40th NS AFRICAN HERITAGE MONTH

This year’s African Heritage Month provincial theme: “Our Smiles, Our Joy, Our Resilience as African Nova Scotians” outlines the spirit of perseverance that people of African Descent have demonstrated over the centuries in our province and country. The theme also aligns with the final year of the United Nations’ International Decade for People of African Descent (DPAD) 2015-2024. The goal of DPAD is to strengthen global cooperation in support of people of African descent, increase awareness and the passage towards presence in all aspects of society. Nova Scotia has 52 historic African Nova Scotian communities with a long, deep and complex history dating back over 200 years. African Heritage Month provides us with another opportunity to celebrate our culture, legacy, achievements, and contributions of our people – past and present. For a list of African Heritage Month events and municipal proclamations across the province, go to www.ahm.bccnsweb.com 

8TH ANNUAL HBFF24 : FEB. 23– 26

The Halifax Black Film Festival (HBFF) is a dynamic, refreshing and audacious festival whose ambition is to encourage the development of the independent film industry and to promote more films on the reality of Black people from around the Globe. The HBFF is glad to celebrate diversity within the Black communities through films that matter. For more details, visit: www.halifaxblackfilm.com #HBFF24

NATIONAL FLAG DAY & HERITAGE DAY

The Federal Government has proclaimed February 15 as National Flag of Canada Day. In 1965, fifty- nine years ago, the old Red Ensign Flag with the British Union Jack was replaced with the Red Maple Leaf. To know more facts about our nation’s flag and/or other official national symbols of Canada: www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/services/official-symbols-canada.html 

And be sure to wave our own provincial and municipal flags too! Heritage Day is the third Monday in February each year is set aside as an annual reminder of our storied past and an opportunity to honour the remarkable people, places and events that have contributed to this province’s unique heritage. This year’s date is February 19. Please enjoy the day! More info at: https://heritageday.novascotia.ca/ 

Heritage Day 2024 will honour Victoria Cross recipient William Hall. More details about him: at https://heritageday.novascotia.ca/content/2024-honouree-william-hall 

ICE THICKNESS TESTING CANCELLED

HRM is no longer conducting its ice thickness testing program because changing climate patterns, including rapidly fluctuating temperatures, ice testing is no longer feasible. Residents are reminded that the Canadian Red Cross recommends that ice be at least 15 cm thick for individual skating, and at least 20 cm thick for group skating. Extreme caution is advised in areas where streams flow into and out of lakes. It is also important to note that ice conditions may vary over the entire surface of lakes and are subject to change with weather conditions. For more information and tips about ice safety, please visit the Canadian Red Cross website: www.redcross.ca/blog/2019/12/ice-safety-know-when-it-s-safe-to-play 

RURAL RECREATION STRATEGY

The latest HRM’s Rural Recreation Strategy (RRS) provides an analysis of current and future needs for Parks & Recreation services and assets in rural areas of HRM. The strategy has been developed through a collaborative approach that encompasses the recreation needs of rural residents, including opportunities for innovative service delivery and equitable access to indoor and outdoor recreation assets for lifelong participation in vibrant and healthy communities.

The RRS considers all areas outside the urban and suburban tax boundaries as rural. Further, rural HRM is divided into four distinct areas: Commuter West, Commuter East, Musquodoboit Valley, and Eastern Shore. After extensive research and public engagement, the RRS is now complete and will provide the direction required to guide municipal decisions related to the provision of indoor and outdoor recreational facilities and assets, and to increase recreational opportunities in the rural areas of HRM. Rural communities have an abundance of outdoor wilderness areas, beaches, coastlines, long-standing cultural traditions and events, community-led programming, and local stewardship of community facilities and outdoor sites. The RRS demonstrates that there are unique challenges and barriers to providing recreation opportunities in rural communities across the municipality. There are six key themes and objectives of the RRS:

1) Equitable access to indoor facilities;
2) Access to outdoor recreation opportunities;
3) Volunteer support;
4) Programming that meets rural needs;
5) Inter-departmental and inter-governmental partnerships; and
6) Advertising and communications that reflect rural communities.

Learn more: https://cdn.halifax.ca/sites/default/files/documents/city-hall/boards-committees-commissions/231214cped81.pdf 

HRM CULTURAL & HERITAGE PLAN

“Sharing our Stories”: HRM’s Culture and Heritage Priorities Plan (CHPP) is a comprehensive strategy aimed at promoting and preserving the diverse, cultural heritage of the Halifax Region. The CHPP outlines a set of 44 actions that will help to build a more inclusive, diverse, and vibrant cultural community through focused investment, program development, service delivery and ongoing community engagement. The CHPP actions will provide high-level guidance in budget and business planning over the next decade across municipal departments in the areas of culture and heritage programming and will directly inform the latest review of the Regional Municipal Planning Strategy.

The CHPP was completed in four phases: Phase 1 - Cultural Asset Inventory;
Phase 2 - Review of Research and Past Engagement Activities
Phase 3 - Initial Targeted Engagement
Phase 4 - Targeted Engagement to Refine Plan Content

All completed studies and reports are found on the project website at the following link: www.shapeyourcityhalifax.ca/sharingourstories 

The CHPP is intended to enhance more than just the development and implementation of cultural programming. It will improve the emphasis on culture, heritage diversity, and inclusion within each and every area of municipal jurisdiction, from planning and development, to events planning, to service delivery and transportation. Over its 10- year implementation, HRM will be helping to share the stories, histories, and experiences of a much larger and more diverse portion of its population and enriching the lives of all of its residents. For more information of the CHPP, go to: https://cdn.halifax.ca/sites/default/files/documents/city-hall/boards-committees-commissions/231214cped1311.pdf 

ICE & SNOW WINTER MAINTENANCE

The Nova Scotia Department of Public Works (NSDPW) does most of the snow removal, ice control and winter road maintenance services in District 2. Our local NS Highway Depots are in West Chezzetcook and Spry Bay. You can e-mail any roadway concerns to the attention of the NSDPW Operations Contact Centre, to: DPW-OCC@novascotia.ca or call 1-844-696-7737. The NSDPW will log it, assign a service ticket number and send it to the appropriate local supervisor. The Province as an online “plowtracker” tool that citizens can track snowploughs on a provincial zoom in map: http://novascotia.ca/tran/winter/plowtracker.asp 

Or you can see current highway conditions by going online to the roadside camera website: https://novascotia.ca/tran/cameras/ 

Drivers can also get up-to-date road conditions across Nova Scotia by calling the SNOW-line: 1-800-307- SNOW (7669) or 511 or 1-888-432-3233, or visit: http://novascotia.ca/tran/winter 

The SNOW-line is updated regularly at 7 a.m., 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. or more frequently in case of a major storm event. You can also follow them on Twitter: @NS_PublicWorks. If you have any concerns or complaints about snow removal service in your area that is served by NSDPW, then please contact your Eastern Shore MLA office: kent.smith@novascotia.ca or call 902-989-3772.

With respect to the communities of North Preston, Westphal, East Preston, Lake Echo, Mineville and all of the Lawrencetown subdivision streets west of the Mineville Road, these areas are being done under the auspices of HRM with a Performance Base Contracted Out Service provider: Ocean Contractors. If you have any concerns about our Snow and Ice Control winter road maintenance, please call the HRM Contact Centre at 311 or reach out to me. For information about HRM Winter Road Maintenance, please go to: www.halifax.ca/transportation/winter-operations