Jean Laroche

People coming into or leaving Nova Scotia may soon see heavy equipment piling up soil on a section of land near the border with New Brunswick.

Although the $2-million berm project is meant to better protect the area from flooding,&nbsp;it is not part of the work needed to protect the Chignecto Isthmus.

"This is a mitigation measure so that we don't lose the existing dike,"&nbsp;Kevin Bekkers&nbsp;of Nova Scotia's Department of Public Works&nbsp;told CBC Radio's 

A map showcasing the construction worksite and highway 104. 

A map of the area where the berm will be constructed. The top left section refers to where the berm will be worked on and the squared area represents the worksite is. Highway 104 is to the left of these areas in orange. 

Berm construction map

The mitigation work, which will involve trucking in material to the site and compacting it,&nbsp;will be handled by Amherst-based Durum Services. The dike in the area is 60 to 70 years old.

Bekkers, who is project lead for both the berm and the isthmus work,&nbsp;described the job to shore up the existing dike as "a large earthen berm that's four&nbsp;metres in height."

The $650-million&nbsp;isthmus project, meanwhile,&nbsp;

remains&nbsp;at the centre of a federal-provincial dispute

Ottawa has said it's willing to foot half of the bill. Nova Scotia and New Brunswick have argued the federal government should cover the entire project.

Bekkers said that work, which is expected to take a decade to complete,&nbsp;is still very much on the drawing board.&nbsp;

The governments of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick&nbsp;

recently signed a contract with Colliers Canada

&nbsp;to oversee the strengthening of the isthmus.

N.S. offers retirement fund top-ups for doctors, hoping they'll stick around

The Nova Scotia government is creating a retirement benefits program for doctors in hopes the public money will keep more physicians in the province.

Health department officials said doctors can invest the money in their choice of retirement funds. 

297564488 Black doctor keyboard

Health Department officials said doctors can invest the money in their choice of retirement funds. 

Shelter clients say facilities belong in downtown Sydney, despite campaign comments

Several municipal election candidates in Cape Breton Regional Municipality say a drug harm reduction centre and a separate homeless shelter should move out of downtown Sydney, N.S., but clients say they're right where they need to be.

A person with a purple umbrella walks past a street corner next to a white two-storey-high building with a sign saying "Ally Centre of Cape Breton" on it.

Some clients of the Ally Centre of Cape Breton and the homeless shelter a few blocks away say the facilities should not be moved out of downtown Sydney, N.S., despite calls for that to happen.

Ally Centre of Cape Breton

Mayoral candidates in Cape Breton Regional Municipality say the downtown shelters belong elsewhere, but homeless people say the facilities are right where they're needed. The CBC's Erin Pottie has more. 

Sydney mayoral candidates raise concerns about shelters

Racism, mistrust remain barriers to political aspirations in N.S., say Black candidates

Virginia Hinch and John Young are two Black candidates running in the Nova Scotia municipal elections. Hinch and Young say Black candidates continue to face barriers in politics, including racism and a lack of trust in the system.

Images of John and Virginia are edited to be framed side by side. 

john Young and Virgninia Hinch are both councillor candidates in Halifax's municipal election looking to represent historic Black communities in the area. 

John Young and Virginia Hinch

Some Black candidates in the municipal election say racism and mistrust of government pose barriers to political life. Josh Hoffman talked to candidates about the challenges they face.

Black candidates in N.S. say barriers to political involvement still exist

Candidates vying to be Halifax's next mayor combat apathy and lack of awareness

Candidates running to be Halifax's next mayor are fighting apathy and a lack of public engagement with municipal politics, experts and candidates say.

City hall with its clock tower and three-story facade stands over grassy areas of a large square

A poll conducted between Sept. 24 and Oct. 2 found that almost half of Halifax voters couldn't name a single candidate in Saturday's mayoral election.

Halifax City Hall Exterior

Retreat from the coast: Nova Scotia prepares to move iconic road to adapt to climate change

The Nova Scotia government is preparing to move part of Lawrencetown Road after repeated inundations from storm surge, marking the latest example of a need to modify public infrastructure to mitigate the effects of climate change.

A wall of large grey rocks separates a beach from a road.

Armour rock along part of Lawrencetown Road is supposed to protect it against storm surge, but water has overtopped it.

Lawrencetown armour rock

The Halifax-area coastal road, also known as Highway 207, has been repeatedly battered by storm surges. The CBC's Taryn Grant talked to residents and provincial planners about plans to move the road.







Lawrencetown road to be moved due to effects of climate change

The $2-million project to shore up the dike will protect the land between the Nova Scotia and New Brunswick border. 

N.S. spending $2M to build berm near N.B. border

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