🗞️ Veto or Vetno?

Hey Halifax,

It’s the question—or probably more accurately—it’s the answer on everyone’s lips: Should the mayor of Halifax be given more power?

The argument has been brought to the forefront after Premier Houston blasted city council about—among other things—the decision to make Morris Street in the city’s downtown core one-way to accommodate a bike lane.

Houston said Thursday his government is looking at strengthening mayoral powers—saying there’s a disconnect between the needs of residents and the recent decisions taken by Halifax council.

So, giving Mayor Fillmore more power could allow him to veto decisions made by council—like the Morris Street bike lane project, for example.

Right now, each member of council gets a single vote on whether to move ahead on projects and some councillors are concerned about that changing. Sam Austin, for example, vocalized two main issues. One is whether members of the civil service can provide good, unbiased, professional advice if they're worried about the mayor's ability to fire them. And two, that it fundamentally upsets the democratic process.

Shawn Cleary added that no changes should be made without extensive public consultation. 

Meanwhile, one political science professor at CBU has explained the Nova Scotia government should be cautious as it considers giving mayors more power—authority that could create a “mini American presidency” in communities across the province. She says the province would be wise to wait and see how stronger mayoral authority plays out in Ontario municipalities before following suit.

So with all that in mind, what say you brilliant Coast readers?

– Julie

📷 @editorjulesl

🌡️ Traffic & Weather

Today: 🌤️ 29°

Tomorrow: 🌧️ 26°

Next Day: ☀️ 26°

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.

MUSIC

Creating musical sapphic spaces with Dyke Night Halifax

While spaces for queer folks have become more common as 2SLGBTQIA+ acceptance becomes the norm, it can still be hard for certain sections of the community to find a place to belong.

In particular, it can be difficult to find a space for lesbian, gender-diverse and trans people. Seeing that need in the community, local musician Jade Bennett took to organizing events under the name Dyke Night Halifax, giving sapphic people a chance to be themselves with others from their sect.

The Coast’s Brendyn Creamer spoke with Bennett as they prepare to launch the sapphic showcase on Friday.

🤔 Need To Know

👀 The RCMP provided a brief update that they are still working through the “intensive” investigation of Lilly and Jack Sullivan after weeks of silence from officials—adding they are working with units in ON and NB, and with help from the National Centre of Missing Persons and Canadian Centre for Child Protection.

🚨 Regional police detonated a grenade found outside a home in Dartmouth on Tuesday—at around 6:30am officers responded to a call from a resident on Pauline Crescent reporting that a grenade had been thrown onto their property.

💸 The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is calling on Halifax Regional Council to scrap its current bike lane project, saying the project is “over budget” and “behind schedule.”

🦈 Dive into Monsters of the Abyss, on now ‘til Sept 7! Explore prehistoric and modern aquatic predators. Don’t miss it!*

🥞 Don't miss the new interactive exhibition eat make share: a taste of immigration. Discover the surprising histories of Canadian foods we love and much more!*

🪁 Residents can enjoy free Natal Day weekend concerts, parade and fireworks. Support Parker Street Food Bank on Monday, Aug. 4 with a free ferry ride.*

*Sponsored Post

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LIFESTYLE

Breaking barriers at 43: Sarah McCann will host the Halifax Fashion Week blue carpet

A Halifax-based content creator known for her advocacy of sustainable fashion and for pushing back against ageism in the industry is gearing up to be one of the official blue carpet correspondents at Halifax Fashion Week.      

Sarah McCann, a content creator, teacher, mother, laser technician and a freelance model, has spent the last few years carving a unique niche on social media, where she blends style with substance by spotlighting eco-conscious brands and speaking candidly about aging in fashion. 

At 43 years young, McCann is proving that both sustainability and representation for older women deserve a place on the runway.

The Coast’s Warren D’Silva has more with McCann about pushing back against ageism while promoting eco-conscious fashion.

🗞️ In Other News

⚖️ The Northwood Care Group has lost an appeal in a class-action lawsuit about the deaths of more than 50 people at a Halifax long-term care facility during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

🔌 Nova Scotia Power is sending workers out to manually check power meters at homes to ensure accurate billing, as some customers complain of receiving higher than expected bills.

🦈 A new documentary exploring the rise of great white shark sightings off the coast of Nova Scotia will debut on the Discovery Channel this month—Great White North Invasion will premiere on July 22 as part of Shark Week 2025.

🚆 The CEO of Via Rail says the Crown corporation wants to use refurbished rail cars to improve service between Halifax and Montreal—Mario Péloquin made the comments after a ceremony marking the completion of renovations to Via’s Halifax station.

🚔 Municipal police chiefs in Nova Scotia say the province's decision to expand the RCMP moves in a direction opposite the rest of Canada and could lead to less effective services for residents.

🗓️ Things To Do

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

🗓 TD Halifax Jazz Festival: Formerly known as the Atlantic Jazz Festival, this is the oldest jazz festival and largest summer festival in Atlantic Canada. Designated a Hallmark Event by the Halifax Regional Municipality, the festival attracts up to 65,000 visitors, involves 400 volunteers and employs over 350 local musicians. Explore the line-up. | July 15-20 | 

🗓 Dalhousie Art Gallery Summer Exhibitions Opening Reception: Explore two powerful new exhibitions that interrogate image-making, colour, and visual culture as tools of both disruption and expression. Wavelengths: Colour | Code | Concept, curated by gallery director/curator Pamela Edmonds, draws on the gallery’s permanent collection to investigate how colour operates as both material and message within abstraction and conceptual art. In parallel, Broad/Cast: Reclaiming Representation, curated by Geoffrey Webster as the final project of his curatorial internship at the gallery, brings together lens-based works by artists who challenge and redefine portrayals of Black identity in media and culture. | July 17 | 6pm |

🗓 The Little Fishers Club: This registered, not-for-profit organization began with a small group of parents who recognized the benefits of teaching children how to fish. Now, entering its 14th season, it has blossomed into a busy summer-long experience, bringing children and families from HRM (and beyond) together to experience the joy of fishing. | July 18 | 6pm | $5 |

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

⚓️ What’s In The Harbour

➡️ The Algoma East Coast oil tanker leaves Halifax for Saint John at 2am.

➡️ The CMA CGM Symi container ship leaves Halifax for New York at 4am.

🚢➡️ The Zuiderdam cruise ship arrives in Halifax at 7:30am and leaves for Canadian seas at 4pm.

🚢➡️ The Liberty of the Seas cruise ship arrives in Halifax at 8am and leaves for Canadian seas at 6pm.

🚢➡️ The EF Ava container ship arrives in Halifax from Portland, ME at 8:15am and  leaves for Reykjavik at 4pm.

🚢➡️ The MSC Rowan container ship arrives in Halifax from Sines, France at 11:15am and leaves for Montreal at 11pm.

🚢 The Algoscotia oil tanker arrives in Halifax from Sydney at 1:15pm.

➡️ The Harbour Fashion oil tanker leaves Halifax for Albany, NY at 11pm.

🍴 Where To Eat & Drink

🤌 Take a big bite out of Italy with the Meatball Calzone at Rinaldo’s: mozzarella, ricotta, meatballs, olives, parmesan and marinara to dip.

🦆 Swim—don’t run—on over to Black Sheep for the Brome Lake Duck: duck breast with wild rice, Feeney’s mushrooms, duck jus, pecorino, salsa verde, fermented radishes.

👀 In Case You Missed It

🎷 Organizers of the Halifax Jazz Festival say they were left shocked and heartbroken after discovering their 60-foot festival banner had been stolen, just one week before opening night of the long-running summer event. The theft, which was reported publicly by festival organizers on social media, prompted an outpouring of concern — and a generous act of support from a local college. The Coast’s Warren D’Silva has the full story here. 

⛺ Unhygienic conditions, bedrooms without locks and assaults against residents were among the problems plaguing two supportive housing sites in Halifax before the province cut ties with Out of the Cold— the non-profit managing the locations.

That’s it!

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