Former N.S. Premier Donald Cameron has died

Photo credit: Nova Scotia Legislature

Raised on a farm in Pictou County, Donald Cameron’s rural roots were a source of pride for a man who in 1991 would become the province’s 22nd premier.  Tory Leader Tim Houston described Cameron as a mentor with incredible integrity.  Cameron, who was 74, served as premier from February 1991 to May 1993.  “He loved Nova Scotia, and during his time in public and private life, Donnie was a man of incredible integrity,” Tim Houston, leader of the Nova Scotia Progressive Conservative party, said in statement.  Houston said Cameron’s one-term government introduced pioneering human rights legislation that called for equal rights for gay and lesbian people.  “Donnie represented Pictou East, as I do now, and he was a mentor to me in many ways,” said Houston. “But more than that, he was a treasured friend.”

Born in Egerton, Cameron was raised on a family farm and later graduated with a bachelor of science degree from McGill University in Montreal in 1968. When he returned to Nova Scotia, he converted the farm into a dairy operation and would proudly describe himself as a shy farm boy from a deeply rural corner of the province.  He married Rosemary Simpson in 1969 and they had three children: Natalie, David and Christine.

First elected to the Nova Scotia legislature 1974, he was never defeated in Pictou East. He held a handful of cabinet posts, including the fisheries and industry portfolios.  On Feb. 9, 1991, he won the leadership of the Tory party after three ballots, replacing John Buchanan as premier. Cameron served as premier until May 1993.  He retired from politics the night his party was defeated in a general election by the Liberals, led by John Savage.

In June 1993, then prime minister Brian Mulroney appointed Cameron to serve as consul general in Boston. (The Canadian Press)

 

RCMP ask for help locating missing woman***UPDATED***Missing woman located

RCMP Photo (submitted)

***RCMP say the 26-year old woman reported who was reported missing has been located and is safe.  The RCMP would like to thank the public for their assistance and retweets on social media.***

Pictou County District RCMP is asking for the public’s assistance to locate 26-year-old Erin Tracey who was last seen May 2, in Westville on Munroe St.  Tracey is described as white, 5-foot-7 and 145 pounds with medium length blonde hair and blue eyes. She was last seen wearing a black Reebok jacket, a tie-dye pink/blue/purple shirt, jeans and beige boots.  Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Erin Tracey is asked to contact Pictou County District RCMP at 902-485-4333. Should you wish to remain anonymous, call Nova Scotia Crime Stoppers toll free at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), submit a secure web tip at www.crimestoppers.ns.ca, or use the P3 Tips App.

 

People Aged 50 to 54 Now Eligible for COVID-19 Vaccines

Starting today, May 3, people aged 50 and older can book appointments for Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccines at clinics across the province.  The province says community clinics and many participating pharmacies have available appointments for this age group.  Appointments for COVID-19 vaccines will be released continuously as vaccine supply is confirmed.  COVID-19 vaccination appointments must be made online at https://www.novascotia.ca/vaccination or by phone at 1-833-797-7772.  Appointments cannot be booked directly through a community clinic, pharmacy or physician. Walk-ins will be turned away.

Health officials in Nova Scotia report another 133 cases of COVID-19 Sunday

Health officials in Nova Scotia reported 133 new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday. There are 117 cases in the province’s Central Zone, nine cases in the Eastern Zone, one case in the Northern Zone and six cases in the Western Zone.  There is community spread in the Central Zone, which includes Halifax, and city Police continue to crack down on people violating the province’s Health protection Act. Police responded to three incidents overnight Saturday that resulted in 17 tickets that carry fines of $2,000 each.  The Nova Scotia Health Authority lab continues to experience a backlog due to the volume of testing in the province. As of Sunday, Nova Scotia has 822 active cases of COVID-19 and there are 34 people in hospital, including six in intensive care. (The Canadian Press)

Premier Iain Rankin and Dr. Robert Strang, Nova Scotia’s chief medical officer of health, will provide an update today-Monday, May 3, at 3 p.m.  This update will be livestreamed on https://novascotia.ca/stayinformed/webcast

Nova Scotia Health Public Health is advising of potential exposure to COVID-19 at various locations across the province and six flights.  All potential exposure notifications in the province are listed here: http://www.nshealth.ca/covid-exposures

Change to visitor restrictions in Nova Scotia Health facilities

Nova Scotia Health has increased visitor restrictions across the province to further reduce the risk of the virus being introduced into its facilities.  The rise in COVID-19 cases, known community spread in the Central Zone (Halifax Regional Municipality, Eastern Shore and West Hants areas) and growing potential for community spread in other areas of the province, significantly increase the risk of COVID-19 amongst patients and visitors.

Effective immediately, the following new visitor restrictions are in place across the province:

• TWO designated support people per day (one at a time) for:
• Palliative care and other patients nearing end of life*
• Patients receiving medical assistance in dying*
• Children under 18 admitted to hospital**

*to minimize the number of different individuals visiting Nova Scotia Health facilities, patients may identify a maximum of five designated support people; two support people per day from among these identified people will be permitted per day, one at a time.

** to minimize the number of different individuals visiting Nova Scotia facilities, families may identify up to two support people per week.

• ONE designated support person for:
• Labour and birth
• Children under 18 years in outpatient settings
• ONE designated support person per week will be permitted in the following circumstances, only for patients who need support to receive care due to physical, intellectual, cognitive or emotional conditions. The decision to allow a support person in these circumstances requires agreement between the patient and the care team.
• Hospital inpatients
• Outpatients, including patients arriving at the hospital for cancer care, emergency and ambulatory clinics, appointments or procedures

Whenever possible, NSH says teams will use technology to enable virtual involvement of support persons.

Due to the increased number of COVID-19 cases in the province and work associated with the COVID response, Nova Scotia Health is making temporary changes to some services in all zones.  Surgeries that require admission will be reduced temporarily at Aberdeen Hospital, Cape Breton Regional Hospital, St. Martha’s Regional Hospital, Colchester East Hants Health Centre, Cumberland Regional Health Care Centre, Valley Regional Hospital, Yarmouth Regional Hospital, South Shore Regional Hospital, Dartmouth General Hospital and the QEII Health Sciences Centre.  Surgeons’ offices will be notifying patients whose surgeries must be temporarily postponed and will attempt to provide as much advanced notice as possible. However, this situation is changing rapidly and some cases could be impacted with little notice. Efforts will be made to rebook patients who’ve had their surgeries postponed as quickly as possible.  NS Health says these changes are necessary to build capacity, including beds and staffing, to support COVID-19 response measures.  A limited number of priority surgeries requiring admission will occur each day, for those requiring urgent or cancer-related procedures.  Day surgeries will continue at this time at these sites, unless further reductions are required.  The need for temporary surgical reductions will be assessed on an ongoing basis.  Pre-admission appointments and other surgery related clinics, such as surgical consults, are continuing at this time.  The Mental Health and Addictions program is not reducing outpatient services.  Outpatient teams will now be providing virtual appointments and reducing face-to-face offerings of services and conduct treatment sessions primarily using virtual care offerings (i.e., telephone, virtual platforms etc.  The decision to support or undertake in-person assessment and/or treatment will be based on patient needs. New referrals will continue to be accepted.

Canada is set to begin receiving more than 2 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine this week as the two pharmaceutical firms ramp up their deliveries.  Pfizer and BioNTech have been consistently delivering around 1 million doses from Brussels each week since mid-March, but those numbers will double over the next month before increasing further in June.  Moderna, meanwhile, is slated to deliver its next batch of more than 1 million shots next week.  Ottawa has not said when it will release the 300-thousand doses of the single-shot Johnson and Johnson vaccine that arrived last week.  Health Canada recently announced it was holding those doses back while it investigates potential safety concerns tied to an American production plant. (The Canadian Press)

 

Drug Trafficking Investigation Leads to Several Arrests

The Pictou County Integrated Street Crime Enforcement Unit, together with RCMP units from Antigonish and Port Hawkesbury, has charged 3 people in a drug trafficking investigation. Police seized a quantity of cocaine and cash. A 20 year old man from Pictou County is now facing a charge of trafficking cocaine.  Two men from Antigonish County, aged 46 and 51, are facing charges of possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking.

 

Spring Lobster Season Set to Begin Tuesday

Photo credit: Amy Fraser

The spring lobster season in lobster fishing area 26A in northern Nova Scotia and southeastern PEI is set to open at 6am on Tuesday.  That decision was made with a weather call with DFO and the Lobster Advisory Committee on Sunday.  The delay is due to weather conditions.

 

Record Number of Building Permits Issued in Rural Pictou County

If the first few months of 2021 are any indication, it will be a busy year for the Municipality of Pictou County’s building officials. From January to April, the Municipality has issued twice as many building permits as it had this time last year. There is also a substantial increase in the numbers during the same period in 2019.