🗞️ The Shuffling Distraction

Good morning, Halifax 👋

I’m nursing a sore throat and tired body after an amazing weekend in Yarmouth experiencing all of Nova Scotia Music Week. It was a fantastic time with fantastic people, and I’m honoured to have had the chance to go.

I had plans to go to Music Week for a while—way before I had plans to write anything about it for The Coast. The venue my fiancee works at—and what I consider the best venue in the entire universe—the Marigold Cultural Centre, was up for the live sector award. The award went to the Halifax Jazz Festival, which it certainly deserved, but it was still an amazing chance for the both of us to catch some acts we’ve been meaning to see and discover some new artists along the way.

I’ll have an interview series dropping later this week featuring conversations with artists I met with during Nova Scotia Music Week, so be sure to stay tuned for those when they drop over the next while.

Until then, I’m going to nap my exhaustion away. Congrats to all the artists who were nominated, won awards and showcased, as well as all of the staff and volunteers who made the weekend as special as it was.

Till tomorrow,

– B

📷 @creamy_yet_smooth

🌡️ Traffic & Weather

Today: 🌧️ 12°

Tomorrow: ☀️ 10°

Next Day: ☀️ 13°

7-day forecast

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

OPINION

A cabinet shuffle that distracts us from a crisis

Last week, Premier Tim Houston unceremoniously removed two members of his cabinet. One of them was Becky Druhan, MLA for Lunenburg County and the now-former Minister of Justice—notably, the only person with a law degree to hold that portfolio under Houston’s leadership.

This shake-up came right after the shortest legislative sitting Nova Scotia has seen in generations, just eight days long. In that time, the government tabled a ridiculous omnibus bill that lumped together everything from changing bar security regulations to a concerning amendment to the Crown Lands Act. I think it is fair to ask whether Houston’s method of “getting things done” is actually reckless, and more importantly, whether it’s creating deeper divisions within Houston’s caucus.

Opinion writer and gender-based violence activist Liz LeClair gives her thoughts on Houston’s recent cabinet shuffle.

🤔 Need To Know

🏛️ MLA Becky Druhan, the former minister of justice, has officially left the governing PC Party to become an independent—sources say she turned down a portfolio switch during the recent cabinet shuffle.

⚡ Contractors for Nova Scotia Power say they have not been paid for months after work was completed, with bills reaching into the hundreds of thousands of dollars—the utility says delays are because of the recent cybersecurity incident that impacted over 280,000 customers.

🚗 Halifax’s annual road safety report shows that collision deaths have almost doubled, totalling 20 deaths so far in 2025—however, there has been a reduction in intersection collisions and fatal and serious pedestrian collisions.

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BEST OF HALIFAX

Get your votes in for the Best of Halifax 2026

Our second round of voting is still underway for the Best of Halifax 2026 and will continue until midnight on Nov. 30.

From your favourite actors and actresses to the best restaurants in the city, cast your ballot for this year’s Best of Halifax. There are seven nominees for each category. Out of those seven contenders, only one can be chosen, and it’s all up to you, our readers. Feel free to skip any categories you want, but make sure to get to the end and hit submit. Otherwise, your votes won’t count.

Make sure your voice is heard during our 31st annual Best of Halifax Awards. Get your votes in now!

🗞️ In Other News

🚨 RCMP arrested a suspect after an incident in Waverley prompted an emergency alert on Monday—the alert noted an armed man inside a home on Waverley Road, asking residents to seek shelter.

🍺 A Cape Breton Brewery is facing a 16-day suspension following the death of its brewmaster in 2023—Route 19 Brewing was found guilty of a liquor licensing regulation for failure to maintain control of the premises when the intoxicated brewmaster fell from the roof.

⚖️ The teen convicted of second-degree murder in the Ahmad Al Marrach case apologized in court on Monday, saying he made the biggest mistake of his life—he was 14 when he stabbed Al Marrach to death alongside three other teens in a Halifax parking garage.

SPONSORED BY HUBCAP PROMOTIONS

Comedian Derek Seguin at the Spatz

Comedy superstar Derek Seguin, CBC Debaters’ fan favorite, brings his all-new Life of Leisure show to the Spatz Theatre on Friday, November 28. Known for his Juno-nominated stand-up, Derek delivers nonstop laughs with twisted takes on his dysfunctional life. Expect breathless hilarity and never a dull moment.

🗓️ Things To Do

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

🗓 Tuesday Night Jazz at The Shoe: Join The Shoe every Tuesday night for three sets of live jazz featuring Leo Cox (Bass), Dante Kierstead (Drums), and Ben Tucker (Guitar). Happy hour is from 4pm-7pm. | Oct. 28 | 7:00PM |

🗓 Neptune Theatre: How the Other Half Loves: Follow the lives of three married couples who are hopelessly entwined through affairs, secrecy, job promotions and dinner parties ending in disaster. Written by Alan Ayckbourn, How the Other Half Loves is a Thousand Island Playhouse production, directed by Jeremy Webb. | Oct. 21-Nov. 16 | 7:30PM | From $33.00 |

🗓 Music from the Maritime Conservatory: Musicians from the Maritime Conservatory of Performing Arts will play at the Peggy Corkum Music Room as part of the Chamber Players Series. | Oct. 29 | 7:30PM | From $20 |

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

⚓️ What’s In The Harbour

🚢 The Koi container ship arrives in Halifax from Colombo at 5:55pm.

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

🚢➡️ The Pearl Mist cruise vessel arrives in Halifax at 10am and departs for Canadian seas at 8pm.

🚢➡️ The Seven Seas Splendor cruise ship arrives in Halifax at 10:30am and departs for Canadian seas at 6pm.

➡️ The Atlantic Sail container ship departs Halifax for New York at 4pm.

➡️ The Vision of the Seas cruise ship departs for Canadian seas at 6pm.

🚢 The Norwegian Prima cruise ship arrives in Halifax at 7pm.

🍴 Where To Eat & Drink

🥪 In the mood for a seafood sandwich? Check out the fish stick butty at Stillwell. House-smoked cod fish sticks, cabbage slaw, smoked tomato aioli, black garlic ketchup on toasty LF Bakery bread.

🌮 It’s Wave Foods’ final Wave Taco Tuesday, so make sure to come celebrate by checking out their selection of tacos: Birria, Nashville Hot Fried Chicken, and Cauliflower.

👀 In Case You Missed It

🍲 Destination restaurants often live off the radar of awards. In a recent article, I questioned whether lists like Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants or Air Canada’s Best New Restaurants explore fully enough the dining gems hidden at the end of our country roads. While Halifax has no shortage of great restaurants, ask many seasoned diners where the most exciting meals are found, and they’ll point beyond the city to small towns, such as Canning or Lunenburg, and rural kitchens across the province. These rural destinations are quietly redefining Canadian cuisine. Until recently, I had never heard of Cape Breton’s Woodroad Restaurant. As I soon learned from co-founder and Head Chef Daryl MacDonnell, that’s by design. The 25-seat seasonal restaurant, tucked away on the edge of Margaree Harbour, relies entirely on word of mouth. It’s a strategy that has clearly worked, as every night, the dining room fills to capacity. My partner and I, joined by two friends who had heard rumblings of a culinary oasis in Cape Breton, managed to secure one of the last reservations of the season. We were all eager to see if the whispers of praise were warranted. The Coast’s food critic Mark DeWolf takes a trip to Cape Breton to experience the Woodroad Restaurant.

🏫 Part-time faculty at Saint Mary’s University have taken to the picket lines alongside Mount Saint Vincent staff after contract negotiations fell through on Wednesday—their union is arguing to raise the wages for part-time staff.

⚡ Nova Scotia’s Liberal Party is calling on the government to order an independent review of Nova Scotia Power following the utility’s cybersecurity breach earlier this year—NSP has applied for a power rate increase despite losing the personal information of hundreds of thousands of customers to hackers.

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