🗞️ Nova Scotia healthcare is failing women

Happy New Year, Halifax!

This is our first edition back after the holiday break, and I can honestly say that I missed writing to you folks every weekday. This newsletter has been such a great outlet for me and I get such a rush reading all of your responses in my email inbox in the morning.

While the compliments and complaints are aplenty—I love them both, please never stop—I have gotten quite a few emails about when we will release our Best of Halifax 2026 winners. Well, I’ve got good news. The winners will be announced over the next few weeks, starting in the Jan. 13 edition. If you want an early peek at our full list of winners, consider becoming an Insider, where you’ll have full access to the Best of Halifax 2026 this Saturday, Jan. 10.

Thank you to everyone who voted, and to everyone who shows an interest in this public polling. It’s the 30th anniversary of the Best of Halifax, and as someone who got several great recommendations reading through these lists when I first moved to Nova Scotia in 2022, I truly believe it’s a wonderful resource.

On another note, we’ve got a lot of good stories coming to you in 2026, including one below regarding the state of the Nova Scotia healthcare system, particularly in the case of Mandy Wood, a radio host who passed away of vulvar cancer on Christmas Day.

I had the fortune to meet Mandy on a few occasions while working in Truro, and chatted with her now and again about town gossip and politics on social media. She was a strong advocate for improving women’s healthcare in the province, and our opinion writer Liz LeClair does a fantastic job breaking down Mandy’s story and why the system is as fractured as it is. I highly recommend you check it out.

Thanks again for all of your support, and all the best going into 2026.

– B

📷 @creamy_yet_smooth

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HEALTHCARE

Mandy Wood deserved better. So do the women of Nova Scotia

On Christmas Day, Mandy Wood died.

Wood was a beloved radio host based in Truro. She was also a woman failed—systematically and repeatedly—by Nova Scotia’s healthcare system. Mandy died from a rare form of vulvar cancer that went misdiagnosed for more than a year. Mandy waited for two years to see a gynecologist, and by the time she received an accurate diagnosis, it was too late.

In her final interview with Global News, Mandy made a simple, and yet devastating, request: “I need there to be something to come out of this, something positive, because I cannot have gone through this for nothing.”

Opinion writer Liz LeClair writes about honouring Wood’s memory by holding our government accountable for Nova Scotia’s failing healthcare system.

🤔 Need To Know

🚒 The Halifax firefighters union says crews are not meeting standard response times due to staffing levels—data shows response times have only gotten slower over the years, with the fire service often missing it’s target of 14 firefighters on scene at the 11-minute mark.

🚰 Halifax landlords are coming out against the revised Halifax Water price hike, saying costs will be passed on to renters who can’t afford it—the Nova Scotia Regulatory and Appeals Board has yet to give final approval on the 17.6 percent increase.

🏫 A Dalhousie student had to stop studying and working due to a visa processing error after asking for a study permit extension—the extension was denied due to a missing document, but that document was submitted with the application.

😷 CCfV is seeking healthy adult volunteers for a 16–24 day inpatient whooping cough study. Learn more or sign up here.*

🚙 New riders get 50% off five Lyft rides. Max $10/ride. Terms apply. A discount to go anywhere Halifax takes you — Citadel Hill, Hydrostone, or home before the rain hits. Tap the link*

🤣 The King of Crowd Work Returns to Canada: Ian Bagg Live in Halifax at the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium on January 9!*

*Sponsored Post

SPONSORED BY LYFT

Lyft now live in Halifax

Lyft is now live in Halifax, giving you an easy and reliable new way to get around HRM. From downtown nights to early commutes, you can request a ride in seconds and see your price up front. To mark the launch, Lyft is offering 50% off your first five rides with a promo code exclusively for The Coast audience. Max $10/ride. Terms apply. To redeem, just click the link in this newsletter and the promo code, COAST50, will auto-apply when you request your first ride.. The discount will apply directly to your account once activated. It’s the easiest way to try Lyft, save on your first trips, and see how smoothly it moves you across the city. 

Click the link to unlock this launch deal.

🗞️ In Other News

⚖️ A former employee of Millbrook First Nation has been sentenced to 4 ½ years in prison for defrauding the band of more than $4 million—Dawn Ellis-Abbott was ordered to pay back the amount over 15 years.

📜 Dalhousie University academics are attempting to establish rules for conducting research in African Nova Scotian communities, creating a framework for collecting data without causing harm—they are reaching out to all 52 African Nova Scotian communities in order to inform their ethical guidelines.

🚨 Police say shots were fired between two vehicles in North Preston on Saturday afternoon with no report of injuries—as of Monday, they are still looking for suspects.

SPONSORED BY MICHELLE DARWIN ART

Treat Yourself to a Piece of Art

The start of a new year is filled with ideas and possibilities. Liven up your home to inspire you for the year ahead! Treat yourself to original art or fine art prints to fill your space with light and colour and keep you feeling motivated.

Visit the Online Shop

🗓️ Things To Do

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

🗓 Knots and Knits: Bring a knitting or needlework project you’re working on and hang out with like-minded crafters in a quiet space with hot drinks. Happening at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. | Jan. 6 | 1PM |

🗓 Pint-Sized Comedy Open Mic: Laughs are to be had at the Celtic Corner Public House in Dartmouth at this open mic comedy night. | Jan. 6 | 8PM |

⚓️ What’s In The Harbour

➡️ The CMA CGM Lyra container vessel departed Halifax for New York at 4am.

➡️ The STI Miracle tanker departs Halifax at 8am.

🚢 The Contship Cup container vessel arrives in Halifax from New York at 3:20pm.

🚢 The One Grus container vessel arrives in Halifax from Singapore at 3:45pm.

➡️ The Eagle II container vessel departs Halifax for Villagarcia (de Arousa) at 5pm.

🚢 The Algoma East Coast tanker arrives in Halifax from Saint John at 11:15pm.

🍴 Where To Eat & Drink

🍔 Wave Foods has brought back the Bacon Jam QP, made with a quarter-pound smash burger, bacon jam, lettuce, pickle and Wave Sauce on a house-made brioche bun.

🥪 It’s a new year, which means Larry’s Sandwiches has a new special. Try their Chicken Cacciatore sandwich this week.

👀 In Case You Missed It

🍽️ If there is a common thread running through my favourite food and drink of 2025, it is intention rather than excess. Like many people, I have felt my discretionary food and drink budget shrink as global pressures continue to push costs upward. That reality has meant eating out less frequently and thinking more deliberately about where I spend my dollars — and, increasingly, about keeping those dollars in Nova Scotia. The Coast’s culinary critic Mark DeWolf offers his best food and drink of 2025 in this year-end list.

🏛️ Despite a rocky start, Halifax mayor Andy Fillmore says he and council are in a positive place one-year into his tenure—the city spent $22,500 to hire a facilitator to improve this relationship.

🚨 Nova Scotia’s police watchdog cleared a Halifax officer of wrongdoing in the death of a man in Bedford in February—the man was experiencing a mental health episode after taking cocaine, and died while being restrained by seven police officers.

That’s it!

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