In the fall of 2020, the Fabienne Colas Foundation put out a call for entries from young filmmakers for a series called Being Black in Canada. Recently, the four filmmakers who made up the Being Black in Halifax entry won the Canadian Screen Award for Best Direction in a Documentary series. The winners included Lily Nottage, Dena Williams, Tyler Simmonds and Kardeisha Provo who's entry was titled North Preston: The Untold Story. Spliting her time between Toronto and her home community of North Preston, Provo has been focussing on storytelling and sharing her perspective growing up in the largest Black community in Canada. African Nova Scotian history is our collective history and she's been working to re-frame the narrative that is lost to negative press and old prejudices. Kardeisha Provo is one of many Black Nova Scotia artists who are finding their voices and are being recognized for their talent.

He's been a public figure for much of his adult life, and now he's hoping that by sharing his experience, he can help the helpers. Cyril Lunney recently had to call 911 to have an ambulance come to his home to help his 16-year old daughter. She was dehydrated and in medical distress. It took nearly 90 minutes for the paramedics to arrive from 90 kilometres away. And that prompted him to write an open letter to the province on his Facebook page. That message about his family's experience has been shared thousands of times and people have been reaching out to him to share their own experiences. Some of them with fatal outcomes.

Nearly two in five Canadians are expected to be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetimes according to the Canadian Cancer Society. And without question, the pressure on our health care system during the pandemic has delayed diagnosis and treatment for many Nova Scotians. Danielle Smith was studying to be a nurse when she detected an unsual lump while practising for one of her classes. And she was fortunate enough to be seen by doctors in June of 2020 and her own family physician called her to break the news. Throughout her treatment, Smith was helped by the Canadian Cancer Society who helped her get a wig to wear as she dealt with the side effects of chemotherapy. She's since recovered and is enjoying her new found perspective on life with her partner and their four children. And she's also taken to pay it forward by participating in the CIBC Run for the Cure and to promote the Cancer Society's daffodil campaign. She truly is only focusing on the positive as she lives her life as a Cancer survivor.

As a part of the provincial budget, Nova Scotia is introducing the Non-Resident Property Tax and Non-Resident Provincial Deed Transfer Tax. The deed transfer is five percent of the purchase price and will be on top of whatever the deed transfer tax is in the municipality where the property is located. The non-resident property tax is calculated at $2 per $100 of assessed value and both are effective April 1, 2022. What impact if any will this have on the red-hot housing market in the province? The Nova Scotia Association of Realtors (NSAR) was as surprised as many out of province property owners were by these policies. They met with the finance minister but recently, but recently installed NSAR President Tammy Hines says no one has a crystal ball to know what will happen.

Family of one of the victims in the mass killings in 2020 are asking for answers about why some information they provided wasn't included. They say they provided Fitbit data from VON Nurse Heather O'Brien that showed her heart was beating for hours after she'd been shot and left for dead by the killer. They question why the responding officers didn't get her medical help. Documents relating to the RCMP Officer's notes and the transcripts of their interviews with the Mass Casualty Commission were removed from the website last Friday after the family's Facebook page went up. Another document, an interview with an officer who was critical of another member's actions, also was posted but was since removed. Adam Rodgers has been posting his own commentary on the Commission's work on his own blog and YouTube Channel. He was the lawyer representing Lionel Desmond's estate in that fatality inquiry. He shares his thoughts on disclosure, documents that appear to have been taken down and whether all information collected by the Commission should be publicly available. He also weighs in on how the potential class action lawsuits are influencing some behaviour.

When opposition members introduce Legislation, it can be seen as a signal of the direction they'd like to see government move towards. It seldom makes it to second reading to be voted on to become law. Both the Liberals and New Democrats have been busy introducing their opposition bills this session. The challenge for Iain Rankin and his party is that they could have still been in power had they not chosen to go to the polls last summer. The end of the mandate would still have been months away. What does this say about the different priorities of parties when they are in power versus opposition? And how has Tim Houston and the Progressive Conservatives done balancing the two? Doctor Tom Urbaniak is a professor in the Political Science department at Cape Breton University. He's also worked as an election observer in Ukraine. He offers his thoughts and insights on opposition bills, the recent provincial budget and the efforts to hold on to democracy in Ukraine.

Nova Scotia's budget included two new measures the government says will help with the housing challenges in the province. One is to include a five percent deed transfer tax for non-residents who don't move in within six months of closing. The other is a two-dollars per $100 assessment tax for non resident property owners. Meantime, Liberal MLA Lorelei Nicholl has proposed a change to the Municipal Government Act that would exempt first time home buyers in Nova Scotia from paying a deed transfer tax subject to certain conditions. Halifax Regional Municipality issued a statement about their concerns with this measure, saying there were no consultations with municipalities before this potential change came to the House of Assembly. Emily Lutz is a past president of the Nova Scotia Federation of Municipalities. And she discusses her concerns over the lack of dialogue with the Province over issues that effect them. She also weighs in on assessment caps, provincial transfers and the potential of an 11 percent increase in RCMP costs next year.

A group of citizens in Dartmouth is worried about the potential threat to a vital ecosystem at the expense of a newly announced housing development. Protect Our Southdale Wetland Society has been around for a few years. But they have renewed concerns about announcements last week and this week for the Southdale Future Growth Node developments. The 12-hundred units are being added to an area their group considers ecologically sensitive. And with the provincial developments being fast-tracked, they are worried proper environmental assessments will be set aside by both the Department of Environment and HRM's planning department. Susan Van Iderstine is hoping there's political will to protect these wetlands and find another space for affordable and much needed housing.

Today saw the Progressive Conservative government outline its spending plan for Nova Scotians for the coming year. And health care was a huge part of the $13.2-billon budget. Mental health was also included. Earlier in the day, the Nova Scotia Division of the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) and the Nova Scotia College of Social Workers (NSCSW). Both groups were looking for the government to focus on equity, parity, housing, early intervention and the social determinants of health. Karn Nichols is the Executive Director of CMHA in Nova Scotia. She was in the budget lockup waiting to see if the government got close to the World Health Organization's recommendation that at least 10 percent of Health and Wellness spending go towards mental health and addictions programming. She gave her assessment of the document and the spending priorities afterwards.

There's no doubt that people still have questions for Lisa Banfield about the events that led up to the mass killings in Portapique. But the killer's common-law spouse has also accurately been described as the first survivor and the first victim in that attack. For the Elizabeth Fry Society, there are times when victims of intimate partner violence are blamed for not leaving or reporting the actions of the perpetrator. And Executive Director Emma Halpin is urging people to have empathy and understanding about what Lisa Banfield went through in her relationship with the killer. And that's why she and Sue Bookchin with Be the Peace Institute wrote their letter to share with SaltWire.