E-News March 2025

News

Fluoride Update
On March 6, HRM’s Environment Standing Committee received a presentation from Halifax Water on fluoride. Halifax Water has been under a great deal of scrutiny ever since the Utility revealed long-standing problems with the fluoride systems at both Pockwock (Halifax’s water supply) and Lake Major (Dartmouth’s supply). Since 2020, fluoride has been shutdown twice for more than a year at Pockwock while, at Lake Major, fluoride has been offline continuously since February 2020. Halifax Water did notify the Department of Environment about each fluoride shutdown, but neither Halifax Water or the Department of Environment notified health officials, and no one notified the general public.

Whether you’re for or against fluoridation, everyone should know what’s in the drinking water. There is a fundamental trust at stake here. Halifax Water should have told the public about the extended fluoride shutdowns so that people could make informed decisions about their health. Halifax Water recognizes this failure and has reformed their communications approach to make sure that it doesn’t happen again.

Putting the communication issues aside for a moment, there is still the problem of fluoride still being unavailable in Dartmouth. Fluoride isn’t a nice to have, it’s an important public health measure, and it matters the most for the folks who are the most vulnerable. When Calgary stopped adding fluoride to their water supply in 2011, the result was a measurable increase in children’s cavities. With Dartmouth’s fluoride system being offline for the last five years, it’s almost a certainty that the same has happened here. Calgary voted to reintroduce fluoride in 2021 and the City is currently installing the equipment to make fluoridation a reality. We need to do likewise as soon as possible.

In fairness to Halifax Water, the five-year fluoride absence in Dartmouth wasn’t intentional. The Utility had been planning to install a new fluoride tank at Lake Major in 2023. The design work was done and Halifax Water was ready to go to tender, but then came the floods. All the rain in 2023 washed a ton of material into Lake Major, which forced Halifax Water to use much more Alum in the treatment process than ever before. Alum is really important because it causes materials to clump together for easy removal. Without it, the water wouldn’t be safe to drink.

Halifax Water stores Alum onsite in tanks and the spike in demand for Alum in 2023 led the Utility to conclude that a fourth Alum tank was urgently needed. Unfortunately, the only spot for that fourth tank to go was where the fluoride tank was supposed to be. I had the opportunity to visit Lake Major to see the constraints in person and you don’t need to be an engineer to see that the space is tight. So fluoride had to give way for the more pressing need for more Alum. Fluoride is no use if the water itself isn’t safe to drink!

Halifax Water’s Plan B to restore fluoride was to reinstate the fluoride system alongside major plant upgrades in 5-7 years. Waiting another 5-7 years on top of the five years that have already gone by, to me, is an unacceptable timeline. For a kid born in 2020, that’s most of their childhood! Halifax Water has clearly heard that feedback and staff are now proposing a third option. Plan C would repurpose space elsewhere in the Lake Major plant allowing other chemicals to be relocated to make space for fluoride. This could be completed in about two years at an estimated cost of $1,000,000.

Halifax Water staff are planning to present the various options to the Halifax Water Board at the Board’s March 27 meeting. Staff indicated to the Environment Committee that they’re expecting to recommend the two-year option. I’m glad that Halifax Water has found a way to cut the timeline for reinstating fluoride and I hope the Board will support the proposal. A seven year gap is still not great, but it’s a heck of a lot better than 12 years!

Library Disruptions
March is shaping up to be a rough month for the Library system in Dartmouth. Both the Alderney and Dartmouth North branches will be closed. The Dartmouth North Branch closure is unplanned. On the weekend, the sewer backed up in the Branch, doing extensive damage that will take time to fix. Right now, the Library isn’t certain when Dartmouth North will be able to reopen. The Library is considering options for a temporary branch location, but it’s not certain whether that will be necessary or possible right now. There is a lot up in the air as staff figure out how to deal with this unplanned mess. An awful turn of events for Dartmouth North!

Over at Alderney, the closure is planned. The Library is undertaking drywall repairs, painting, and will be replacing all the existing shelves and furniture. The new shelves will be readily moveable, allowing the Library to easily reconfigure the space to fit different activities. The shelves also won’t be as tall, opening up sightlines and letting in more natural light. Unfortunately, the Alderney Library needs to close to complete the work. Alderney will shutdown on March 25 and is tentatively scheduled to reopen on April 12. Items being held for pickup at Alderney were paused as of Wednesday and returns will be paused while the Branch is closed.

I spoke with Library management this week about the collective impact of having both branches closed at the same time. Staff considered delaying the Alderney Gate work, but doing so would be incredibly disruptive to the Alderney project. It’s tendered and everything is ready to go. At this point, no one is even certain how long the Dartmouth North Branch will be closed, making choosing an alternative date for the Alderney work really difficult. The conclusion is that the lesser of the two evils is to proceed with the Alderney work on the 25th as planned.

HRM Capital Budget
HRM’s 2025 budget process is nearing completion. Next week on March 19, Council will go over all the potential additions and deletions, and the result will be pretty much the finalized budget. More on what’s in store on the 19th in the Public Consultation portion of this newsletter and in my Council blog.

While there is still debate to be had around the operating budget, Council has pretty much finalized the capital budget at this point so I wanted to take a moment to share what you can expect this year in terms of projects in District 5.

Roads

• Pinecrest Drive. Major repaving from Crystal Drive to Albro Lake Road
• Farrell Street. Major repaving of Farrell Street including traffic calming and active transportation infrastructure
• Thistle Street. Carryover work to repave Thistle Street between Beech Street and Crichton Park Road. Includes traffic calming (speed tables)
• Alderney Drive Design. Continuation of the planning process and design work for Alderney Drive
• Portland Street Design. Continuation of the planning process and design work for Portland Street

Road Safety

• Leaman Drive. Traffic calming on Leaman Drive (speed tables)
• Windmill Road at Best Street. Crosswalk upgrade to rapid flashing beacons
• Victoria Road at Gladstone Avenue. Crosswalk upgrade to rapid flashing beacons
• Prince Albert Road Guardrail: HRM is installing a guardrail along Prince Albert Road by the Mic Mac Aquatic Club to ensure vehicles don’t crash into the beach area (a car did go through here this past summer, thankfully in the early morning when the beach was empty)

Active Transportation

• Harbour Trail Parker Street – Old Ferry Road. This one is on the list, but it’s in the believe it when I see it category. HRM has had filling the last gap in the Harbour Trail in the budget for three years now. Design work is done, everything is finalized, but getting the required property from CN has been a long and slow process. Hope springs eternal that maybe this will be the year
• Farrell Street. First phase of the Dartmouth North Active Transportation Project, with bike infrastructure on Farrell Street and through Farrell Park to Albro Lake Road
• Albro Lake Road Sidewalk. Carryover work on Albro Lake Road between Victoria Road and Catherine Street

Parks

• Findlay Community Centre Park HRM is planning to pave the pathway from Hawthorne Street through to the Community Centre and Elliot Street. Lighting will also be installed. This project is coming out of feedback received from the neighbourhood during engagement around public safety.
• Lawnsdale Drive Park. HRM is planning to repave the pathway from Lawnsdale Drive to Susan Place There is some late-breaking news as Parks has successfully convinced Public Works that this is really a street-to-street walkway and, therefore, a Public Work’s responsibility. It’s in the capital budget right now though as a Parks project. Given that this has already been delayed once, my pitch to Public Works is they have to make good on this project this year, but it will be tempting to delay it to line up with planned 2026 work on Birchwood Terrace. Not sure how this will shake out right now. Not exactly the bureaucracy’s best moment considering this was already delayed once and whether it’s Parks or Public Works makes zero difference in the real world
• Brownlow Park playground. This isn’t technically in District 5 anymore, but it’s District 5 adjacent and matters to a lot of folks in the District 5 portion of Manor Park. I facilitated providing resident feedback to Parks that has been taken into account in the planned work. Over and above the standard playground replacement, HRM is planning to address drainage issues and add a shade structure.
• Birch Cove. Birch Cove is getting a new dock
• Brookdale Crescent. District 5 capital is being used to replace the wooden deck that was located alongside the Banook pathway
• Lake Banook Dam. Design and rehabilitation work at the Lake Banook dam at the end of Nowlan Street

City Building Projects

• Sawmill River. Phase 2.1 is already under construction. Prince Albert Road/Portland/Alderney intersection work down to King’s Wharf, including the Dundas Street extension, new trail, road redesign, and daylighting. Halifax Water is leading the project and working closely with HRM. Phase 2.2 will tender this year, but construction may or may not get started.
• Downtown Dartmouth Waterfront Plan. HRM has hired consultants to complete a new plan for the Dartmouth waterfront. There will be public engagement to come this year as part of the planning process.

Other

• Regional Museum Strategy. Continued work to complete the museum strategy

Living Lakeshores Training
HRM is partnering with TransCoastal Adaptations (TCA) at Saint Mary’s University and the Ecology Action Centre to launch a new project called Living Lakeshores. Living Lakeshores aims to increase the resilience of freshwater shorelines throughout HRM and build community understanding of natural approaches to shoreline restoration. The cornerstone of the new project is free naturalization training. The training is being paid for by HRM and will be delivered by TCA. The training will give participants the skills and knowledge to contribute to climate adaptation and green infrastructure projects. This is about building capacity in our community. There will be two level 1 classes (20 people per class) in March/May and one level 2 class. For more information, check out HRM’s website here. To register, visit TCA’s website here.

New Sportfishing Rules
The Province is changing catch and release rules around Chain Pickerel and Smallmouth Bass. Starting this season, the Province will require any Chain Pickerel caught anywhere in Nova Scotia to be euthanized. No throwing them back! There will be similar rules for Smallmouth Bass in the eastern half of the Province. The rules are being changed because both Pickerel and Bass are invasive species that harm native species, like trout. So, if you’re out fishing in Dartmouth, like in Banook or Micmac, and hook any Pickerel, please keep them!

Marine House Announcement
It has taken many years, but a new phase is finally unfolding for Marine House, the surplus federal government office building on Portland Street in Downtown Dartmouth. Today, the feds announced that Marine House has been sold to the Mi’kmaq Native Friendship Centre. The Friendship Centre intends to redevelop the building to create at least 61 units of housing, half of which will be affordable. The Friendship Centre itself will also have space on site for its own services. Marine House has contributing nothing to Downtown Dartmouth for years. It’s great to see it finally getting put to use again. The Friendship Centre is hoping to have the redevelopment complete by 2027.

Dartmouth Cove
A short update on Dartmouth Cove infill bylaw. I spoke with staff earlier this month and the intent is to have a draft bylaw on infill restrictions for Council’s consideration in April. If Council opts to proceed with first reading, a public hearing would then follow in late April or early May. HRM is about a month and a half behind where we expected to be due to the Canada Post strike disrupting notifications to property owners during the public engagement phase and due to a late decision to add consultation with the Mik’maq to the process. The draft bylaw should be before Council soon.

Bridge Toll Removal
It’s the end of an era. As of March 17, there will be no toll to cross the Macdonald and Mackay Bridges. There will be two weekends closures coming up to allow for the demolition of the toll plaza at the Macdonald Bridge. As long as the weather cooperates, demolition of Macdonald plaza will begin on March 14 and be completed the following weekend by March 24 (the bridge will be open Monday – Friday). The timeline for the Mackay Bridge toll plaza demolition hasn’t been set yet, but the Bridge Commission won’t close both at the same time!

The Bridge Commission will begin the process of refunding any MacPass balances as of April 1. Given the large number of refunds to process, it will take time to refund everyone. The Commission is asking for patience as they complete the refund process.

Saving a few bucks is nice, but I do worry about the potential negative impacts of removing the tolls. Studies from elsewhere indicate that when tolls are removed, traffic increases. If the same happens here, crossing the Harbour might be both cheaper, but also harder to do.

I also worry about the long-term maintenance of the Bridges. We don’t have a good track record in this Province of being good stewards of public infrastructure. The Bridges are the exception and that stems from the fact that they’ve had a dedicated source of funding and independent management. Will all of that change with them being run directly by the Province? Lastly, if we don’t have toll revenue, who pays for the replacement of the MacKay? Does the MacKay replacement become a political issue that future governments will try to delay to avoid impacting Provincial finances? There could be real downside to the removal of tolls. This is though a Provincial decision for Provincial infrastructure and the Province is within their rights to remove the tolls. It’s their call to make and for better, or possibly worse, the tolls are going.

I have had a few people reach out asking me what the future of the busy Wyse/Macdonald/Nantucket intersection will be. Above is how the intersection will be configured after the toll plaza removal is complete. How this area changes longer-term is a bit more of an unknown.

When HRM put the bike lanes in on Wyse Road, the municipality used temporary measures such as bolted down curbs, as much as possible. This was because HRM expected that when the Bridge Commission went to all electronic pay-by-plate that the toll plaza wouldn’t be needed and there would be a bigger road redesign. HRM didn’t want to commit to permanent bike infrastructure with that uncertainty. What no one expected was that the change would happen so quickly via no tolls at all rather than pay-by-plate. Everyone expected this moment to still be a few years away.

I’m not sure what the toll removal means for timelines for future big picture work, but that’s something that HRM and the Bridge Commission will now have to sort out.

Alderney Janitor Contract
I received a lot of e-mails over the last few weeks regarding the cleaning contract at Alderney Gate and the potential outcome that long-time janitorial staff were going to be let go. It’s a difficult situation for HRM.

The main problem here is the Alderney Gate janitors aren’t municipal employees, they’re employed by GDI. GDI has had a contract with HRM to provide cleaning at Alderney. Except in exceptional circumstances, HRM doesn’t sole source tenders and so with the GDI contract expiring, the municipality went out to tender for the work. GDI and several others offered bids, but GDI wasn’t the highest scoring bidder. Imperial Cleaners won the contract instead.

HRM requires that all municipal contractors pay their employees a living wage. This applies to GDI and Imperial. Bids are also evaluated based on price, expertise, and social value. The social procurement scoring accounts for 10% of contract evaluations. In short, all bidders are required to pay and treat their staff fairly. This isn’t a situation of a minimum wage employer replacing one that is more expensive because they treat their people well.

The janitor’s union, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), mounted a public campaign to try and get HRM to pause the tender award or force Imperial to hire the GDI workers. HRM, however, can’t just ignore the results of a fairly run tender process. There are whole areas of law around tendering, and delaying a validly won contract as, SEIU was advocating for, would come with potential legal and financial implications for the municipality. HRM also can’t stipulate who a third party, like Imperial, hires. HRM wasn’t able to meet SEIU’s demands. SEIU has since opted to challenge HRM’s tender award in court so we’ll see how that plays out.

What I really don’t understand in all of this is with hundreds of employees and over 50 sites in HRM, why GDI can’t redeploy their Alderney staff to other locations? I don’t understand why in a company of this size and in an industry with as much turnover as cleaning that this apparently ends in layoffs? The union should be pushing that issue with GDI, the actual employer. It boggles the mind that GDI can’t redeploy these folks to other locations.

It isn’t lost on me that the real lesson in this mess is that perhaps HRM shouldn’t be contracting out cleaning at Alderney Gate at all. Maybe this work should instead be done in-house. Now that HRM requires a living wage for all our contractors the old days of getting a much cheaper price on the backs of low paid workers is over. It’s worth considering whether there is any real financial reason not to just do the work ourselves. I may have a motion in future for staff to look at the pros and cons of doing more cleaning in-house, but it’s important to note that a change would happen overtime. If HRM were to do more of this work in-house, that would be something we would look to implement as contracts come up for renewal.

Anti-Black Racism Grants
HRM has awarded its first anti-black racism grants. Anti-Black racism encompasses prejudice, discriminatory attitudes, negative beliefs, stereotyping and other forms of discrimination directed at people of African ancestry. This form of racism is rooted in the particular history of Black people which is informed by the legacies of enslavement and colonization. HRM launched its grant program to support community-led initiatives to combat anti-black racism in 2024. HRM received 24 applicants and awarded $104,000 to 13 organizations. I was pleased to see two Dartmouth organizations in the mix!

The Downtown Dartmouth Business Commission received $6,000 to support the “Being Black and Beautiful” event, a celebration of black beauty, culture, fashion, and music. The African Nova Scotia Music Association, which is based out of the Sanctuary Arts Centre on Ochterloney Street, received $6,000 for export development to give black artists more opportunities to market their talents to a wider national audience. Congratulations to both and all the award recipients.

New Rec Software
HRM is launching new software for Parks and Rec. With any luck the transition should be pretty painless. Here’s some notes from Parks and Rec as to what to expect:

• Summer camp registration will take place on the new platform. MyREC webpage will remain the same, it will just link to the new system.
• If you do not have an active facility membership at one of HRM’s municipal recreation centres, the Canada Games Centre, Cole Harbour Place, the St. Margaret’s Centre or Zatzman Sportsplex you will need to create a new user profile. You can create your new client profile beginning March 19, 2025.
• If you have an active facility membership at one of our municipal recreation centres, the Canada Games Centre, Cole Harbour Place, the St. Margaret’s Centre or Zatzman Sportsplex your client information has been transitioned to the new system. You will, however, need to set up a new password and link your payment information to your new account if you wish to complete online transactions. 
• Beginning the week of March 17, 2025, members will be prompted to create their new password in an email coming from communication@xplorrecreation.com

Tree Cities Recognition
HRM has once again been recognized as a Tree City of the World by the Arbor Day Foundation! The designation highlights HRM’s commitment to planting and maintaining trees that make our communities greener, healthier, and more sustainable. Recognized cities must meets five key standards, including responsible tree management and public education efforts. The timing of this recognition is interesting as Council will be considering cutting the entire tree planting budget for 2025 as part of budget deliberations on March 19. More info on that in my Council blog here.

You can learn more about the Tree City initiative through the Arbor Day Foundation’s website.

Banook Grant
The federal government has made a major contribution to recreation in Dartmouth, with a $2,339,736 commitment to Banook Canoe Club’s major renovations. The project has previously received $3,332,500 in Provincial funding and $467,500 from HRM. The renovations will ensure that the registered heritage building continues to be viable long-term, is energy efficient, and accessible. Many thanks to the feds for this generous contribution.

2025 Community Grants Applications
HRM is still accepting 2025 community grants applications, but it’s getting close to last call. Non-profits can receive funding of up to $5,000 for a project grant or up to $25,000 for a capital grant. Funding is awarded by category: (1) arts and crafts, (2) diversity and inclusion, (3) environment, (4) emergency assistance and neighbourhood safety, (5) history, (6) leisure, and (7) recreation. Recipients from 2024 in and around District 5 included Christ Church for their community water fountain

I would encourage all non-profits to take a look at the Community Grants program. It’s money that will be awarded to someone, why not you? You can check out the eligibility criteria in the program booklet online on the municipal grants page here. Applications are due by April 1!

Youth Climate Action Grants:
Applications for the Youth Climate Action Fund program are now open. The program provides funding to cities worldwide to engage youth ages 15 through 24 in designing, implementing and overseeing climate solutions. HRM was selected as one of 100 cities worldwide to participate. Youth ages 15-24, along with youth-led teams or organizations, are invited to apply. Projects should align with HalifACT, the municipality’s long-term climate plan. Applications are open until March 31. To apply and learn more check out HRM’s page here.

Public Consultation

Shearwater Flyer Connector
April 1, 2026
South Woodside Community Centre
For now this is a tentative save the date. For the last few years, HRM staff have been working on plans to make an active transportation connection between the Woodside Ferry Terminal and the Shearwater Flyer Trail. This is an important missing piece of infrastructure. Once the gap between Woodside and Shearwater is filled, it will be possible to walk and bike all the way from Downtown Dartmouth to Lawrencetown Beach without sharing space with cars. There was some initial consultation for this project in 2022 and consultants have been engaged to refine designs. Prior to a report going to Council, staff are going to do another round of consultation on the preferred design. HRM is tentatively planning for that for April 1, but this isn’t confirmed yet. So for now, save the date, but stay tuned for details.

Budget 2025
March 19, 9:00 am
City Hall (or virtual)
Council is coming down the homestretch of budget deliberations. Council has heard from all departments and moved items that we’re interested in considering further to the budget adjustment list. The next step is to review everything that’s on the budget adjustment list to determine what’s in and what’s out. Budget adjustment day is always one of the most crucial days on the City Hall calendar!

This year’s budget adjustment list includes support for homelessness and several potential cuts, including slashing funding for HRM’s climate change plan, HalifACT, and tree planting. HRM must fund efforts to alleviate the impacts of the homelessness crisis and not short-change climate action. Cutting urban forestry is also really ill-advised! I have summarized where we are and my take on things in my Council blog here.

At the start of each of budget meeting, there is an opportunity for public feedback, including on budget adjustment day. If you would like to address Council on March 19 on anything on the budget adjustment list, you can do so by contacting the Clerks Office at clerks@halifax.ca. Presentations can be in-person or virtual. In-person presentations don’t need to be scheduled in advance, but you must contact the Clerk’s to present virtually.

Council Updates

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, Budget 2025
Council has concluded its review of all departments and the options for Council to consider are becoming clear. HRM must do what we can to address the homelessness crisis and not short-change climate action. Read about it here.

Council Update, February 12
One-HRM membership for Parks and Rec, a neighbourhour mediation program, and to tweet or not to tweet. Read about it here.

Events

The Glace Bay Miners Museum
March 13 – 29,
Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, 7:30 PM
Sundays, 2:00 PM
Stairs Memorial United Church
44 Hester Street
The Dartmouth Player’s present The Glace Bay Miners Museum. The play tells the story of a woman grappling with the defining moments of her life in a small mining community. By local playwright Wendy Lill. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit the Dartmouth Player’s page here.

Laughability
Thursday, March 20, 7:00 PM
Westin Nova Scotia
1181 Hollis Street, Halifax
The Dartmouth Adult Service Centre (DASC) will be holding their comedy fundraiser on March 20. Come join DASC for an evening of comedy performed by comedians with disabilities. For more information or to purchase tickets visit DASC’s page here.

Acoustic Coffee House Open Mic
Friday, March 21, 6:30 – 9:30 PM
Evergreen House
26 Newcastle Street
The Dartmouth Heritage Museum will be holding an open mic night at Evergreen House on Friday, March 21. Come by Evergreen for live music, coffee, and treats. Bring a guitar, ukulele, or any other acoustic instrument of choice and a song or two, or just stop by to enjoy some music! All performances will be acoustic – no sound equipment required. Admission is by donation. Due to space limitations, please RSVP to reserve your seat by calling the museum at 902-464-2300 or emailing info@dartmouthmuseum.ca

Fat Juliet
March 20-29
Alderney Theatre
Eastern Front Theatre and Shakespeare by the Sea have come together to produce Fat Juliet. With all the joy and teenage angst of a first love, fat Juliet is an exciting sleepover-style romp that takes an intimate look at what it is to love yourself. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit Eastern Front Theatre’s page here.

Pleasant Woodside Association Meet and Greet
Wednesday, March 26, 6:00 – 8:30 PM
Woodside Tavern
The Pleasant Woodside Neighbourhood Association will be holding their seasonal neighbourhood “Meet and Greet” on March 26 at the Woodside Tavern. Drop in to meet someone new, complain about the winter, and ask about (or report on) goings on in the neighbourhood. Come for supper. Kids welcome.