RCMP looking for driver following hit and run in Pictou
RCMP are looking for the driver of a truck involved in a hit and run in a parking lot on Sunset Street in Pictou. Police say a red Ford F150 backed out of a parking spot around 5:15 p.m. on March 5th and into a woman and child, knocking them both down, before leaving the scene. The woman who was hit sustained minor injuries and the child was uninjured. An older woman who was driving the truck was wearing a red and white coat and it is believed that she walks with a noticeable limp. Police are asking that anyone who recognizes the driver or the red Ford F150 to contact RCMP.
Alleged head of extremist group one of two charged after anti-mask protests in N.S.
A police investigation of anti-mask protests outside the home of Nova Scotia’s chief medical officer has led to charges of criminal harassment against two people, including a Pictou man described as a leader of a far-right extremist group. The RCMP issued a statement Wednesday confirming that 36-year-old Jeremy Mitchell MacKenzie — who reportedly heads the group Diagolon — and 31-year-old Morgan May Guptill of Cole Harbour have also been charged with intimidation of a health professional, mischief and making harassing phone calls. The Mounties say there were protests Sunday, Monday and Tuesday outside a home on the street where Dr. Robert Strang lives in the Fall River area, east of Halifax. Published reports showed a handful of people with placards gathering on the street to oppose COVID-19 health protection measures. Videos that MacKenzie posted online show him pointing at Strang’s home and hurling insults. Strang publicly complained about the protests after receiving a number of crank calls in the early morning hours. The RCMP said MacKenzie and Guptill were arrested Tuesday night by Halifax Regional Police in Dartmouth. MacKenzie has had a previous run-in with the law. He is scheduled to appear in court in May after police said a search turned up five restricted firearms, prohibited magazines, body armour and ammunition inside his residence in Pictou. MacKenzie and Guptill appeared briefly by video in Dartmouth provincial court on Wednesday afternoon, and they remain in custody until their next appearance Friday. (The Canadian Press)
Crown appeals 2021 sentencing of Trenton man
The Crown is appealing the 2021 sentencing of Shawn Wade Hynes of Trenton – the proceedings are scheduled for today. Hynes was found guilty of assault with a weapon and criminal negligence causing bodily harm when he shot his co-worker, Nhlanhla Dlamini in the back with a nail gun while on a worksite in Abercrombie in 2019. Last April, Judge Del Atwood sentenced Hynes to an 18-month conditional sentence, which included a period of house arrest, followed by 12 months probation. Hynes was also sentenced to complete 120 hours of community service. The Crown is appealing the sentence on several grounds, including that the trial judge erred in law in his assessment of the appropriateness of a conditional sentence for this type of offence. (With files and photo from SaltWire News)
Nova Scotia legislature back to business with its spring sitting
Photo credit: nslegislature.ca
The Nova Scotia legislature is set to open for its spring sitting later today. The sitting will be highlighted by the tabling of the Progressive Conservative government’s first budget. Finance Minister Allan MacMaster says the budget will be tabled next Tuesday. The province’s largest ever capital budget was released by MacMaster on Wednesday, and has over $1.5 billion in spending for hospitals, schools and roads in the 2022-23 fiscal year.
Nova Scotia releases largest ever capital budget at over $1.5 billion
The province’s Progressive Conservative government is proposing Nova Scotia’s largest ever capital budget, with over $1.5 billion in spending for hospitals, schools and roads in the 2022-23 fiscal year. Released by Finance Minister Allan MacMaster on Wednesday, the building plan tops the $1-billion mark for the third consecutive year. The plan, which is subject to the legislature’s adoption of the yet-to-be-tabled 2022-23 provincial budget, is highlighted by $464.6 million for ongoing hospital redevelopment projects in Halifax and Sydney. There is an additional $122.6 million for the construction and repair of hospitals and other medical facilities in Pugwash, Bridgewater and Yarmouth. The budget includes $175.3 million to build and renovate 15 schools, including Springhill Elementary, which is set to open for the 2023-24 school year. $80.9 million is earmarked to continue work at Nova Scotia Community College’s Marconi campus in Sydney and to begin building new residences at two of the college’s campuses in Dartmouth and one in Pictou. There is also $507.8 million for highway construction and improvements that was previously announced in January as part of the government’s five-year highway plan. (The Canadian Press)
Consultation on African Nova Scotia Justice Plan to begin in May
The provincial government is preparing to launch extensive public consultation in the development of an African Nova Scotian justice plan. The 16 in-person sessions will happen across the province from May 3 to June 28. The province says the plan will help address barriers to justice faced by African Nova Scotians, and is an important step in addressing systemic racism in the justice system. Locally there is a session planned for May 17th in New Glasgow at the Ward 1 Community Centre, 5:30-7:30 p.m. Government says it has partnered with the African Nova Scotia Decade for People of African Descent Coalition and the Association of Black Social Workers on the consultation. An online survey will also launch in May and be available through the consultation phase. Input from the public engagement sessions will be captured in a report that will be shared with communities for feedback as part of a second phase of consultation scheduled for later this year.
Community consultation sessions currently scheduled:
— May 3 – Truro: Truro Library community room, 6 to 8 p.m.
— May 5 – Amherst: AME Church Fellowship Hall, 6 to 8 p.m.
— May 13 – Guysborough: Chedabucto Lifestyle Complex, 6 to 8 p.m.
— May 14 – Antigonish: St. Francis Xavier University community conference room (youth session), 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
— May 17 – New Glasgow: Ward 1 Community Centre, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
— May 21 – Shelburne: Black Loyalist Centre (adult session), 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
— May 27 – Yarmouth: Greenville Community Centre, 6 to 8 p.m.
— May 28 – Digby: Digby Legion (adult session), 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
— June 3 – Whitney Pier: Menelik Hall, 6 to 8 p.m.
— June 4 – Whitney Pier: Boys and Girls Club (youth session), 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
— June 7 – Kentville: Valley African Nova Scotian Development Association (VANSDA) office, 6 to 8 p.m.
— June 11 – Halifax: Halifax North Memorial Public Library (youth session), 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
— June 14 – Beechville: Beechville Baptist Church, 6 to 8 p.m.
— June 18 – Preston Township/Dartmouth: Black Cultural Centre (adult session), 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
— June 22 — Halifax: St. Andrew’s Community Centre (session about non-indigenous Nova Scotians of African descent community members; open to all ages), 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
— June 28 – Hammonds Plains: Emmanuel Baptist Church, 6 to 8 p.m.
Fuel prices down in N.B.
There was a drop in the price at the pumps overnight in New Brunswick. Gas is down 7.7 cents per litre and diesel dropped 12.4 cents today after the New Brunswick Energy and Utilities Board used the interrupter clause to increase it 8.4 cents yesterday. Nova Scotia sets its prices at midnight tonight.
