Province staying mum on details about 4 new schools planned for HRM
CBC
Nova Scotia's education minister still will not say where four new schools she announced last year for Halifax Regional Municipality will be located, or when construction on those projects could begin.
Even when construction does start, however, it's not clear if the new schools will be enough to accommodate the capital region's growing population.
The NDP released an access to information request on Thursday showing the Halifax Regional Centre for Education asked the Education Department in 2022 for six to eight new schools based on increased development and population growth.
The requests were:
Education Minister Becky Druhan told reporters that the government is still looking for land to purchase for the four new schools and did not want to give more information for risk of driving up costs.
There is $50 million budgeted to buy land, but there is no money budgeted for construction. Druhan said money for capital construction would be made available once land is purchased.
"The focus right now is securing the land and as soon as that's done, the rest will flow," she said.
The minister noted that the government is also using modular construction and renovations to address school needs. Druhan said she expects the department would look at building more schools "as the growth continues across Nova Scotia in the years to come."
NDP Leader Claudia Chender said it's frustrating how little information the government has provided about the four schools.
"I think when the government announced four schools they wanted an announcement and there was nothing connected to it, and there's still nothing connected to it."
Chender said the amount of growth happening in Halifax Regional Municipality makes clear that more than four schools are required.
Liberal Leader Zach Churchill said the government can't talk about wanting to double the population unless it's prepared to build the infrastructure necessary to keep pace with that goal.
"We've got schools that are bursting at the seams and this government doesn't even have the courtesy to tell people when they're going to get a new school or if they're going to get a new school."
Churchill speculated that the Tories would wait until a politically advantageous time to make an announcement. All of the schools Druhan has announced so far have been in Tory districts.
The Art Gallery of Alberta is channeling its creative energy to boost membership numbers that have failed to come back since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Veterinarians in the Okanagan are urging horse lovers across Canada to take precautions as new cases of an infectious disease, called strangles, spread.
Groups on Prince Edward Island that work toward gender equality have a new fundraising opportunity called Shifting Sands.
A Kamloops, B.C., powerlifter who started breaking records in his 60s says it's never too late to start strength training.
Freezing temperatures didn’t stop crews in Dawson City, Yukon, working through Friday night to repair two water main breaks that brought the community to a standstill this past week.
Operation Jingle All the Way sounds festive and fun, but that wasn't the case.
Athletes are in Yellowknife this week vying for a spot at the 2025 Arctic Winter Games, to be held in Whitehorse this March.
Rory Linkletter is the first Canadian to run a half marathon under one hour, achieving the feat on a cool Sunday morning in Houston with a 59-minute 49-second clocking to beat former record holder Cam Levins by 69 seconds.
Mere hours after Albertans welcomed in the new year with shouts of, “Three, two, one,” Lucky 7 Cattle Co. owner Stacey Simpson was incredulously counting upward: “One, two, three?”
London's downtown office vacancy rate climbed at the end of 2025 remaining the poorest performer in Canada when it comes to attracting employers to the core.
Ian Gillies Sr. still can't look at the pictures he took during his son's two-month stint at the Health Sciences Centre in St. John's.
Stephen Gogolev almost walked away from skating. Years of recurring back injuries kept him off the ice, and when he did step on it, he felt like a shadow of the skater he once was.
Flecks of red, white and green were scattered across the steps of City Hall in St. John’s, N.L. Saturday afternoon as dozens rallied for peace and democracy in Iran.