Pictou District RCMP Charge Amherst Man with Multiple Offences Following Weekend Incident in Cape John
Shortly after 1:00am on Sunday, Pictou County District RCMP responded to a disturbance involving a man who allegedly pointed a firearm at someone during a house party on New Rd. in Cape John. The man had already left when police arrived but a short time later, Antigonish RCMP responded to an accident on Highway 104 and the investigation revealed the driver was the suspect in the disturbance call. Antigonish RCMP members located a gun locker in the vehicle with numerous firearms and ammunition inside. 20 year old Callan Kenneth Merrey of Amherst is charged with Pointing a Firearm; Possession of a Weapon for a Dangerous Purpose; and Public Mischief. RCMP say the investigation is ongoing.
Number of New Covid-19 Cases in N.S. Jumps to Highest Level in 4 Months
Fifteen new cases of COVID-19 were reported in Nova Scotia on Monday. One case is in Western Zone and it is related to travel outside Atlantic Canada. Eight cases are in Central Zone. Four of those are close contacts of previously reported cases; three are under investigation; and the other is related to travel outside of Atlantic Canada. Six cases are in Eastern Zone. One is a close contact of a previously reported case and the others are related to travel outside of Atlantic Canada. The people are self-isolating, as required. Nova Scotia has 63 active cases of COVID-19. Premier Iain Rankin and Dr. Robert Strang, Nova Scotia’s chief medical officer of health, will provide an update today – Tuesday, April 20 at 1 p.m.
Nova Scotia Health Public Health is advising of potential exposure to COVID-19 at four locations in the Central Zone, one clarification in the Central Zone and two Air Canada flights. All potential exposure notifications are listed here: http://www.nshealth.ca/covid-exposures.
LARGE TOURISM OPERATORS IN NOVA SCOTIA GET $35 MILLION IN LOAN SUPPORT
Halifax’s Harbour Hopper (Tourism NS)
The Nova Scotia government says it guaranteed nearly $35 million in loans to major tourism operators in the province struggling with the COVID-19 pandemic. Announced last October, the Tourism Sector Financing Assistance Program provides eligible resort and tour operators access to low-cost debt financing such as lines of credit or term loans issued by a chartered bank. The province says Ambassatours Gray Line and Murphy’s on the Water can access up to $11 million under the program, and Cabot Links can receive up to $14.25 million and Coach Atlantic up to $9.5 million. Minister of Inclusive Economic Growth Labi Kousoulis says in a news release the program fills a gap because the larger operators were not eligible for federal aid programs. Eligible businesses must have annual revenues of at least $10 million, employ at least 100 people, and have experienced revenue decline of at least 50 per cent between April 1 and July 30, 2020, compared to the same period the previous year. The Nova Scotia COVID-19 Response Council fund will guarantee up to 95 per cent of the amount borrowed, and the interest rate cannot exceed prime lending rate plus 1.5 per cent. (The Canadian Press)
Guysborough County District RCMP investigating fatal off-road vehicle collision in Sherbooke
Guysborough County District RCMP is investigating after a fatal off-road vehicle collision in Sherbooke on Friday night. Police and EHS attended the scene involving an ATV on Sonora Rd. A 58-year-old man, who was the sole driver, was pronounced deceased at the scene. RCMP say a collision reconstructionist attended, and the investigation is ongoing.
Federal Budget 2021: Liberals extend COVID-19 aid with election top of mind
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland (The Canadian Press)
The first federal budget in more than two years extends Ottawa’s COVID-19 “lifeline” for those still struggling after a difficult year — including aid for laid-off workers — another few months as it aims to pull Canada through the pandemic once and for all. Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland’s first crack at a budget plan is also widely viewed as a pre-election platform. There is more than $100 billion in new spending over the next three years targeting a wide variety of voters. There are promises for seniors and their caregivers, working parents, students and business owners.
Freeland is also looking ahead to the post-pandemic Canada the Liberals want to see, one that has $10-a-day childcare, the ability to produce its own vaccines, national standards for long-term care homes and small- and medium-sized businesses equipped with the workers and technology they need to survive. Canada’s net debt is now over $1 trillion for the first time ever, after a $354 billion deficit for the pandemic year just over. It is expected to keep climbing with deficits of nearly $155 billion this year, and $60 billion in 2022-23. That is driven in part by $101.4 billion in new spending over the next three years, including costs to maintain federal wage and rent subsidies and employment benefits until September, rather than cutting them off in June. The raging third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic has prompted many parts of the country to revive or renew restrictions.
The budget’s marquee entry is what Freeland calls a “generational investment” in child care, a $30-billion spend over five years that will first try to cut fees for regulated child care spaces in half by the end of 2022, aiming for them to be $10 a day within five years. The program will have a long-term annual cost of almost $9 billion. It also seeks to address some of Canada’s biggest nightmares of the pandemic, namely vaccine production and long-term care.
Freeland is proposing to invest another $2.2 billion in life sciences and vaccine manufacturing over the next seven years, and $3 billion over five years to help the provinces implement national standards in long-term care. The Liberal government is waiving interest payments on federal student loans for another year, expanding sick leave benefits under employment insurance, and boosting the tax credit for low-income workers. (The Canadian Press)
A free shuttle service continues between Aberdeen Business Centre and the Pictou County YMCA.
It runs about every half hour on Monday and Tuesday afternoons between 4pm and 6:45pm and Saturday mornings between 9am and 11:45am. The free shuttle service will be in place until the Fixed Route Transit System goes into service later in May.
