Transport Canada begins process to rescind approval for Dartmouth Cove infill
CBC
Transport Canada has started the process to rescind its approval for the Dartmouth Cove infill, a project that faced major opposition from a neighbourhood group, the local councillor and the member of Parliament for the area.
Darren Fisher, the Liberal MP for Dartmouth-Cole Harbour, announced the move in a Facebook post on Wednesday afternoon and Transport Canada confirmed it to CBC News hours later.
"This is a win for our community, but Dartmouth Cove isn't protected, yet," Fisher said in his post. "As we saw with the Northwest Arm, a municipal bylaw is the best way to protect Dartmouth Cove from unnecessary infill projects today and into the future."
Fisher was unavailable for an interview on Wednesday.
The project would involve dumping 100,000 cubic metres of rock, such as pyritic slate from construction sites around Halifax.
Jill Brogan with Friends of Dartmouth Cove, which wants infilling restrictions in the area, said she's excited about Transport Canada's decision.
Brogan said infilling would shrink an already-small cove, would undo all of the ecological improvements made over the last 20 years and would potentially have disrupted the walking trail between the Woodside and Alderney Landing ferries.
"We still have to keep the foot on the gas pedal to make sure that HRM does do what they said they would do with the motion last evening to bring in bylaws so that the city can exert its authority over pre-Confederation water lots," Brogan said. "And that'll give the protection to not only Dartmouth Cove, but other pre-Confederation water lots that are in the harbour."
Sam Austin, the Halifax regional councillor for Dartmouth Centre, has been critical of the Dartmouth Cove infilling proposal. On Tuesday, he asked the mayor to write a letter to Transport Canada asking for the federal department to rescind its approval. He's happy with the news.
"I think it's a tremendous opportunity for everybody to get this right. You don't get many chances to do a do-over in politics and this is exactly that. So I think there's a chance here for the feds and the municipality to actually work together to fix this," Austin told CBC News.
He said one of his biggest concerns with the proposed infilling in Dartmouth Cove is that there was no set plan on what to do with the infilled area once it was complete.
"The community deserves better than to have it used as a dump site, and then the resulting rocky moonscape sits there for years and years," he said.
A 2022 report from Halifax staff noted pyritic slate, which underlies much of the Halifax area, releases acid when it is exposed to oxygen. Keeping it piled on land is environmentally dangerous, as runoff washes acid into streams and rivers where it can kill fish and contaminate groundwater.
Submerging pyritic slate in the sea "greatly reduces its exposure to oxygen, which is involved in the chemical reaction that produces the acid," the report noted. "Seawater is naturally alkaline, which helps neutralize any acid that is produced."
The Saskatchewan government has changed the provincial Correctional Services Act to reflect a ruling by the Supreme Court of Canada regarding the burden of proof for inmate disciplinary hearings.
Tyler Hellard and his debut novel, Searching for Terry Punchout, are featured on the longlist for this year's Canada Reads contest.
The NDP leadership race could be turning into a nail-biter with no clear winner in sight. But it's unclear if Canadians are tuning in.
As the prime minister gears up to visit China, his parliamentary secretary, MP Kody Blois, says Mark Carney would like to "recalibrate" Canada's once-frosty relationship with the Chinese government and look at economic opportunities for the two nations.
Ontario appears set to push ahead with a ban on declawing cats and debarking and ear cropping dogs, a move animal welfare advocates say is years overdue and doesn’t go far enough.
If you’ve ever wanted to groove to music while drinking coffee, the Kitchener Downtown BIA has you covered this winter.
Iranian Montrealers rallied in the downtown core Saturday afternoon in a show of support for the people of Iran.
A Manitoba judge says Natural Resources Minister Ian Bushie must reconsider granting permits to a company that's no longer allowed to take tourists to see polar bears in large tundra vehicles east of Churchill.
Some people from a northern Saskatchewan reserve were left without phone landline and internet services for weeks, and wonder why it took so long for SaskTel to address the issue.
Alberta’s rate cap is deepening financial losses in the province's auto insurance market, industry experts say, as a new report found auto insurers lost more than $1.2 billion in 2024.
Environment and Climate Change Canada says an atmospheric river will take aim at British Columbia's south coast this weekend as heavy rain continues to batter the north coast.
Islanders packed into the temporary location for the Charlottetown Farmers' Market Saturday, marking the first day operating on North River Road in the former Sporting Intentions space.
More than 1,000 demonstrators gathered in Richmond Hill, Ont., Saturday to show solidarity to protesters in Iran, fighting against the country’s financial collapse and the regime that led to it.