Booooo!!! 👻

Real life in this province is already a true horror show as Tim Houston continues to haunt us by systematically dismantling democracy. He’s literally going democrazy. But I’ll leave that for Liz to cover below because she’s smarter than me.

Plus, Halifax has no shortage of non-political scary stories. Few places seem better suited to them than the old Halifax Citadel—where soldiers once stood watch over the harbour, waiting for an enemy that might never come.

One story goes that, on certain nights, when the harbour fog rolls up Citadel Hill and the streets below fall silent, people have reported seeing a solitary soldier walking along the ramparts.

He wears an old-fashioned military uniform (hot). His face is pale, his movements stiff and deliberate, and he carries himself like a man who has been standing guard for far too long. He never speaks. And when anyone approaches him, he disappears—so exactly like every man I’ve met on the dating apps.

Not to be overshadowed, The Grey Lady also haunts the Halifax Citadel and frankly, she sounds chic as hell. According to local legend, she is the spirit of a woman who once loved a soldier stationed at the fort (who probably took off with some 16-year-old maiden, but I’m editorializing).

She appears in an old-fashioned grey or white dress, sometimes accompanied by the unmistakable scent of roses. Guards have reported seeing her in the windows of the Citadel’s Cavalier Building, only for her to vanish before anyone can reach her.

I’ve only been to the Halifax Citadel twice: once for the walking ghost tour and once for a cat film festival. Both were fun, weird and a little unsettling.

Have a safe Halloween and forget razor blades, check your kid’s candy for fentanyl. Wish I was joking, but nothing would surprise me at this point.

Love, light and lore!

– Jules

📷 @editorjulesl

p.s: I was going to dress Poppy up as Chucky this year, but she can’t walk scary enough and she can barely hold the knife, so maybe next year. But in case you were wondering, Frank will be a hot dog. Behold:

Today: 🌦️ 14°

Tomorrow: 🌤️ 5°

Next Day: ☀ 8°

7-day forecast

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

In an update to our story involving the potential strike set for school support workers on Monday, Nov 2, CUPE says the provincial government indicated it will return to the bargaining table This avoids the Friday, Oct 30 deadline set by the union earlier this week.

The Coast’s Brendyn Creamer gives an update on the union’s bargaining efforts.

🙄 As another province introduces legislation to restrict the use of non-disclosure agreements in cases of harassment and abuse, Nova Scotia’s justice minister says he’ll wait to discuss the issue with colleagues across the country before deciding what to do here.

🏗️ According to the Nova Scotia government, Halifax needs to speed up housing development—required changes include allowing housing in all city zones, with few exceptions, and making mass timber construction easier to build.

🥀 Patrick Stewart, the classically trained stage actor who scaled the Shakespearean canon and added gravitas to a “Star Trek” franchise and the “X-Men” films, has died at the age of 86.

📋 Seniors and their families are using this readiness organizer to help keep daily life going when someone needs to step in at short notice.*

*Sponsored Post

It’s been a while since I last wrote an op-ed. To be honest, with Julie back as editor of The Coast, single-handedly dismantling the misogynists in the comments section with her hilarious videos, who needs my hot takes?

I assure you, no one.

Unfortunately, I am back because I think we need to talk about a growing problem inside the Nova Scotia Progressive Party and the Premier’s office.

From scolding professors and journalists, to policing social media, the Premier’s inner circle keeps going after the people who ask questions, Liz LeClair has thoughts and she’s no afraid to share them.

🚔 Halifax’s police board is calling for the RCMP to create permanent community policing offices the city already approved, and will explore whether a municipal force could step in instead—last year, two teams of six Halifax RCMP officers each were hired for Fall River and the Beechville-Lakeside-Timberlea area.

🎓 An association representing university teachers in Nova Scotia is accusing Premier Tim Houston of political intimidation after his office complained to a Toronto professor who had commented on a proposed artificial intelligence data centre.

💬 The candidates vying to be the next leader of the Nova Scotia Liberal Party used the contest's final debate Wednesday night to make their most direct appeal yet to delegates ahead of next month's convention.

🌬️ The province is closely aligning itself with certain states south of the border to strengthen its clean energy opportunities and regional power grid—Nova Scotia and Vermont signed a Memorandum of Understanding for transmission, collaboration and regional grid integration.

📱 Nova Scotia's opposition leaders want the province to proceed with caution and take steps to assess social and public health risks before any expansion of online gambling becomes a reality—Finance Minister John Lohr said conversations are "underway right now" about the possible expansion of online casino and sports betting.

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

🗓 Roger Mooking - SoundBites: Don’t miss Roger Mooking's first solo exhibition in Atlantic Canada, bringing together visual art, moving image, music, and text in an immersive exploration of creativity, memory, and the rhythms of contemporary life. Drawing inspiration from the sampling traditions of Hip-Hop, Mooking recontextualizes reproductions of his own artworks to create a dynamic multidisciplinary environment. | Sept 10 - Nov 8 |

🗓 LAST CHANCE! Deepwater: A "surreal procedural" following RCMP Inspector Questa Bennett as she investigates a mysterious cold case involving a reclusive marine biologist whose young daughter went missing four years ago. Through this raw, challenging, and hopeful story, Deepwater explores the various ways that we - like much deep-sea life - must create our own light when we feel the most lost. | Oct 20 - Nov 1 | From $29 |

🗓 Ghosts of Halifax Cruise: Set sail into the darker side of Halifax’s history on the Ghosts of Halifax Cruise, a haunting evening on Halifax Harbour. As the city lights glow along the waterfront and darkness settles over the harbour, you'll hear chilling tales inspired by Halifax’s storied past. From shipwrecks and maritime disasters to ghostly encounters, unexplained happenings and legends that have lingered for generations, | Oct 30 | 6pm and 8pm | $44 |

🗓 Francofest: Celebrate Acadian and Francophone cultures at Francofest, Halifax’s Francophone cultural festival! For its 15th edition, the festival takes place for the first time at Espace culturel La Chaloupe and offers a diverse program featuring music and dance performances, workshops, social events, and a book fair showcasing local and international artists. | Oct 29-31 |

🗓 Halifax Halloween Party Cruise: Gather your friends, throw on your best costume, and join us for a two-hour Halloween celebration on Halifax Harbour. The DJ will keep the party going with all your favourite hits and requests while our onboard bar serves up beer, coolers, and spirits. | Oct 31 | 9pm | $37 |

🗓 LAST CHANCE! Frenchy's - The Thrift Musical: The hilarious new musical comedy about finding yourself—at a fraction of the retail cost! The iconic Maritime thrift store is hitting the stage in a brand-new musical comedy, written by award-winning playwright David Craig and composer John Roby. | Oct 16 - Nov 1 | $35 |

🗓 Alderney Landing's Bluenose Ghosts Festival: This annual festival returns with an all-new haunted house created in collaboration with East Coast Scares. Known for producing some of the region’s most highly anticipated haunted attractions, East Coast Scares brings a fresh concept and design to the haunted house every year. | Oct 4-31 |

🗓 Trio Hélios: France's Trio Hélios, featuring cellist Raphaël Jouan, pianist Alexis Gournel, and violinist Luka Ispir is known for playing marked by refinement, intensity, and a strong commitment to the piano trio repertoire. | Oct 31 | 7:30pm | $42 |

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

🚢➡️ The Pearl Mist cruise vessel arrives in Halifax at 8am and departs at 8pm.

🚢➡️ The Silver Shadow cruise vessel arrives in Halifax at 8am and departs at 11pm.

➡️ The D.D. Kaufman tug departs Halifax at 12pm.

➡️ The Canadian Argosy barge departs Halifax for Point Tupper at 12pm.

🚢 The Torm Corrido tanker arrives in Halifax from Antwerp at 4:15pm.

➡️ The Nolhan Ava container vessel departs Halifax for Argentia at 4:30pm.

➡️ The Oceanex Sanderling container vessel departs Halifax for St. John’s at 6pm.

👩🏻 For a few years now, we have been accused of using AI to generate our stories and that is categorically untrue. One competing (and misleading) journalist dubbed The Coast “AI Slop”. To which I say: We may be slop, but we are certainly human.

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