About 50 people in Tusket, in the Municipality of Argyle, will have access to safe, affordable housing with design work underway for up to 16 new public housing units.
Each of the apartments on J.E. Hatfield Court will have a patio or balcony, private entrance, energy efficient appliances and heat pumps to keep tenants warm in winter and cool in summer. At least two apartments will be fully accessible, and other apartments can be made accessible if needed.
The site is close to Highway 103, schools, municipal offices, gas and convenience stores and other small businesses, and a short drive to Yarmouth.
Nova Scotia’s zzap Architecture and Planning is now working on preliminary designs; construction is expected to start next year, following a request for proposals.
The Cape Breton Medical Campus has officially opened at Cape Breton University (CBU).
The new medical sciences building, a partnership with Dalhousie faculty of medicine and CBU, welcomed its first cohort of students last August, a significant step in training the next generation of doctors.
“This is a historic day for Cape Breton and for healthcare across our province,” said Premier Tim Houston. “By training more doctors here at home, we are improving access to care for families today, and for generations to come.”
The medical campus will train up to 30 new family doctors each year. Under return-of-service agreements, the students – who are from rural Nova Scotia communities – have committed to practise family medicine in rural areas of the province after they graduate.
The Province’s investment in the campus also includes an expanded Nancy Dingwall Health and Counselling Centre and a new health home that will offer primary care to residents and clinical training for medical students.
PHOTO CAPTIONS:
1. The Cape Breton Medical Campus, which officially opened this week.
2. CBU President David Dingwall, left, Oilver Schnare, centre, a first-year med student, and Premier Tim Houston share a laugh.
3. Premier Tim Houston greets Patsy LeBlanc at the new med school facility.
4. The Cape Breton Medical Campus.
Last week, Nova Scotia was thrilled to welcome 46 Heads of Mission to Halifax, including Vinh Quang Pham, Ambassador of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. This diplomatic economic mission is one way we are strengthening international relationships and exploring more opportunities for trade and investment. A welcome reminder on the importance of global connection.
With tremendous year over year growth in total exports as of last year, Nova Scotia’s trade relationship with Vietnam is growing!
Vietnam remains an important trade partner for Nova Scotia with major growth in seafood exports, aerospace products and more.
Nova Scotia will be ready to respond this wildfire season, with four fixed-wing water bombers and a co-ordination plane to provide more protection.
A contract for four Air Tractor AT-802 water bombers and one Cessna Caravan Bird Dog was announced today. The $6.5-million contract is with Forest Protection Limited of New Brunswick and covers housing and maintaining the aircraft, as well as providing the pilots and other operational staff.
The 802 fixed-wing water bomber is an agile aircraft that is a good fit for Nova Scotia’s terrain. The Bird Dog leads co-ordination in the air space around a fire to determine safe lines for the fixed-wing water bombers to follow.
Photos:
1. An Air Tractor AT-802 water bomber, foreground, and the Cessna Caravan Bird Dog at the Debert base last week.
2. Wyatt McMackin, left, Forest Protection Ltd.'s aircraft maintenance engineer team lead, and Junjian Chen, aircraft maintenance engineer apprentice, work on the cowling covering on an Air Tractor AT-802 water bomber last week at the Debert air tanker base.
3. From left, Bruce MacLean, Forest Protection Ltd. Bird Dog pilot; Ken Cox, Department of Natural Resources air attack officer; Gaetan Fournier, pilot team lead, Forest Protection Ltd.; and Kerry MacLean, Department of Natural Resources air attack officer, in Debert last week.
4. Crew members from the Department of Natural Resources go over procedures in the Bird Dog last week.
5. Premier Tim Houston; Kim Masland, Minister of Natural Resources; Tom Taggart, MLA for Colchester North, and Mike O’Blenis, CEO and Managing Director, Forest Protection Ltd., with staff from the Department of Natural Resources and Forest Protection Ltd.
6. Premier Tim Houston speaks with a Forest Protection Ltd. pilot during the event.
Global trade is changing and we’re making sure Nova Scotians are ready.
A new $13.8 million investment from the Governments of Canada and Nova Scotia will help workers affected by tariffs and market shifts access training, build new skills and stay connected to the workforce.
Support will be delivered through existing provincial programs and focus on retraining, reskilling, upskilling and reducing barriers so businesses can keep people working or help workers move into new roles. This is about stepping in early and making sure workers and businesses have the support they need—now and for the future.
Photos:
1. Provincial and Federal representatives pose with employees with the Cherubini Group of Companies.
2. Minister Nolan Young speaks during the announcement.
3. Sean Fraser, Central Nova MP and Federal Minister of Justice announces $4 million dollars for workers and businesses affected by the tariffs.
4. Darren Czech, CEO of the Cherubini Group of Companies, speaks after the announcement.
5. Nolan Young, Minister of Labour, Skills and Immigration, right, talks to Cherubini Group employees, Ken MacPhee, left, and Ibrahim Alassad, center after the announcement.
People in Bridgewater experiencing homelessness will soon have access to a new shelter, open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with expanded supports.
The Province is providing about $2.2 million to South Shore Open Doors Association (SSODA) to operate The Landing, which will have 23 emergency shelter beds and seven transitional supportive housing units.
The new shelter will open in early June and offer 24-hours-a-day staffing, case management, connections to primary healthcare and mental health and addictions services among other supports.
Transitional housing units are a bridge between emergency shelter and permanent housing.
PHOTO CAPTION: Krista Miller, Shelter Manager, stands outside The Landing, the new emergency shelter and transitional housing operated by South Shore Open Doors Association (SSODA) in Bridgewater.
Families in the Beaver Bank area of Halifax Regional Municipality will see more early learning and child-care spaces opening in their community later this year.
It Takes a Village Daycare Society is opening a third location at 925 Windgate Dr. The new centre is expected to create up to 194 new child-care spaces for infants, toddlers and preschool-aged children.
It Takes a Village received $2 million to support development of the new child-care centre.
The funding is through the Canada-Nova Scotia Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement, which supports the child-care system to expand access to affordable, high-quality and inclusive care to families when and where they need it.
On May 9, we remember the 26 miners who lost their lives in the Westray Mine disaster in Plymouth, Nova Scotia. Their deaths remain a solemn reminder of the need to protect workers and to continue strengthening occupational health and safety in every workplace.
As we mark this anniversary, we honour the families, friends, and co-workers whose lives were forever changed, and we reflect on the lessons Westray continues to teach us about accountability and prevention.
The following is a statement from Barbara Adams, Minister of Seniors and Long-Term Care.
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On Thursday, May 7, the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) asked the employers and government back to the table to continue negotiations for a deal for their members in long-term care. We were optimistic as they said they had an amended offer to present. Talks resumed that same day.
Our government has a fair offer on the table that includes:
- wage increases of at least 12 to 24 per cent
- retroactive pay dating back to 2023, meaning thousands of dollars in workers’ pockets right away
- a 70 per cent increase in shift and weekend premiums, effective upon ratification
- funding to enroll in a defined benefit pension plan for facilities that do not currently have one in place.
CUPE has been asking for almost double what has already been accepted by 27,500 employees working in home care, acute care and long-term care. When we returned to the table, CUPE leadership started by asking for even more.
This proposal is not feasible. The wage offer on the table has already been accepted by employees in 29 unionized long-term care homes and in home care and hospitals. In fact, CUPE accepted these same increases for home care and hospital employees it represents.
Our government calls on CUPE to stop moving the goalpost and let their members vote on the fair offer on the table so that they can get the 12 to 24 per cent wage increases and $1,600 to $7,000 after-tax retro pay that they deserve.
As the strike continues, we will ensure that essential service agreements are followed.
Workplace safety data is now easier to access in Nova Scotia. 📊
A new online dashboard brings together information on inspections, incidents and enforcement in one place – helping employers, workers and the public better understand risks and track trends across industries.
Explore the dashboard: https://nssafetydata.ca/ (link in Stories)
A large delegation of ambassadors and high commissioners (heads of mission) is in Nova Scotia on a three-day economic mission, one of the largest ever organized in Canada.
On May 6, they participated in a roundtable discussion at Province House in Halifax, with government ministers and deputy ministers presenting on government priorities.
They also met with Mi’kmaw chiefs and Lt.-Gov. Mike Savage. On the second day of the tour, they visited various innovation centres in Halifax and Dartmouth, including @coveocean , and met with Premier Tim Houston.
Photos:
1. Ambassadors and high commissioners representing 46 countries are pictured together on the stairs in Province House with provincial ministers and deputy ministers following presentations on government priorities in key sectors.
2. Shazelina Binti Zainul Abidin, High Commissioner for Malaysia, takes a selfie with Province House's Sergeant of Arms, David Fraser.
3. The delegation in Province House in the Legislative Chamber.
4. Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston stands with ambassadors and high commissioners representing 46 countries on their visit to Nova Scotia Health Innovation Hub in Halifax.
5. Diplomats pose with Mi'kmaw Chiefs at Millbrook Cultural and Heritage Centre.
6. Geneviève Tuts, European Union Ambassador to Canada asks COVE CEO Melanie Nadeau a question during a visit to the Centre for Ocean Ventures and Entrepreneurship.
7. Anahit Harutyunyan, of Armenia, and Dauletbek Kussainov, of Kazakhstan, look at a part that was fabricated at Precise Design Engineering Solutions.
8. Delegates tour the space of Precise Design at COVE in Dartmouth.
Pets are family, and it’s important that you plan for them during emergencies! Watch the video to learn more about what should be in your pet emergency kit.
🐾 Don’t get caught in a pinch—plan ahead for your pets!
