PORT HAWKESBURY: To allow Judge Warren Zimmer to continue his work, the conclusion of the Desmond Fatality Inquiry was extended.
The Desmond Fatality Inquiry, which saw testimony from 69 witnesses over 53 days, spanning the past 32 months, was investigating what caused retired Cpl. Lionel Desmond, who was a former infantryman, to kill his mother, his wife, and his daughter before turning the gun on himself in Upper Big Tracadie on Jan. 3, 2017.
The inquiry began on May 21, 2019 and has faced numerous challenges such as the global COVID-19 pandemic, including long adjournments due to public health restrictions, and a change in venue to the Port Hawkesbury Justice Centre, which changed initial timelines.
The extension announcement from the Department of Justice was made via a media release on Sept. 22. The new date is Dec. 31, though the final report is expected to be completed before then.
As a conclusion to the inquiry, Zimmer will file a written report with the provincial court containing his findings and recommendations, which will not contain any findings of legal responsibility.
A copy of the final report will also be provided to the Minister of Justice and made available to the public on the inquiry website.
ANTIGONISH: A group of concerned town and county residents who oppose the consolidation process between the Town of Antigonish and the Municipality of the County of Antigonish accused the mayor and warden of a bait-and-switch.
The grassroots group Let Antigonish Decide, is also claiming there is a lack of democracy as they were surprised when Mayor Laurie Boucher and Warden Owen McCarron announced a dramatic change to the proposal; a dissolution of the Town of Antigonish.
The group is not explicitly anti-consolidation, however, its members are unified in their belief that such a consequential and irreversible decision should only be made with direct contribution by the 20,000 people who will be affected.
The town hall-style meeting of concerned residents peaked at 101 people during their two-hour long session at St. James United Church Hall on Oct. 5. This was the second of such meetings that were held, the first occurred on May 4.
Of those in attendance to figure out a potential solution to getting their voices heard were town councillors Sean Cameron and Diane Roberts along with municipal councillor Harris McNamara, the same three elected officials who were present at the previous meeting.
McNamara, who represents District 9 within the municipality, submitted a petition to council with 1,582 signatures of people throughout the county who are against the consolidation during the committee of the whole meeting on Oct. 3.
Jack MacPherson, who served on Antigonish Town Council for 16 years, said he was against consolidation and he believes the councillors in both the town and the county are being led by the province.
Cameron indicated he doesn’t believe four members of town council and five members of county council have the right to dictate their future and the future for their children.
PORT HAWKESBURY: While the Nova Scotia Community College (NSCC) announced their enrollment numbers were slightly up on the year, the Strait Area Campus reported the opposite.
In an interview with The Reporter, Vivek Saxena, the principal of NSCC’s Strait Area Campus, advised the enrollment numbers released by NSCC was province-wide, which is approximately a 3.7 per cent increase from last academic year, which saw a total of 10,101 students enrolled at the same point. He said this equates to approximately an 8.3 per cent decrease in students.
One concern the principal highlighted is the housing market in Port Hawkesbury.
To relieve some of the housing needs, NSCC opened a 52-bed housing unit, of which 47 are offered to students, the remaining five are for faculty or staff members.
MULGRAVE: The RCMP investigated a home invasion which sent four people to hospital, and resulted in the arrest of two men.
In a press release issued on Oct. 7, the RCMP said they were continuing their efforts to identify others they believe were involved in the incident in Mulgrave.
On Oct. 1, at approximately 5:45 p.m., Inverness County District RCMP said they responded to a report of a home invasion on Tower Road in Mulgrave. The RCMP said that a group of men forced their way into a home and assaulted four people, before fleeing the area.
The RCMP said all four victims were transported to St. Martha’s Regional Hospital by ambulance for treatment, with two of the victims suffering serious but non-life threatening injuries and two of the victims suffering “minor injuries.”
On Oct. 5, the RCMP said they arrested two men who were held in police custody overnight.
According to the RCMP, Craig Edward Ryan, 51, of Mulgrave and Craig Evan Ryan, 23, of West Bay were charged with: three counts of mischief; two counts of assault; aggravated assault; assault causing bodily harm; and break and enter.
Both men appeared in Port Hawkesbury Provincial Court on Oct. 6 and according to the Nova Scotia Public Prosecution Service were released by the court with conditions.
The RCMP noted that officers are aware that a video of the incident is circulating within the community.
Inverness County District RCMP said officers arrested 23-year-old Riley Hoben of Boylston on Oct. 16. Hoben was held in custody overnight and appeared in Port Hawkesbury Provincial Court on Oct. 17, where he was charged and released on conditions by the court, police noted.
The RCMP said Hoben was charged with: three counts of mischief; two counts of assault; aggravated assault; assault causing bodily harm; and break and enter.
While unable to comment on the motive, the RCMP said it is continuing efforts to identify the fourth suspect.
OTTAWA: Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) confirmed that fishery officers seized 248 lobster traps in Lobster Fishing Area (LFA) 29.
Lauren Sankey, a spokesperson for DFO, wrote The Reporter via email that the seizures took place between Oct. 13 and 15 from the St. Peter’s Bay and Bras d’Or Lake areas because some of the traps were improperly tagged and had unauthorized tags.
In a Facebook post made on Oct. 16, the DFO said that its priority continues to be the implementation of treaty rights that ensures conservation and supports a sustainable and orderly fishery.
Noting its critical role in managing the shared resource, the DFO said it is working with Indigenous communities to implement their moderate livelihood fishing plans within the established season and under a DFO-issued harvest document.
The DFO said in the post that any harvesters who had gear destroyed or tampered with should report those incidents to the RCMP and their local conservation and protection office.
ANTIGONISH: During two separate special council meetings on Oct. 20, Antigonish Town and Municipal Councils narrowly voted in favour of moving forward with consolidation.
Both councils passed a motion requesting the provincial government consolidate the municipality and the 133-year-old town into one municipal unit through special legislation.
The vote in the Town of Antigonish passed 4-3 with councillors Andrew Murray, Mary Farrell, Deputy Mayor Willie Cormier, and Mayor Laurie Boucher voting in favour of the motion. Councillors Sean Cameron, Diane Roberts, and Donnie MacInnis voted against the motion.
The municipality also voted in favour of the motion, passing it 5-3. Warden Owen McCarron, Deputy Warden Hughie Stewart, and councillors Bill MacFarlane, Remi Deveau and Donnie MacDonald voted in favour of the motion.
Councillors Mary MacLellan, John Dunbar, and Gary Mattie voted against the motion, while councillors Shawn Brophy and Harris McNamara, who said he was being forced against his wishes, declared a conflict of interest and abstained from the vote.
Addressing the gallery, that was standing-room only, the mayor advised that the RCMP and their Bylaw Enforcement Officers were present because in advance of the meeting, some members of council received threatening remarks from residents.
With council approving their one-item agenda, councillor Cameron tried to submit a legal opinion to council, but through a motion, council defeated it with Boucher, Cormier, Murray, and Farrell voting against it.
The same legal opinion was also attempted to be submitted to county council by councillor Mattie, however it was also defeated by council with McCarron, Stewart, MacFarlane, Deveau, and MacDonald voting against it.
As for what’s next, a transition committee will be formed once the provincial legislation is passed later this spring, which will hire a CAO and design a new administrative structure for the consolidated municipality.
During the transition phase, current councils will remain and continue to oversee operations for the existing municipal units, and staff will remain in their current positions while the new organizational structure is determined.
The committee, along with current councils and the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board (UARB) will undertake another community engagement phase to identify new electoral boundaries, with the consolidated municipal unit being in operation on April 1, 2025.
This would mean the current members of town and county councils, will have their terms extended by an extra six months, to accommodate the creation of the consolidated municipality.
EVANSTON: On the same day that officials toured the newly renovated Strait-Richmond Hospital, the administration, volunteers, and provincial officials were responding to rumours of more cuts to the facility.
On Oct. 18 at the Riverdale Community Centre, officials with Nova Scotia Health, the Strait Richmond Healthcare Foundation, and Strait-Richmond Hospital hosted a public meeting to discuss the future of the Evanston-based facility.
This took place after corporate donors and foundation board members were given a tour of the renovated facility and the ribbon was cut for the new Ruth Shannon Ambulatory Care Unit.
Glen Cox, Executive Director for Community and Rural Health in Nova Scotia Health’s Eastern Zone, took time to “address any rumours about the hospital’s status.”
Currently, there is one emergency department physician who works eight hours at a time and the department is open based on his availability, Cox said, noting the hope is that two family physicians in the Practice Readiness Assessment Program (PRAP) will be able to provide emergency coverage once they their emergency department competency is completed, “which should be completed fairly soon.”
Cox said 10 in-patient beds are used for medically stable patients awaiting transfer to other facilities, as well as for palliative care patients.
Recruitment is underway for additional staff, Cox stressed. He said one full-time advanced care pharmacist has been hired to work at the hospital, a clinical nurse lead is in the process of being hired, Continuing Care Assistants have been added to the staff, there is increased security, and a Registered Nurse (RN) and a Licenced Practical Nurse (LPN) are expected to start in the spring of 2023.
Noting they are engaging in the ongoing recruitment of emergency department physicians, Cox said they are recruiting RNs and LPNs, using travel nurses to cover vacancies, and are reviewing requests from allied health professionals who want to work in the facility.
Cox said they are undergoing an ongoing evaluation of the temporary model of care, “to get back to where we were in the past with an in-patient model that works.”