🗞️ The shortest session

Good morning Halifax 👋

Did you know that the provincial legislature’s fall session ended on Friday? I highly doubt some of the MLAs who were sitting there even knew, as it only took eight days to get through all of their business.

With the province in the state that it’s in? With both healthcare and housing in turmoil? As the opposition has posited, it’s likely the provincial government closed it down early to prevent scathing critiques, but that didn’t stop the Nova Scotia NDP party leader Claudia Chender from taking them to task.

Due to the quick wrap-up, two housing bills introduced by her party fell by the wayside, says Chender. The first bill would have created a residential tenancies enforcement unit—which is sorely needed in a province that doesn’t dole out consequences to landlords who break the rules—as well as introduce a rent control system tailoring rent to the consumer price index.

The second bill would establish a new housing supply target—12,500 units—as well as introduce a housing officer to track progress.

While it’s unlikely both of these bills would come close to passing, they didn’t even make it through a first reading due to the government’s anticipation to get the fall sitting done and over with.

In my opinion, this is downright undemocratic. As Chender points out, we’re in a cost of living crisis. Affordable housing barely exists. Rather than address some of the biggest issues Nova Scotia is facing, it’s easier for the PC Party to avert their eyes from the disaster, and instead make their lives easier by banning protest on woods roads without consulting Mi’kmaw leaders.

If they don’t want to listen to our criticisms, we’ll just have to get louder.

Best,

– B

📷 @creamy_yet_smooth

🌡️ Traffic & Weather

Today: 🌧️ 8°

Tomorrow: 🌤️ 11°

Next Day: ☀️ 16°

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

The Nova Scotia Talent Trust awards over $182,000 to emerging artists

From Liverpool to North Preston to Cape Breton, 91 young Nova Scotian artists are celebrating this week after receiving scholarships and bursaries worth more than $182,000 from the Nova Scotia Talent Trust.

The awards support emerging talent across music, dance, film, theatre, literary arts, and visual arts—helping students afford everything from university tuition to specialized training programs in cities like London and New York.

For the 81-year-old organization, it's another milestone in a long tradition of backing Nova Scotia's creative community. Since giving its first scholarship to renowned contralto Portia White in 1944, the Talent Trust has now supported more than 1,500 artists with over $2.7 million in funding.

The Coast Team has a breakdown on the $182,000 given to young artists throughout Nova Scotia.

🤔 Need To Know

☀️ Nova Scotia broke heat records in several parts of the province earlier this week—the Halifax Stanfield International Airport read a temperature of 29.4 C on Monday, Oct. 6.

⚖️ An officer testified at the trial for Halifax Alehouse bouncer who is being charged with manslaughter in the death of Ryan Sewer—the police officer said he had to pull the bouncer’s arm away to release his chokehold on the patron.

🫶 Halifax is launching a new civilian mental health crisis team in Dartmouth as an alternative to police—the two-year pilot project has been dubbed Crisis Assistance and Response, or CARE, and is being delivered by Souls Harbour Rescue Mission.

🍴 Experience eat make share exhibition and taste what’s cooking for this year’s Devour! Montréal All Stars Food Film Fest at the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21.*

🍻 The Pint isn’t just a pub—it’s Halifax’s unofficial flavour HQ. No shortcuts, just bold bites, cold pints, and good times on tap. Come for the food, stay for the vibes.*

*Sponsored Post

SPONSORED BY NSWAITLISTSETTLEMENT.CA

You may be eligible for money from a lawsuit

Were you on a waitlist for community-based housing support in Nova Scotia between April 1, 1998 and August 20, 2025? Learn more.

🗞️ In Other News

⚖️ A teen convicted in the killing of Ahmad Al Marrach last year is being given a second chance out of jail—the teen breached the conditions of her release and was arrested once more in July.

🚒 The president of the Halifax firefighters union is calling for a complete leadership change at the city’s department—he says the department has ignored reports of racism, misogyny and homophobia.

🔥 The province is providing emergency financial support to residents in Kings County who have been evacuated due to the Lake George wildfire—applications for the program open today.

SPONSORED BY HALIFAX REGIONAL FIRE & EMERGENCY

This Fire Prevention Week, learn more about lithium-ion battery safety.

Charge up for Fire Prevention Week, October 5 through 11. This year’s theme focuses on lithium-ion battery safety in the home. Learn more about lithium-ion battery safety and enter one of our contests for children and adults for a chance to win some exciting prizes!

🗓️ Things To Do

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

🗓 Romantic Woodwind Quintets - The Music Room Chamber Players Series: Symphony Nova Scotia’s new generation of principal woodwind players show their skill in an evening of passionate music from the Romantic era in the Peggy Corkum Music Room. | Oct. 8 | 7:30PM | From $20 |

🗓 Oktoberfest Opera Kitchen Party: Come down to the New Scotland Brew Pub in Dartmouth with your lederhosen and dirndl as they celebrate Oktoberfest with a Maritime twist. | Oct. 8 | 7:30PM | $30 |

🗓 Nocturne Collective Exhibit at Teichert Gallery: Artists were invited to use “Ground” as a metaphor for their process, representing the spaces they inhabit and their personal experiences within the gallery space. The Collective Exhibit emphasizes both individual experience and a sense of community and familiarity. Each artist submitted a statement outlining their process and the connection to the Ground theme. | Oct. 3-25 | 10:00AM |

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

⚓️ What’s In The Harbour

🚢➡️ The Liberty of the Seas cruise vessel arrives in Halifax at 7am and departs for Canadian seas at 4pm.

🚢➡️ The Insignia cruise vessel arrives in Halifax at 9:30am and leaves for Canadian seas at 5pm.

🚢➡️ The Seven Seas Splendor arrives in Halifax at 11am and leaves for Canadian seas at 6pm.

➡️ The Algoma Acadian tanker departs Halifax at 9pm for Searsport.

➡️ The One Meishan container vessel departs Halifax at 11pm for Singapore.

➡️ The MSC Rita V container vessel departs Halifax at 11pm for Montreal.

➡️ The Oceana container vessel departs Halifax at 11:45 PM for Kingston.

🍴 Where To Eat & Drink

🍅 Enjoy your fall morning with Side Hustle’s beautiful tomato dish with warm cherry tomatoes, cold garlic yogurt, fermented hot honey and bread courtesy of Birdies Bread Co.

🥪 Try out the new beetroot sandwich at Luke’s Small Goods, featuring roasted beets, beet hummus, pickled red onion, fresh mozza, arugula and vinaigrette.

👀 In Case You Missed It

🗎 I recently returned from a trip to the United Kingdom, where I had the opportunity to spend time with my friend—and someone I deeply admire—Zelda Perkins. If Zelda’s name feels familiar, it’s because she was one of the major catalysts of the #MeToo movement. She was among the first former employees of Miramax to break her non-disclosure agreement (NDA) with Harvey Weinstein. Zelda’s NDA, like many signed by Weinstein’s employees, was egregious—it barred her from speaking to the police, her family, a therapist, or anyone about what she witnessed, except her lawyer and financial advisor. You may have seen the film She Said, and remember the scene where actress Samantha Morton (playing Zelda) hands a copy of that infamous NDA to the New York Times reporters. I cannot understate the importance of this moment, and the risk she took, to break her silence. Like many people in 2017, I watched in horror—and, truthfully, with deep admiration—as Zelda and so many other women risked everything to hold Weinstein accountable. What followed was something the world had never seen before. The #MeToo movement began. Women everywhere began to find the courage to speak out about their own experiences of abuse, harassment, and assault in the workplace. Opinion writer and gender-based violence activist Liz LeClair asks a big question in this opinion piece: if other parts of the world can legislate against the use of NDAs, why can’t Nova Scotia?

🏛️ The province is overriding the city’s municipal planning with new orders to build housing—they have designated the entire HRM as an interim planning area, meaning there are minimum planning requirements that would take immediate effect.

🏠 A renter interest report lists Halifax as the fifth-most in-demand city for renters across Canada—the report from RentCafe highlights a 158% year-over-year increase in listings added to favourites in the Halifax region.

That’s it!

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