🗞️ Police worried about copycat bomb threats

Happy Friday Halifax!

It has certainly been a worrying week for the youth in our city.

The slew of bomb threats in HRM schools show no sign of slowing down. In an email to The Coast yesterday, an HRCE spokesperson said administrators at Sackville High, Fairview Junior High and Lockview High were made aware of bomb threats directed at their schools.

As with all of this week’s unfounded threats, police presence was required to complete a risk assessment before kids could resume classes (if they weren’t dismissed altogether).

Police say they are actually reluctant to report on all incidents for fear of igniting copycats—fuelling a contagion. But they want to make one thing very clear to students: bomb threats are not funny. Plus, they could affect the ability of the police to respond as effectively to other, credible emergencies.

Let’s hope students listen up and knock it off.

– Julie

🌡️ Traffic & Weather

Today: 🌦️ 10°

Tomorrow: 🌤️ 16°

Next Day:  ☀️ 14°

7-day forecast

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

HOUSING

The Grand Parade podcast: Who wields the most power with Halifax’s Housing Accelerator Fund plans?

Last October, the federal government announced it was giving Halifax a $79-million boost to tackle a growing housing shortage that has led to a host of ills, from anemic vacancy rates (and dubious rental practices) to an ever-growing unhoused population. The plan itself was short and sweet: More housing units everywhere.

The initial plan—prompted by Ottawa’s Housing Accelerator Fund—was to “fast-track” 2,600 housing units over the next three years, with more than 8,866 homes over the next decade. That would come through density changes allowing for a minimum of four residential units per lot (connected to municipal services like water and wastewater), and up to eight units within the urban core of Halifax and Dartmouth. The money was also supposed to come in exchange for increased density “within walking distance of post-secondary institutions.” 

It was a good plan, until the HRM walked it back.

In this week’s episode of The Grand Parade podcast, Coast reporters Matt Stickland and Martin Bauman chat with economist Deny Sullivan about Halifax’s HAF blunders and why a labour shortage isn’t to blame for the city’s housing crisis. Plus, they delve into Halifax’s deferred plans to abandon its Strategic Road Safety Framework in favour of a new plan that is worse than the old one.

🤔 Need To Know

🚨 Halifax police have charged a fourth teenager with second-degree murder in the death of 16-year-old Ahmad Al Marrach outside of the Halifax Shopping Centre.

💡 Nova Scotia Power wants customers to pay $22M for storm restorations done last year. The company applied to regulators for an average 1.3% rate increase effective January 2025.

🚨 The 49-year-old man that police described as armed and dangerous has turned himself in. An emergency alert was posted asking the public to be on the lookout for for David John Campbell early Tuesday.

EDUCATION

 NDP leader says school boards are missed with recent cluster of violence and threats

What are we missing when it comes to violent incidents involving students and youth in Nova Scotia’s schools and communities? 

This week alone, seven separate schools in HRM reported bomb threats to police. In each instance, the threats—discovered through notes, messages in bathroom stalls or via phone—required police to be on site to investigate. Some also resulted in early dismissals, disrupting learning and generating fear and anxiety among students.

Not to mention, a fourth teenager has been charged with second-degree murder in the death of 16-year-old Citadel High student Ahmad Al Marrach.

So, what is really going on?

While teachers have been raising the alarm about increased violence and aggression among students for years, it seems recent events have brought the conversation to a head.

Yesterday, Becky Druhan, minister of education and early childhood development, told reporters that the number of threats in the last little while are very concerning to families, schools and communities. 

“Safety is something that needs to be a priority at all times, including addressing immediate and long term needs to really make sure that we support a safe culture in our schools,” said Druhan.

But what’s wrong with the system today?

NDP leader Claudia Chender says we need to be listening to children, families and education workers about what the reality is on the ground, day-to-day. She pointed to the 2018 dissolution of school boards in Nova Scotia as potential reason those conversations are not happening.

“When we had school boards, we had a democratically elected layer of government whose job it was to be responsive to families and children and the situations in schools that now disappear into the bureaucracy and there is no independent place for those conversations to take place,” said Chender. “School boards dealt with issues of equity and with issues of discipline.”

Chender also said the province’s Inclusive Education Policy from 2019/20 hasn’t been fully enacted yet either. 

“I think a lot of that will go a long way to making a difference,” she said.

🗞️ In Other News

🚢 A police report reveals more information about the hallucinogenic-laced chowder fed to the Titanic film crew in 1996.

🎒 Halifax students are frustrated and anxious over recent bomb threats. Millwood High, Halifax West and Park West all dismissed students early this week after threatening messages were found on paper and on bathroom stalls.

🚔 HRM is moving ahead with a plan to integrate its police force with the RCMP, allowing forces to share technology and training.

🌁 Halifax Harbour Bridges says it will replace the technologically outdated hard-shelled MACPASS transponders with “easy to install” stickers by Dec. 31.  

🗓️ Things To Do

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

🗓 Geekquinox: This two-day event focuses on all things gaming, cosplay, comics and art. There will be cosplay guests and performances, artist and guest panels, gaming, as well as vendors selling a variety of comics, board games, art and other merchandise. | May 4-5 | all day | $10-15

🗓 Resting Space: The multidisciplinary Becoming Old Growth trio leads a workshop at the Bus Stop Theatre inviting participants to explore their relationship with rest. “What changes when we recognize exhaustion as a collective issue rather than a personal one?” it asks. | May 5 | 1- 4pm | Free

🗓 The Full Monty: The Broadway musical that bares all continues its run at the Neptune Theatre. The show follows a group of blue-collar steel workers in the 1990s. | Until May 19 | Showtimes vary | From $38

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

⚓️ What’s In The Harbour

🛳️ The Amera Cruise Ship is expected to arrive in Halifax around 10am and depart at 6pm.

➡️ The Zim Eagle container ships leaves Halifax for New York at 2:30pm.

➡️ The Grande Sierra Leone container ships leaves Halifax for Davisville, Rhode Island at 4:30pm.

➡️ The Oceanex Sanderling container ship leaves Halifax for St. John’s, NL at 6pm.

➡️ The Silver Arctic container ship leaves Halifax for St. Pierre, Guernsey at 6pm.

➡️ The East Coast tanker ship leaves Halifax for St. John’s, NL at 9pm.

🍴 Where To Eat & Drink

🤌 Take your taste buds on a trip to Italy with the classic cannoli at Pane e Circo. A sweet treat steeped in history and cherished by generations of dessert enthusiasts.

🥑  Don’t dilly dally to (you guessed it) Dilly Dally on Quinpool for their famous avocado toast. The secret sauce? House made tomato jam.

🍺 Kick off the weekend (or keep it going strong) with a pint of Chateau Lager at Bar Stillwell. Grab a taste of the staff favourite before they drink it all.

🔊 Listen To This

🎵 Halifax singer-songwriter Ian Janes’ seventh studio album, WeakNights, comes out today. Here’s his lead single, “Share.”

👀 In Case You Missed It

🛒 A boycott targeting Loblaws-owned stores is gaining momentum online, with thousands of shoppers taking their money elsewhere for the month of May. Let us know what you think of the Loblaws boycott in our poll and check out these alternative grocer options in the city (and beyond).

🏥 A N.S. man spent a week and a half in a Cuban hospital because he was told there were no beds available in the province. 

🙂 If you could improve your overall happiness, wouldn’t you? What if it meant daily work? Probably still worth a shot. King’s students delve into happiness practices in a new podcast series called If it makes you happy. The Coast’s Lauren Phillips caught up with podcast co-host and producer Raeesa Alibhai.

That’s it!

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