The provincial government is cutting funds from mental health programs aimed at dealing with fallout from the mass shooting in 2020 that claimed the lives of 22 victims.

The cuts are part of a 130-million-dollar reduction in government grants to non-profit and community groups that was in the provincial budget tabled Monday.

Premier Tim Houston’s government is cutting a total of 110-thousand dollars from two mass shooting-related programs, including trauma-informed care.

Both programs stem from recommendations drafted by the public inquiry that investigated the 2020 shootings.

 

 

The Nova Scotia government is closing nearly half of its provincial museum sites, saying the system is too complex and difficult to maintain.  The Department of Communities, Culture, Tourism and Heritage says several factors including attendance and changing visitor expectations were considered in its decision to close 12 of 28 sites.  It says attendance has been low at the now-closed museums with some only drawing around one-thousand visitors a year.   That’s about three per cent of total attendance across the Nova Scotia museum system.  The closed museums include McCulloch House in Pictou, and Sutherland Steam Mill in Denmark.

 

 

A student group is calling on Nova Scotia post-secondary students to stage a weeklong strike to protest provincial budget cuts and demand affordable tuition.  The Canadian Federation of Students says the newly released budget could result in substantial program and job losses at post-secondary institutions that students worry will weaken university autonomy.  It is calling for a weeklong strike and for post-secondary institutions to end their investment in unethical and unsustainable enterprises.  The organization represents five student unions in Nova Scotia.

 

 

A new bill in Nova Scotia would increase fines and enforcement powers for illegal cannabis.  Justice Minister Scott Armstrong says he introduced the legislation in an effort strengthen cannabis enforcement amid the government’s crackdown on illegal dispensaries across the province. It will allow peace officers like constables and conservation officers to enforce cannabis rules alongside police.  It also includes a new offence for landlords who knowingly allow unregulated cannabis dispensaries to operate on their property.

 

 

In sports, Maritime Junior Hockey League action tonight has the Crushers hosting the Valley Wildcats at 7:00pm.