E-News August 2025

News

Morris Street/Strong Mayor Powers
I have been on Council for almost nine years and the last few weeks have been pretty unprecedented. The Province’s threatened intervention on Morris Street and the buzz around Strong Mayor Powers, which has become an outright campaign by Mayor Fillmore. It’s been very chaotic and divisive and nothing like the last eight years!

I’m very concerned about Strong Mayor Powers because of what it could mean for evidence-based decision-making and the watering down of democracy. Making senior staff and the CAO directly responsible to the Mayor alone risks politicizing the civil service and undermining the quality of advice that Council gets in making decisions. It would significantly increase the risk for corruption and make decision-making less transparent as much would be decided behind closed doors between the CAO and Mayor. Concentrating power in the hands of the Mayor would also undermine representation of communities. A single individual can’t reflect the diversity of our community. No one can. As a collective, Council gets closer to that ideal. Strong Mayor Powers were part of no one’s campaign platform, at the Provincial or Municipal level, and there has been no consultation with municipalities or the public. This is a power grab. I did a detailed write up in my Council blog on the topic that you can read here:

https://samaustin.ca/council-update-strong-mayor-powers-reserves-vehicle-noise/

If you’re concerned about Strong Mayor Powers I would encourage you to write your MLA, the Premier, and the Minister of Municipal Affairs, John Lohr since it’s the Province that will ultimately decide this. The Houston government has taken public feedback seriously in the past, like when changes to the Auditor General’s Office were dropped. It is worth the time to write to share your views.

Tim Houston, Premier, premier@novascotia.ca, pictoueastamanda@gmail.com
John Lohr, Minister of Municipal Affairs, dmamin@novascotia.ca, johnlohrmla@gmail.com
Your own MLA (find them here)

Strong Mayor Powers, for political reasons, are being tied to Council’s decision to approve converting Morris Street in Halifax to a one-way street to accommodate a two-directional bike lane. Strong Mayor Powers would be an enduring institutional change and need more justification than “I don’t like Council’s decision on a single municipal street.” It’s a bigger issue than that. Still, the two are being linked so I wanted to provide some commentary on Morris Street before Council looks at the issue again on August 5.

Morris Street
First thing to note is there is no perfect solution for Morris Street. The Street has limited space and what everyone is trying to fit there are two-directional bike lanes, two-directional vehicle traffic, street side parking/loading, and trees. There isn’t enough room for all of that and whatever HRM does will involve trade-offs. HRM staff have done extensive work to analyze traffic patterns and have consulted the public and other stakeholders. None of this was decided on a whim. The result was a recommendation that would keep curbside parking/loading, retain the existing mature trees, and provide two-direction bike lanes. The trade-off is we lose a vehicle lane, which HRM staff concluded was manageable.

Emergency services, including EHS, were consulted during the preparation of the Morris Street plan (EHS seems to have forgotten that in the time that has elapsed since) and expressed no concern about the change. The Fire Department was fine as well as long as the one-way vehicle lane was eastbound to Downtown. Transit was also okay with the change. The Port doesn’t support the plan as they prefer Morris Street for secondary access for container trucks as opposed to Inglis/Barrington, but their needs would still be met by Inglis/Barrington and truck traffic is due to decline by 75% once the rail shuttle is operational. A lot of careful work was done by experts in preparing the one-way recommendation and it’s easy to criticize the plan since a perfect “everyone gets everything they want” option doesn’t exist. If there was a perfect option, we would do it!

Provincial Intervention
In some classic Monday morning quarterbacking, the Premier has made some disparaging comments about Council and HRM’s decision on Morris Street starting with a press conference after Council’s vote, with a formal letter, in media appearances since, and through a PC Party online petition. That’s a lot of activity, but, unfortunately, the Province provided nothing to HRM when the decision was actually being made.

As noted, EHS expressed no concerns and the Province provided nothing to HRM when Council first voted on Morris Street in 2024, nothing when the Mayor’s bike lane motion triggered a reassessment, and nothing when the results of that reassessment came forward for a vote a few weeks ago. The Morris Street plan didn’t come out of thin air and yet the Province was completely silent until after the decision was made. We had zero feedback from them. I want to extend my apologies to the Premier that we were unable to read his mind.

What has happened since in terms of Provincial intervention is very discouraging and is all about politics. If the Province wanted to work with HRM, they would have spoken up during the actual decision-making. Governing involves a lot of complexity and if the Province was asleep at the switch and missed all of the lead-up to Council’s vote, that’s not the end of the world, we could still look at things. A Provincial government that was serious about working with HRM would calmly reach out looking to discuss/review the decision and the basis for it. We would have a conversation, like adults.

What we’ve had instead is an immediate uninformed knee-jerk reaction and lots of public posturing. The Premier making hay in media interviews, the Premier’s letter being immediately released to social media rather than having it sent through normal intergovernmental channels, and the PC Party running an online petition. None of this is how governments normally engage with each other. None of this is how anything constructive gets done. None of this is aimed at actually working together. This is what playing politics with an issue looks like.

The PCs are playing to the section of their base that doesn’t like bikes, while our own Mayor tries to use the issue to justify Strong Mayor Powers and has not a word to say in defending HRM’s jurisidiction from this Provincial overreach. It’s a damn shame because the issues we’re facing requires thoughtful, evidence-based decision-making, and cooperation between governments, none of which is apparent in this political circus

Providing sustainable transportation and alternatives to vehicle travel is essential. We can’t keep growing HRM with the same travel patterns. There isn’t enough space for 1,000s and 1,000s more vehicles. Transit and active transportation are the only solution. The other piece is we continue to see too many people killed and injured on our roads. According to HRM’s statistics available on the Road Safety Dashboard, over the last five years (excluding 2020) 368 cyclists have been hit on HRM’s streets. Some of those people were lucky, but others have had their lives irrevocably changed, and some are unfortunately no longer with us.

In thinking about cycling safety, I always think of Johanna Dean. Some events just stick with you. Johanna Dean was a young teacher who was killed at Albro Lake Road and Windmill Road in 2014. A family who will forever grieve the loss of a young woman who had so much life still to live. A class of kids at St. Catherines Elementary had their teacher just never return. A City and Province that no longer benefits from her contribution. Had there been the proper infrastructure in place, like the kind that HRM is trying to build on Morris Street, Johanna Dean and others like her might still be with us.

This issue deserves more than divisive political posturing. It deserves more than cultural wars and wedge politics. Scoring points off Council might be perceived as good politics for a right-wing, mostly rural, Provincial government, but it’s not leadership. We all deserve better.

Council will consider what to do about Morris Street given the Province’s clear intention to intervene next week.

Big Albro Water Quality
The hot days of summer are here and I know a lot of folks look to HRM’s supervised beaches to cool off. Big Albro Beach is a go to spot in Dartmouth North, but the Beach has suffered from water quality issues over the years. I have been working with HRM staff on ways to try and address the problem and a big part of the issue appears to be the abundance of ducks and geese.

Unfortunately, waterfowl love the same things that we do: big grassy areas next to water. The combination of a big lawn at Big Albro Beach and people feeding the ducks and geese is they hang-out at the Beach in greater numbers than would naturally be the case, and all their droppings foul the water. HRM Parks, for the first time, is doing clean-ups of droppings at a number of parks this season to try and help address the issue, but HRM is also looking at changing the underlying dynamic by naturalizing portions of Big Albro’s shoreline.

The thought around how naturalization could help is that if the shoreline were less inviting to ducks and geese, they wouldn’t congregate there as much. HRM has completed two pilot naturalization projects already in District 5, one at Birch Cove last summer and another at Penhorn Lake earlier this season. Staff with HRM’s Environment and Climate Change group will be popping by Big Albro over the next few weeks to talk informally to park users about how they’re using the space and how they would like to see it improved in future. HRM is planning to do further public engagement in the fall, with the idea of implementing a project at Big Albro in 2026.

What you can do to help right now is don’t feed the ducks and geese and make sure to pick up after your dog. HRM is planning to install new signage encouraging folks not to feed the ducks and geese that make the connection between water quality and feeding clear. Feeding the ducks and geese contravenes HRM’s Animal Bylaw and if this continues to be an issue enforcement and fines between $200 – $5,000 is ultimately a possibility.

Little Albro Yellow Floating Heart
I have been pleased with the results of the Procella herbicide spray in Little Albro Lake last season. It decimated the Yellow Floating Heart that has infested Little Albro Lake. I have heard from many residents who have remarked on how effective the herbicide was. As expected, some of the Yellow Floating Heart did, however, survive and some new seedlings are sprouting from the built-up seed cache in the lake, but the difference has been massive and a win for all of Dartmouth’s lakes. Yellow Floating Heart was a ticking time-bomb that could have done major harm to the larger ecosystem if it eventually spread beyond Little Albro!

Dealing with the Yellow Floating Heart isn’t a one and done situation. HRM staff have been planning to do a second application of Procella this year. Unfortunately, the challenges of getting federal and provincial approvals and finding the available staff time to do the spraying has been difficult (the Provincial Inland Fisheries team helped HRM apply the herbicide last year). The timing for the approvals and staff availability isn’t going to line up for this summer.

I wish this work could have happened this year, but the good news is that HRM has received modified approvals from DFO for a second application that is good for several years, which means that HRM will only need to apply to the Province in 2026. Federal approvals are in hand. Waiting till 2026 will allow HRM to better time the herbicide application for July and shouldn’t impact the environment since the Yellow Floating Heart that remains has been so beaten back that nothing has flowered this year. No flowers means no additional seeds!

Activity that you will see over the next few months is HRM staff will be doing some manual removal of Yellow Floating Heart this season and HRM has hired Stantec to do some environmental sampling in the Lake. I want to thank HRM’s Environment and Climate Change staff for their passion, dedication and commitment to this work! It feels like with consistent work and follow-up and help from residents, that eradication of this invasive species is actually possible!

Drought
It has been a hot and dry summer and drought conditions have emerged in Nova Scotia. Just 85% of normal rainfall fell in June, making the month the nineth driest ever recorded. July was a bit wetter in the urban core of HRM, but still below normal rainfall. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada has classified our current situation as moderate drought

The impacts of the drought are becoming apparent. The Province has declared a Province-wide burn ban. No burning of any kind is permitted! The burn ban includes consumer fireworks! The potential fine for violating the ban is up to $25,000. Please follow the rules.

Lake levels are dropping, which is particularly evident at Sullivan’s Pond where the water flow from Banook has been reduced to a trickle and the Pond has, as a result, drained down to standing level. Parks staff have turned the fountain off for now because operating it in low water levels risks damaging it.

Back in 2022 dry weather created similar conditions at Sullivan’s Pond and I received a lot of feedback asking for more water to be let out of Banook to top up the Pond. HRM was ultimately able to adjust the dam level back then to allow more water to flow out of Lake Banook. It’s less clear that we can do that now.

The Province is responsible for regulating freashwater in Nova Scotia and water levels at the Banook dam are regulated by Provincial permit. HRM was previously operating the dam through Halifax Water without any real approval structure. That has been tightened up. Under the terms of HRM’s permit from the Department of Environment, HRM is able to adjust the dam in the spring and again in the winter. The two seasonal levels are prescribed and it’s not clear that HRM has the authority to alter Banook’s levels outside of those two settings. Any deviation from the set permit levels would need to be discussed and approved by the Department of Environment.

Whether it’s actually a good idea is another question. It’s worth noting that adjusting Banook’s level would be a temporary fix. Without rain, Banook would slowly drain down to eventually reach level again and then once again the flow of water to Sullivan’s Pond would cease, and the Pond would drain down to standing level. The result is we would be right back to where we are now, just with even less water in Banook. We’re only halfway through the summer and there is no significant rainfall in the forecast. This could go on for several more weeks or even months. Staff are of the opinion that letting more water out of Banook isn’t a good idea. It could end up impacting summer recreational activities, something that wasn’t an issue with the spring timing of 2022’s drought. Staff are also concerned that lowering Banook’s levels could reduce water quality on Banook, promote blue green algae growth, and potentially give space for weeds to proliferate in the shallower than normal water. The only real solution here is rain.

Findlay Community Centre Pathway Project
Just an FYI for folks wondering why the shortcut from Hawthorne Street to Elliot that connects to the Findlay Community Centre is closed with construction notices. As part of this year’s budget, HRM parks is carrying out a capital project to pave the pathway and install lighting. This work has come out of community engagement that was carried out through the Community Safety Office after Sheila Madore’s remains were discovered in the park a few years ago. Work on this project started this week.

Lancaster Roundabout
No news to report on the Lancaster Roundabout project. This is a Provincial project that HRM is supporting. The Provincial tender closed in June and Dexter Construction was the low bid, but the Province hasn’t made an award yet. I understand that they’re still reviewing.

Dartmouth North Library
In March, the Dartmouth North Community Centre sustained major damage following a sewer back-up. Remediation and restoration work is ongoing, but work is taking longer than originally anticipated. To meet the needs of the community, Halifax Public Libraries has decided to move forward with offering temporary service via a portable unit. The unit was delivered on July 8 to the parking lot and more information about what services will be available will be coming soon. 

Halifax Public Libraries will share updates in the coming weeks via the News Page on the Library’s website. The Dartmouth North Public Library is such a special part of the community. Library staff are looking forward to offering temporary service to bridge the gap while repairs to the Community Centre are underway. The Library is also offering outdoor programming for children on Friday’s (weather permitting) from 1:30 – 4:00 pm. 

CAO Departure
This fall, HRM will be losing our Chief Administrative Officer, Cathie O’Toole. The Chief Administrative Officer is the head of HRM’s civil service and is one of only two employees who are directly hired by Council (the other is HRM’s Auditor). O’Toole has given her retirement notice after working with HRM for over 25 years. She first made a name for herself being the whistle-blower during the Peter Kelly concert scandal and went onto serve as General Manager at Halifax Water before becoming HRM’s CAO in January 2023. I have been impressed with Cathie’s calm, professional, principled and yet pragmatic approach to leadership. She has been wonderful to work with and I’m sad to see her go. HRM is better off for her efforts and she leaves big shoes to fill. Council will be developing an approach to hiring a new CAO over the coming weeks. I thank Cathie for her service.

Green Bin Cart Service
Weekly green cart collection resumed last week. A lot of folks noticed that weekly green carts started several weeks later this year than normal. The reduced service will also apply in September with weekly pickup ending on September 12 instead of the end of the month. This service reduction was approved by Council during budget deliberations. The idea was proposed and championed by Mayor Fillmore, who was trying to keep his campaign promise to hold the tax rate flat. I reluctantly supported the Mayor on this as other potential cuts that were being considered would have also been impactful on HRM’s services and programs. Council approved the Mayor’s initiative to reduce green bin pick-up. You can see Council’s debate here.

I expect it will be difficult for Council to reverse this service change. For the coming year, HRM staff are projecting a $60 million hole in HRM’s budget that will have to be made up. $10 million of this is self-inflicted as Council kept the tax rate artificially low by spending the Central Library reserve on the operating budget. That money is now gone and needs to be made up (the danger of spending your savings!). It will be difficult to restore green bin service while also making up the budget gap and keeping the Mayor’s pledge of a 0% tax increase. 2025/2026 won’t be an easy budget and more service cuts will likely be up for consideration.

I have generally opposed service reductions as the small amount saved (green bin reduction for the average homeowner saved under $2 a year) is generally not worth the pain, but I will of course wait and see what comes forward. If Strong Mayor Powers are approved by the Provincial government this fall, it might not even be Council’s budget to consider, it might be the Mayor’s alone.

HRM does have a few tips to keep your green cart clean and odour-free during the heat, which could be useful even now with weekly pickup underway:

• Wrap wet food waste in boxboard or newspaper
• Use paper liners in your mini-bin and green cart
• Empty your mini-bin daily
• Place your cart at the curb even if it’s not full
• Freeze food scraps until collection day
• Store your cart in a shaded, well-ventilated area

Public Consultation

August is the second slowest month in the HRM calendar. I have no notices of any formal public engagement relevant to District 5 to share, just one of my Open Hours.

Sam Austin Open Hour
I will be holding one coffee Open Hour over the next month. Idea is that I do my Friday morning constituency work from a local coffee shop. You can bend my ear for 10 minutes, no appointment necessary.

• Friday, August 8, 9:30 – 11:00, Marco Polo, King’s Wharf

Due to conflicting appointments with the Nova Scotia Federation of Municipalities (I’m on their board) and my own summer vacation schedule, August 8 is the only open Friday morning I have over the next month! I will be scheduling more Open Hours in September. Please check my social media feed (Bluesky or Facebook reliably) or email to confirm the week of that any given Open Hour is still going ahead as stuff does come up beyond my control that isn’t foreseeable weeks in advance.

Council Update

To keep you informed about what is going on at Council, I’m writing a regular blog after Council meetings. Each of my entries is about what I saw as noteworthy from a District 5 perspective and my views on the issues. We might not always agree, but I think it’s important to provide a record of how I voted and why.

Council Update, July 10
My Strong Mayor Powers motion, tough choices about HRM’s savings accounts, and dealing with vehicle noise (or not!). Read about it here

Council Update, July 8 and June 24
Setting the direction for budget reform and the Morris Street bike lane saga (since outdated by the Premier’s intervention). Read about it here

Council Update, June 10
The bike lane battle. Read about it here

Events

Lots of outdoor music on offer this month!

Natal Day Weekend
Saturday August 2-4
This weekend is Natal Day Weekend, the 128th in Dartmouth’s history. That means fireworks, live music, the parade, and family-friendly activities.

• Natal Day Parade: Monday, Aug. 4 | 10:30 a.m.–12 p.m.
• Fireworks on the Harbour: Saturday, Aug. 2 | 10 p.m. (Rain date: Sunday, Aug. 3)
• Lake Banook Fireworks: Monday, Aug. 4 | 9:30 p.m.
• Freedom Festival: Sunday, Aug. 3 | Dartmouth Ferry Terminal Park | 2–9:30 p.m.
• Dartmouth Natal Day Road Race: Monday, Aug. 4 | 8–9:30 a.m.
• Family Undersea Adventure Day: Monday, Aug. 4 | Sullivan’s Pond | 12–4 p.m.
• Bridgewalk: Sunday, Aug. 3 | Macdonald Bridge | 2–4 p.m.
• Mike Cowie Band: Monday, Aug. 4 | Halifax Public Gardens | 2–4 p.m.

The ferry will run free of charge on Saturday, August 2. Donations for the Parker Street Food Bank will be accepted at both the Halifax and Dartmouth Terminals. Visit the Natal Day website here for full event details and updates.

Rock the Harbour
August 15-17
Alderney Landing
Classic Rock returns to Alderney Landing in August with a number of big names including Trooper, Honeymoon Suite, and Big Sugar. For more information and tickets visit Rock the Harbour’s website here.

Summer Concert Series
2:00 pm Sundays, August – September
Sullivan’s Pond
HRM and the Downtown Dartmouth Business Commission have been working together to bring free summer concerts to Ferry Terminal Park and Sullivan’s Pond. In addition to the Natal Day events this weekend there are still several more free concerts to go at Sullivan’s Pond.

• Sunday, August 10, Blessing Tangban: An award-winning Nigerian afro-folk singer-songwriter and guitarist, Blessing Tangban’s music is a unique fusion of emotionally stirring Afro-folk melodies that melds evocative storytelling with the ethereal sounds of her finger-picked acoustic guitar. With a vocal style that is reminiscent of Norah Jones, Blessing’s music resonates with the richness of African soul and contemporary resonance.
• Sunday, August 17, Good Dear Good: A vision of unison and love arrives on stage with Good Dear Good. From the remote shores of Eastern Cape Breton, music became a means of expression for Tim Hatcher. After meeting his partner Brandon MacDonald, the pair dropped out of university and moved to Dartmouth to pursue a career in music. After graduating from the NSCC Music Arts program and meeting their bandmates, Tim and Brandon formed Good Dear Good in the fall of 2018.
• Sunday, August 24, Brooklyn Blackmore and Friends: Singer-songwriter Brooklyn Blackmore had no intention of having a singing career. She got into music as a three-year-old in Three Fathom Harbour, NS watching Canadian fiddler Natalie MacMaster on television. She asked for a fiddle for her fourth birthday and has played ever since. When Brooklyn’s parents walked in on her singing, they pushed her to enter a vocal contest called the Global Country Star Search, she said, which she won in 2016. She received a trip to Nashville and her first invitation to the Canadian Country Music Awards. Brooklyn was voted Best Country Artist by Coast readers and her album has been nominated for the East Coast Music Award for Country Recording of the Year and the Music Nova Scotia Awards for Country Recording of the Year and New Artist Recording of the year.
• Sunday, September 1, Rankin MacInnis: Music Nova Scotia’s Entertainer of the Year comes with a big band and a big sound. Known for their eclectic, high-energy shows, Rankin and the Broken Reeds bring together the region’s top musical talent for a live-music experience unlike anything you’ve seen before one that feels like it spans time and genres, from traditional folk to future pop, fueled by a lot of groove and finished with a bit of grit. Together, the band has built an award-winning music festival (Blueberry Jam), a first-of-its-kind concert series (Rankin’s Winter Warmers), and a community of creative collaborators who are up for anything — and fans who can’t wait to see what’s next.

Music on the Farm
11:30 – 12:30, Thursday August 14 and Thursday August 28
North Grove, 6 Primrose Street
Join the North Grove every other Thursday for their second season of summer music. Upcoming performances Adina Fraser, and Chudi Harris.