PREMIER SAYS ALL NOVA SCOTIANS SHOULD BE VACCINATED AGAINST COVID BY LATE-JUNE
Premier Iain Rankin says Nova Scotia should have enough COVID-19 vaccine to give everybody in the province at least one needle by the final week of June. Rankin told reporters following his first cabinet meeting as premier Thursday that his estimate is based on new federal government guidelines about increasing the interval between first and second doses of vaccine. He says he will likely have more details about the province’s plan during Friday’s COVID-19 briefing.
UNIFOR SAYS AIR CANADA TO OFFER PASSENGER REFUNDS
The head of Canada’s largest private sector union says Air Canada has agreed to refund customers for flights that were cancelled or postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic as a precondition for any bailout deal.
Refunding passengers who lost money on cancelled flights when the coronavirus pandemic struck has been a major discussion point around the question of whether the Canadian government will offer a bailout to the airline. The development was first reported by The Toronto Star and Unifor’s Jerry Dias has now confirmed the story, with more details expected as talks wrap up. (Toronto Star)
MARCH IS FRAUD PREVENTION MONTH – HERE’S WHAT TO WATCH FOR
If you’re going to get ripped off by scam artists, the month of March would be an ironic time to fall victim, because this is Fraud Prevention Month. So RCMP will be offering some advice to protect us from scammers.
If you get a call or an email from a stranger, these are the red flags to watch and listen for – to tip you off that it’s fraud.
Payment type – Fraudsters often request payment in cryptocurrency, gift cards or E-Transfer.
Urgency – Be suspicious if any email, text or phone call includes a sense of urgency.
Unknown/Unsolicited – Messages claiming to be from businesses or organizations that you have not dealt with previously.
Threats – Threats of arrest, deportation or suspension of your travel visa or your tax accounts if immediate payment is not made.
VACCINES TO ARRIVE IN NOVA SCOTIA FOR PEOPLE 50 TO 64 YEARS OLD
Nova Scotia has decided to accept 13,000 doses of the Astra-Zeneca vaccine being offered by Ottawa. Dr. Robert Strang says they’ll have to be used up in a matter of weeks. The thinking so far, is that the AstraZeneca vaccines will be given to people ages 50 to 64, taking place in 26 locations across the province. More details are expected within a week. The province says Doctors Nova Scotia and the Provincial Pharmacy Association will be handling the launch of the new doses on a first-come, first served basis starting March 15th. This is not forecast to interfere with the province’s main vaccine program.
Public Health says there are 3 new Coronavirus cases in the latest update. Officials say one case is in the Northern Zone and two are in the Central Zone, with all three identified as close contacts of previous cases. That means there are 30 people being treated for the infection province-wide, and four of them are in hospital.
GAS AND DIESEL PRICES UP AGAIN IN NEW BRUNSWICK
Gas prices are up for yet another week in New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia is likely to follow suit tonight. Regular self-serve gas across the border is up by 2.3 cents this morning. Diesel prices in our neighbouring province are up by less than a penny. It’s the 12th week in a row that fuel prices have risen in New Brunswick.
NAIL-GUN SHOOTING CASE FROM PICTOU COUNTY DUE TO BE DECIDED NEXT MONTH
The lawyer for a Pictou County man who shot a co-worker with a nail gun argues his client’s charter rights would be violated if he is sent to jail. That’s a sentence that’s currently mandatory under federal law. Shawn Wade Hynes was convicted of criminal negligence causing bodily harm and assault with a weapon for shooting his co-worker while the two were on the job at a building site in Abercrombie back in 2018. His victim suffered a punctured lung. Hynes was tried and convicted after a trial in Pictou. Sentencing has been delayed several times. The Crown argues that even if Hynes’s charter rights are infringed by the mandatory minimum, the infringement is reasonable because of the need for denunciation and deterrence for a crime so heinous. Crown prosecutor Bill Gorman has asked for a sentence of 12-15 months, followed by probation of up to 18 months. The judge is expected to rule on April 23rd.
MINISTER MAKES CLEAR DECISION ON INDIGENOUS FISHERY, BUT FRICTION ALREADY APPARENT
Ottawa has a new position that says Indigenous people can fish the same seasons as everyone else, but Sipekne’katik leaders in Hants County are upset. Federal Minister Bernadette Jordan announced her decision yesterday, saying she plans to continue reasonable discussions with other bands, despite what the Hants County band decides from its offices near Shubenacadie. Jordan says the payoff for not going to court, which she is making clear to other band leaders, is that the Indigenous-caught seafood from moderate livelihood fisheries will now be legal to be sold. She also says that thousands of lobster traps in St. Peter’s Bay last year is a situation the courts have ruled that Ottawa has the power to control, and if it were to continue, the lobster stocks would be unsustainable. (File photo)
“SERIAL FRAUDSTER” SENTENCED TO JAIL TIME
A Valley man who faked that he was somebody else on social media to earn trust with three women and swindle them out of thousands of dollars has been sentenced. The judge says his time is jail will be 220 days. Provincial Court judge Judge Ronda van der Hoek described Tyler Fairrae as a “serial fraudster whose actions are increasing in seriousness over time,” in making her ruling. Her decision shows 26-year-old Fairrae stole details of another man’s identity from social media profiles and used that new identity to connect with the three victims online in 2019. Once Fairrae had established a level of trust with the women, he told them he was stranded in Newfoundland and Labrador without access to his bank accounts. That’s when the rip-offs ensued that have landed him in jail. In addition to the jail time, Fairrae will have to re-imburse the women for the money they lost, and also spend 18 months on probation, once the jail time comes an end.
ED BOWDEN COMMUNITY AWARD GIVEN OUT TO LOCAL GROUP
The 11th annual Ed Bowden Community Wellness Award is going to the Pictou County Rainbow Community Association, for their Parent Support Group. The award was created by Pictou West and Central and as well as the East Pictou Community Health Boards (CHBs) in consultation with family members, in memory of Ed Bowden who devoted his career to improving Pictou County’s physical and mental health. The Pictou County Rainbow Community Association is a non-profit organization that aims to provide a social support network and advocacy for the local Rainbow community.
