Author Archives: FHC Editor

AGM 2024 FHC Activities Report and Grades

FHC AGM Activities Report, 2024:
 
This is a brief summary of FHC Activities over the past year presented at the October AGM.
Halifax Common Master Plan: FHC Directors spent hundreds of hours trying to have input into the Common Master Plan. Despite that, little was achieved. The Plan is piecemeal, keeps none of the 1994 Halifax Common Master Plan’s major commitments: to recapture, not give up and keep Halifax Common land. It offers no legal protection. Weakest and worse is it did not plan for the entire Common and it left out the Wanderers Block.
Summary? An intensive time thief.
 
Major failures resulting from this are evidenced on the Carlton Block developments (four >30-storey towers with both developers coming back for more height), QEII (no public consultation/ trees cut/parkades/Garrison Ground paving). University Ave. bike lanes (paving / 23 trees cut).
 
FHC Direction: work for better government during municipal election; legislation to protect greenspace and trees (Grade: Commoners: A+ / HRM: -F)
 
 
Wanderers Block Plan: Includes Halifax Lancers, Lawnbowlers, Nova Scotia Museum of Natural History, Power House, Public Garden Greenhouses, Wanderers Grounds. So far HRM is attempting to plan in private, without public consultation with only stadium advocates and other Wanderer Block denizens according to Councilor Waye Mason.  
 
FHC Direction: work for transparent public process
Grade: Commoners: A+ / HRM: -F
 
 
Wanderers Field Temporary Pop-up Stadium: Keeping the public informed and writing the city about building a publicly paid for stadium on the Wanderers (at least $40 million) is not a good idea. All of many HRM consultant studies find there is no public economic benefit. This is confirmed by multiple economic studies and reviews (There are at least 130 examples).
 
FHC Direction: work for return of the Field to amateur players and support another location and funder for Derek Martin’s stadium
Grade: Commoners: A+ / HRM: -F
 
 
Central Common Swimming Pool: Its marvelous. Unfortunately HRM did not have public consultation on the building plan. Consequences: its not suitable for swim matches (length). The design illustrated a single building along Cogswell but what was built was in a different location and is two buildings-a much larger footprint which blocks the western view down Quinpool Road. The Central Common pathway has not been repaired and the excavated earth mounds remain unlandscaped. FHC advocated against user fees and on-going that the HRM not brand the pool by selling naming rights.  
 
FHC Direction: Work to  honour the First Nations by using the historic name Black Duck Pond
as translated from the Mi’kmaw; have public consultation for the new playground and name it after Ritchie and the Women’s Council, Halifax’s earliest advocates and establishers of children’s playgrounds.
Grade: Commoners: A+ / HRM: -F
 
 
Hospital build: Almost 3400 citizens kept up the pressure against cutting 37 trees (it likely ended up around 20). Many also worked to stop the paving of the Garrison Ground. In neither case did HRM make a public statement or local HRM councillors support our efforts.
 
FHC Direction: Work to have public consultation or presentation on the hospital building and advocate for the return of VG Lands to the Common’s public green space. 
Grade: Commoners: A+ / HRM: -F
 
 
Carlton Block, last historic neighbourhood on the Halifax Common: Tremendous effort by many to balance the public interest of citizens with developer demands, including a full report -Buildings for the Climate Crisis- A Halifax Case Study by Peggy Cameron. This proposes better development solutions to protect affordable housing, climate, community and character. Thousands participated for almost a decade but now we’ll have FOUR 30+ storey towers on the Carlton Block and 700 to 900 cars next to a designated heritage streetscape. 12-14 historic buildings with 110-112 residential and commercial units will be demolished. The developers on-going return to council to ask for and receive more height.
Grade: Commoners: A+ / HRM: -F
 
 
Heritage Designation of Dr Ligoure’s North St former Home/Clinic: FHC’s successful application motivated Halifax historian and author Joel Zemel to write a book to be launched Dec 8, at Central Library. But HRM’s plans to widen Robie St has an acquisition budget of at east $73million. This will be used to buy and demolish dozens of its neighbouring historic buildings, cut up to 80 street trees, destroy a multi-racial, affordable community. Signalized lane changes as used on the MacDonald Bridge/Chebucto Lane are a quick, cheap, workable solution.
(Grade: Commoners: A+ / Joel Zemel A+ / HRM: -F) 
 
Upcoming- FHC’s strategy session will continue a lot of our on-going efforts. We hope to improve our capacity with an upcoming new website, successful charitable status application and membership and donor drive. We greatly appreciate your help in our collective efforts. We will rely on you to keep our new mayor and council better informed about the importance of keeping, recapturing and protecting our Common good.
 
Please see more details of our work here: www.halifaxcommon.ca
And remember to follow, like, share. our posts on facebook.com/halifaxcommon/posts/

Jamie Simpson – How Cities Protect Trees By Law

“trees aren’t just ‘pretty things to look at” a nice short film by Uytae Lee about our urban forest https://shorturl.at/choDH

Halifax – Ki’jupuk is known as the ‘City of Trees’ but FHC worries for how long. Hundreds of Halifax Common trees (Bell Rd, Robie St, University Ave) and throughout the city are being cut. Governments, both municipal and provincial, plan these tree cuts as if trees can just be replaced.
 
Jamie Simpson’s Law of the Urban Forest presentation at the Oct 2024 AGM tells us what other cities do to preserve and manage urban trees. Jamie’s experience is as a lawyer, forester, and writer (three books), most recently writing forest stewardship plans for the Mi’kmaq of Nova Scotia – all with a passion for exploring our natural world (and sometimes eating it). He’s the ideal person to help bring many threads together. Please view the slides to see what we can do to make comments to HRM Staff and Council about our keeping our Common trees?
 
FHC believes the best way to keep the beauty, environmental and health benefits of our urban trees is to protect and care for the ones that we have, by law. It takes at least 269 saplings to do the environmental work of an existing tree that is 1m in diameter. That’s about the size of a small adult. In 2023, HRM planted ~2600 new trees in 2023. That would replace the work of 10 1m trees. Each new tree HRM plants costs almost $1000. Each one faces many obstacles to thriving- pollution, extreme heat and cold, drought, disease, insects, and accidents.

 

HRM Election – FHC’s Questions For Candidates

Vote for Our Common Good – Keep It Ours!

Congratulations to our new Mayor and Council and thanks to everyone who stood for office, helped with the election and voted. We look forward to meeting and working with the new municipal government.
As it’s important that electoral candidates hear Common concerns from many voices! During HRM’s 2024 election FHC asked candidates six questions. We also asked you to use them to help you make the best choice to protect the Halifax Common.

Here are FHC’s questions:

1. Legal Protection: Do you commit to working with the NS government to legally protect the integrity of the 240 acre Halifax Common?

Note: Provincial legislation protects the Dartmouth Common. Halifax needs the same rules.
2. Wanderers Stadium:
 Do you support spending $40million of our public money for a permanent soccer stadium on the Halifax Common’s Wanderers Field for a for-profit soccer business? Note: Before Derek Martin and his professional team occupied the Wanderers Field with his ‘temporary, pop-up stadium’, it was used to full capacity by amateur players. Now, no amateur teams have regular access to the Field. HRM needs money for housing, public transportation, water, sewage and roads. Multiple studies show public investment in stadiums has no economic benefit.
3. Halifax Common Master Plan: The new Plan says there’s a role for community stakeholders. Will you work to establish a diverse stewardship committee that includes members of existing Friends’ groups to oversee the city’s parks and green spaces, including the Halifax Common?

Note: Point Pleasant Park has such a citizen advisory group.
4. Discord between HRM and Nova Scotia governments. What suggestions or strategies do you have for improving relations between the Nova Scotia and HRM governments to work more collaboratively on issues of concern to both, especially to improve the lives of residents. 

5. Cogswell Triangle: HRM persistently ignores promises to protect, recapture or replace lost Halifax Common. It even wants to close sell Centennial Pool. Instead imagine if the Cogswell Triangle (Cogswell, North Park, Gottingen, Rainne Drive) had Centennial Pool alongside a new Mi’kmaw Friendship Centre surrounded by public green space? Ask candidates if they support keeping Centennial Pool and converting the remaining public land to green space.

Note: See this Chronicle Herald story on HRM’s Plan for their next big public land sell off.
6. Your Question(s) here: With concerns such as  affordable housing, public transportation, protecting urban trees, developer campaign contributions, we know you might have more than one.

Be sure to let us know who has the best answers. 

April 15 – Once More Time, FHC Writes Parks Canada re Garrison Ground

This 2024 FHC April letter to Parks Canada copy.pages summarizes concerns over and options to halt the paving  of Garrison Ground. Unfortunately Parks Canada agreed to the provincial Department of Health’s request for parking expansion. The QEII hospital redevelopment team ignored the health, social, cultural, economic value of protecting and expanding green space. It ignored the health, climate and environmental cost of expanding support for private vehicles. There was sufficient lead time to pursue available, proven better options for staff, patient and public transportation. As Premier Houston has promised parking for the hospitals will be free, the $8million revenue stream for the QEII Foundation will be paid with public tax dollars. Its unclear how Parks Canada will make money. Spending public health care dollars to pave public space and expand parking is not a solution for transportation or our future. 

NS Health’s proposed parking lot paving project on the Garrison Ground at Parks Canada’s Halifax Citadel National Historic Site

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Trees at Willow Tree intersection - soon to be cut down

Shame – Premier Houston & Mayor Savage Ignore ~3,400 Citizens & CUT 20 Robie & Bell Road Trees!

When FHC heard Premier Houston’s provincial government wanted Mayor Savage and HRM’s permission to cut 37 trees on Robie, Bell Road & Summer for the QEII hospital expansion, we knew there was a better option — take the building back from the edge so the tree roots were safe. Together our collective effort reduced the number of cuts to ~20. But HRM issued permits and cut ~20 trees despite opposition from ~3,400 citizens. In a climate crisis and knowing the importance of trees to our city and personal health, governments & builders must do better. Trees and Healthcare need to co-exist. Shame.
Up next? Premier Houston’s Health & Wellness wants Parks Canada to pave green space on the Halifax Citadel National Park’s Garrison Grounds for hospital parking.  Why is the Premier and his Minister of of Health determined to wreck Halifax’s public realm for the QEII hospital expansion? Shame.

Trees at Willow Tree intersection - soon to be cut down

Photo: Several of the 20 trees along Robie St. & Bell Rd. that  Premier Houston and Mayor Savage allowed to be cut down to expand the QEII Hospital complex.

See below for Our Actions to Help Protect Our Trees!

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(April 7) FHC to Minister Guilbeault – Do Not Pave Halifax Citadel’s Garrison Ground for Parking

“It is completely unacceptable that you as Minister of Environment and Climate Change, or a department of your government would contemplate such a thing as paving green space for expanding parking given its health, social, cultural, historic, environmental importance and negative impact on these. Or support the ongoing destruction of our environment. Do not permit the paving of the Garrison Ground. Please work to ensure that this plan does not proceed.” Details:
2024 FHC letter Guilbeault, Paving Garrrison Ground copy.pages

NS Health’s proposed parking lot paving project on the Garrison Ground at Parks Canada’s Halifax Citadel National Historic Site

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