OTTAWA - The Harper government is dismissing calls for a public inquiry into damning allegations that the military handed over prisoners to face torture in Afghanistan. And it's waging a campaign against the federal intelligence officer who made the charges. Defence Minister Peter MacKay told a raucous House of Commons on Thursday that there's no evidence to support the allegations by Richard ...

Developers unveiled their plans Thursday night for the revitalization of one of Halifax’s biggest eyesores. The public was invited to view the first sketches of the new-and-improved version of Fenwick Place, the now-abandoned 33-storey tower erected in 1971 in the city’s south end. Joe Metlege, a developer with Halifax-based Templeton Properties Ltd., said he was excited to hear the feedback on ...

Natalie Narvey arrived in Halifax about a month ago almost broke, without a place to stay, and pregnant. Living in a building that she said “should have been condemned”, the 25-year-old quickly developed health problems and wasn’t sure where to go for help. A few weeks later, Narvey says she’s feeling much better - thanks to a new mobile health clinic which provides on-the-spot care to at-risk ...

Swine flu immunization will cost Nova Scotia an estimated $20 million, Health Minister Maureen MacDonald said Thursday. However, MacDonald cautioned those numbers could fluctuate by the time the H1N1 outbreak has passed. Some of that will be covered by the federal government, which will foot 60 per cent of the bill for vaccines. But that’s only a fraction of the total cost, which includes ...

Police say three young offenders are each facing charges of armed robbery after the Subway in Coldbrook was held up late Wednesday night. Nova Scotia RCMP say at about 11:20 p.m., they received a 911 call about an armed robbery at the restaurant. Police say a lone male entered the business sporting a weapon and left with an undisclosed amount of money. While responding to the robbery, Kentville ...

The Nova Scotia Council For Early Childhood Development is calling on the province to create an early childhood development strategy for children from birth to the age of six. The declaration came this week in recognition of National Child’s Day, which is Friday, and the 20th anniversary of the Convention on the Right of the Child. In a release, the council said it wants Nova Scotia Premier ...

Halifax Regional Police announced Thursday they were expanding its bully hotline to include e-mail and text capabilities. Working in partnership with Bell Aliant, police say anyone seeking advice or somebody to talk to about bullying issues can call 490-7283, plus now text 233-7283 (SAVE) or e-mail bullyhotline@halifax.ca. The hotline was established in 1999 as a ...

Darren Tatlock seemed happy the day he disappeared, according to his pregnant girlfriend. Candace Poirier-Hanrahan said Tatlock, 29, was behaving normally Nov. 9 before he left his Hudson St. home at about 10:30 a.m. to work on his resumé at the New Waterford Employment Resource Centre. “He did everything he always does after getting up,” said Poirier-Hanrahan. “There was absolutely no clue ...

A man working at a Bedford construction site suffered a serious head injury when he fell off the roof of a home and hit his head on a rock mid-Thursday morning. Paul Maynard of Emergency Health Services said they were called at 9:42 a.m. to the site of a home being built on Sentry Court in the Larry Uteck subdivision and rushed the man -- said to be in his late 20s -- to the QEII Health Sciences ...

The federal government says a $2.5-million ACOA grant towards this weekend’s security forum in Halifax is a good investment. But some peace activists beg to disagree. Former U.S. presidential candidate, Sen. John McCain and U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates are among the speakers attending the “inaugural” Halifax International Security Forum at the Westin Hotel from Friday through Sunday ...

Nova Scotia's health minister says the overall estimated cost of running the swine flu vaccination program in the province is $20 million. But Maureen MacDonald says it's impossible to say what the final tally will be until the campaign wraps up. She says the province has set aside $57 million in a multi-purpose fund, but it's unclear how much it will spend on the immunization program. MacDonald ...

A third person died from H1N1 in Nova Scotia during the past week. In his latest update yesterday, the province's chief medical officer, Dr. Robert Strang, said an elderly woman believed to have chronic health problems was the latest victim to succumb to swine flu. Earlier in the day, Capital Health CEO Chris Power said H1N1 has cost them $760,000 so far, adding she believes the department of ...

Terry Naugle needs more than just jail time, his niece urged yesterday. Stacey Strickland said her uncle grew up facing sexual abuse, extreme poverty and later drug and alcohol addictions. He has been convicted of drunk driving more than 20 times and is once again awaiting sentencing. Strickland said she understands Naugle may need jail time for his crimes, but she hopes the court will also look ...

The lawyer for a serial drunk driver with more than 20 convictions won a controversial adjournment yesterday at Dartmouth provincial court. Over the strenuous objections of the Crown, defence lawyer Peter Planetta won a two-month delay for the sentencing of his client, 51-year-old Terry Naugle. Planetta said he wrote the judge Monday claiming he wasn’t prepared for the hearing. Prosecutors say ...

Nova Scotia saw a five per cent increase in the number of tourists in September from this year compared to last, the province reported yesterday. As well, through the first nine months of 2009, there was a one per cent increase in the amount of tourists from the same period in 2008. For September, the province welcomed 229,800 visitors, bringing the total number for the year to 1,676,800. Also ...

The Halifax provincial courthouse was shutdown during the lunch hour Wednesday as sheriff deputies used pepper spray to foil an inmate's escape attempt while he was being transported into court. Department of Justice spokeswoman Jennifer Gavin said the incident happened at noon time as two sheriff deputies were taking the handcuffs off an offender before leading the person into court. “Before ...

The Transportation Safety Board says a small, high-powered fire boat that capsized in Halifax harbour last fall had limited stability and it took only a small amount of force to tip it over, dumping eight passengers into the water. No one was hurt when the 8.5 metre Firehawk flipped in calm conditions near the Dartmouth side of the harbour on Sept. 17, 2008. The California-built vessel — valued ...

The 52 members of the Nova Scotia legislature will see a cut of about $2,600 from their receiptable constituency allowance over the last three months of the current fiscal year. The decision to reduce the amount allotted in January, February and March by $865 each month was made today at a meeting of the legislature's internal economy board. House Speaker Charlie Parker says the move provides ...

The guns keep pouring in for Halifax Regional Police’s Pixels for Pistols program. Police say for week two of the gun amnesty program, 108 guns were turned in -- seven more than the first week -- including 82 long guns and 26 handguns. As well, more than 2,000 rounds of ammunition were collected. That brings the total to 209 firearms – 161 long guns and 48 handguns – and more than 4,000 rounds ...

An Antigonish-area man has been convicted of dangerous driving causing death and dangerous driving causing bodily harm. Kyle Anthony Delorey, 31, was found guilty today by a Nova Scotia Supreme Court justice following a three-day trial that began Thursday. Delorey was charged following a fatal single-car crash in June 2008 on Highway 337 at Cape George. The car left the road, rolled over several ...