District 7 Candidates Jen Powley and incumbent Waye Mason submitted survey responses. Richard Arundel-Evans and Craig Roy did not return surveys. See details below:
Category Archives: OPINION
Candidates for Councillor, District 5 & 6
Disappointingly neither incumbent Councillor Sam Austin nor candidate Mitch MacIntyre responded to the FHC survey. We did note that Austin’s first campaign video was about the exciting work that is happening in the daylighting of the Sawmill River. FHC wishes this could be said for Freshwater Brook-identified with the same 2006 MOU as Sawmill River for daylighting. Instead it will be further buried under the 8-storey garage north of the NS Museum of Natural History.
Council candidates for District 6—Douglas Day, Incumbent Tony Mancini and Ibrahim Manna— did not submit survey responses.
Candidates for Council, District 8
Of Councillor candidates for District 8 Virginia Hinch was the only respondent. Dylan Smith and Incumbent Lyndell Smith did not respond.
FHC has been disappointed with Councillor Smith. Last year Smith put forward a motion to have a Development Agreement proceed for a 23-storey high rise to on Danny Chedrawe’s Robie Street Cruickshanks property against the recommendation of HRM staff and against the Centre Plan. This will negatively affect the North Common with more shadow, wind and traffic. As well,
Councillor Smith did not support citizens who wanted the former St Pat’s High School site to remain as public property nor the citizens who worked for ~20 years on Imagine Bloomfield; both schools have now been sold to private developers.
Councillor Smith has also not advocated for the Halifax Common by standing against the developments on the Corridor, the four towers on the Carlton/College/Spring Garden Road/Robie Block and the parking garages.
FHC are therefore endorsing Candidate Virginia Hinch who answered very favorably to the survey questions!
Please see details below:
FHC Survey —District 9 Candidates’ Replies
Each of the five candidates responded to the FHC survey. These include Bill Carr, Shaun Clark, Incumbent Shawn Cleary, Stephen Foster and Gerry Lonergan. See details below:
Continue reading
Candidates for Councillor, District 10
Of Candidates for District 10 only Kathryn Morse responded. Candidates Andrew Curran, Mohammad Ehsan, Renee Field, Sherry Hassanali, Christopher Hurry, Debbie MacKinnon and Kyle Morton did not respond. See Kathyrn’s response below-other than not having solutions to the parking garage she seems like she is open, positive and thoughtful!
Continue reading
Candidates for Council, District 11
Of Candidates running in District 11 Hannah Munday was the only respondent. Stephen Chafe, Matthew Conrad, Bruce Cooke, Patty Cuttell, Bruce Holland, Kristen Hollery, Jim Hoskins, Ambroise Matwawana, Lisa Mullin, Dawn Edith Penney and Pete Rose did not reply to the survey. See Hannah’s response below:
Continue reading
FHC Survey—District 12 Candidates’ Replies
Of Candidates for District 12 Eric Jury was the only respondent. Candidates John Bignell, Iona Stoddard and Incumbent Richard Zurawski did not reply to the survey. Eric gives very thoughtful answers so FHC has decided to endorse him. To read his answers please see below:
Continue reading
Candidates for Councillor, District 13
Of Candidates for District 13 Derek Bellemore and Pam Lovelace responded. Tom Arnold, Tim Elms, Robert Holden, Nick Horne, Darrell Jessome, Iain Taylor and Harry Ward did not submit responses. Derek Bellemore gives exceptionally Common favourable replies! For details see below:
Candidates for Councillor, District 14, 15 & 16
No responses were received from candidates in District 14, 15 or16. These include:
District 14: Candidates Incumbent Lisa Blackburn and Fred Frampton.
District 15: Candidates Mary Lou Leroy, Anthony Mrkonjic, Jay Aaron Roxy, David Schofield and Incumbent Paul Russell.
District 16: Incumbent Tim Outhit.
Round and Round We Go…Parking is us.
A fourth version of the 500-stall, 8-storey parking garage planned for the north side of the NS Museum of Natural History is now flipped in orientation requiring a larger easement from HRM and chewing up more of the Halifax Common.
Time to Stop Government Spin on the Hospital Parking Garage
Friends of Halifax Common (FHC) are calling on the Halifax Regional Municipal and Nova Scotia governments to scrap the $30 million dollar, 500-stall, 8-storey parking garage planned for the Nova Scotia Museum property as part of the proposed $2 billion dollar QEII hospital expansion.
The province has recently come to the city with yet a fourth version of the parking garage and pedway over Summer Street, flipping the orientation, increasing easement requirements and chewing up more of Halifax Common’s green space. Continue reading
Chronicle Herald: Community groups call for public consultation audit on HRM developments
An artist’s rendition of the 29-storey Willow Tree tower at the corner of Quinpool Road & Robie Street.
Francis Campbell
The voice of the public is not being heard or heeded in “pre-ordained” Halifax Regional Municipality development plans, several community groups say.
“The consultative process is a right of the public under the (municipal) charter so that the public is able to participate in the finalization of planning strategies,” said Peggy Cameron of the group Friends of the Common Halifax Common, one of 10 Continue reading
Rick Howe-FHC Request to AG for Review of Public Consultation Process
HRM’s Charter establishes the right of the public to be consultated and to participate in the formulation of planning strategies.
Rick Howe interviews FHC’s Peggy Cameron- Why have ten community groups asked HRM’s auditor general to do a review of HRM’s public engagement process and outcomes?