Wildfire in Yarmouth County continues to grow, Newfoundland waterbomber called in to help

A view of the wildfire in Yarmouth County on May 10, 2022. (Via Depart of Natural Resources and Renewables on Twitter)

Additional help from Newfoundland and Labrador arrived Tuesday night to help crews in southwest Nova Scotia battle an out-of-control wildfire that a provincial official said may have been started by human activity.  Two helicopters were dropping water on the flames throughout the day, and a CL-415 water bomber arrived in Nova Scotia before nightfall to help with the efforts.  The Department of Natural Resources said in a tweet last night that the fire, near South Horseshoe Lake in eastern Yarmouth County, was estimated to have grown to about 1,000 hectares.  An estimate earlier in the day had put the fire, which began Monday afternoon, at about 25 hectares.  In its final update of the night, DNR said crews worked until dark. Further updates were expected to be released today. (CBC)

 

‘It didn’t cross their minds’: Emergency director says RCMP didn’t consider alert

The inquiry into the Nova Scotia mass shooting has heard the RCMP didn’t think about using the Alert Ready system to notify the public about the shooting rampage until the head of the Emergency Management Office suggested it.  Documents released by the inquiry Tuesday include a rec ent interview with Nova Scotia EMO executive director Paul Mason.  He said he was surprised a gunman could have been on the loose from the evening of April 18th until the next morning and it didn’t cross the minds of the RCMP to consider using the Alert Ready system.  Mason said the Mounties confirmed they wanted to use the system after they were contracted by the E-M-O but were still working on the text when the gunman was killed. (The Canadian Press)

 

A new study says while Canadian child-care fees are set to drop this year, some parts of the country will likely not meet the federal government’s fee-reduction targets. In a study released Tuesday, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives says because provinces and territories are taking different approaches to try to meet the government’s initial fee-reduction targets, some might miss them. For preschool-aged child care, seven of 26 cities included in the study’s analysis will meet or exceed federal targets in 2022, while 15 cities, including Halifax, will miss them by $20 to $100 a month.

 

The latest data released by the Canadian Institute for Health Information shows Canada still struggles to maintain reasonable wait times for elective surgeries during pandemic waves, though hospitals are improving. For joint replacements, about 62 per cent of patients across Canada were treated with the recommended time frame between April and September 20-21, compared with 71 per cent before the COVID-19 pandemic began. That’s better than just 51 per cent who got their surgeries on time in the earliest months of the pandemic. The study suggests hospitals prioritized more urgent procedures like surgery for cancer and joint fractures so patients have not waited longer.

 

The former chief financial officer of the IWK Health Centre in Halifax, who was charged in an expense scandal involving the hospital’s former CEO, won’t be going to trial.  The prosecution dropped its case against Stephen D’Arcy yesterday citing insufficient evidence.  D’Arcy’s trial had been set to begin May 30th on charges of breach of trust, unauthorized use of a computer and mischief to data.  Crown attorney Peter Dostal says the development will have no effect on the August sentencing scheduled for former hospital CEO Tracy Kitch who was found guilty in February of one count of fraud over five-thousand dollars.

 

Twenty-three Nova Scotia paramedics have been awarded the Emergency Medical Services Exemplary Service Medal, a national honour in recognition of their longtime dedication to the health, safety and well-being of Nova Scotians.

The paramedics who received medals include:

— Darcy DeLorey, Antigonish

— Todd Mills, Truro

— Victor Murphy, North River, Colchester County