The province has announced more than $12 million in additional support for Nova Scotia businesses hit hard by the pandemic and facing province-wide restrictions as a result of a third wave. Three programs – one new program and two previously announced -aim to help small business owners such as restaurants, spas, hotels, gyms and hair salons. Businesses will be supported through rebates, with an immediate infusion of cash to hire staff, pay down debt or order supplies. Fees for businesses will also be deferred to help owners and operators during this period. “We are moving to help because we recognize these necessary additional public health protocols are difficult for many businesses,” said Inclusive Economic Growth Minister Labi Kousoulis. “This most recent shutdown is important to stopping the spread of the virus so our businesses can reopen safely as quickly as possible.” More information can be found at https://novascotia.ca/coronavirus/support/#support-for-business Premier Iain Rankin and Dr. Robert Strang will provide an update today, May 4, at 3 p.m.
Nova Scotia’s premier blasts ‘selfish few’ ignoring COVID-19 gathering limits
Nova Scotia’s premier blasted what he called the “selfish few” who aren’t following COVID-19 restrictions, saying they are putting themselves and others at risk during the province’s current outbreak. Iain Rankin expressed his frustration during a media briefing Monday, noting that police in the Halifax area had issued 37 fines over the weekend for those who exceeded gathering limits, despite a provincewide lockdown. Nova Scotia reported 146 new cases of COVID-19 Monday, 130 cases in Central Zone, nine in Eastern Zone, four in Northern Zone and three in Western Zone. The province now has 943 active reported cases, with 42 people in hospital and eight in intensive care. Rankin warned about the seriousness of the situation, saying that most cases identified in Nova Scotia recently are the B.1.1.7 variant first identified in the United Kingdom.
Meanwhile, work continued at the provincial laboratory Monday to clear thousands of unprocessed COVID-19 tests. The province reported a backlog of 45,000 tests on Friday, citing a surge in the number of people turning out to be tested because of a rapid rise in virus cases over the last two weeks. Dr. Robert Strang, chief medical officer of health, said “substantive progress” was made over the weekend, and the lab was on track to return to the usual 48-hour turnaround time for results by today (Tuesday). (The Canadian Press)
Nova Scotia Health Public Health is advising of potential exposure to COVID-19 at various locations across the province and one Air Canada flight. All potential exposure notifications are listed here: http://www.nshealth.ca/covid-exposures
What’s likely the first detailed survey on the impact of COVID-19 on African Nova Scotia owned businesses, reveals that the impact has been significant. Many African Nova Scotia owned businesses have experienced revenue losses, closures, lay-offs, and shrinkage in operations. The survey also found that very few of the businesses that responded were able to access the financial assistance from the various programs provided by the federal government and others, for reasons that include ineligibility because they were not among those businesses mandated to close.
The National Advisory Committee on Immunization says the Johnson & Johnson vaccine should be limited to people over the age of 30 who don’t want to wait for Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna. The advice is almost identical to that issued for the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine last month and comes as both are suspected of causing a new and very rare blood clotting syndrome. No J&J doses have been injected in Canada thus far, but in the U.S. they have documented 17 cases of the blood-clotting disorder in about eight million doses given. Canada’s first 300,000 doses of J&J are on hold at a Toronto-area warehouse pending investigation to ensure they are safe after discovering they were partly made at an American facility cited for safety and quality-control violations. (The Canadian Press)
Online Book of Condolences for former Premier Donald Cameron now available
The province says there is now an online book of condolences for former premier Donald Cameron on the government’s website. Mr. Cameron passed away on Monday at the age of 74. He was first elected to the Nova Scotia Legislature 1974 as MLA for Pictou East and he served as premier from February 1991 to May 1993. Those who wish to offer their condolences to the family may also send a private message by email to condolences@novascotia.ca
Pictou County man charged with multiple charges resulting from a sexual assault investigation
New Glasgow Regional Police have charged a 24-year-old Pictou County man with Sexual Assault, Assault, Breech of a Release Order, Uttering Threats and Assault Causing Bodily Harm. The charges are in regards to an incident that occurred outside a New Glasgow home on Sunday night. After investigation, the suspect was arrested on Monday morning and was remanded into custody and is scheduled to appear in Pictou Provincial Court today. The New Glasgow Regional Police Major Crime Unit is continuing to investigate.
Spring lobster season in parts of all three Maritime provinces open today
Photo taken May 4th, 2021 by Amy Fraser from the Glass Glider’93 out of Skinners Cove
Spring lobster season in parts of all three Maritime provinces opened today. The decision came after the Lobster Advisory Committee met with D-F-O Sunday morning. The seasons for L-F-A 23 in northeastern New Brunswick, L-F-A 24 in northern P-E-I and L-F-A 26-A in southeastern P-E-I and northern Nova Scotia were originally scheduled to start April 30th, but were delayed due to poor weather. The seasons generally run until the end of June.
Work has begun on Water Street in downtown Pictou this week
Facebook photo shared by Mrs. MacGregor’s Treats & Shivery Bites
The Town has begun a replacement plan for underground service pipes along a portion of Water Street that date back to 1901. Work is expected to take place over the next couple of months, and to plan for detours which will be routed as the work progresses. The town says this is an exciting step forward to upgrade services and a refresh of streets and sidewalks to create a more welcoming experience for both auto traffic and pedestrians.
Peace by Chocolate film to debut at NYC’s Tribeca Film Festival this June
Ayham Abou Ammar (left) portrays Tareq Hadhad in the film, while the late Hatem Ali (right) portray’s Tareq’s father, Assam. (ChicArt Public Relations)
The movie based on the real-life story of the family who fled Syria and founded a chocolate company in Nova Scotia will make its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City. In a CBC interview, Tareq Hadhad, founder of Peace By Chocolate says it’s exciting and that he’s been been dreaming about the movie since it was filmed. No one in Tareq’s family has seen the finished film yet, though they were involved in consultations throughout the pre-production process, which started in 2017. The Tribeca Film Festival kicks off on June 9 in New York City. The film titled “Peace By Chocolate” is expected to open this fall. (With files from CBC)
Canada’s biggest civil service union says it is considering legal action against Canada Revenue Agency
File photo of CRA headquarters in Ottawa PHOTO BY CHRIS ROUSSAKIS /CHRIS ROUSSAKIS/QMI Agency
Canada’s biggest civil service union says it is considering taking legal action against the Canada Revenue Agency. This follows a CRA ruling that damages paid to federal employees in connection with the troubled Phoenix pay system are taxable. The Public Service Alliance of Canada says it has received notice that the agency won’t review the taxability of the payments. They were part of a contract settlement dealing with the financial, mental and emotional harm caused to government employees who were overpaid, underpaid or not paid at all through the Phoenix system. Payments of up to 25-hundred-dollars each were issued in March to civil servants affected by the damages agreement, minus applicable income taxes and other deductions. In a letter sent to the union, dated April 27th, the tax agency turned down the union’s request to review the taxation issue. The C-R-A said in the letter, the government agency responsible for paying civil servants and the union did not provide the agreed-upon information needed to conduct a review. The review was contingent on both the union and Treasury Board Secretariat providing a joint statement, but CRA says none was provided. (The Canadian Press)
