20feb2009: Culture sector growth industry worth $84.6 billion and 1.1 million jobs says Creative Economy Report... A report on building the creative economy in Nova Scotia will be launched at a town hall meeting on Wednesday, March 4, 7 pm, at the Dalhousie Arts Centre by arts group, Nova Scotia CAN. The report's authors say that arts and culture are a way of creating wealth at a time that Nova Scotia desperately needs it. "There has been an unprecedented growth in creative industries in the last 10 years," Leah Hamilton, co-author of the report told The Herald... >>> Herald story    >>> read report

Food inspections online shows KFC, Tim's as major violators... The new online food establishment reporting system touted by the Nova Scotia government as being surprisingly very popular with Nova Scotia diners shows some restaurants more than likely to have multiple violations.
     For inspection reports in January, Kentucky Fried Chicken outlets in the province showed the most violations, with an average of 1.3 per unit inspected. Of the seven MacDonald's inspected a total of eight violations was found and Dairy Queen had three offences in four inspections.
     Tim Hortons franchises showed a 42% violation rate, with six of the most egregious violators sharing 18 violations. Sixty per cent of the Canadian Legions inspected were cited, as were 25% of the Subway locations. Pizza looked to be one of the safest bets in the fast food category, with few violations from the many provincial locations.
     Random selections of eateries in five towns showed violation rates below 25%.

What the Nova Scotia government has planned for Cape Cod...crimes and misdemeanors on Georges Bank... One of the luxuries of living on or around Cape Cod is that there were once certain things one could count on. The New York Times would ignore much of what matters,  Times readers will invade the peace and quiet in the summer, and one could count on a cooperative and friendly attitude from the neighbors to the east in Nova Scotia >>> read the full story in Cape Cod Today.

NS fishing industry in crisis... A new report from GPI Atlantic says concentration on just a few species in Nova Scotia’s fishing industry could spell trouble.
     The report says that the fisheries’ vulnerability can be traced to overfishing of many species of larger fish at the top of the food chain off Nova Scotia. Those include cod, other groundfish and sharks. That means the fishery is increasingly dependent on species lower on the food chain, such as lobster and other shellfish.   >>> more

9jan2009: Spring election on its way... Tories say to expect a negative campaign... in an internal memo leaked to the Halifax Herald, provincial Tory campaign manager Kevin Lacey told party execs and MLAs to be ready for what looks like a June election.... >>> more 

7jan2009: Georges Bank Task Force members dispute early conclusions of safe oil & gas drilling...  A news release heralding a committee conclusion that "oil and gas can be developed on the currently protected Georges Bank  area with minimal effect on the environment" has riled committee members before any public meetings are held.
Oceans First Task Force steering committee members and industry observers are surprised and dismayed at the recent - and they say, premature - assertions by the committee chairman that, based largely on a government-sponsored trip to meet with oil industry executives in Norway, the committee has concluded that drilling and fishing can coexist peacefully. Yarmouth lawyer Clifford Hood has been named by Energy Minister Richard Hurlburt as the chairman of the "Oceans First Task Force", funded by a $150,000, two-year grant from the Nova Scotia Department of Energy. The group is charged in its contract with the department with examining economic opportunities from offshore oil and gas operations in the sensitive Georges Bank region, including environmental and social risks, then reporting back to the government.
     Yarmouth lawyer Clifford Hood has been named by Energy Minister Richard Hurlburt as the chairman of the "Oceans First Task Force", funded by a $150,000, two-year grant from the Department of Energy. The group is charged in its contract with the department with examining economic opportunities from offshore oil and gas operations n the sensitive Georges Bank region, including environmental and social risks.
    The contract with the South West Shore Development Authority includes the hiring of an offshore energy opportunity officer and SWSDA has hired former Yarmouth harbour master Garth Atkinson as what Hood refers to as " a researcher" on the project. When first questioned about the funding, a senior department official told NST that "we have never heard of Oceans First and we are not funding something like that." Subsequent inquiries to the department resulte4d in some documents being produced
    Hood says that the task force is still in the steering committee stage and includes representatives from the fishery, unions, business and environmentalists. Hood would not divulge the names of the committee, but NST has learned that it includes several players who are known to support offshore drilling in the region.  The committee will be expanded soon, according to Hood "to include a broad, community-based consultation group from South West Nova Scotia."
Who's Who...     Hood said in a news release that the steering committee began their work with a trip to Norway for "intensive discussions with industry and government."  Those attending the government-funded trip included Energy Minster Hurlburt, Health Minister Chris d'Entremont,  several department staffers, SWSDA CEO Frank Anderson and chair Rod Rose, Yarmouth politician Bryan Smith, Woods Harbour lobester fisher Sandy Stoddart, Yarmouth fishermen Hubert Saulnier, fish processor Bee d'Entremont, representatives of DFO and Natural Resources Canada plus Dan Earle of the Tusket River Evironmental Protection Association. 
It's a road trip... Despite Norway being seen as an international model for coordinating the many competing interests in the ocean habitat, steering committee members say that, to their surprise, the Norway trip was exclusively focused around oil and gas drilling and that the group did not meet with any fishing industry or environmental experts. The group met with representatives of the Norway Petroleum Protectorate, the Safety Directorate and Petrocan Norway. 
      Discussions with the department about forming the task force began in the spring and, despite the contractual mandate to conduct a thorough assessment of the situation and prior to any local, scientific or fisheries consultations, the steering committee has, according to chairman Clifford Hood, already concluded that "it is possible to conduct seismic testing and oil and gas drilling in sensitive areas," and that "oil and gas can be developed on Georges Bank with minimal effect on the environment."
     Bruce Cameron, who is overseeing the project for the department, refused to comment on record about the Task Force.
What about the fisheries?... in the lengthy assessment in 1999 surrounding the review of the existing Georges Bank oil & gas moratorium there was extensive review and industry consultation prior to any assessments made about effects on fish stocks in the region. "There is a definite rebounding of fish stock in the Georges Bank," says Denny Morrow, executive director of the Nova Scotia Fishpackers Association, representing more than forty fish processors in the area. "A huge haddock biomass is there, as well as scallops and cod and the lobster stock is terrific."  It's the one place between cape Cod and Newfoundland that there is a palpable recovery of the groundfish stock, he adds.
     There is also strong indication, says Morrow, that the large herring population fished by U.S. East Coast fleets are spawning on the Canadian portion of the Bank. "For this committee to say oil & gas development is OK there with no facts whatsoever behind them is laughable." Morrow says that, rather than taking an objective look at the economic and environmental issues at hand, it appears as though the Task Force is being used politically to build support locally for a lifting of the moratorium.
Locals only...  Public meetings with "stakeholders" and interested parties are planned for communities throughout Yarmouth, Digby and Shelburne Counties, says Hood. "We are trying to make something in this region," he told SCT, "and not get overwhelmed by a Halifax-centered mentality." As for including the Ecology Action Centre or other groups located outside south west Nova Scotia, Hood expressed little interest. "God bless the EAC," said Hood, "but they are not the only people who know anything about oceans."
     Hood, who was previously a petroleum engineer, admits to generally having a pro-drilling stance on the issues at hand. "I was vocal about being opposed to the moratorium ten years ago, so people won't be surprised where I stand today."
Who's doing what to who?... Hood's release about the conclusions reached by the steering committee based on the Norway trip came as a surprise and disappointment to some of the attendees. "I would never draw those sorts of conclusions without fully assessing the facts and the science," says senior DFO scientist Ted Potter, who will be heading up the DFO-led federal internal study group to assess the Georges Bank moratorium issue.
     Dan Earle, former coastal planner and environmentalist, says that the assertions by Hood do not represent the work of the steering committee, as the issue was never discussed in any meetings. In fact, says Earle, there has been little activity with the committee since the Norway trip. "One issue we did have was the lack of independent science surrounding the impacts of siesmic testing. We asked to have someone come to us to make a presentation and were told it would be looked into." 
90 days and counting... The contract requires Hood, Atkinson and SWSDA to produce the results of the 2008-2009 work plan delivered by March 31 and to have a 2009-2010 work plan by January 31.  A department spokesman told NST via email on Monday, that although the department was not aware of who would be doing the work for the Task Force, that the Minister and staff expect the "deliverables" timeline to be met. 
     The March 31 report includes a review of oil and gas experience in eight Nova Scotia counties, reviewing capabilities in southwest Nova Scotia, establishing a skills assessment methodology, description of work with stakeholder committees and information sessions, plus dissemination of results of the public sessions. (Scope of work can be viewed here) 
>>> See Herald story here6jan2008: 

6jan2009:Expense release slammed... The South West Shore Development Authority’s top executive spent almost $26,000 on travel, mostly within Nova Scotia, during 2005-06, according to documents released under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.
     After losing a lengthy legal battle over public disclosure the Yarmouth-based government agency provided the travel expenses of chief executive Frank Anderson to Shelburne resident Adelard Cayer last week. >>> more

5jan2009: NDP calls for SWSDA audit... $1 million-plus unaccounted for...  Shelburne County MLA Sterling Belliveau called on the  Office of the Auditor General on Monday for a full provincial independent audit of the South West Shore Regional Development Authority’s handling of the sale of the Sandy Point sound stage and the boys’ school. 
      “The residents of Shelburne have been calling for an audit for more than a year,” says Belliveau. “The questions being asked are not going to go away. Residents want, and deserve, to know that the money from these sales will be utilized within Shelburne County. It’s time for the Auditor General to step in and investigate this situation.”
       The proceeds from the sales were intended for the five municipal regions of Shelburne County, Belliveau added. Frank Anderson testified in court in December of 2007 that, as SWSDA CEO, he had spent all of the near $700,000 from the boy's school before a penny was distributed to local municipal coffers and they were now "merely an accounting entry." SWSDA's audited financial statements for the year account for only $750,000 of the $1 million in cash paid by Seacoast Entertainment Arts on the $2.75 million sale of the film studio
    In 2007, more than 500 Shelburne County residents signed a petition calling for an audit of SWSDA books and a meeting with senior government officials, neither of which took place. At that time, NDP leader Darrell Dexter and liberal leader Stephen McNeil both asked for SWSDA audits.
     Lockeport Mayor Darian Huskilson was a former SWSDA executive member and treasurer until he was recently turfed in a "restructuring" of the board. He has been an outspoken critic of some of the business practices of SWSDA, especially what he considered back room dealing on the sale of the Boy's School to a friend of Anderson's. Huskilson told SCT that, any politics aside, there has been considerable public interest in "getting to the bottom of a murky situation," with the finances of SWSDA. Huskilson added, "the public has an absolute right to have a full accounting of public monies."

Note:  SWSDA has also recently been awarded a $150,000 contract with the Nova Scotia Department of Energy to coordinate a task force designed to promote oil and gall drilling on the currently protected and lucrative Georges Bank fishing grounds. 

4jan2008: Right whale breeding ground found in Gulf of Maine?... A large number of North Atlantic right whales have been seen in the Gulf of Maine in recent days, leading right whale researchers at NOAA’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center to believe they have identified a wintering ground and potentially a breeding ground for this endangered species. >>> more