Holly Conners

Family members of Talia Forrest&nbsp;sobbed outside of a&nbsp;courtroom in Sydney, N.S., on Tuesday after the man accused in the&nbsp;hit-and-run that led to her death failed to appear due to a misunderstanding by his lawyer.

The 10-year-old Mi'kmaw girl was riding her bike on Black Rock Road in Big Bras d'Or, N.S., in July 2019&nbsp;when she was struck by an SUV.

Colin Hugh Tweedie, a resident of Victoria County, faces four charges in connection with the girl's death, including impaired driving causing death and failing to stop at the scene of an accident.

Tweedie was due in court on Tuesday morning for an arraignment hearing.

Colin Hugh Tweedie at provincial court Wagmatcook in September 2020.

Colin Hugh Tweedie

But&nbsp;Crown attorney John MacDonald informed the family he had&nbsp;been in contact with Tweedie's lawyer, Tony Mosvik, and there had&nbsp;been a mistake.

"Today was a day for pre-trial motions to occur. Defence council is waiving the need for those pre-trial motions, and they misunderstood that it was still necessary for their client to attend when no trial proceedings were going to start," said MacDonald.

Talia's cousin Taylor Williams said the family was upset after learning&nbsp;the court appearance would not go ahead as scheduled.

"It's almost been three years now ... and then saying, 'Oh he's not here today. You might have to come back tomorrow.' It's not fair," said&nbsp;Williams.

"I was up at 4 a.m. this morning, just anticipating it.... I can only imagine what my cousins and my aunt are going through."

Alice Williams (right) was one of more than a dozen family members and friends of 10-year-old Talia Forrest who gathered outside the Sydney courthouse Tuesday and Wednesday mornings for the scheduled court appearance of the man accused in her death.

Talia Forrest's family 

Tweedie&nbsp;was previously released from custody on conditions and has been&nbsp;working in Halifax. He is scheduled to appear in court in person or by video on Wednesday morning.

The trial is set to run from Feb. 1&nbsp;to Feb. 14.

Doctor wait-list nears 78,000 as N.S. government gets to work on health-care promises

Nova Scotia's wait-list for a new doctor has risen by 60 per cent over the last year, putting added pressure on politicians to act as they head to the House of Assembly Tuesday.

It took Colin Heighton four trips to the emergency department in New Glasgow before he started recovering from a virus in September. He says he couldn't go anywhere else for care after his doctor retired in the summer. 

Colin Heighton

It took Colin Heighton four trips to the emergency department in New Glasgow, N.S., before he started recovering from a virus in September. He says he couldn't go anywhere else for care after his doctor retired in the summer. 

Fire destroys half of commercial building in Lawrencetown

Firefighters are on the scene of a fire that has destroyed part of a commercial building on Lawrencetown Road. The side that housed Centro Pizza suffered heavy damage.

One side of the building was consumed by fire. 

Lawrencetown road building

Firefighters were called to the 2600 Block of Lawrencetown Road at 3 a.m. 

Centro Pizza fire

'Long way to go': Traffic up at Halifax airport, but rebound will be slow

Halifax Stanfield International Airport has seen more flights depart as of late, but staff there say this year's revenue will likely be the same as last year, if not worse.

Airport staff informing passengers about new policies.

Airport staff

Airport staff inform passengers about new policies.

New in-person sitting of the N.S. Legislature starts today

A new sitting of the Nova Scotia Legislature begins today with a speech from the throne, and a full House for the first time in almost 2 years.

Empty seats arranged in a horse shoe shape.

Nova Scotia Province House Chamber

The chamber of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly is seen in this file photo. The fall sitting of the legislature begins today.

IBM opens school program for Mi'kmaw students in Cape Breton

A new school program for Indigenous students in Cape Breton is tying together the elements of high school, college and the working world. 

An IBM logo is displayed in Berlin, Vt., July 16, 2013. The thousands of young people graduating from Atlantic Canada's colleges and universities every year shouldn't have to look for work outside the region's borders now that technology has made it so much easier for the world to come to them, says Dino Trevisani, president of IBM Canada.

Technology Stems Outmigration 20161107

IBM Canada officially launched Unamaki P-TECH School on Tuesday enabling high school students to graduate with a college diploma in software engineering.

Talia Forrest, 10, died in July 2019 after being struck by a vehicle while she was riding her bicycle on Black Rock Road in rural Cape Breton.

Accused in Cape Breton hit-and-run death misses court appearance due to lawyer error

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