Regional Council received the HalifACT (Halifax Acting on Climate Together) progress report this October — a document that both celebrates successes and underscores the work still ahead. The report, and the discussion that followed, reinforced a primary purpose of the HalifACT framework: to make the municipality carbon neutral while lowering long-term operating costs and aligning with other levels of government to get there.

At Regional Council on October 28, we received a presentation from the Halifax Regional Centre for Education (HRCE) on Halifax Regional Arts — a program funded through the general tax rate to deliver fine arts education in our schools.

Following my previous post on Strong Mayor Powers, Premier Houston confirmed on the Todd Vienotte Show in September that strong mayor powers are not being tabled in this legislature. The reasons he gave (based on my listening of the show) very much align the reasons I listed earlier.

On September 19th, Councillor White put forward a motion asking for a staff report on investigating parking benefit districts (PBDs), with the reasoning, "A PBD is a designated area where metered parking revenue is reinvested into the neighbourhood. PBDs can help communities better manage parking, support local businesses and reinvest in local community improvements such as enhanced maintenance, public art or streetscaping.

On September 9th, staff returned to council with a report from a motion moved by Councillor Austin in 2023: