova Scotia over 10 years ago. He says he’s “more than disappointed” to see premier Tim Houston’s government dismiss this movement as a “special interest.” 

“With the mobilizing across Nova Scotia, Mi’kmaq voices, so many voices made it clear that fracking is not something that we want. We want a ban” in a 2014 report. Langdon says ignoring that work is “the height of arrogance.”

Ahead of Bill 6’s appearance at Public Bills on Monday, The Coast’s Lauren Phillips spoke with Langdon about the community organizing that led to these bans and how this relates to his research.

🤔 Need To Know

🇺🇸 Canada’s ambassador to the US says Prime Minister Mark Carney is looking to set up a conversation with President Donald Trump as soon as possible—adding that Carney is seeking to “forge a good and solid relationship” with the president and that he “respects” what Trump is trying to do when it comes to enhancing the US economy.

⚖️ Sentencing has begun for a girl who pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the death of Ahmad Al Marrach in Halifax last April who was stabbed during an altercation in a parking garage at the Halifax Shopping Centre and died later in hospital.

📺 Tim Houston took to American cable TV on Thursday to make the case for resolving the ongoing trade dispute between the US and Canada—the premier was interviewed by Liz Claman on The Claman Countdown, a Fox Business show that airs on weekday afternoons.

🍔 Halifax Burger Bash in support for Feed Nova Scotia - April 3 - 12,  When doing good tastes great!*

🍁 Supporting Canadian matters! Jordan's Home Furnishings, is an Independently owned and operated Nova Scotian family business with quality and service you can trust.*

🎫 Feed Nova Scotia’s 50/50 has already reached over $16,500! Grab your tickets today for a chance to win AND support food insecure Nova Scotians.*

🚗 Canada’s road fatalities are climbing, with 2022 seeing the highest numbers since 2013. Find out what’s driving the rise and how we can turn the tide.*

*Sponsored Post

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OPINION

The end of an era: Halifax bids farewell to bridge tolls

The Halifax bridge was closed over the weekend for crews to remove the toll plaza and prepare the bridge for fare-free traffic, and when it re-opened to traffic this morning, there were no tolls for the first time in its 70-year history. Construction to remove the toll plaza on the MacKay Bridge will begin on Monday. 

More than 200,000 Nova Scotians have MacPass accounts—the system used to pay tolls through a transponder—and balances will be refunded in the coming weeks.

Everyone has a bridge toll story—from missing the toss completely to wrapping your knuckles on the closed window. From quarters to tokens to MacPass, former Coast newspaper managing editor Lynn Patterson lends her thoughts on the end of the bridge toll era.

🗞️ In Other News

🚒 Halifax Fire says one person was seriously injured in an early-morning fire in the west end—two families are getting help from the Canadian Red Cross as they have been displaced by the fire.

🚨 Broken car parts are still scattered around Sam’s Seafood & Grill restaurant in Dartmouth Sunday morning after a car crashed through the building late Saturday night driven by a suspected drunk driver.

🛒 Canadian Grocers are investing more in the ready-made meal category as consumers balance their desire for convenience with a pullback in discretionary spending.

🎞️ The government agency that determined how old you had to be to rent or watch a film in Atlantic Canada is shutting down—The Maritime Film Classification Board sometimes found itself at the centre of controversy over censorship and morality.

🏘️ The association for the province’s realtors say the government needs to reconsider its plan to double a deed transfer tax for non-resident homebuyers—adding that increasing the tax would effectively add a “tariff” on Canadian buyers.

🏳️‍🌈 It may still be two years away, but the countdown is officially on for Canada Pride 2027 in Halifax. On Friday, Halifax Pride held its first annual Atlantic Pride Pageant at Spatz Theatre as its kick-off for the 2027 festival.

🎵 A heated conflict over the direction of the East Coast Music Awards could threaten to destroy the organization that runs it, warns one of its top leaders.

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🗓️ Things To Do

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

🗓 LAST CHANCE - Neptune Theatre Presents The New Canadian Curling Club: Inspired by a local refugee resettlement program, a small town organizes a Learn-to-Curl class to welcome newcomers. However, when the organizer slips on the ice and breaks her hip, the rink’s ice maker and former champion curler is forced to step in as the head coach. What follows is an inspiring and hilarious story about a group of unlikely athletes who confront local prejudice and embrace their identity as "new Canadians." | Feb 25-March 23 |  From $33

🗓 Board Room Trivia - Taylor Swift Edition: Calling all Swifties! Are you obsessed with all things Taylor Swift? We know that feeling all too well. Come out for Taylor Swift Trivia and put your knowledge to the test as the Board Game Cafe kicks off a new era of Swiftie fun. | March 19 | 6pm | $14

🗓 The Music Room Chamber Players Series Presents Dances with Winds: Music for winds and piano with an emphasis on movement and dance! From a charming work by Saint-Saëns, through a mediation on the work of Langston Hughes (with visits to Harlem jazz clubs and Paris cabarets) to the irresistible action of Connesson's ode to techno. Add to this some Messiaen birdsong and a multimedia piece for clarinet and video, and there will be plenty of action. | March 19 | 7:30pm | $35

🗓 Jeremy Vaughan - New Paintings: Vaughan is inspired by the beauty of the natural world, offering paintings inspired by life on the East Coast and the unique vistas found here. His immersive paintings feature the vibrant reds and purples of bayberries, crashing waves, and serene rivers. | March 13-April 3

Have an event to share? Let us know at newsletter@thecoast.ca.

⚓️ What’s In The Harbour

🚢➡️ The MSC Lisa container ship arrives in Halifax from Montreal at 6:15am and leaves for London at 5pm.

🚢➡️ The Tropic Hope container ship arrives in Halifax from Philipsburg, St. Marteen at 6:15am and leaves for West Palm beach, FL at 5pm.

🚢 The Acadian oil tanker arrives in Halifax from Saint John at 1:40pm.

➡️ The CSL Tacoma bulk carrier leaves Halifax for Burlington at 8pm.

🚢 The EF Ava container ship arrives in Halifax from Portland, ME at 8:15pm.

🍴 Where To Eat & Drink

🍛 2 Doors Down has a whole new take on Confit Chicken Curry: crispy skin confit chicken leg, British curry, rice and lentil pilau with peas, cashew, mango chutney.

🐟 Your new favourite appetizer might just be the Smoked Haddock Croquettes at The Canteen: smoked local haddock, potato, fresh herbs, breaded with panko and served with lemon-dill aioli.

👀 In Case You Missed It

😳 The “walk of shame” is a near rite of passage for many of us, at one point in time or another. (Not that there’s any shame in it, either.) And judging by the responses you shared in The Coast’s annual Sex + Dating Survey, it’s an experience most of us Haligonians have survived—even if we’d like to forget all about it. Read on at your own risk.

🎓 The Dalhousie Student Union is hoping to raise $30K to help Palestinian students affected by genocide continue their studies in Canada. Launched last week, the DSU’s new fundraising campaign is one of the biggest in the union’s history. The goal is to support 15 Palestinian graduate students in getting matched with professors and research opportunities at Dal and other universities across Canada so they can continue their studies. The Coast’s Lauren Phillips spoke to DSU president Mariam Knakriah about the campaign’s purpose and partnership, ahead of its campus event yesterday.

That’s it!

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