Latest news with #HRM
CTV News
28-05-2025
- General
- CTV News
Halifax Regional Municipality closes Geary Street encampment site
An encampment for people experiencing homelessness is seen in Dartmouth, N.S. The Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) is closing and de-designating the Geary Street green space in Dartmouth, N.S., on Wednesday, according to a news release. The city has issued notices to vacate the site to those sheltering in the space. They have until June 22 to relocate and remove all their belongings from the site. The municipality said it is directing people sheltering at Geary Street to one of the available spaces at provincial shelters or another designated space. The municipality said it will offer resources and supports, including transporting people to other provincially-funded housing options or designated locations in HRM. It will also transport or store their belongings. HRM said the Geary Street site is the least-used designated encampment in recent months after three years of consistently low numbers. Service providers will work with people sleeping rough to determine which shelter is best for them, said the release. As of Friday, municipal housing and homelessness staff determined there were 51 tents and four trailers in the city's remaining designated locations. Those locations, established in July 2022, were always meant to be temporary, said the release. HRM said more designated locations will close and be de-designated as more indoor shelter spaces and supportive housing options become available. For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
CBC
16-05-2025
- Health
- CBC
N.S. designates new special planning area near Blue Mountain-Birch Cove Lakes
The Nova Scotia government is trying to spur more new housing in the Halifax area by adding another piece of land to the list of areas fast-tracked for development, and calling on the city to start work on development plans for two areas. Colton LeBlanc, the minister for growth and development, announced Friday morning that he's designated 255 hectares of land west of Highway 102 between Kearney Lake Road and Lacewood Drive as a special planning area. The corridor of land abuts the Blue Mountain-Birch Cove Lakes area. LeBlanc also asked Halifax Regional Municipality to start secondary planning work for the Highway 102 area and the Sandy Lake special planning area. Secondary planning looks at infrastructure needs that include water, sewer and transportation. "What we'll see here is, over five, 10, 15 years, a controlled growth of housing in these two areas to help fill the gaps in our housing needs," LeBlanc told reporters. LeBlanc said both areas were identified for potential growth as far back as 2006. In the case of the Highway 102 corridor, developers have shown interest in the past, but the city refused to give approval to one, prompting a lawsuit. Vicki Elliott-Lopez, associate deputy minister of growth and development and chair of HRM's executive panel on housing, spoke alongside LeBlanc at a new conference Friday. "Good land, quite frankly, is really difficult to find for development these days," she said of the new designation. "It's getting more scarce, particularly around HRM and this will free up that opportunity." Development at Sandy Lake has been protested by several groups and individuals, including the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment. Members of the group have referred to the Sandy Lake area as Halifax's lungs and said it should be protected. LeBlanc said environmental concerns were looked at in and mitigation efforts "will be looked at." "Nova Scotians take great pride in our environment and our government … would not do anything to jeopardize our environment," LeBlanc said.
CTV News
16-05-2025
- Automotive
- CTV News
Bird Canada, HRM partner to bring e-bikes and e-scooters to residents
Three-hundred e-bikes and 300 e-scooters are now available for rent in Halifax. Canadian company Bird Canada rolled out their e-bikes and e-scooters across the Halifax region on Thursday. Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) partnered with Bird Canada on a two-year pilot program to introduce 300 e-bikes and 300 e-scooters, which will expand over the pilot period. The new program will roll out in phases to certain areas of the municipality. They will have designated parking zones and can be accessed using the Bird app. The first phases includes areas in: Halifax Dartmouth Fairview Spryfield Westphal Woodside Later phases will expand to communities such as Burnside, Bedford and Sackville. 'The municipality is partnering with United Way and Bird Canada on a more equitable micromobility initiative including Flex Fare Zones and a Community Pricing Program to reduce barriers to access so that more people can be introduced to micromobility,' a news release from the municipality says. The maximum speed for the e-bikes and e-scooters is 25k/h. Riding is permitted on roads with a speed limit of 50 km/h, in bike lanes, on multi-use pathways and in certain parks. Riding is not permitted on sidewalks. 'No ride zones' such as high pedestrian areas or restricted areas will bring the devices to a complete stop. 'Slow ride zones' will limit the devices speed to 15km/h. These zones can be seen on the Bird app. The e-bikes and e-scooters are equipped with helmets that must be worn by riders. Riders must be 18 and over to register but 16 and 17-year-old riders may register if a waiver is signed by a parent or guardian. The steps of renting the e-bikes or e-scooters are: Download the Bird app Find an available e-bike or e-scooter Unlock it Wear the helmet Ride safely Park in a designated zone Bird Canada e-scooters Bird Canada e-scooters are seen parked on a Halifax sidewalk. (CTV Atlantic/Jonathan MacInnis) For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
CBC
07-05-2025
- CBC
New training to give Halifax staff skills to safely stop harassment in city spaces
Employees of the Halifax Regional Municipality will soon be better equipped to step up and help when they witness harassment or incidents that could lead to violence in the community. Municipal staff, including temporary and short-term employees, will undergo what's known as bystander intervention training, based on a recommendation from the Mass Casualty Commission. In its final report, the inquiry into the 2020 mass shooting in Nova Scotia called for all levels of government to "develop and implement gender-based, intimate partner and family violence bystander intervention training for their workplaces and staff." Amy Brierley, a policy strategist involved in the initiative at Halifax City Hall, said the training gives people the confidence to intervene when they might have otherwise looked the other way. "It doesn't have to be a huge intervention. Even going to sit next to a person who's experiencing something, or checking in and saying, 'Are you OK?' can be enough to kind of shift that experience for someone," said Brierley, who has taken part in similar training in other settings. The training program is under development, with the aim of making it available to staff within the next year or so. It's unclear exactly what the training will look like at this stage. Cong Chen, a community safety education co-ordinator with HRM, said a key goal of the program is to create a cultural shift away from relying so heavily on emergency response teams, and instead taking a more preventative approach when appropriate. He said front-facing city employees like bus drivers and those who work at public libraries, recreation centres and community centres will be first in line to receive the training, followed by office workers, volunteers and others. Eventually, the goal is to make it available to members of the public, arming them "with the skills they need before things escalate to a crisis," said Cong. The Mass Casualty Commission said in its final report that a bystander intervention training curriculum should be mandatory in the Canadian school system, starting in primary and continuing through Grade 12. In Nova Scotia, bystander intervention training is offered at post-secondary schools and some high schools. At the municipal level, the training is being developed as part of Halifax's Safe City and Safe Public Spaces program, which was created in 2019 with the goal of preventing sexual and gender-based violence in public spaces such as parks, libraries, schools and transit. 1 in 3 women experienced harassment In a 2021 study, the program cited a survey that found one in three women in Halifax had experienced unwanted sexual attention, touching or comments in a public space. The program's co-ordinator, Lindsay Mullin, said that statistic is another reason why bystander intervention training is important. "I hope this program will give participants the skills to safely recognize and respond to instances of public harassment, and that ultimately by doing so, it creates a broader community of care where everyone can look out for one another," said Mullin.
CBC
02-04-2025
- CBC
Province offers reward up to $150,000 in Africville shooting case
The Nova Scotia government is offering a reward of up to $150,000 to try to find those responsible for the shooting at the annual Africville reunion in Halifax last summer. Five people were injured when shots were fired on July 27 during the event at the former historic Black community in the city's north end. This is the first time the province's major unsolved crimes program has offered a reward in a case not involving a homicide or suspicious missing person case. "I think we can insinuate from that in terms of the seriousness of this issue and the impact it had on the community," said Don MacLean, chief of Halifax Regional Police. "Hopefully it will lead people to come forward to help us further investigate this matter." The case is a complex one that's reliant on first-hand witness accounts, MacLean said. No arrests have been made. Hundreds of people were gathered to celebrate the 41st annual family reunion at the National Historic Site of Africville when gunshots rang out in the evening, sending people running for cover. People 'have information,' says police chief MacLean said he's hopeful the reward will help further the investigation. "My investigators are pretty confident that there are people that have information that could lead to a successful conclusion of this matter," he said. The province said the step to add the case to the rewards program is warranted because of the nature of the gun violence at an event where people should have felt safe. "This mass shooting event had and continues to have a serious and heartbreaking impact on the community, victims and their families. It also affected us as a province," Justice Minister Becky Druhan said in the release. The Africville Genealogy Society organizes the annual reunion and had never experienced a problem in the previous 40 years, said president Irvine Carvery. Carvery, who dived to the floor of his van when the shots rang out, said people were traumatized by the shooting and community members have been wondering about the status of the investigation. "We've been sitting back there thinking have they forgotten about it because we never heard anything," he said. "So to hear this today is really good news." Carvery said people have been asking him if it will be safe to return to the reunion after what happened last summer. "What I'm saying to people is we're going to take every step that's necessary to ensure their safety in the park," he said. Society working with HRM on park improvements Carvery said he has had discussions with Halifax Regional Municipality about recommendations that resulted from a safety audit the society ordered after the shooting. Some of those recommendations include better lighting at the site, installing security cameras and trimming back overgrown trees and brush. Anyone with information about the shooting can call the unsolved crimes program at 1-888-710-9090 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477. The reward is for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of those responsible. The province said the reward amount will be based on the investigative value of the information provided.
