Renovation of Tusket Dam costs another $2 million more

Nova Scotia Power spent an additional $2.2 million this year to continue renovations to the Tusket hydroelectric dam near Yarmouth, Nova Scotia.

Disclosure of unforeseen expenditures in the last three months of 2021 was ordered by the Nova Scotia Utilities and Review Board when Nova Scotia Power had to suspend work at the dam again due to water seepage. on the construction site.

The company filed its emergency expenses just in time to meet the regulator’s Feb. 23 deadline.

Work to restore the crumbling 93-year-old dam to national standards is now three years behind schedule and at least $18 million over original budget.

The most recent cost estimate dates back to July 2021, when the company asked to charge taxpayers for its overspending.

The total cost was then estimated at $36.8 million, double the amount originally approved in early 2019.

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The hydroelectric dam was expected to be operational by the end of 2019. NS Power now says work will not resume until July 2021.

In January, Nova Scotia Power said it was continuing to battle water seepage at the site. The company said it had no idea how much it would cost to fix the problem or when it would be able to complete the renovation.

Video: Towards tighter allocation rules for social housing (Le Devoir)

Towards tighter allocation rules for social housing

Towards tighter allocation rules for social housing
Towards tighter allocation rules for social housing The Legault government plans to create incentives for people who live in social housing to leave their apartments when their income increases too much. The Société d’habitation du Québec (SHQ) confirmed Thursday that it was in the process of developing a regulation to frame the rules for the allocation of modest housing. The draft regulation provides that a single person living in social housing in Montreal could have to pay financial compensation as soon as his income exceeds $40,650. The maximum amounts would vary from region to region. In Quebec, an income would cease to be considered “modest” from $38,750; in Rimouski, the limit would be $31,250 (see table). People who already live in social housing, however, would not be affected by these measures. According to groups consulted by the SHQ in January, the regulation would only apply to future projects. “It will be an incentive to leave,” according to the director of the Quebec Confederation of Housing Cooperatives (CQCH), Sandra Turgeon. In his view, this regulation is a very bad idea. “We are going to collect with real estate complexes with all the same people who will not have the right to improve their conditions, otherwise they will have to leave. It goes against the cooperative community model that we have developed for 50 years. Asked about the draft regulation, the SHQ declined to comment. “This draft regulation is currently being developed,” said its spokesperson. “At this time, we will therefore make no further comment.” The draft regulation comes into play as the government has just launched a new program to rethink the supply of social housing. According to the most recent statistics, 37,149 low-income people are on the waiting list for a place in an HLM or a regular income supplement in Quebec.

The duty
Truckers break camp after two days of demonstration in Quebec
Truckers break camp after two days of demonstration in Quebec All trucks parked on René-Lévesque Boulevard in Quebec left the scene before 5 p.m. Sunday, which ended two days of demonstrations against sanitary measures in the Old Capital . After gathering by the thousands on Saturday, a few hundred demonstrators returned to the National Assembly on Sunday to once again declare their need for “freedom”. The Sunday meeting began with a concert of horns around 10 a.m. Like the day before, around twenty heavy goods vehicles were parked on René-Lévesque Boulevard, near the parliament, in a specific area. Their presence was tolerated under a prior agreement between the Service de police de la Ville de Québec (SPVQ) and the organizers of the event. As agreed, these machines were to leave the area at nightfall, which they did. Unionist Bernard Gauthier congratulated the demonstrators, indicating that the last two weekends of demonstrations in Quebec had been peaceful and that, therefore, he was waiting for “a return of lift from the government”. The organizers demanded above all the definitive abandonment of the vaccine passport. This measure will be suspended on March 14. Many protesters and speakers hammered home their opposition to digital identity on Sunday. Several have thus called for a “public debate” on the possible abuses of the vaccine passport, and the possibility that it will become a tool for government control and surveillance. The SPVQ contained any overflow. Over the weekend, officers handed out a total of 167 tickets: 63 under peace and good order regulations, 75 under the Highway Safety Code and 29 parking tickets. For the moment, no other demonstration is planned next weekend in front of the National Assembly.

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Police tighten the noose around Ottawa protesters
Police tighten the noose around Ottawa demonstrators The police operation aimed at putting an end to the occupation of downtown Ottawa, paralyzed for 22 days now, quietly got under way on Friday morning. Hundreds of police, some in tactical gear, took to the streets. Truck towing has started. Parliament closed for the day. The police presence had increased on the streets of Ottawa since Thursday. In the morning, Friday, they were even more numerous, moving in groups or forming lines to occupy streets. Lines of vehicles with flashing lights entered the city center, which was completely cordoned off. A few officers were riding on horseback. Several were dressed in riot gear, equipped with tear gas canisters. A few were heavily armed and dressed in tactical gear. Facing the police, the demonstrators formed their own lines. But the police, more numerous, arrested several one by one. High-profile organizer of the trucking convoy, Pat King, filmed his arrest live on Facebook on Friday. He was charged with counseling others to commit the offense of mischief, counseling others to commit the offense of obstructing a police officer and counseling others to disobey a court order. Seeing the noose tightening, hoping to slow down the police offensive, agitators to the west of the offensive in front of Parliament began erecting snow barriers around the convoy which came to a halt there. three weeks on Wellington Street. The operation proceeds slowly. The police seem to be advancing from East to West, to clear the perimeter surrounding the Parliament. At this rate, the operation could take a few days.

The duty