Alison Smith

Nova Scotia’s uranium exploration pitch falls flat Houston confirmed that not a single company came forward with an application to explore for uranium, stalling the mining push at least for now.

Is this is what taking the 'no' out of Nova Scotia means? If you dare say no, or even express caution about development that puts residents at risk, the Premier will imply that means no money for community infrastructure?
www.ctvnews.ca/atlantic/nov...

Municipality of the District of Lunenburg

I'm very happy that we have this as a basis for further discussion at our Policy and Strategy meeting on June 17 at 9 AM. The public is welcome to attend. We have public input at the beginning of every meeting-- you can address council directly. You can also follow along on our livestream:

On May 20th, I brought forward an urgent concern from a resident about uranium mining in the Lahave River Watershed. My ask to council was a motion to request a staff report as soon as possible. That motion passed and now we have the report. See:

www.modl.ca/index.php?op...

Similar motions passed yesterday in Annapolis and West Hants as well!
Our staff report on uranium exploration in the Lahave River Watershed will come to council next week on June 17. Public is welcome to attend; you can address council at the beginning of the meeting in public input.

Council Meeting - June 10, 2025 YouTube video by Municipality of the District of Lunenburg

Moved by Smith, seconded by Moore: That Council request that the Province pause the RFP process for exploration of uranium in East Dalhousie, which is in the Lahave River watershed, to allow for sufficient time for meaningful consultation with First Nations and the public.

As I noted, the point of the staff report is to give us the information we need to take an advocacy position (or not). Stay tuned!

Moved by Councillor Smith, seconded by Councillor Reinhardt, that we direct staff to bring back a report on the risks of uranium mining and exploration in the Lahave River Watershed. The motion passed.

Prime Minister of Canada Statement by Prime Minister Carney on World Press Freedom Day May 3, 2025 Ottawa, Ontario Today, the Prime Minister, Mark Carney, issued the following statement on World Press Freedom Day: "In this time of crisis, we must protect what it means to be Canadian. A strong, independent, and free press both defines and defends our values. My new government will protect reliable Canadian public forums, so we can tell our own stories in our own languages. "Central to this work is strengthening our public broadcaster, CBC/Radio-Canada, which has stitched this nation together, reporting from Corner Brook to Trois-Rivières to Whitehorse to Comox, bringing Canadians together at critical moments. My new government will also protect and fund more local news, including those with Indigenous perspectives. "In a sea of foreign media and disinformation, we need Canadian voices more than ever." Canada

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney issued a statement for #WorldPressFreedomDay. He mentioned our small city of Corner Brook, #Newfoundland and Labrador.

Among the solutions: “supporting policies that create community spaces and programs to make physical activity and social engagement more accessible.” These are some of the important ways that muni’s can improve health at the local level. And we work hard at this at MODL!

JFL and I went to the same small school in Caledonia, NS. (Fun fact: so did Minister Kim Masland.) I am heartened that we have an MP who understands rural issues and looks for solutions with inclusion and equity in mind.

Congratulations to Jessica Fancy-Landry, who flipped the seat in South Shore-St. Margarets. No one could have predicted this when she stepped up!

Extremely devastating news for transgender people in the United Kingdom.

So much of what we face in the United States has shared roots in that country, and this Supreme Court decision there will make people far less free.

Crackdowns on trans people are international, not limited to borders.

Tonight, 6:00-8:30 at the Union Square Hall. Looking forward to all the conversations; expecting a lot of concerns about MODL’s land use planning.

Good morning from the Mayor’s Breakfast, hosted by the Bridgewater Chamber of Commerce. With Mayor Mclean-Wile and @bridgewaterns.bsky.social

The District 6 newsletter for April is out. Updates on land use planning at MODL, engagement opportunities, grant info, all the stuff that's happening in our halls.
mailchi.mp/f71c9482a63d...

If you have thoughts on the motion for this letter, please get in touch with me.

It will come to Council on Tuesday where it will be voted on again.

This was a motion that I brought to the Finance Committee on Tuesday. See 3:40:00 in the video. This committee consists of the whole council. The motion passed unanimously.

Finance Committee Meeting - March 4, 2025 Part 2 YouTube video by Municipality of the District of Lunenburg

That, in light of the 8th femicide in our province since October, and the 2nd in Lunenburg County since the new year, the Finance Committee recommend that Municipal Council send a letter to the province to support calls from the gender-based violence sector for epidemic-level investment and support.

Infographic with small image of me. Text says: LET'S TALK COST OF LIVING How has your life been affected as inflation and the cost of living have soared? Are there changes you've had to make to adapt?" Call into Maritime Connection on CBC this Sunday between 4 - 5pm to join Dr. Christine Saulnier in a discussion about the rising cost of living and its impact on Maritimers. Dr. Christine Saulnier CCPA-NS Director 1-800-565-1940

I am joining to take calls on CBC’s Maritime Call-in radio show -before that other one, today (Feb 23). Discussing cost of living.

Welcome to Blue Sky 211 Nova Scotia!!!

Housing remains 'biggest issue' for women fleeing domestic violence, say front-line groups | CBC News Front-line organizations say housing remains a massive barrier for women fleeing domestic violence. Many shelters and supportive housing are full, leaving some women with few options and some going ba...

Jodi McDavid: "We unfortunately have some people who might return to the person that was causing harm to them and a lot of that is because of just the lack of housing."
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

From a journalist friend: Just spreading the word. The CDC is purging data, so people should archive their favorite CDC datasets today, namely ones around race/ethnic diversity, LGBTQ, and reproductive health. Also health data involving climate. The youth risk behavior survey has already gone down.

More on this history here: findingaids.library.dal.ca/uploads/r/da...

An appropriate time to re-read Donna E. Smyth’s autobiographical novel on uranium protests in the 80’s. she was a professor of mine, but I don’t think I fully appreciated how she was almost pushed to bankruptcy over an op-ed in the Herald.

Due to road conditions, this has been moved online for today at 1 pm! Email me at alison.smith@modl.ca for a Zoom link.

My partner works in education and I hear a LOT of praise for this program.

Looking forward to seeing it rolled out across the province.

news.novascotia.ca/en/2025/01/3...

I have had the privilege of working with teachers in Nova Scotia for 15yrs, so many of them eager to learn how best to stand up for the rights of trans kids. I’m devastated to hear teachers in the US are being targeting this way. I’m heartbroken for their students.