Physicians' group joins opposition to Sandy Lake development area
CBC
Dozens of medical professionals have joined the call to stop development around a Bedford lake, which they say could hurt the environment and the health of residents.
A group of 70 doctors, nurses, scientists and other health care workers with the Nova Scotia committee of Canadian Physicians for the Environment (CAPE) recently wrote to the province, urging them to take Sandy Lake off the list of special planning areas.
"These are quite literally our city's lungs, and we need to keep them as such if we want clean air," said IWK emergency doctor Chris McCrossin.
A provincial housing task force chose the 10 special planning areas around Halifax Regional Municipality as places to fast-track residential developments, in order to address the city's ongoing housing crisis. But Halifax councillors and Mayor Mike Savage have expressed concerns that there will be less public consultation on the projects.
The Sandy Lake area includes about 400 hectares of land west and south of the lake, which local advocates have long asked to be added into the existing Sandy Lake Park on the eastern side.
McCrossin said access to natural green space has proven medical benefits for mental health, chronic lung conditions, concentration scores in children with ADHD, and inflammation and stress in adults.
He said developments like Sandy Lake often require people to rely on cars and provide inadequate access to jobs, shops, and schools — all of which have negative consequences for physical and mental health.
"Why would you pick specifically ecologically sensitive areas that we know have global benefits to the health of Haligonians?" McCrossin said.
"Why those areas would be fast-tracked for development makes no sense."
Clayton Developments plans to create 6,000 housing units in the area through a mix of residential buildings with new streets and public parks. Various studies, including land suitability and transportation, have to be done before a master plan can be considered.
CBC News has reached out to Clayton Developments about the Sandy Lake concerns but did not receive a response by deadline.
Karen Robinson, co-chair of the Sandy Lake-Sackville River Regional Park Coalition, said any development endangers stands of old-growth Wabanaki-Acadian forests, habitats for 16 species at risk (including snapping turtle, chimney swift and Canada warbler) and the health of the lake where Atlantic salmon have only recently returned.
In 2018, Halifax Regional Municipality's Green Network Plan — a land management and community design strategy — identified three wildlife corridors in the areas surrounding Sandy Lake, meaning the area is important for animal migration and habitat.
"This place is a treasure and it's a gem, and it's a unit of ecological richness that is just beyond compare in Nova Scotia," Robinson said.
Run 3 Space | Play Space Running Game
Traffic Jam 3D | Online Racing Game
Duck Hunt | Play Old Classic Game
Arkansas resident Amy Beaver decided to take a trip earlier this year— but not just anywhere. She wanted something that felt familiar
Cancer patients who usually get treatment in Summerside will have to travel to P.E.I.'s capital over the next several days, while those who need a medical oncologist will need to go to Charlottetown until September.
An environmental group says not enough testing is being done to determine the extent of contamination from so-called "forever chemicals," especially in the North.
When Prime Minister Mark Carney met with automotive sector CEOs Wednesday about U.S. trade negotiations, one of the key issues the industry said they wished to discuss was the government's zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate.
Sales of Ontario wine have increased by over 60 per cent since the LCBO pulled American products off its shelves earlier this year, signalling a shift in buying habits among consumers in the province, the retailer says.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's path back to the House of Commons runs through a rural Alberta riding that has become a hotbed for Western discontent and the independence movement — a potentially tricky situation to navigate for a leader with national ambitions.
Despite a lagging market for green hydrogen, the Newfoundland and Labrador government says it still plans to collect royalties from the province's nascent renewable energy industry.
A lumber mill in New Ross, N.S., has been destroyed by fire.
The People's Alliance has once again de-registered as a political party — but this time, it's for good.
Several new women's shelters for victims of intimate partner violence that had been approved for construction in Quebec are seeing their funding rescinded or threatened due to conflicting bureaucratic demands from the provincial and federal governments.
Hundreds of Lynn Lake residents are being forced out of the northern Manitoba community, with wildfire activity once again threatening residents' safety only two weeks after they were allowed to return home.
The northwest Saskatchewan communities of Beauval and English River First Nation have issued mandatory evacuation orders in response to nearby wildfires.
A tornado touched down in central Alberta on Wednesday, cutting a path through a treed area, but apparently sparing the area from any more serious damage.