No significant impacts are expected for Nova Scotia from Henri

Tropical Depression Henri has slowed down considerably and is currently located in the far eastern portion of New York State. Henri will make a sharp turn to the east towards the Maritimes today.  Forecasts continue to suggest that some moisture from Henri will cross the southern Maritimes today and Tuesday. Rainfall amounts will vary, but some regions in the Maritimes could see 20 to 40 millimeters by Tuesday evening. No significant wind is expected in the Maritimes at this point.

 

Nova Scotia reports 10 new COVID-19 cases Friday; back-to-school plan to be released this afternoon

Nova Scotia reported 10 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, as well as one recovery, as the active number of cases in the province rises to 41. Nine of the new cases were identified in the province’s Central zone. Five are related to travel, three are close contacts of previously reported cases, and one is under investigation. One new case was identified in the Northern zone and is under investigation. Public Health says it is closely monitoring all four health zones for community spread.  The province is not issuing COVID-19 news releases or updating the COVID-19 data dashboard on weekends. The Monday update will include weekend data.

Nova Scotia Health Public Health is advising of potential exposure to COVID-19 at various locations in Central and Northern Zones and one Air Canada flight. All potential exposure notifications are listed here: http://www.nshealth.ca/covid-exposures.

Nova Scotia will be releasing it’s back-to-school plan during a COVID-19 update scheduled for this afternoon (Monday, August 23) at 3 p.m. The update will be the first for Premier-designate Tim Houston and Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Robert Strang. Outgoing Premier Iain Rankin has also been invited to attend. The province says it will also provide an update on the move to Phase 5. On Friday, New Brunswick announced its back-to-school plan. It includes vaccination or testing requirements for staff, encourages vaccinations for students aged 12 and up and requires masks to be worn outside the classroom.

 

Nova Scotia voter turnout in Tuesday’s election was 55 per cent — near historic low

Photo Credit: The Canadian Press

Turnout for last week’s Nova Scotia provincial election was close to a historic low.  Slightly more than 55 per cent of registered voters cast ballots, close to 423,000 people, out of the roughly 759,000 who had the right to vote.  The Progressive Conservatives won a majority government with 38.4 per cent support, or 162,478 votes, about one-fifth of the electorate.  Records from Elections Nova Scotia show a steady drop in voter turnout over the decades, from 82 per cent in 1960 to a historic low of 53.4 per cent in the 2017 general election won by the Liberals. Premier-Designate Tim Houston and his cabinet will be sworn in on August 31 in Halifax. (With files from the Canadian Press)

 

Allegations of flagrant overspending, mishandling Afghanistan dominate campaign trail

Accusations of wanton spending, misleading the public and prioritizing votes over the crisis in Afghanistan dominated the seventh full day of the federal election campaign. NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh took aim at Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau’s response to the situation in Afghanistan. Singh said he would have sped up evacuations and made the paperwork process simpler for Canadian allies wanting out of Afghanistan.  Meanwhile, the Conservatives took a swipe at Liberal spending with a news release highlighting the purchase of a $40,228 car for Bernadette Jordan, minister of fisheries, oceans and the coast guard. The Conservative press release also pointed to about $218,000 spent on furniture for the ministerial office since Feb. 1, 2019. Jordan was sworn in as minister in November that year.  The Liberals said the Conservatives were misleading the public. Jordan didn’t have a car when she became fisheries minister, so one was bought for her use, said Liberal spokesperson Brook Simpson. Further, the office expenses were incurred during a renovation that began prior to Jordan being sworn in as minister, Simpson said.  At an addiction recovery centre in New Westminster, B.C., O’Toole said he would approach Canada’s opioid epidemic as an “urgent health crisis” rather than a criminal scourge.  The Tory campaign platform proposes investing $325 million over the next three years to create 1,000 residential drug treatment beds and build 50 recovery centres across the country.  Meanwhile, Justin Trudeau has more campaigning to do in Atlantic Canada today.  The Liberal leader will be making an announcement in Halifax before heading to St. John’s to meet with locals and supporters.  Trudeau made stops in New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island on Sunday to try to shore up ballots for the September 20th vote.  The Liberals swept the 32 seats in Atlantic Canada in 2015, but in 2019 they lost four of those seats to the Conservatives and one each to the N-D-P and the Greens. (The Canadian Press)

 

RCMP arrest N.S. man wanted on Canada-wide warrant 

RCMP Photo (submitted)

Nova Scotia Mounties say they have arrested Justin Dempster on a Canada-wide warrant.  Police say the 31-year-old Dempster is suspected of breaking into numerous homes across the province since August 6th, and of stealing a firearm from one of those houses.  Investigators say he was nabbed Sunday evening in a wooded area in Digby County and taken into custody uninjured.

 

Canada defeats Russia to improve to 2-0 at women’s worlds

Twitter Photo: @HockeyCanada

Canada had a 5-1 win Sunday over Russia at the women’s world hockey championship.  The host Canadians (2-0) meet Switzerland (0-2) on Tuesday in Pool A before wrapping the preliminary round Thursday against the defending champion U.S. The U.S. (1-0) and Finland (0-1) met in a later Pool A game Sunday. The Czech Republic (2-0) doubled Hungary (0-2) 4-2 in Pool B. (Team Hungary is coached by Lisa Haley who’s originally from Westville, N.S.)  The quarterfinals are Saturday followed by the Aug. 30 semifinals and medal games Aug. 31.  The 2021 women’s championship was scheduled to be held in Nova Scotia in April, but was postponed to May and ultimately cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.  Hockey Canada relocated and rescheduled the 10-country tournament to Calgary in August. (With files from the Canadian Press)