🗞️ Back-to-school blues

Good morning Halifax,

As our kids go back to school, a big part of me feels anxious for them. It’s probably my unprocessed trauma of being a victim of intense bullying at the all girls-school I attended for elementary and junior high, but I worry for them…

The thing is, school can be a really hard place for a lot of young people. A new report from Raising Canada—an annual research report on the state of the nation’s children—says that more than 70% of Canadian youth between the ages of 12 and 17 experienced bullying in the last year.

Additionally, while 71% of teachers report acting to prevent bullying, only 25%  of students feel supported by teachers at school, the report found.

There’s a huge disconnect here.

In April of this year, In response to a spike in school violence in schools across the province, the provincial government released an updated code of conduct to guide teachers, administrators and students. The whole point was to provide teachers with a “clear and consistent direction” and detailed consequences for those who violate the rules.

Included in the revised code of conduct are stronger definitions of unacceptable behaviour, such as racism, bullying and cyberbullying, sexual assault and physical violence.

Missing from those guidelines, according to NDP MLA Lisa Lachance in a social media post today, are updated guidelines for supporting trans and gender non-conforming kids in schools.

2SLGBTQIA+ students in Nova Scotia report some of the worst outcomes in the student success survey, especially when it comes to mental health. Our students need support, and we can start by updating the Guidelines that are now over a decade old. 

Updated guidelines, they say, will make sure 2SLGBTQIA+ students are able to learn in a safe and supportive environment. And you can help! To encourage (aka pressure) Tim Houston to update the guidelines and support 2SLGBTQIA+ students, sign this petition. 

Love and light!

– Julie

📷 @editorjulesl

🌡️ Traffic & Weather

Today: 🌤️ 24°

Tomorrow: 🌤️ 24°

Next Day: 🌦️ 22°

7-day forecast

🚗 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

This year’s Atlantic International Film Festival will showcase homegrown and international talent

The Atlantic International Film Festival is celebrating its 45th anniversary this September with a weeklong program of screenings, panels and parties—and a strong focus on homegrown talent.

The festival, running Sept. 10 to 17 at Cineplex Cinemas Park Lane, will showcase 108 films from Canada and around the world. Some 30% of the selections come from Atlantic Canada, with five Nova Scotian filmmakers among those featured in key festival slots.

The Coast’s Warren D’Silva spoke with Lisa Haller—director of programming and interim executive director—about what audiences can look forward to in this year’s line-up.

🤔 Need To Know

🪧 It’s back-to-school week in Nova Scotia, but for some students there continues to be uncertainty—many classes are cancelled at Dalhousie University on Tuesday, as members of the Dalhousie Faculty Union remain locked out amid a labour dispute with the university.

🦈 For the second time in one week, swimmers at Fox Point Beach near Hubbards have gotten up close and personal with a great white shark—last Wednesday, two scuba divers encountered a great white shark at the same beach, some 53 kilometres west of Halifax.

⚡ Nova Scotia Power will apply to raise rates in 2026 and 2027 to help pay for $1.3B in maintenance and improvements to the electricity grid and continue to hit the publicly traded company's target profit margin—the average rate increase for all customers would be 2.1% for each of the next two years, with the residential rate going up about 4.1% each year.

🐟 Nominate The Pint for BOH's Best Fish & Chips! “classically British, a big single piece of fish, served with mushy peas, and thrice fried fries.”*

🎶 September 14 - 21 is Symphony Nova Scotia's annual Symphony Week. A delightful week of FREE accessible concerts for all ages. Featuring musical highlights from Beethoven and Mozart to Disney and Star Trek! Full schedule.*

*Sponsored Post

SPONSORED BY MICHELLE DARWIN (PAINTED STORIES)

Original Paintings & Fine Art Prints

Michelle Darwin is a painter who creates art that's rich in mood, colour, and expressive feeling. She specializes in paintings of homes, gardens, and landscapes. Follow behind-the-scenes and be the first to see new art by joining her Studio List. Sign up, or shop original paintings and fine art prints on her website.

OPINION

Back to school and back to advocacy

For years, I was part of the Can’t Buy My Silence (CBMS) movement in Canada. If you’re unfamiliar with the issue of abusive NDAs, you can read more here, here, and here. And if you’re curious why I left CBMS, I’ve explained that here.

But walking away from that group didn’t mean walking away from the cause. Quite the opposite. This fall and winter, I’m doubling down on advocacy work here in Nova Scotia and across Canada.

The fight to ban NDAs doesn’t belong to one group or one leader—it belongs to every survivor who has been silenced by perpetrators, institutions, and the legal system itself.

Read more in another searing opinion piece by Coast contributor Liz LeClair.

🗞️ In Other News

🚍 The president of ATU Local 508—representing Halifax Transit workers—says rising temperatures are challenging transit operators, culminating in some bus drivers being transported off buses in ambulances.

🐟 The drought in Nova Scotia is causing some brooks and streams to dry up, causing problems for some fish species—but the woods ban in parts of the province is making it difficult to understand the full scope of the problem.

⚽ An injury has forced 42 year-old veteran goalkeeper, Erin McLeod, to retire from the Halifax Tides women’s professional soccer team—the announcement was made early Tuesday.

📱 A new app is aimed at easing the concerns of cyclists in Halifax—Cycling Guide became functional for Halgonians earlier this summer and is designed to suggest routes that will be comfortable for riders according to their level of experience.

🗓️ Things To Do

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

🗓 Halifax Fringe Festival 2025: Established in 1990, this annual performing arts festival has been presenting an accessible, unjuried and uncensored festival for the past 35 years. The Fringe includes theatre, music, circus, dance, comedy, featuring local, national, and international artists and ideas. Fringe spans 11 days, with over 60 shows and more than 350 individual performances. | Aug 27-Sept 7 | 

🗓Yuk Yuks Halifax presents Peter Anthony: The Canadian Comedy Award winner has made appearances at Just for Laughs, the Halifax Comedy Fest, and MTV, and can be heard on CBC's The Debaters and SiriusXM! Hosted by Sully O'Sullivan and featuring Adam Delorey. | Sept 5 and 6 | 8:00pm | $25 |

🗓 Halifax SuperWalk: Every September, Canadians from coast-to-coast unite by walking—either as part of a local team, a national team, or as a virtual walker—to fuel research, support tools, and advocacy for People living with Parkinson's disease. | Sept 6 | 9:00am | Donation |

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

⚓️ What’s In The Harbour

➡️ The APL Yangshan container ship arrives in Halifax from Colombo, Sri Lanka at 5:45am.

➡️ The Tropic Lissette container ship leaves Halifax for West Palm Beach, FL at 6am.

🚢➡️ The Majestic Princess cruise ship arrives in Halifax at 8am and leaves for Canadian seas at 5pm.

🚢➡️ The Algoma East Coast oil tanker arrives in Halifax from Saint John at 8:40am and leaves for Searsport, ME at 9pm.

🚢➡️ The Vision of the Seas cruise ship arrives in Halifax at 9am and leaves for Canadian seas at 6pm.

🚢➡️ The MSC Sena container ship arrives in Halifax from Antwerp at 11:15am and leaves for Montreal at 9:30pm.

🍴 Where To Eat & Drink

🥐 The croissant of the week at Two If By Sea is the Italian Deli: Genoa salami, pepperoni, provolone, arugula, banana peppers, red onion, italian spices and vinaigrette. 

🐙 Enjoy the flavours of the Mediterranean on the waterfront at Darya with the Charred Octopus: black garlic harissa, pickled onion, oregano and tarhana sauce.

👀 In Case You Missed It

🎟️ It’s back to school season—which means back to the grind of reality. But that doesn’t mean all fun has to be put on hold too. The temperatures may be cooling off, but the entertainment is still hot. As always, The Coast has you covered with the can’t miss shows happening in the city this month.

⚖️ A Halifax-area man targeted in a large-scale RCMP surveillance operation—who prosecutors say used money gained from cocaine and illicit cannabis trafficking to build a suburban lakeside home with "luxury amenities"—has been convicted of a series of crimes in the case.

That’s it!

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