September 2017
Fishermen were raising concerns about alleged illegal lobster activity
Lobster fishermen in southwestern Nova Scotia were expressing concern over what they believed was commercial fishing taking place in the Aboriginal food fishery. On a couple of evenings in early September, fishermen gathered at the Lobster Rock Wharf in Yarmouth to draw attention to the matter. The RCMP kept an eye on the gatherings but there was no trouble. While fishermen acknowledged the court-upheld Aboriginal right to fish for food, social and ceremonial purposes, they believed sales of catches also were happening. Disagreement over what was, or wasn’t, taking place had spilled onto social media. Then, a week or so after the first of the gatherings in Yarmouth, fishermen began demonstrations at the DFO office in Digby, saying they wanted the department to step up enforcement to address illegal fishing.
Lobsters were found in Weymouth woods, DFO was investigating
What looked to be thousands of lobster carcasses were found freshly dumped in various areas in and around Weymouth. Fishermen – who were staging a demonstration at the Digby DFO office over a call for increased enforcement of illegal fishing – confirmed many of the discarded lobsters were below legal harvesting size while others were female. David Whorley, DFO area manager for southwestern Nova Scotia, said the discovery was concerning. “We’ve been made aware and are following up with these incidents,” he said. “It’s distressing, to be frank, and we are taking this very seriously.”
Yarmouth’s first Pride Parade was deemed great success, participation ‘unreal’
Yarmouth’s Main Street was dotted with lots of colour and messages of kindness, love and acceptance as the area held its first Pride Parade. By all accounts, the parade and the festivities that followed in Coronation Park were a success. “Oh my God, it’s awesome,” said Megan Hatfield, one of the parade’s coorganizers (along with Cas LeBlanc and Joey Benoit). “A lot of people were lining the streets ... the participation has been unreal.” Participants included individuals, groups and businesses. It was a festive atmosphere as the parade participants made their way along the route. Many businesses also displayed pride flags to coincide with the event. There “definitely” would be another parade in 2018, Hatfield said.
Bring old ridings back, commission on effective representation for Acadians and
Team No Limit stunt riders Jay Cruz and Ian Gaines entertain Wharf Rat Rally goers.
African Nova Scotians was told
Five years after the decision of the then-NDP government to proceed with some controversial changes to provincial electoral boundaries – notably the elimination of minority ridings – a commission was holding public hearings on effective representation for Acadians and African Nova Scotians. And the message commission members heard – whether their public sessions were in Saulnierville, Tusket or Shelburne – was that people wanted their old ridings back. Marie-Claude Rioux, a spokesperson for Nova Scotia’s Acadian federation (FANE), which had challenged the boundary changes in court, said people were frustrated over having to say the same thing over and over, but commission member Kenneth Gaudet urged people not to get discouraged and to continue to participate in the process.
Two grand prizes were awarded in big Chase the Ace events
September saw two major Chase the Ace prizes awarded in southwestern Nova Scotia, one worth over $635,000, the other totalling more than $ 595,000. First it was Madonna Comeau Quilty, who picked the ace of spades Sept. 20 in the Meteghan Fire Department Chase the Ace, winning $595,390.80. Three days later, Blair Churchill was the big winner in the River Hills Golf and Country Club Chase the Ace, taking home $635,362.75. In the week prior to the Meteghan event where the grand prize was won, tickets worth $145,793 were sold. In the week leading up to the River Hills event where the big prize was won there, ticket sales totalled $293,471.
Island residents were upset about their health-care situation
It was a frustrated group of residents who attended a public meeting in Freeport regarding the Digby County community’s vacant nurse practitioner position. They cited what they saw as a lack of communication from the health authority and wondered why it was taking so long to post notices for the position. Freeport’s nurse practitioner had been transferred to Digby. A health authority official noted that a normal period before posting openings – due to unspecified union procedures – was four weeks. She acknowledged the authority had taken too long in this particular case. Meanwhile, some in the audience also wondered about the future of the Islands Health Centre, although they were told the health authority was committed to keeping the facility open.
DFO was promising more lobster enforcement
In the wake of demonstrations by fishermen in southwestern Nova Scotia who said they wanted the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to do more to address lobster poaching and commercial sales of lobsters out of season, a DFO official said there would be more enforcement and inspections. Fishermen had raised questions about the Aboriginal fishery, although they said their argument was not with the legitimate food, social and ceremonial fishery. Morley Knight, DFO assistant deputy minister, spoke on the issue during a lobster forum in Yarmouth, saying, “Just like the majority of people in the commercial side of the industry are abiding by the law, the majority of First Nations people are also abiding by the law. So we all have to be very cautious and very sensitive about that.”
Major offshore wind energy project was said to be on backburner
St. John’s- based Beothuk Energy’s proposed $ 4- billion offshore wind energy development off southern Nova Scotia was on the backburner, according to a spokesman for one of the project partners. The proposal would have seen a 200-kilometre undersea transmission line connect the 1,000-megawatt energy project to the Boston area. Wind turbines on gravity bases were to sit in water no deeper than 30 metres. But now, halfway through the projected schedule to get the first phase of the project up and running, a top official with Copenhagen Offshore Partners said it was “not the highest priority.” When the project had been announced, the fishing industry was looking for more details regarding its potential impact.
Single-single no more
What started out as a single-single at a Tim Hortons in Yarmouth on Sept. 16 didn’t finish that way. Local residents Meranda Tinkham and Tom Robicheau got married at the Tim Hortons location near Water Street. It was here that they had their first date and Meranda works here as a baker. The The Meteghan Fire Hall Chase the Ace winner Madonna Comeau Quilty stands with her new bike that she purchased with her winnings. She raced the Gran Fondo with her new bike and planned to use it to bike to work each morning in Clare. couple also spends a lot of evenings hanging out with the coffee crowd here. The couple deliberately planned for a low-key, casual wedding. It was still business as usual at the Tim Hortons as the wedding took place. As the couple exchanged vows, people still lined up to purchase their coffees, lattes and honey crullers.
One customer, not knowing a wedding was going to be happening, asked some of the people who were waiting for the ceremony to begin: “Is this where the line is?” Ummm, no, not unless you’re planning on getting married, too.
New policy for Nova Scotia schools was meant to help improve attendance
As September was winding down, a new attendance policy for Nova Scotia schools was slated to take effect Oct. 1. A quarter of students in the province were missing 16 days or more of school in a year, said Zach Churchill, Nova Scotia’s minister of education and early childhood development. The new policy, he said, was “intended to help improve student attendance through a balance of supports, incentives and consequences, without adding to the workload of teachers.” The policy was based on advice from the Council to Improve Classroom Conditions Meranda Tinkham and Tom Robicheau got married at a Tim Hortons in Yarmouth in September. Their decision for their wedding location went viral on social media.