A crash in Yarmouth sent one person to hospital.
Town RCMP say around 2 p.m. Tuesday, a vehicle and a motorcycle collided near the intersection of Starrs and Hardscratch road.
One person was transported to hospital by EHS, no word on the severity of injuries.
RCMP say both vehicles had to be towed from the scene.
A lot more paving will be done this year in the Town of Yarmouth.
Council approved $1.6 million in their $7.1 million capital budget for street paving, that includes provincial grants.
Mayor Pam Mood says that’s up from $400,000 last year.
“It doesn’t mean all the roads will get paved, because it can take up to $4 million to pave one street once you dig up all the infrastructure. This of course is dependent on this grant,” said Mood.
The budget also includes $3 million toward the Mariners Centre expansion and $1.6 million for the wastewater treatment plant.
The Mariners Centre expansion amount represents the rest of the town’s portion of the $10 million shared commitment toward the project between the Town of Yarmouth, Municipality of the District of Yarmouth, and the Municipality of Argyle.
The expansion building, called the ‘Credit Union RecPlex,’ is scheduled to open this fall. It features a swimming pool, leisure pool, fitness centre and a walking track.
There’s also close to one million dollars for two new fire trucks for the Yarmouth Fire Department, expected to be delivered in the fall of 2027.
The trucks will replace a tanker, a rescue unit, and two engines, they cost a total of $3.5 million.
This budget also includes $160,000 for work on ferry dock pontoons at the Yarmouth International Ferry Terminal.
And, $100,000 for future upgrades at the Yarmouth Curling Club.
Mayor Mood says it’s a good budget, and they’re looking forward to moving ahead with it.
A long-awaited milestone in Barrington.
Construction of the new recreation centre is essentially complete, according to the municipality.
Delays piled up last fall and through the winter, but officials say they’ll be announcing an opening date in the coming weeks.
They still have to do sprinker and electrical system inspections.
Staff might be able to move into the building sometime this week, the municipality said.
The $8.9 million centre is an add-on to the arena on Sherose Island, construction began nearly two years ago.
It features multipurpose rooms, a fitness centre and walking track.
The municipality thanked the community for their patience, acknowledging the long road to get to this point.
A Yarmouth man who was the subject of an emergency alert is facing 16 charges.
The 30-year-old was arrested Friday evening after Yarmouth Town RCMP issued an alert about an armed and dangerous man, and asked residents to shelter in place.
RCMP say there was a fight between two people in the late afternoon at the intersection of William and Forest streets.
When police attended, they learned one of the men had a firearm, and the alert was then issued.
Investigators identified the suspect, then arrested him at a local residence and found a shotgun that matched a description.
The charges include possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose. failing to comply with a release order and a probation order.
He’s still in custody pending future court appearances.
Nova Scotia long-term care workers at 24 nursing homes are on strike after years of failed negotiations with the province.
Hundreds of care workers walked off the job this morning, following rallies across the province last week. CUPE President Alan Linkletter says fair wages and staffing shortages are core issues.
“In this day and age, the package that was offered, it’s not acceptable,” Linkletter explains. “It doesn’t provide a living wage for the people of Nova Scotia, and we’d hope they do better. So, let’s hope in the next couple days that they do.”
Linkletter adds that chronic understaffing demands action.
“The fact that the sector is so short-staffed. We may create lots of new beds, but we have to have the workers to fill it, and recruitment and retention is a big issue, and it needs to be addressed, and this is the way we do it.”
Union reps say more care homes are expected to join soon, while Minister Barb Adams calls the offer fair—accepted in acute care and including equal wages. Adams says she’s sad it has come to this, encourages CUPE to inform members and vote, and confirms essential services continue for seniors during the strike.
Meanwhile, workers from a pair of nursing homes in Yarmouth began the strike in the rain Monday morning.
LPN Marla Nickerson was outside the Villa St. Joseph-du-Lac in Dayton.
She says it’s unfortunate it’s come to this.
“We have people inside that facility that need us. That’s where we want to be. But it comes to a point where we have to stand up.”
Nickerson says support staff would be left behind with the current proposal from the government.
At ‘The Meadows’ in Yarmouth, CUPE lead Greg Williams says it’s shameful on the Houston government.
“We have managers in the facilities now assisting with daily operations for the residents. It’s not a good situation for residents or workers.”
Williams says they’ll be on strike until they get a fair deal.
He’s calling on the province to step up and get back to the table with CUPE.
Meanwhile, the province pleaded with CUPE to let members vote on the deal before the strike.
Barb Adams, the Minister of Seniors, wrote an op-ed on Sunday, pleading for union leaders to let members vote on the offer.
She says other long-term care unions accepted the same deal.
The Congres Mondial Acadien brought in $16 million to our region.
The event in summer 2024 saw 12,000 people take part in Yarmouth, Argyle and Clare, 53 percent were from outside the area.
The numbers were presented in Tusket Saturday by the province’s French economic development council (CDENE)
The council’s Andre LeBlanc says it was a big success.
“It brought together key players to share ideas, create partnerships, and inspire action for the future. This is our Acadian economy, and this is our future,” said LeBlanc.
The report also said 93 percent of participants were satisfied with how the Congres was run.
They also held a panel discussion that focused on tourism, Acadian culture, music and business impacts.
Another presentation is happening this Saturday, April 18 at the Clare Veterans Centre.
*with files from Candice Phibbs
Important discussions will happen in Yarmouth later this month.
About 150 mayors, wardens and councillors are expected for the Nova Scotia Federation of Municipalities spring conference.
It’s happening at the Rodd Grand Hotel April 29 to May 1.
Neil MacKenzie with Yarmouth and Acadian Shores says it will bring lots of eyes on the region.
“It’s a good thing to bring to the community. It puts our destination and issues important to us at the forefront, and gets us time with these important folks,” said MacKenzie.
He says they try to position events like this in tourism shoulder seasons.
“We really try to position conferences and business events during these times in order to provide extra benefit to our operators and businesses.”
The ‘CAT’ ferry season is launching in mid-May.
MacKenzie says they’re also making a presentation on Yarmouth’s dark skies tourism opportunities.
When nature calls, stay out of sight in the Town of Yarmouth.
Council updated its public places by-law to add a ban on urinating and defecating in a public place.
Mayor Pam Mood says it’s not because of any particular incidents.
“It’s not happening all the time, but we have gotten some reports. The RCMP have to have something to go by if they’re going to write tickets for these incidents. It was simply an add to the by-law, that’s all this was,” said Mayor Mood.
She says they did a scan of other jurisdictions.
“To see what other towns and cities in the province have in their books, they have this. We are just adding a few words to say that you can’t do this.”
The Mayor posted the information on social media.
Mood says she posted it in jest, because she can’t understand why they have to tell people this, but says apparently there are reasons.
Fuel prices are going down at midnight.
Regular gas is dropping nearly seven cents a litre, and diesel will fall by 14.5 cents, according to sources.
The province’s energy board invoked their interrupter clause.
It’s due to market shifts in the price of fuel.
Provincewide rallies as long-term care workers prepare to go on strike.
CUPE workers have been without a contract since 2023, and plan to be on the picket lines Monday at 21 care homes.
In Yarmouth, dozens from ‘The Meadows’ and ‘Villa St. Joseph-du-Lac’ rallied outside MLA Nick Hilton’s office on Main Street Friday.
The union is asking for a five dollar flat rate increase, on top of economic adjustments.
Greg Williams is the head of CUPE workers at ‘The Meadows’, and says the province needs to come back to the bargaining table.
“We haven’t bargained yet, it’s a take it or leave it style so far. We need to have a meaningful conversation, or else we’ll be out on the street. Residents won’t have the essential care that they need, they’ll be reduced to, in some cases, 60 percent of the staff,” said Williams.
He says we’re in an economic crisis, as the cost of living continues to climb.
Meanwhile, Nick Hilton spoke to rally members.
He’s said he’s hopeful the bargaining process will work for everyone.
“These are the community members that I’m here to represent. I want them to feel like they’re getting a good deal at the end of the day, and we also know where we stand as a government. Hopefully together, we’ll find a resolution,” said Hilton.
We’ve reached out to Seniors and Long-Term Care minister Barbara Adams’ office for comment.
Staff at St. Vincent’s in Halifax gathered outside the care home today, joined by CUPE union representatives, calling for change. According to members, Nova Scotians remain the lowest-paid long-term care workers in Atlantic Canada.
The chair for LTC and community committee tells our newsroom that their concerns have gone unanswered by Seniors and Long-Term Care Minister Barb Adams.
Christa Sweeney says, “We’re tired of not being paid what we deserve, and we are tired of having to fight for what should be rightfully ours. We know that we deserve a living wage, and we know that we’re ready to make that happen. They don’t think that we’re serious. They block us on Facebook, try and block us now.”
One longtime employee, Tracy Eyslaunwhite, says after decades of service, she’s still making pennies.
“I did the math. I started off at $8.50 an hour,” Tracy explains. “37 years. I am now making $18.77 an hour that equals 27 and a half cents a year.”
During recent legislative talks, Minister Barb Adams said she doesn’t believe there is a problem and urged CUPE members to accept the current deal, noting that other unions and sectors in healthcare have already done so.
The NDP’s Minister Rod Wilson raised concerns about staff shortages impacting things like laundry and meal service, stating that the risk of infection will go up if quality of care goes down.
CUPE representative, Wanda Marriot, says, “before we can go on strike, we needed an essential service agreement so our seniors are taking care of. That’s our number one priority. We need to be respected for the work that we do. We need to be fairly paid for the work that we do.
“We’re basically in a recession right now, and people are finding it hard to make ends meet. And eventually, what’s gonna happen? You’re not gonna get people coming for these jobs anymore, and then what happens to our seniors?”
Minister Adams assures that those living in LTC will be taken care of by law, even if strike action happens.
John Hutton, the grandson of a woman currently living at St. Vincent’s, showed up to support staff. He says after visiting for years he saw that, “people couldn’t get their vacations approved, and they were just burning out, and they were feeling disrespected, and the pay was not up to par for the work they were doing.”
He adds, “Everybody gets old. Everybody wants to make sure that when we reach that end of life, not only can we receive the care we need, but the people who are providing that have a good experience. It’s all connected and important that we stand together.”