Nova Scotia announces civil servants must be fully vaccinated
Photo credit: Communications Nova Scotia
All 11,000 direct employees of the provincial government will be required to be fully vaccinated by November 30. The announcement follows the expansion of the provincial vaccine mandate thIs past Monday to include some employees in the departments of Community Services, Seniors and Long-Term Care, Justice and Education and Early Childhood Development. Provincial government employees who are not fully vaccinated by November 30 will face employment consequences including unpaid administrative leave unless they have received an employer-approved exemption.
On Wednesday, Nova Scotia reported one death related to COVID-19 — a woman in her 70s in Central Zone. Nova Scotia is also reporting 25 new cases of COVID-19 and 18 recoveries. As of today, Nova Scotia has 254 active cases of COVID-19. Of those, 15 people are in hospital, including five in ICU.
Nova Scotia Health’s COVID-19 Vaccine Outreach will be offering drop-in clinics in Scotsburn and Tatamagouche next week. The clinics will be open to drop-ins for the Pfizer vaccine to anyone age 12+ for their first or second dose. They’re being held at: Scotsburn Fire Hall (Pfizer), 4179 Scotsburn Rd., Scotsburn on Wednesday, Oct. 13 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Tatamagouche Fire Hall (Pfizer), 202 Main St., Tatamagouche on Thursday, Oct. 14 from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. Drop-ins only.
Canada makes vaccines mandatory for public servants, air and rail workers, travellers
Photo credit: The Canadian Press
Canada’s new mandatory vaccine policy has been unveiled and requires all core federal public service, aviation and rail employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by October 29th or they will be put on unpaid administrative leave. The policy will affect 267-thousand public-service and R-C-M-P workers, and will apply even to those who work from home and abroad. Unvaxxed travellers have a grace period through November during which they may instead show a negative molecular COVID test before they can board a plane, train or cruise ship. (With files from the Canadian Press)
RCMP seize firearms at business in Lower Truro
Colchester County District RCMP have arrested a man following a firearms investigation in Lower Truro. On Monday, police responded to a firearms complaint involving a number of improperly stored firearms at an area business. Police found and seized a number of firearms that were unsafely stored. The owner of the firearms, a 49-year-old Truro man, was not there when police arrived at the business but was located in a vehicle a short time later and arrested. Police located and seized a handgun during a search of the vehicle. The man has been released from custody on conditions and will be facing a charge of Unsafe Storage of a Firearm.
Province’s top court finds systemic discrimination of people with disabilities
Nova Scotia’s highest court has ruled there is systemic discrimination by the provincial government against people with disabilities seeking services. The Court of Appeal decision comes as the result of an appeal of a human rights decision that found three people with intellectual disabilities had been discriminated against by being kept in a Halifax psychiatric hospital. The same decision also concluded that there wasn’t wider discrimination in how housing and supports were provided by the state to people with disabilities. (With files from the Canadian Press)
Jump at the pumps in N.B.
Fuel prices in New Brunswick are up ahead of the Thanksgiving weekend. Regular self-serve jumped 4.2 cents a litre overnight. Diesel increased 6.5 cents per litre. Nova Scotia sets its fuel prices at midnight tonight.
Fundraising campaign launched this week for Ship Hector
Facebook photo: Central Nova MP Sean Fraser is one of the ambassadors for the campaign
A fundraising campaign has been launched in the efforts to restore the Ship Hector. Dave Sobey and John Oliver will co-chair the Charting Our Course fundraising campaign council. The campaign is aimed at raising $2.5 million toward restoring the ship. There is also federal and provincial support being proposed for improvements to the interpretative centre.
Help make trick-or-treating accessible for children of all abilities this Halloween
Facebook photo: Town of New Glasgow
The town of New Glasgow has free Accessible Trick or Treating signs available for pick up at Town Hall from 8:30am until 4:30pm Monday to Friday until October 29 OR at the New Glasgow Farmers Market on Saturdays from 9:00am until 1:00pm. Some tips on how you can help make Halloween more accessible in your neighborhood include creating a trick-or-treating station at end of your driveway; make sure the path to your trick-or-treating area is clear and well lit; and refrain from the use of strobe lights and high-pitched sudden loud noises. For more information visit: www.treataccessibly.com
Sports note:
Pictou County Weeks Junior A Crushers have a home game tonight vs Valley Wildcats at the Wellness Centre. Puck drop at 7:00 pm.
