Three men from Pictou County, N.S., face multiple charges following an investigation into human trafficking.

RCMP say they received a report on May 26 from New Glasgow Regional Police that people in&nbsp;Pictou County were attempting to target and recruit young women from the area into human trafficking.

John Robert Bonnar, 21, faces a total of 13 charges, including:

Trafficking a person under the age of 18.

Two counts of sexual assault and sexual interference.

Bonnar appeared in Pictou provincial court Monday and is scheduled to return to court on June 22.

Abelardo Sanchez Villar, 45, of New Glasgow, has been charged with:

Obtaining sexual services from a person under 18.

Obtaining sexual services from a person over 18.

He is scheduled to appear in Pictou provincial court on Tuesday.

Justin Stanley MacDonald, 22, of New Glasgow, was charged with:

He was released from custody on conditions and will be back in court on Aug.&nbsp;17.

The RCMP provincial human trafficking team led the investigation and was assisted by local police departments in Pictou, New Glasgow and Stellarton.

Hospitals ease visitor restrictions as N.S. marks one week with no new COVID-19 cases

Nova Scotia has gone a full week with no new confirmed cases of COVID-19, and announced a plan Tuesday to begin easing hospital visitor restrictions effective June 23.

A patient bed sits in the hallway of a hospital.

While there are now three dozen COVID-19 cases in northeastern Ontario, very few have needed to be admitted to hospital. 

Shutterstock - Medium file

Beginning June 23, visitor restrictions will be eased at some Nova Scotia Health Authority hospitals.

Struggling pubs and restaurants push for larger sidewalk patios

Owners of pubs and restaurants in Halifax struggling to keep their businesses afloat during the pandemic are urging city officials to allow them to extend their dining spaces into the great outdoors.

The owner of the Coburg Social in Halifax wants to expand the patio into a side street beside the café.

Coburg Social

Here's where $228M in Nova Scotia stimulus spending is headed

As money prepares to flow as part of Nova Scotia’s COVID-19 stimulus program, details of where it’s headed are becoming more clear.

Work is underway to twin the section of Highway 101 between Three Mile Plains and Falmouth.

Highway 101 twinning

Additional work on Nova Scotia's highway system in part will be funded through the government's COVID-19 stimulus project.

Christmas in March: NSLC sales spiked 22% when pandemic began in Nova Scotia

Nova Scotians worried about the NSLC closing during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic caused a Christmas-like rush beginning in mid-March, where sales went up 22 per cent from the year before.

Boutilier says the liquor corporation does not need the fee increase, because it does not offer retailers a discount on product and is making money.

NSLC

The NSLC saw a spike of 22 per cent in sales over just two weeks in March when the pandemic began, compared to last year. 

Grandkids on top secret mission to bring cancelled Tattoo to Nanny Joyce's doorstep

Joyce Meikle hasn't missed the Royal Nova Scotia International Tattoo since it started in 1979 — and her grandkids aren't about to let COVID-19 change that.

Meikle family

Joyce Meikle, pictured with five of her 10 grandchildren, has been attending the Royal Nova Scotia International Tattoo since the very beginning. Granddaughter Allison Meikle, bottom right, is helping organize a special performance for her grandmother.

3 Pictou Co. men charged with multiple offences after human trafficking investigation

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