🗞️ Hartlen Point dispute reaches House of Commons

Good morning!

Here comes the rain… again. Environment Canada has issued a special weather statement for Halifax today and tomorrow, warning of “significant rainfall” and “strong winds,” gusting up to 90 km/h, between late today and into Thursday. The forecast calls for between 30 to 50 mm of rain “with locally higher amounts” over western Nova Scotia.

It’ll also come with a high of 11 degrees—which means between tonight and tomorrow, we might finally see the end of those pesky snowbanks that haven’t disappeared all month.

– Martin

🌡️ Traffic & Weather

Today: 🌧️ 11°

Tomorrow: 🌧️ 9°

Next Day: 🌨️ -6°

7-day forecast

🚗 Driving today? Check out the current traffic conditions and ongoing road closures.

ENVIRONMENT

Hartlen Point dispute between DND, environmental activists enters House of Commons

Efforts to halt a controversial $129M Canadian naval project planned for the edge of Eastern Passage have found one ally in Ottawa: federal Green Party leader Elizabeth May. The Saanich-Gulf Islands MP has co-signed a Parliamentary petition by the Protect Hartlen Point advocacy group.

The dune-covered spit of land has become a hot-button issue in Halifax ever since the DND shared its plans to build a warship testing site on the undeveloped coastal lot back in 2021. And the last year of developments at Hartlen Point has been nothing, if not contentious: Concerned neighbours have lobbied environment minister Steven Guilbeault to hear their apprehensions about the warship testing project, and the DND’s last public feedback session—more than a year ago, on Jan. 31, 2023—prompted accusations of a “breakdown of democratic function.”

The latest petition calls on the federal government to “pause all construction and further development” of the Department of National Defence’s land-based testing site at Hartlen Point until Ottawa can satisfy a list of concerns, beginning with an “independent impact assessment” of the planned facility and public access to “all documents affecting the decision to develop Hartlen Point.”

Meanwhile, The Coast has been able to confirm the DND has spent nearly $150K on outside PR help during the project’s construction.

🤔 Need to know

🚨 Mounties say a 36-year-old woman and 3-year-old boy have been found dead, three days after they went missing near Sheet Harbour.

💸 Nova Scotia’s auditor general wants the RCMP to investigate the provincial Liberals for “apparent concealment” of “significant misuse of funds” by a former staffer.

🎭 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.*

🤝 MSVU faculty, librarians and technicians have returned to the bargaining table with the university after two weeks of strike action prompted by calls for EDIA policies—but a deal isn’t over the line.

🎉 March is coming in jam-packed with things to do in Downtown Halifax. From delicious food events and live sports to The 2024 Juno Awards.*

*Sponsored Post

SPONSORED BY CANADIAN MUSEUM OF IMMIGRATION AT PIER 21

Planning your March break?

Here’s a must-do day: At the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21, there are different food workshops each day- everything from shawarma to tortellini to luskinikn (Mi’kmaw bannock). AND dance/movement workshops that are more about fun than perfection. Plus, you can check out their amazing exhibitions and research your own family’s immigration history.

Frankly, whether or not you have a kid out of school or not, this is a great way to spend a day.

The cherry on top: Admission is free during March break, thanks to a partnership with Emera.

Space is limited for the cooking workshops, so we suggest registering to get a spot.

MUSIC

Halifax’s Shoulder Season channel working-class malaise with new single, “Namaste”

Picture the scene: You’re sitting at a company lunch-and-learn about “wellness in the workplace” scheduled over your break period (bonus: the lunch is your own), or taking part in a month-long office fitness challenge that you can’t remember signing up for, but, nonetheless, feel the vague obligation to participate in.

That unease is at the heart of Halifax band Shoulder Season’s new song, “Namaste,” which the foursome describes as a response to “an era when self-care has been co-opted by capitalism because it's good for the economy.”

If that sounds like heady stuff for an indie-rock song, here’s the good news: It’s also pretty damn catchy.

The product of bandmates and scene veterans Karen Foster, Mel Sturk, Kristina Parlee and Meg Yoshida, it’s the third of a trio of singles from Shoulder Season in recent months, and they’ve been getting spins everywhere from South Africa, to Finland, to Germany.

🗞️ In Other News

🪧 Unionized workers at the CN Autoport are on strike after failing to reach a deal with their employer on Monday.

🔬 A Mi’kmaq chief is suing two Halifax radiologists, alleging they ran medical tests on her and several members of her First Nation without their consent.

🚔 Nova Scotia’s Serious Incident Response Team is investigating the death of a 22-year-old Bedford man after his truck allegedly hit a power pole in Hammonds Plains after he fled a RCMP traffic stop.

🏠 A community-led housing strategy for African Nova Scotian families facing the pinch is nearly complete, its authors say.

🏛️ Nova Scotia’s government and opposition parties are in agreement on one thing: The rising costs of living are a pain in the ass. But the ruling PC Party isn’t sharing what relief might come in Thursday’s budget.

🌎 Meanwhile, critics say the provincial government’s new coastal protection plan is letting the province off the hook—and putting too much onus on individuals to prevent coastal erosion.

SPONSORED BY THE ART SPACE

10% Off March Break Art Camps!

The Art Space is offering 10% off March Break camps! Register now for Craftsplorations Camp (coupon code: Crafts10) or Comics Making March Break Bootcamp (coupon code: Comics10). Come home every day with a finished craft, or completed comic at the end of the week. All materials are included!

SPONSORED BY QUINPOOL ROAD MAINSTREET DISTRICT ASSOCIATION

Oodles of Noodles on Quinpool

Introducing Oodles of Noodles, the only celebration of noodles in the city and it’s on Quinpool Road! From March 6-10 everyone is invited to discover the tasty noodle dishes that the chefs on Quinpool have created. A NEW Food Event for everyone who LOVES Noodles… and who doesn’t love noodles!

🗓️ Things To Do

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

🗓 Creative Minds: Erasure Art Collective: Head to the Halifax Central Library this evening for BLACKOUT, an art project that combines poetry with visual art, short film and live performances to tell the story of slavery and resistance | Feb. 28 | 7-8pm | Free

🗓 Rumour Has It: The Songbook of Adele: Actor and singer Kelly Holiff performs Adele’s “most iconic songs” in this limited run at the Neptune Theatre | Feb. 29-Mar. 3 | 7:30pm | From $36

Find more Halifax events in The Coast listings

🍴 Where To Eat & Drink

🥞 The Canteen on Portland Street has a raspberry and honey ricotta French toast this week that will make you forget it’s February in Halifax.

🐟 Hankering for fish and chips? On the latest Wanderer Grounds podcast episode, HFX Wanderers FC Cale Loughrey told The Coast his go-to spot is Rudy & Olive’s in Bedford.

👀 In Case You Missed It

🏘️ Amid an ongoing housing crisis, nearly one in three Canadians is considering “non-traditional” forms of homeownership, a new report finds.

🍌 Meet the banana of the future: The world’s first genetically-modified banana is almost ready for the market amid fears of fungal diseases that threaten the fruit’s survival.

🐕 If you read Coast reporter Lauren Phillips’ feature story on professor El Jones, her lecture on police dogs and their role in state violence is now online.

That’s it!

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