Roundup: More local support for Ukraine, vaccination update, New Glasgow motel to become affordable housing, $3M donation for new Queens County pool
Tareq Hadhad and his family fled war-torn Syria to build a new life in Canada.
Plus: The Food Professor — learn the truth about your food and where it comes from
More Nova Scotian communities are lining up to support Ukraine, as the Russian invasion continues to ravage the country.
The Municipality of the District of Guysborough council recently passed a motion to donate $25,000 to the Canadian Red Cross Ukrainian Crisis Appeal Fund.
Tareq Hadhad, who fled war-torn Syria with his family and today runs Antigonish-based Peace by Chocolate, urges Canadians to do more.
“Our family knows firsthand how it is to live through war,” he says in a press release. “So we will do everything we can to help those who are forced to experience it. It is something indescribable that we would not wish upon anyone, so every day we do our best to promote peace here in Canada and throughout the world.”
Drake Lowthers has the story for the Reporter.
COVID update
Nova Scotia continues to be a national leader in COVID-19 vaccination.
According to the latest statistics, 87.1 per cent of Nova Scotians are fully vaccinated, and 63.2 per cent have also had the booster. Countrywide, 81.0 per cent have had both shots, and 46.5 per cent are also boosted.
So far, COVID has killed 37,209 people across the country, including 232 Nova Scotians.
The Houston government is now releasing weekly COVID updates instead of the daily information; the latest update is scheduled to come on Thursday.
The Food Professor
Most Canadians don’t think too much about where their food comes from … until they start noticing sudden price increases and empty shelves at Sobeys. Lately, people are seeing more of both, sparking concerns about the security and affordability of our food supply.
Sylvain Charlebois, senior director of the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University, helps people understand what’s really happening on grocery store shelves and what they should (or shouldn’t) worry about.
On The Food Professor podcast, he joins Michael LeBlanc (from The Voice of Retail podcast) to discuss the hot issues in the food, grocery, and restaurant industries.
Check out Unravel Halifax‘s latest Podcast Pick.
More affordable housing for Pictou County
The Nova Scotia Co-operative Council recently bought the Tara Inn on East River Road in New Glasgow, planning to convert the motel into 36 affordable housing units.
The $1.6-million sale closed on Feb. 28 and renovations are underway.
“We’re trying to get it occupied by the end of June,” says Dianne Kelderman, president and CEO of the cooperative. “We have been inundated with people looking for housing. There’s no one simple demographic. There are younger people and seniors.”
Steve Goodwin reports for the Pictou Advocate.
Big donation for new community pool
Queens County is a big step closer to a new community pool, after a $3-million donation. The cash comes with the condition that the project proceeds “in a timely manner.” The pool has been in the works for seven years now.
“Last year we didn’t make any forward motion on that with COVID-19 happening, and we did not put that in our upcoming capital budget simply because there’s just too many things in there that has to be done,” says Mayor Darlene Norman. “We have it back in for 2023–24 in our five-year plan.”
Kevin McBain has more for LighthouseNow.
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