WESTVILLE POLICE AND RCMP CHARGE 24-YEAR-OLD MAN WITH SEXUAL ASSAULT
Westville Police have charged a man with a list of charges, including sexual assault after a local incident yesterday. (Tuesday, Feb 16th) He’s being processed through the court system after an initial appearance today. Westville Police Chief Howie Dunbar says his officers had some help from Pictou County RCMP in answering a call about a woman in distress at a home in Westville yesterday. The 24-year-old suspect has been charged with sexual assault, overcoming resistance, forcible confinement, uttering threats and assault.
JIM MCKENNA VYING FOR SEAT IN PICTOU CENTRE
Jim McKenna has announced that he is looking to become the Liberal Candidate in Pictou Centre in the next provincial election.
McKenna has a long history of community service, currently on the boards of the Pictou County Fuel Fund, the Pictou Academy Educational Foundation, and Pictou County Safe Harbour. Last month, the Pictou County Chamber of Commerce recognized McKenna for his
leadership in starting the Facebook Page “Helping During Coronavirus – Pictou County.” McKenna says he has no plans to stop serving Pictou County but wants to do it in an official capacity, as the Pictou Centre MLA replacing Pat Dunn.
“My background as an educator and a Social Worker, and my time spent serving community organizations has made me acutely aware of the issues affecting residents of Pictou County. Issues like health care, including mental health care, services to seniors, and affordable housing must be addressed. I believe that the best way to respond to these problems is by applying my professional background, my community service, and my lived experience in Pictou Centre to government. Jim recently retired from the Nova Scotia Community College – Pictou Campus after 30 years as an instructor. (Press Release Photo)
INSIDERS SAY NOVA SCOTIAN LIVES ARE AT RISK BECAUSE OF MISMANAGEMENT, TORIES DEMAND EMERGENCY MEETING
A campaign by the paramedics’ union and others is exposing shocking gaps in ambulance service in every corner of our province, including a recent spate of cases in Pictou and Colchester counties. Now, the PC opposition is calling for an immediate emergency meeting of the Standing Committee on Health to address the issue.
Paramedics have been sounding the alarm for what they call #CodeCritical. Code Critical describes a situation of low or no ambulance coverage in a region. This leads to an increase in waiting times for paramedics to arrive at the scene. In the last five days, there have been at least 40 code critical alerts issued by the paramedic union.
Colton LeBlanc is the Tory Critic for Pre-hospital Care. He says it’s the official opposition’s duty to find solutions aimed at saving Nova Scotian lives.
Brie MacIsaac speaks for the paramedics’ union. She tells our newsroom the situation stems from her members waiting long periods for hospital off-loads and having to travel longer distances because of frequent closures in smaller hospitals.
The governing Liberals, who have kept the 2019 Fitch report on the province’s ambulance system secret, have the ability to vote down this request for an emergency meeting, but Colton is suggesting that would be foolhardy.
MEANWHILE…..Firefighters should be able to work as medical first responders during the pandemic if they get the right personal protective equipment. That’s what the head of the Fire Service Association of Nova Scotia is saying.
Daniel Gaudet says the case of April George is a good example. She was a Colchester County woman who died after collapsing last week at her home in Bass River, which was within sight of the fire hall. It took 80 minutes for help to arrive after her husband called 911, despite a fire hall sitting just seconds away. A similar situation is being reported by a family in River John. Fire fighters in Thorburn are being outfitted for the job during the pandemic, but people working in the system say it’s not an immediate fix, and we can’t let these kinds of needless deaths happen again.
(Stingray News, with files from CBC)
Dr. Robert Strang says the province plans to continue with its conservative approach to vaccinating people against COVID-19. The province has only used about 60 per cent of its available vaccine allotment because it has been holding back a portion for second doses. Dr. Strang says Nova Scotia’s low case numbers have made that approach possible, adding that the strategy likely won’t change unless there is a dramatic rise in cases or clear evidence one injection provides sufficient immunity. Strang says the province expects to receive 10,530 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine this week and says half will be reserved for second doses. He says officials have administered a total of 23,140 doses of COVID-19 vaccine, with 8,225 people having received their required second dose. (Canadian Press story, NS Gov’t Photo)
Public Health is reporting three new travel-related cases of COVID-19 in Nova Scotia.
One case is in the Western Zone and two are in the Central Zone. It means there are 12 active cases of COVID-19 in Nova Scotia, including one person receiving treatment in ICU.
A Nova Scotia Supreme Court judge has ordered the province to disclose how much it pays in management fees to a heavily subsidized private ferry operator.
The Opposition P-C’s went to court asking for the fee paid to Bay Ferries for operating the ferry between Yarmouth and Maine to be made public.
Justice Richard Coughlan’s written decision says he finds no evidence that disclosing the fee would harm Bay Ferries’ competitive position in the ferry industry or in its dealings with the province.
Coughlan also says there is no provision in the funding deal where the province promises to keep the management fee confidential.
Both the province and Bay Ferries can appeal the decision, so the judge says the information will remain sealed for a period of 30 days.
An inquiry investigating why a former Canadian soldier killed his family and himself in 2017 has heard excerpts from a letter he wrote in 2015 describing in detail his challenges with mental illness.
The letter by Lionel Desmond was read aloud in the hearing room yesterday by his younger sister Cassandra, who helped lead a campaign to establish the provincial inquiry.
At the time the letter was written, the Afghanistan war veteran had just been medically released from the military, having been diagnosed with severe PTSD.
In July of 2015, Desmond submitted a handwritten letter asking Ottawa for disability benefits from Veterans Affairs, saying the rehabilitation program he took part in before leaving the military was of no use.
What Nova Scotians have been buying at NSLC outlets is being influenced by the pandemic. The NSLC’s financials ending December 27th show evidence of that. Sales continued to reflect changes in customers’ pandemic buying patterns. Sales of booze in the final quarter of 2020 were more than 11 per cent higher, and there was an almost 20 per cent increase in the average basket size compared to the same time-frame in 2019. The numbers show that growth was driven by customers stocking up from private wine and speciality stores, agency stores and NSLC stores due to pandemic restrictions at bars, pubs and restaurants.
There was also a 27.5 per cent increase in cannabis sales. Nova Scotia spirit sales grew by more than 32 per cent, with wines grown and bottled in this province seeing a sales increase of almost 23 per cent. Beer sales grew by almost 21 per cent. There was a 14.3 per cent increase in earnings at the NSLC during last year’s final quarter, to $74.9 million.
