Yarmouth County wildfire now covers 3,100 hectares
A view of the wildfire in Yarmouth County on May 10, 2022. (Via Depart of Natural Resources and Renewables on Twitter)
The wildfire near Horseshoe Lake, Yarmouth County, is now estimated to cover about 3,100 hectares. While the fire continues to spread, it is remote and not expected to reach homes or communities. Winds and low humidity are driving the spread of the fire. Smoke has prompted air quality alerts for the Yarmouth area. An incident command post is being established to co-ordinate on-scene management. Fire crews have been fighting the wildfire since Monday, and the current response includes two helicopters, 40 provincial fire crew members and one CL-415 water bomber from Newfoundland and Labrador. Conditions across the province are very dry. Nova Scotians should check burn restrictions online or call the toll-free phone line at 1-855-564-2876 (BURN) before starting a fire.
Gas increased 10.6 cents per litre overnight in New Brunswick to push the price in that province over the 2 dollar mark – as it’s now 202.4 cents per litre. Diesel is down nine-tenths of a cent to 260.1 cents per litre. Nova Scotia sets its fuel prices at midnight tonight.
N.S. police chief felt RCMP ‘nudged’ not to reveal early warning of killer’s danger
Truro Police Chief David MacNeil fields questions at a news conference in Truro, N.S. on Monday, Dec. 31, 2007. MacNeil told an inquiry investigator last year he felt “nudged” by the RCMP not to release a report the gunman posed a risk years before his 2020 rampage. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan
The chief of Truro’s police force told an inquiry investigator he felt “nudged” by the RCMP not to release a report the gunman posed a risk years before his 2020 rampage. In an interview conducted last year, David MacNeil says after the shooting rampage two senior Mounties arranged a call to discuss whether the chief would publicly disclose a 2011 warning about the gunman. MacNeil says the senior officers seemed concerned about the bulletin sent nine years before the rampage, warning police officers that the man owned restricted weapons and wanted to “kill a cop.” MacNeil says the superintendents asked him if the document would “potentially cause some problems,” and he responded he was releasing the document and it didn’t pose a problem for his force.
N.S. to borrow $1.8 billion to fund previously announced long-term care projects
Nova Scotia will borrow up to 1.8 billion dollars over the next few years to cover the costs of previously announced long term care projects. The province announced its plan to use loans to move on renovating or building 24 long term care homes in a statement yesterday. Nova Scotia announced in late February that it plans to create or improve more than two-thousand-eight-hundred long term care beds across the province over the next few years. As of April 20th, the province says there were just under two-thousand Nova Scotians waiting for a long term care spot and nearly three-hundred of those people are waiting in hospital.
The Nova Scotia government is exempting 11 activities on small farming operations from requiring an industrial approval for wastewater. The activities will now be regulated through standard wastewater approval requirements. The activities include construction, operation and reclamation involving meat, vegetable and fruit processing plants, distilleries or wineries, breweries that produce more than 150-thousand litres of beverages per year, fish meal plants and food additive plants. Environment Minister Tim Halman says the change reduces red tape while ensuring that environmental standards are met.
The Conservative leadership candidates took part in an English debate last night. Scott Aitchison says the party needs to welcome more people, but they won’t do it with angry rhetoric. Roman Baber says he wants to defend Canada’s democracy, while Leslyn Lewis says she will guard the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Patrick Brown, mayor of Brampton, Ontario, appeared to take aim at his rival Pierre Poilievre. Jean Charest took Poilievre to task for wanting to “tear down” institutions. Meanwhile, Poilievre says he wants to put Canadians back in control of their lives by reducing the cost of living. The candidates will debate in French on May 25th in Laval, Quebec.
One of three federally-chartered flights bringing Ukrainian refugees to Canada will land in Halifax next month. Federal Immigration Minister Sean Fraser says the flight will depart from Poland on June 2nd — following earlier flights to Winnipeg and Montreal. Seats on the flights will be available on a first-come, first-served basis to some of the 90-thousand Ukrainians approved for emergency travel to Canada after Russia invaded their homeland. Estimates indicate each flight will be carrying about 300 people.
(The Canadian Press)
