Good morning!

The biggest news out of the weekend is the massive long-term care worker strike.

Last week, negotiations between CUPE and the province broke down, leading to 2,000 care workers from 22 homes on the picket line.

Over the weekend, minister of seniors and long-term care Barbara Adams decided to release an op-ed on the situation, saying there’s been “misinformation” regarding their offerings to the union. According to a representative from CUPE, the government has given them the same deal five times in a row.

Here’s a few numbers for you, all courtesy of Job Bank Canada, last updated in November 2025. The lowest paid long-term care workers were paid around $17.91 per hour, while the highest paid were compensated around $25.18 per hour on average. The median pay for a long-term care worker is $23 per hour. Even the high-end is lower than the province’s living wage of $27.60 per hour.

So, what was the government offering? According to Adams, the package included a 12 percent wage increase with retroactive pay going back to 2023 (that’s how they’ve been without an updated contract). In theory, the median would become $25.76 per hour. This is still well below the living wage for Nova Scotia, and for one of the most demanding and crucial jobs out there.

As much as the provincial government may want to blame the union to save their own public perception from yet another disastrous misfire, it seems to me that they’re undervaluing the essential work of dedicated individuals, while not listening to the concerns brought forward about their undervaluation—otherwise, why would they bring back the same plan five times over?

Let me know your thoughts on this one as we go into what might be a pretty brutal period for long-term care in Nova Scotia.

– B

📷 @creamy_yet_smooth

Today: 🌧️ 16°

Tomorrow: 🌧️ 7°

Next Day: 🌤️ 14°

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

What started as a misattributed photo turned into a spiral of intrigue around a social media account who is seemingly AI-posting inflammatory headlines for potential profit from an online betting market.

Tevin Nicholas, also known as rapper T3KILLAH, was present at the Highway 102 protests in between Truro and Halifax on Thursday, April 2. However, a self-described news outlet called Wall posted a photo of Nicholas—one he’d never seen before—with a headline about the vandalism that occurred after the protest in Potlotek First Nation on the same day and, in his opinion, implicating him in the vandalism. Trouble is, the two locations are hours away from one another.

After some investigating, it seems that Wall’s content is primarily AI-generated, hateful, and according to its Instagram description, “powered by Polymarket”.

The Coast’s Brendyn Creamer digs deep in an attempt to find out why this social media news outlet made a false post about the First Nations protests.

🔥 A 50-year-old woman has died from her injuries after last week’s apartment fire in Spryfield—police are considering the fire suspicious and are asking anyone with information to come forward.

⛽ Prices at the pumps are cheaper after the Nova Scotia Energy Board invoked the interruptor clause—self-serve gasoline has decreased by 6.7 cents to 178.7 cents per litre, and diesel decreased 14.5 cents to 223.1 cents per litre.

⛔ A former sports facility in Bedford must be fenced off and cleaned up according to an order from Halifax regional council—a compliance officer says nothing is stopping students from wandering through the area.

📖 Do you have tickets for Spring ForeWord? Enjoy conversations with Souvankham Thammavongsa, Iain Reid, Sue Sinclair, Kim Echlin and more, presented by AfterWords Literary Festival.*

*Sponsored Post

In partnership with the Emerging Lens Film Festival and in honour of National Canadian Film Day, the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 is pleased to present the new Canadian film, 40 Acres. This extraordinary, locally produced film is an exploration of the nature of trauma and resilience in a post-apocalyptic world set against the backdrop of the historic African Nova Scotian community of Birchtown.

What to expect: 

Register for free here!

🦐 After a decade of declining stocks, Nova Scotia’s shrimp population is seemingly bouncing back for the second year in a row—a new study shows an increase in shrimp biomass with the young shrimp population stabilizing.

🔋 The Halifax Regional Municipality is offering homeowners financing and navigation for energy-saving upgrades—the Home Energy Upgrade program is a facet of its wider HalifACT climate action initiative.

🏥 A new colon cancer screening program is available for unhoused individuals, but gaps still remain—the program is currently only available to those living in Halifax.

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

🗓 OutFest 2026: The largest queer performance festival in Atlantic Canada is here. Local, regional and national artists will be performing across the city. | April 13-19 | 6PM |

🗓 Radiant Ground: New Paintings by Marilyn McAvoy: Local artist Marilyn McAvoy’s new collection is on display at The Prow Gallery, with an artist reception on April 16. | April 14-May 8 |

🗓 Live Jazz with The Matt MacLennan Trio: Bassist Matt MacLennan brings his three-piece band along for velvety ballads and smooth bossa novas at the Obladee. | April 15 | 7PM |

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

➡️ The Carmel I container vessel departed Halifax for New York at 3am.

🚢 The CMA CGM Libra container vessel arrived in Halifax from Colombo at 4:45am.

➡️ The Tropic Lissette container vessel departs Halifax for West Palm Beach at 6am.

🚢➡️ The Oceanex Sanderling container vessel arrives in Halifax from St. John’s 1:25pm and departs for St. John’s at 6pm.

➡️ The Sarah Desgagnes tanker departs Halifax for Sarnia at 3pm.

🍨 Churned is now serving Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream Bars. Pick your favourite flavour: vanilla dipped in either dark or white chocolate, coated with freeze-dried strawberries and crunchy puffed rice. Gluten-free!

🥪 2 Doors Down have switched up their Fried Chicken Sammy, now with crispy chicken thigh, bacon-tomato jam, lemon-herb mayo, dill pickles, hot honey, and lettuce.

🍛 Shivani Dhamija is turning comfort food into a cultural connection on Canada’s East Coast. As the founder of Shivani’s Kitchen, Dhamija has built a growing food business rooted in bringing Southeast Asian flavours, particularly Indian staples, to Halifax and across Nova Scotia. What began as a small effort to serve a homesick student community has evolved into a full-scale operation, now stocked in major retailers including Costco, Walmart and Sobeys. Her journey started with a simple goal: to recreate the familiar. The Coast’s Warren D’Silva talks with Dhamija about her business and the new products she’s introducing.

⚖️ The former chief Crown attorney is suing the provincial government and the Public Prosecution Service for constructive dismissal—Kathryn Pentz alleges she faced bullying, leading to her being forced out of her role.

🏛️ The controversial 2026 budget session is now over, with Lieutenant-Governer Mike Savage giving royal assent to 10 bills in total—the legislative sitting was the longest under Premier Tim Houston’s leadership.

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