Roundup: Court throws out lawyer’s harassment charges, Mi’kmaw canoe welcomes airport arrivals, exploring Gaelic roots, COVID update
Makadunyiswe Ngulube at Clifton Marsh, studying how plant life can protect coastal Nova Scotia. Photo: Danika Van Proosdij
Plus: As sea levels rise, researcher Makadunyiswe Ngulube is studying how nature can help protect Nova Scotia
A judge has thrown out criminal harassment charges against the lawyer at the centre of an acrimonious dispute that led to last year’s closure of Pictou County law firm Mac, Mac & Mac.
Bégin says prosecutors didn’t show Donn Fraser engaged in threatening conduct towards managing partner Mary Jane Saunders, noting that no threats were made and that Fraser was seeking answers to work-related questions.
Fraser says he feels vindicated.
“However, the perception that people have when they hear that someone has been charged with something like ‘criminal harassment’ is obviously a negative one, with real risk of assumptions of very untoward things which are far removed from any reality,” he adds. “For someone in my position, the damage is immeasurable.”
Crown officials say they plan to appeal the ruling.
Janet Whitman reports for the Pictou Advocate.
When the water rises
Born and raised in Zimbabwe, Makadunyiswe Ngulube moved to Canada in 2016 to study environmental science. She soon discovered the Intertidal Coastal Sediment Transport Research Unit, and a passion for exploring how plant life can protect communities from rising sea levels.
“For Nova Scotia, this is some ground-breaking work because for years and years, there’s been diking and Acadian settlers were using that as a means of protection from flooding (in places like the Annapolis Valley, where dikes turned marsh to farmland),” she explains. “Now, we’re starting to see that we need those salt marshes because they can help to prevent flooding, improve water quality, sustain creatures, and provide carbon sequestration. Overall, this will be great for Nova Scotians to understand better what the coasts have to offer.”
Ameeta Vohra interviews her for Unravel Halifax.
Mi’kmaw canoe welcomes new arrivals
Halifax’s international airport is home to a new art installation featuring a traditional birch bark canoe, the latest creation from Mi’kmaw craftsman Todd Labrador.
Organizers commissioned the work to welcome visitors for next month’s 2022 Canoe Sprint and Paracanoe World Championships in Dartmouth, which is expected to draw 1,000 paddlers and coaches from 70 countries.
“We absolutely jumped on the opportunity to be able to proudly display it here at Halifax Stanfield,” says airport boss Joyce Carter. “It just fits in so nicely with us trying to create the sense of community to make sure that everyone feels at home.”
Kevin McBain has more for LighthouseNow.
Exploring Gaelic roots
The province’s Office of Gaelic Affairs recently hosted on a discussion series on the “Life & Lore of the Scottish Gaels” in Antigonish, aiming to improve understanding and awareness of the language, cultural heritage, and identity.
Historian Michael Newton led the talk, saying it’s a good time for Nova Scotians to explore the provinces Gaelic heritage, which many people only know as a handful of Celtic-sounding last names.
“Clan societies are kind of the main way in which most North Americans interact with the idea of Scottish heritage,” he says.
Drake Lowthers has more for the Reporter.
COVID update
The World Health Organization’s daily update on confirmed new cases of COVID worldwide in the last 24 hours is currently unavailable. With Tim Houston’s government withholding provincial data, it’s impossible to get an accurate picture of how the disease is spreading in Nova Scotia.
So far, COVID is known to have killed at least 6,365.510 people, including 42,148 in Canada and 456 Nova Scotians.
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