- The Coast
- Posts
- 🗞️ Music Week is almost here
🗞️ Music Week is almost here
Plus, Nova Scotia government awards $2 million without regular process, a surprise cabinet shuffle, and our poll on municipal politician complaints.
Brendyn Creamer
October 22, 2025
Morning, Halifax 👋
Last week, we got some news from the provincial government that, like most news from the provincial government, made me a little frustrated.
On Thursday, we learned that the province removed the ability for residents to file complaints about municipal politicians. It’s been changed so that only council members who sit on the same council as the person they’re complaining about can file. While allowing residents in on the process had only been in place for a year or so, it seemed that people were really peeved at their local reps and used the system as it was intended.
The Nova Scotia Federation of Municipalities president said there needs to be a system to deal with frivolous complaints, which is understandable—wish I could do that with my email inbox—but I’m left feeling skeptical of the motivations behind this decision. This is happening at a time where residents throughout HRM have been fighting back against mayor Andy Fillmore’s plans to pause bike lane development, which he (and premier Tim Houston) falsely blame for traffic congestion. There’s also the fact that Fillmore is under investigation for allegedly misleading the public regarding the chief administrative officer’s role in government.
While I can empathize with receiving annoying complaints, it’s hard not to think of all of the heat Fillmore has been getting over the past few months and how Houston has defended his takes, while Fillmore has welcomed the province to make development changes for the city. While Houston didn’t give Fillmore the strong mayor powers he so desperately wanted during the fall legislative session, there’s been a lot for residents to complain about on the municipal level, and shutting down the channel to make those complaints feels like a way to avoid direct criticism.
This is all just speculation, and I’m certainly open to having my mind changed, so please let me know in the poll below what you folks think about the situation. We’ll release the results later this week.
Should the average citizen be able to submit formal complaints regarding municipal politicians?The Nova Scotia government has removed the ability to file complaints about municipal politicians, limiting it only to fellow councillors who sit in the same government body. What are your thoughts on this change? |
Have a great Wednesday, and go Jays!
– B
🌡️ Traffic & Weather
Today: 🌤️ 17°
Tomorrow: ☀️ 17°
Next Day: 🌦️ 13°
🚗 Driving, biking or busing today? Check out the current traffic conditions and ongoing road closures.
💨 Here is Halifax’s Air Quality Index and the smoke report.
ARTS + CULTURE
The Music Nova Scotia Awards are this weekend. Here are all the nominees
📸 The Coast Illustration
The largest celebration of music in Nova Scotia is almost here, and with it comes a bevy of awards for the province's most talented musicians.
Nova Scotia Music Week begins in Yarmouth this Thursday, Oct. 23, with the awards ceremony taking place on Sunday, Oct. 26. In the lead for nominations is Mik'maq folk singer and fiddler Morgan Toney with five nominations, followed by hip-hop artist KAYO with four nominations. Braden Lam, Jah'Mila, KC Okoye, Million Vibes, Mo Kenney, and PINEO & LOEB all have three nominations each.
Members of Music Nova Scotia had the chance to vote in the Music & Industry Awards as long as they were in good standing and voted for a minimum of 50 percent of the categories this year, with there being 30 categories in total. This vote, as well as jury scores, determines the winners of each category.
🤔 Need To Know
💰 The Nova Scotia government awarded a $2 million contract to consulting firm Davis Pier without going through the standard bidding process—the contract is to help the province deliver better home care services, with an official saying they chose the consultant due to their familiarity with the sector.
🏛️ Premier Tim Houston unexpectedly shuffled his cabinet. pushing out three ministers and bringing in two newcomers—portfolios have also been shifted between some ministers.
🔎 RCMP say they have found no evidence of a vehicle driving back and forth near the home where two children went missing in Pictou County—this information comes from witness accounts recently released by the RCMP.
😋 The Downtown Dartmouth Fall Food Crawl is back Thursday, October 23 from 5:30pm-8pm (or sell-out). Check out the incredible food scene and celebrate Small Business Week through this self-guided, walking food sampling tour.*
🥞 The Pint’s Brunch = Halifax’s weekend win. Dive into bold flavours, bottomless vibes, and your favourite pub classics reimagined. Vote The Pint as Best Brunch in the Best of Halifax!*
*Sponsored Post
SPONSORED BY MAYWORKS KJIPUKTUK/HALIFAX
my inner child healing my immigrant identity
Martha Mutale explores the immigrant experience – the self split between two homes. A series of rag dolls where each figure represents a point in time in the immigrant life. Showing now at the Khyber Centre for the Arts until October 31st.
🗞️ In Other News
🐋 North Atlantic right whales, an endangered species, is showing signs of recovery after years of population decline—the estimated population rose from 376 to 384 in 2024.
🌉 The MacKay Bridge will be closed this coming weekend for maintenance work, says Halifax Harbour Bridges—-crews will remove cable inspection platforms as well as demolish the back ramp of the bridge’s garage.
🚨 The fire chief and deputy chief of a now-defunct fire department in Cumberland County are facing criminal charges for an assault earlier this month—Christopher St. Peter and his brother Dylan allegedly assaulted Dylan’s ex-girlfriend, according to sources.
SPONSORED BY FREEMAN’S LITTLE NEW YORK
Freeman’s Lil New York – Enchanting Booths are Timeless.
🍕 Freeman’s Little New York — a Halifax legend for nearly 40 years. From classic pizza and juicy burgers to cozy booths and late-night laughs, it’s where friends meet and memories are made. Book your holiday party, order delivery, or let Freeman’s cater your celebration and vote Freeman's as Best Late Night Food in the Best of Halifax!
🗓️ Things To Do
Looking for something to do this week? Check out these Coast picks:
🗓 ReJigged Festival: The 16th annual ReJigged Festival is returning to the Christ Church Sanctuary and Hall in Dartmouth for a weekend where tradition meets innovation. Get tickets to all your favourite acts, as well as workshops and a céilí. | Oct. 23-25 | From $40 |
🗓 Downtown Dartmouth Food Crawl: Experience foodie heaven in Downtown Dartmouth as this self-guided food sampling tour takes your taste buds on a journey. |Oct. 23 | 5:30PM |
🗓 An Improvised Whodunnit: Spontaneity Improv invites you to a night of mystery and mayhem as they present An Improvised Whodunnit, where the plot, clues and even the killer are made up on the spot. Taking place at the Roxbury. | Oct. 23 | 7:30PM | $17.31 |
Have an event to share? Let us know at [email protected].
⚓️ What’s In The Harbour
🚢➡️ The Lake Victoria carrier arrives in Halifax from Emden at 5:55am and departs for Baltimore at 4pm.
🚢 The Rt. Hon. Paul E. Martin arrives in Halifax from Point Tupper at 6:21am.
🚢➡️ The Liberty of the Seas cruise vessel arrives in Halifax at 7:30am and departs for Canadian seas at 5pm.
➡️ The AP Revelin cargo ship departs Halifax at 12pm.
🚢 The One Monaco arrives in Halifax from New York at 3:45pm.
🍴 Where To Eat & Drink
🥦 You’ll have no trouble eating your veggies at 2 Doors Down—their buffalo cauliflower includes chickpea-dusted cauliflower, buffalo sauce, blue cheese dip, pickled carrots and celery.
🍴 Side Hustle Snack Bar is looking for ideas and opinions on their new lunch and dinner menu. Hit them up and let them know what you think!
👀 In Case You Missed It
🗳️ It’s finally time. Over the past while, our readers have been submitting what they consider to be the best businesses, artists, cultural touchstones and food in Halifax. After counting all the nominations, we’re ready for the second round of voting. If you’re familiar with how the Best of Halifax has worked in previous years, you know how this works. After tallying all of the votes from the first round, we devise a list of the top seven contenders in each category. This is where you come in. Out of the seven, you will have to choose your absolute favourite of the bunch. You can skip any categories you want, but make sure to get to the end and hit submit—otherwise, your votes won’t count. Voting for the second round will go from today, Oct. 21, until midnight on Nov. 30. Once the votes are in, we’ll spend some time counting them up, and then we’ll release the winners. Make sure your voice is heard during our 31st annual Best of Halifax Awards. Get your votes in now!
🛥️ Two children are dead after a boat overturned on Lake Rossignol in western Nova Scotia on Saturday evening—the incident also injured a 45-year-old Fall River man and a third child.
🚒 A woman has been charged after stealing a fire truck—while responding to a call Monday morning, the woman allegedly got in the vehicle and drove away.
That’s it!
Thanks for reading The Coast Daily today.
If you found something useful, consider forwarding this newsletter to another Haligonian.
And before you go, let us know:
What did you think of today's newsletter? |
Reply