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CONTENTS

Vol. 19 No. 6 | July / August 2019

PHOTO: BRUCE MURRAY, VISIONFIRE

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39

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FEATURES

DEPARTMENTS

14 | TOO MUCH, TOO BRIGHT, TOO LOUD How Halifax is trying to reduce obstacles for people with sensory sensitivities

7 | EDITOR’S MESSAGE Summers in the city: when Halifax is at its best

16 | THE JOYS OF SUMMER Our favourite things to see and do in (or near) the city this summer 39 | ROCKET MAN Stephen Matier says Canso, N.S., will become the next Cape Canaveral.

Some think he’s a visionary. Others think he’s spaced out. But he’s not kidding around 42 | RECREATION OR MEDICINE? Why do people use medicinal cannabis and how has legalization affected them?

By simply answering the questions below, you will be eligible to win $100 in product or service from the Halifax Magazine advertiser of your choice.

8 | CONTRIBUTORS Meet the writers and photographers who work on Halifax Magazine 9 | CITYSCAPE Chasing waterfalls— meet the man charting them throughout Nova Scotia; the Halifax Explosion that wasn’t; writer Amy Jones makes you laugh…until she breaks your heart 44 | BEER: A SPLASH OF FRUIT Flavourful and refreshing, a good fruit beer is just the thing on a warm summer’s day.

Here are eight locals (+ a come-from-away) that you should try 46 | OPINION: FINDING THE MISSING PIECE Without a good job, it’s hard for a newcomer to feel at home

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EDITOR’S MESSAGE

Summers in the city

BY TREVOR J. ADAMS case. Turn to our cover story on page 16 for Kim Hart Macneill’s opinionated round-up of the best the city has to offer this season.

You’ll find old favourites like the Halifax Jazz Festival and the Seaport Cider & Beerfest, but we also have tiny neighbourhood events, new festivities, and fun road-trip ideas.

This is your last issue of Halifax Magazine until September. While our team is busy

tadams@metroguide.ca Halifax Magazine @HalifaxEditor @HalifaxMagazine

preparing for fall, you’ll find lots to read at halifaxmag.ca. In addition to our huge free archives, we have regular web exclusives.

Recently environmental columnist Zack Metcalfe wrote “The truth about the horses of Sable Island.” We like to romanticize them, but those horses lead short harsh lives, suffering from brutal weather and extremely limited food supplies. Read more at halifaxmag.com/blog/the-truth-about-thehorses-of-sable-island/.

For a wry and insightful take on the issues shaping our city, see our regular posts from stand-up comic and TV producer Mark Farrell. His latest is “Doing a good-enough job.” He delves into the (very limited) powers of a Halifax mayor, and considers just what it is people like about Mike Savage. Spoiler: sometimes it’s more about who you aren’t than who you are. See it at: halifaxmag.com/ blog/doing-a-good-enough-job/.

PHOTO: NOVA SCOTIA TOURISM/PATRICK ROJO

A couple of years ago, people started talking about building a spaceport in Canso to launch commercial satellites. My mind instantly went to schemes like the Parrsboro board-game factory, the Glace Bay heavy-water plant, an earlier dream to build a spaceport in Cape Breton: grandiose job-promising plans that require a lot of public support and still never get off the ground.

Despite my (not isolated) skepticism, the Canso plan seems to keep inching forward.

The guy behind it is a Halifax-based (by way of Albuquerque) engineer named Stephen Matier. He’s made lots of appeals for government support as he navigates the regulatory hurdles, but he hasn’t asked for government money. His plan seems cautious and incremental.

Eager to be wrong (it’d be pretty cool to have a spaceport in Nova Scotia), I asked veteran journalist Alec Bruce to explore Matier’s idea. With in-depth interviews with Matier and space-industry insiders, Bruce breaks it all down, and looks at the likelihood of success. See his story on page 39.

PHOTO: TAMMY FANCY

My first couple years living in Halifax, I was a university student staying in residence, so I missed summer in the city. I went home to Digby, took seasonal jobs (junior assistant maintenance guy in a hockey rink, “information host” in a tourist bureau) that reaffirmed my desire to stay in university, and engaged in the usual summer shenanigans (bonfires in quarries, garage parties, Scallop Days).

Eventually the call of the city outweighed Digby’s limited joys. In my third year of university, I got an apartment and a summer job as a busboy/food runner at a waterfront restaurant. I worked harder than I ever had before (or since) but with the boundless energy of one’s early 20s, found lots of time to explore Halifax in a new season.

Well it was glorious. In what I’ve since learned was something of an anomaly, the weather was ideal: clear and balmy day after day, just enough rain to keep everything fresh and vibrant.

Streets I only knew as gray and forlorn exploded in a riot of colour. How had I never noticed all these trees? Every house in my neighbourhood seemed to have lively gardens.

There was a constant background hum of activity. One festival after another, barbecue scents, music wafting in the breeze, the convivial chatter of a dozen backyard parties.

I had never walked around the city much.

My memories of my first two years in Halifax are a steady parade of rain and/or slush. My city was limited to spots that could be easily reached by taking Halifax Transit Route #1.

But during this first summer, walking was no ordeal. I strolled everywhere. I roamed the waterfront, crossed the Macdonald Bridge, circled Point Pleasant Park, clambered up Citadel Hill.

It was like I’d moved to a whole new city.

My first JazzFest concert, my first visit to York Redoubt, my first harbour cruise. Every day I had some new and thoroughly enjoyable experience. Until then, I’d planned to leave Halifax after university, with dim notions of settling in Toronto or Calgary. That summer, I decided Halifax was a city I could live in.

Not every summer since has been so lovely, but I can’t say the shine has ever really worn off. Every year reminds me of why I’ve chosen to make Halifax my home for more than two decades. Every summer the city awakens anew, offering fresh discoveries.

I hope you feel this way about summer in Halifax too, but if you don’t, let us make our

JULY/AUGUST 2019 halifaxmag.com | 7

CONTRIBUTORS ROBYN MCNEIL “Recreation or medicine?”

A freelance writer, bartender, and editor, Robyn lives in Halifax, with an awesome teen, a mischievous cat, and penchant for good stories, strong tea, yoga, hammocks, and hoppy, hoppy beer.

KIM HART MACNEILL “The joys of summer,” “A splash of fruit” Kim is a freelance journalist and editor of East Coast Living. Read her beer column on HalifaxMag.com. @kimhartmacneill

ALEC BRUCE Cityscape Alec is a prize-winning scribbler who lives near one of Halifax’s two bridges.

Sometimes for money, he writes for newspapers, magazines, and online publications. His other interests include greasy spoons and crappy yard sales.

MARIANNE SIMON “Finding the missing piece” Marianne is a writer and subeditor and has published many children’s stories, articles and poems in magazines and newspapers. Her interests include teaching and conducting Englishconversation classes. mariannesimon777@gmail.com

MARK SAMPSON Cityscape Mark’s fourth novel, All the Animals on Earth, is forthcoming from Wolsak & Wynn in 2020. Originally from P.E.I., he earned his journalism degree at the University of King’s College in Halifax and now lives and writes in Toronto.

TAMMY FANCY Cityscape, photo for Editor’s Message A freelance photojournalist, Tammy has shot for East Coast Living, Bedford Magazine, Profiles for Success, and Our Children magazines, plus two cookbooks. fancyfreefoto.com

OLIVIA MALLEY Cityscape Born and raised in Dartmouth, Olivia is a student journalist currently pursuing her journalism degree at the University of King’s College.

BRUCE MURRAY Photography for “Rocket Man” Bruce has been creating food and lifestyle photography for more than 20 years in the Maritimes and in his original studio in Vancouver. visionfire.ca

CHRIS MUISE “Too much, too bright, too loud” Chris is a freelance reporter working out of Halifax, with a particular affinity for community journalism.

Ask him about his toy-robot collection if you have about eight hours to kill.

BOB GORDON Cityscape Bob is a journalist and popular historian specializing in Canadian military and social history. His work has been published in The Beaver, Air Power Review, Parents Magazine, and various Canadian titles.

He contributes regularly to Espirit de Corps.

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CITYSCAPE PEOPLE

The Gut Punch In her new novel, Every Little Piece of Me, Amy Jones will make you laugh out loud…until she breaks your heart

BY MARK SAMPSON

There seems to be at least two angles to every Amy Jones tale. The author of an award-winning short-story collection and a pair of novels, Jones has earned a reputation as a funny writer. With a keen eye for detail, she regularly brings a hilarious slant to her fiction but readers notice the darker, more distressing currents churning beneath her prose. That sweetand-salty mix of humour and heartbreaking pathos gives her work power.

“You definitely need both,” she says during an interview at a café in downtown Toronto. “I think the humour can make the sadder scenes in a book even more devastating, because they’re so unexpected.

It’s like a gut punch, right? You don’t see it

coming, and so it hits you a lot harder.”

Her new novel, Every Little Piece of Me, published in June by McClelland & Stewart, embraces the formula. It tells two parallel stories, both of which have a deep connection to Nova Scotia, that eventually intersect. In one, we meet Mags, the troubled lead singer of a Halifax-based rock band who is grappling with both a personal tragedy and her group’s growing success. In the second, there’s young Ava, a New Yorker whose family has dragged her to the fictitious town of Gin Harbour, Nova Scotia to star in a reality TV show set at a B&B there.

What ensues is an engrossing satire of celebrity culture and its impact on the identities and family lives of those who fall

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CITYSCAPE PEOPLE victim to it. Mags and Ava soon find a kinship with one another as they grapple with an insatiable public scouring the web for news of their every move.

For Jones, reality television was an excellent subject for her creativity. “I love trashy TV,” she says. “Setting part of this book in that world fits very well with what I want to say about identity. People will project their own ideas on who you are.”

Again, we see that double angle in the book: Ava and Mags have far more complex lives than what the media projects about them, and this mirrors the double life of Gin Harbour itself, a town that, like many in Nova Scotia, has a touristic façade but hides a harsher reality underneath.

There are two angles, of course, to Jones herself. Born and raised in Halifax, she now lives in Toronto, and yet remains a sharp

and exuberant chronicler of her home province. Indeed, her immense talent and observational skills seem to find the taproot of any setting she’s in: she lived for a time in Thunder Bay, Ont. and set her last novel, We’re All in This Together, there. During our chat, she’s as comfortable sharing her excitement over an upcoming Thrush Hermit reunion show at Toronto’s Danforth Music Hall as she is discussing her writing about a small, weather-beaten town on Nova Scotia’s South Shore.

The Halifax music scene looms large in Every Little Piece of Me. While both Mags are Ava are Millennials and their story is set in the 2010s, Jones has definitely used her own experiences coming of age during the city’s “Seattle of the North” years to craft those scenes. She says that Mags’s part of the book started out as a short story set

in Halifax circa 1994. There is a particularly poignant scene where the band members struggle with leaving Halifax behind as their success carries them to the bigger pond of Toronto.

The other terrain Every Little Piece of Me explores is online misogyny, something that both Mags and Ava encounter at every turn.

Impressively, Jones does not filter this world of online trolls through these women’s eyes; she lets the haters speak in their own voice.

“Not only is the music world hard enough for a woman,” she says of Mags, “but these online spaces compound it. I wanted these men to speak for themselves.”

Yet the trolls don’t win the day. In the end, Every Little Piece of Me is a joyous read about two women carving out a freedom for themselves in a world desperate to pin them down.

NATURE

Chasing waterfalls Benoit Lalonde channels his passion for the great outdoors into a handy tool for Nova Scotian hikers

BY OLIVIA MALLEY

Benoit Lalonde never set out to publish a book. All he wanted to do was explore the new province he was living in. However, after visiting all the provincial parks and completing all the hikes in the books he bought, he still wasn’t done.

This led him to waterfall hunting.

“Waterfalls have always been one of my preferred hikes because not only is the hike in the forest or along the river beautiful, but you actually get a pretty sweet prize of the waterfall at the end,” says Lalonde.

Lalonde started posting pictures and waterfall trails during a time where little information on waterfall locations was available online; soon publisher Goose Lane Editions contacted him. They wanted him to write a Nova Scotia waterfalls guide.

Lalonde had never considered writing a book, but the idea appealed to him.

“I like sharing information. Trailpeak. com is good and Facebook is good, the Twitters and Instagrams are all good but having a book is that one more extra line of information that’s out there,” says Lalonde.

In 2018, Lalonde published his book 10 | halifaxmag.com JULY/AUGUST 2019

Waterfalls of Nova Scotia: A Guide, detailing some 160 waterfall trails. But the journey to knowing all these trails dates back farther.

Lalonde’s passion and skill for finding waterfalls in Nova Scotia started in Cape Breton in 1999.

Born and raised in Quebec, and having finished his Masters in freshwater biology at the University of Ottawa, Lalonde moved to Cape Breton because his future wife was doing part of her studies out of Dalhousie University’s Cape Breton campus.

When searching for waterfalls, at first Lalonde would just pick a stream, look at its physical characteristics and follow it in hopes of finding a waterfall. Then he found something while searching the Natural Resources Canada website that changed his approach.

“I don’t know which search term I used, but it just came up with a bunch of maps, and when I looked at the dates they were all these really old maps like 1870s, 1880s, 1890s,” he recalls. “When I opened the first one and all these waterfalls were mapped out on there, it was just: wow. I was just amazed.”

NATURE

To find waterfalls, Lalonde uses two maps.

The first map charts waterfalls he has already been to so he doesn’t repeat himself.

The second map is potential waterfalls, combining the old maps he found online, with satellite imagery from Google Earth. “If you toggle that timeline, it will actually show you some winter, spring, fall imagery,” he explains. “So for the larger falls in let’s say Cape Breton, I can actually see them through the satellite imagery. I will have the old maps saying there is a fall there then I will have the satellite imagery saying yes there is a white spot there.”

Sometimes the white spot just ends up being snow, but despite that risk Lalonde will give it a dot on the map of potential waterfalls.

Lalonde goes looking for waterfalls yearround, but prefers going in the fall because there are less bugs and he can avoid the ice that may linger in the spring.

In 2002, Lalonde and his wife moved to Dartmouth. He’s able to cover the ground that he does because his job as an ecologist risk evaluator for Environment and Climate Change Canada includes a lot of travel. Once he knows where he is going for work, he looks at the area and sees what potential waterfalls are close by. Then he looks at the topographical map, which is a map that has the contour lines of the land, and charts out the best routes down.

He’s learned that it’s better to go downstream and work his way up to the bottom of the waterfall, avoiding steep and often-difficult treks around and down the falls. He also takes care to ensure his explorations are completed before nightfall.

When going out by himself, he leaves a note on his dashboard saying where he is going.

Lalonde says his favourite waterfall is always the next one, and for areas left to explore, the rest of the remote waterfalls of Cape Breton are on his list.

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CITYSCAPE SMALL BUSINESS

How Dave O’Connor gets the party started Over 23 years, helping people celebrate has become a thriving business

BY ALEC BRUCE

It’s not that he’s perfectly fine with a global shortage of helium. In fact, his voice actually seems to rise at the mere mention.

It’s just that Dave O’Connor, president of (arguably) Nova Scotia’s leading partysupply outfit, doesn’t let much get him down—something about tears of a clown, which would be bad for business.

Over at Dartmouth-based Glow (where 35,000 square feet of tables, chairs, tents, tablecloths, glasses, ribbons, streamers, signs, placards, and, when the season requires, costumes, beckon to celebrants of

every disposition) business is booming.

That might be partly due to the worldwide growth over the past five years of the “instant party,” a social-media-driven phenomenon that now recognizes World Goth Day and International Talk Like A Pirate Day alongside Christmas and Easter.

But O’Connor, who started the business 23 years ago and now employs as many as 150 people seasonally through the year, prefers to explain his success as a combination of good old-fashioned customer service and a buoyant, anything-goes attitude.

“ We are a one-stop shop with five divisions,” says the Halifax Chamber of Commerce business leader award-winner (2018). “We do signs, games, parties, events, and Halloween. Hey, we’re on the cutting edge of bounce castles.”

Says one of the store’s Facebook friends: “Glow is the best place to go for balloon bouquets. We release balloons every year (into the air) and they are biodegradable.”

Until, of course, the helium runs out. Still, says O’Connor with typical élan: “If we have to, we’ll fix ‘em to sticks.”

HISTORY

The Halifax Explosion that wasn’t The just-averted disaster that would have devastated the city…again

BY BOB GORDON

Every Haligonian knows the significance of Dec. 6, the day the First World War came home. Two ships, one carrying munitions, collided in the harbour and the resulting explosion destroyed a broad swath of the city and killed some 2,000 people. What few know today is that in July 1945, Halifax narrowly avoided an even worse disaster.

The Canadian Ammunition Depot, popularly known as the Bedford Magazine, was located on Bedford Basin’s northeast shore. It was a modern facility, originally constructed in 1927 and substantially enlarged during the Second World War. T h e Roy a l C a n a d i a n N av y w a s decommissioning ships and discharging sailors at a furious pace, which could only happen after a ship was unmunitioned. The facility was bursting at the seams.

Everything from small arms ammunition to depth charges, anti-aircraft shells and tons of TNT filled the reinforced magazines, were stacked high on the wharf and piled in the open across the base. There were large stockpiles of RDX (Research 12 | halifaxmag.com JULY/AUGUST 2019

Department eXplosive), a new, volatile and incredibly destructive explosive stored willy-nilly throughout the facility. If these had caught fire, the blast would have dwarfed the 1917 catastrophe.

As Haligonians sat down to supper on July 18, 1945, a beautiful summer day, explosions started booming from the Bedford Magazine.

The largest came at 4:00 a.m., on July 19, when a concentration of over 360 depth charges and bombs went up, leaving a huge crater.

Officials evacuated Dartmouth and Halifax north of Quinpool Road. For some 36 hours firefighters, including naval volunteers, struggled against the fire, finally overcoming it. There were intermittent explosions but the dreaded giant blast never came.

Within a week Mayor Allen M. Butler, writing in The Chronicle, was calling for the magazine’s closure. The Halifax Herald asked, “Did ammunition dumps grow up in the Bedford depot to an extent that overtaxed the facilities of the establishment, having regard to the safety factor?”

Vice-Admiral G. C. Jones was planning a

Naval Board of Inquiry. It would conclude the initial fire, “was due to unauthorized smoking” compounded by, “the over stowing of Magazine Buildings and the stowage of explosive stores in the open.”

In April 1946 the RCN announced, “Most of the magazines destroyed in last July’s explosion at Bedford will not be rebuilt…The Halifax magazine will primarily be used in future for servicing the fleet operating out of the port and in such a capacity, will not be required to handle the large quantities of explosives it contained at the time of last year’s accident.”

There was only one fatality: the sailor who sounded the alarm. Patrolman Henry Raymond Craig, 33, “attempted to proceed to the scene to help extinguish the fire. He was killed by the ensuing explosion before he could reach the scene,” according to his mention in dispatches.

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TOO MUCH, TOO BRIGHT, TOO LOUD HOW HALIFAX IS TRYING TO REDUCE OBSTACLES FOR PEOPLE WITH SENSORY SENSITIVITIES STORY AND PHOTOS BY CHRIS MUISE

It takes some effort to navigate life in any city, even a small one like Halifax. You’ve got to learn the bus routes, when to expect rushhour traffic, where the best shawarma is, and so on.

But there are other less-noticeable hurdles. For some, navigating the streets isn’t enough; they have to consider how loud the neighbourhood will be. The best shawarma place in town might use florescent lights, making it impossible for them to dine there.

This is the daily reality for people living with sensory processing disorders.

“We know that sensory processing disorder is very common in people living on the autism spectrum,” says Cynthia Carroll, executive director of Autism Nova Scotia. “There are many individuals living on the autism spectrum that do have varying sensitivities to things like lights, sounds, or smells in their environment, which actually can make social interaction and inclusion in the community definitely more challenging.”

Doctors diagnosed Allistair Fraser with Asperger’s syndrome when he was five; he’s learned to anticipate his sensory sensitivities.

“I have to know what my limits are,” says the 37-year-old. “You get on a bus, the engine’s loud, you’ve got people in the back shouting.

Or car stereos. I can only imagine how loud it is inside the car, because you can hear them blasting the bass. Sometimes I wonder where all the quiet has gone.”

For people with sensory processing disorders, it goes beyond annoyance. Too much stimulation can lead to physiological distress that makes it hard to live in normal society.

“In a grocery store for example, where there are announcements all the time, and lots of loud sounds and bright lights, it becomes what we call a ‘sensory cocktail,’ which can lead to overload,” says Carroll. Watchers often mistake these overloads for bad behaviour and temper tantrums.

14 | halifaxmag.com JULY/AUGUST 2019

“Think of it like a pop can,” Carroll explains. “It’s often called ‘masking,’ where they can kind of manage...you’re just holding it together. But throughout that day, there’s a lot of what we call ‘popcan moments’ where people are kind of shaking the pop can...you just can’t filter it anymore, and the pop can opens. This is very real and very intense for people experiencing sensory overload.”

For parents, that means constant vigilance.

Sarah Yarr’s eight-year-old daughter Amata is on the Autism spectrum, meaning she’s been diagnosed with one among range of diagnosable conditions that fit under the autism banner. “When I buy her clothes, I look for tagless things. When I pick up food, we always have an alternate dish planned in case she doesn’t like it...

It’s pretty instinctive to just plan ahead for what she’s going to need.”

“SOMETIMES I WONDER WHERE ALL THE QUIET HAS GONE.” —ALLISTAIR FRASER

Amata finds loud noises and strong smells particularly distracting.

“Usually, I have my imagination flowing easily, but when a bad smell is around: pop! There it goes,” she explains. “Unless it’s my own voice, super high-volume screams are quite annoying.”

Yarr, Amata, and her younger sister were enjoying a quiet lounge at Hal-Con when Halifax Magazine spoke to them.

“It’s mostly quiet around here,” says Amata. “Outside this room, it’s pretty crowded and noisy. Things may start to get overwhelming if I don’t take any quick trip to a room like this. Probably for other people with autism, too.”

The room is one of many programs that Autism Nova Scotia is starting with community partners to make the city more accommodating to people with special sensory needs, autistic or not.

“One of the things that Autism Nova Scotia has been working really hard on is ensuring that the communities in which we live have a greater understanding and acceptance around these sensory sensitivities,” says Carroll.

Neptune Theatre had its first sensory-friendly staging of Cinderella, with the house lights dimmed, and applause replaced with snapping fingers. Fin: The Atlantic International Film Festival also holds relaxed movie screenings.

“This is probably a little quieter, and they leave the lights on,” says Fraser, while eagerly waiting to take in one of those screenings. “It might mean the movie is a bit more enjoyable, and it might mean you get more out of the movie.”

In HRM, there are autism-friendly Dungeons & Dragons clubs now, relaxed swims, and even quiet visits with Santa. Halifax Public Libraries now offers early opening hours for people with sensory sensitivities. The trend is growing. Sobeys offers “sensory-friendly” shopping hours and local museums are now offering quiet hours.

“We had an adult who is 45, who has never had a library card in her life, because she could never walk into a library because of the stimulation,” says Carroll. “She was able, for the first time, to go in and get a library card.”

Carroll has been with Autism Nova Scotia for 11 years. She’s seen the general understanding and acceptance of people on the spectrum grow. Halifax is even starting to see it in its infrastructure, such as with the pedestrian-friendly Argyle Street renovation; less vehicle traffic has the added benefit of less noise, fewer sensory distractions.

Carroll wants to see our city go even farther in this direction.

“Laval in Quebec has designated themselves as an autism-friendly city,” says Carroll. “There’s also been a city in Newfoundland [Channel-Port Aux Basques] who has declared themselves that as well. What would it take for Halifax to be an autism-friendly city? I like to think that we’re on our way.”

Fraser recalls something his mother used to tell him.

“Savour the small victories,” he says. “But there’s a lot more to do.” tadams@metroguide.ca

Halifax Magazine

@HalifaxEditor @HalifaxMagazine

JULY/AUGUST 2019 halifaxmag.com | 15

| COVER STORY |

Summer THE JOYS OF

BY KIM HART MACNEILL

From big-ticket entertainment and annual festivals to sports and food and everything in between—read on for our favourite summer events. (Plus a few opportunities to get out of town.)

Artistic expression

Shad

HALIFAX JAZZ FESTIVAL JULY 9–14 Chicago rapper Common and Canadian hip-hop artist Shad open this year’s festival.

Over the next five days you can catch Canadian folk musician Bahamas; Afro-Caribbean, prog rock-jazz fusion outfit Ms. Lisa Fischer & Grand Baton; and a diverse array of acts.

Ticketed shows are at the waterfront main stage, St. Paul’s Church, The Seahorse, and The Carleton. Free concerts and matinees happen across the city. halifaxjazzfestival.ca 16 | halifaxmag.com JULY/AUGUST 2019

HALIFAX BUSKER FESTIVAL JULY 31–AUG. 5 Over six days and 300 shows, fire breathers, acrobatics, comedians, magicians, and contortionists from around the world strut their stuff on the waterfront. This year’s roster includes mime Jenny Jupiter, contortionist Alakazam, and Toronto Raptors’ drummers Rhythm Works. buskers.ca SAPPYFEST 14 AUG. 2–4 Sackville, New Brunswick, is only a two-hour drive from Halifax, but feels a world away. This charming small town hosts an annual indie music and art festival known across the country. Acts include Apollo Ghosts, Deliluh, FET.NAT, Joyfultalk, and more. sappyfest.com DARTMOUTH COMIC ARTS FESTIVAL AUG. 17–18 This free two-day festival celebrates comics and cartooning. Stop by Alderney Landing to meet artists, watch drawing demos and Q & A sessions, plus discover art and books vendors. dcaf.strangeadventures.com TATA FEST AUG. 17–25 Four days celebrating soil, soul, and society in Tatamagouche, N.S., through artisan fairs and demonstrations, music, and food. It’s the only

place you’ll find an ice-cream social at a lavender farm and a sock-knitting competition. facebook.com/pg/TataFestNS HALIFAX FRINGE AUG. 29–SEPT. 8 The city’s uncensored performing-arts festivals celebrates 29 years. See cutting-edge shows at venues across the city, featuring local, national, and international talent. halifaxfringe.ca

Cultural pride Carson Downey

Top from left: Myles Goodwyn, Elsie LeGrow, Millbrook Annual Competition Powwow, North by Night Market

THE LEBANESE FESTIVAL JULY 11–14 Food, folk dance, music and church tours mark this long-standing cultural festival at Olympic Hall on Cunard Street. Pro-tip: Parking is at a premium around the hall; take public transit or walk so you can visit a patio on the way home. lebanesefestival.ca HALIFAX PRIDE FESTIVAL JULY 18–28 Artistic and educational events, parties, performances, and more mark this longstanding Pride celebration. Local trans entertainer and activist Chris Cochrane is parade marshal as the July 20 event marks the 50th anniversary of the landmark Stonewall Riots. halifaxpride.com 2019 AFRIFEST JULY 19–21 This annual event celebrates the cultural heritage and artistic works of Africandescended Nova Scotians. Find food, drummers from around the world, and arts and crafts at this three-day event at Sackville Landing on Lower Water Street. Blues-rocker C arson D ow ney h ea d li n es t he li ve entertainment. afacs.org NOVA MULTIFEST 2019 JULY 19–21 Explore Nova Scotia’s cultural diversity as dozens of communities rally together to share food, music, art, and live performances at Alderney Landing in Dartmouth. multifestns.ca

MILLBROOK ANNUAL COMPETITION POWWOW AUG 9-11 The 20th annual powwow offers three days of dance and regalia. This is a great opportunity to experience Mi’kmaw culture and tradition.

This year’s host drum will be The Boyz–TBZ from St. Paul, Minn. millbrookband.com

Get active MUD HERO JULY 6 Climb walls, squirm through a fisherman’s net, and traverse muddy lagoons during this day of 6-km and 10-km obstacle-course runs at Debert Airfield. The events finish with the Mud Bash featuring live music, barbecue, and beverages. mudhero.com LOLË WHITE TOUR ON THE ROAD 2019 JULY 6 Join hundreds of yogis dressed in white at DeWolf Park in Bedford to embrace meditation and yoga with live music and guided sessions. facebook.com/pg/lolestorehalifax J24 CANADIAN NATIONALS JULY 18–21 The Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron hosts Canada’s speediest keel boats as sailors race for the national title. j24canada.org RACE TO BRIDGE THE GAP AUG. 24 Teams of two will race across Dartmouth and Halifax completing mental and physical challenges. This inaugural event raises funds for the We Are Young Association, a non-profit granting wishes to Nova Scotian elders. weareyoung.ca

All summer long ROBIESCOPE WEDNESDAYS AT 7 P.M. Cozy up in Good Robot Brewing Co.’s MouseTrap bar on Robie Street to watch some of your favourite films family-style.

Movie goers under 19 are welcome with guardians and the purchase of food from Rumblefish Food Co. facebook.com/pg/goodrobotbrew/ events.

SATURDAY NIGHT SWING FACTORY SATURDAYS AT 6:30 P.M. Dance the night away to a live band with the DalKing’s Swing Dance Society at First Baptist Church on Oxford Street. Entry is $5 and includes lessons for beginners before the main dance. No experience necessary. dalswing.ca HATFIELD FARM FAMILY ROUND-UP SATURDAYS AND SUNDAYS AT 11 A.M. A day of fun is waiting in Hammonds Plains.

Ride a horse-drawn wagon to Fort Clayton; visit goats, donkeys, and alpacas in the petting pen; play mini golf and ride the zipline. Your ticket includes all-you-can-eat hot dogs and non-alcoholic beverages. hatfieldfarm.ca NORTH BY NIGHT MARKET JULY 12, AUG. 9, SEPT. 14 Street food, local artisans and vendors, and DJ-driven dance parties come together on Gottingen Street for this monthly summer celebration of Halifax’s North End. gonorthhalifax.ca/north-by-night JULY/AUGUST 2019 halifaxmag.com | 17

| COVER STORY |

Def Leppard

Mopar Superbike Championship

Mud Hero

Get outside FIN OUTDOOR FRIDAY EVENINGS IN JULY Bring snacks and a lawn chair or blanket to the Public Gardens to watch a movie en plein air on an inflatable screen. “The Summer of Sing-Alongs” is this year’s theme: Grease (July 5), Mamma Mia! (July 12), The Rocky Horror Picture Show ( July 19), and Bohemian Rhapsody (July 26). finfestival.ca/fin-outdoor MOPAR CANADIAN SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 4 JULY 19 The fourth round of this national competition visits Atlantic Motorsport Park’s 2.56-km track in Mill Village, N.S.

GET TO THE POINT—WHERE IT ALL BEGAN AUG. 3 Lawrencetown Beach hosts this event highlighting the longevity of this popular local surf spot. Surf heats won’t be judged, but there will be live commentary. facebook.com/Highway207 SPRING GARDEN CHILDREN’S FESTIVAL AUG. 11 Visit Victoria Park for a day of face-painting, a petting zoo, bouncy castles, live entertainment, and more. springgardenarea.com

OLD HOME WEEK P.E.I. AUG. 8–17 Since 1888, Islanders gather in Charlottletown, P.E.I. to fête the best in local agriculture.

Miniature horses, tractor pulls, parades, 4-H demonstrations: get a taste for country life.

Each evening finishes with live bluegrass, country, or Celtic music. oldhomeweekpei.com 2019 SACKVILLE STREET CHALK ART FESTIVAL AUG. 23–24 Find your artistic streak in Sackville, N.B. This festival hosts workshops, kid’s activities, and live demos by professional chalk artists from around the world. sackville.com

Cirque de Soleil Crystal

Mamma Mia! and Bohemian Rhapsody at FIN Outdoor

18 | halifaxmag.com JULY/AUGUST 2019

Big-ticket events DEF LEPPARD JULY 12 Don your leather and tease your hair to maximum height, the British 1980s-vintage hard-rockers of “Let’s Get Rocked” fame join Tesla to storm the stage at Scotiabank Centre for a night of headbanging hits. ticketmaster.ca AN EVENING WITH DAVID SEDARIS AUG. 6 Best-selling humorist and frequent This American Life contributor David Sedaris takes the stage at the Dal Arts Centre. Sedaris will host a Q&A during the show and sign books after. dal.ca/dept/arts-centre.html JOEL PLASKETT AT LUNENBURG FOLK HARBOUR FEST AUG. 11 Dartmouth’s favourite singer song-writer takes to the stage in his hometown at one of the region’s largest folk festivals, running Aug. 8–11. Catch his set at 7 p.m. or stay all day to take in toe-tapping tunes in the salty air. folkharbour.com CIRQUE DE SOLEIL CRYSTAL AUG. 28– SEPT. 1 World-class ice skaters and acrobats take to the ice surface at Scotiabank Centre for Cirque’s first show on ice. ticketmaster.ca

Joel Plaskett

Eat, drink, and be merry TIDAL BAY JULY 2, AUG. 20, SEPT. 17 On the ultimate N.S. wine adventure, you’ll start in Halifax, and bus to Blomidon Estate Winery, Domaine de Grand Pré, and Gaspereau Vineyards, plus stop at Le Caveau for a traditional lobster lunch with Chef Jason Lynch. wp.winetoursns.com 100-MILE FARM FOOD FESTIVAL AUG. 4 Fill your reusable bags and baskets with farmfresh Annapolis Valley fare. On-site you’ll find ready to eat options and entertainment from wagon rides and live music to a hay lifting competition. facebook.com/pg/PreserveFarmland

HALIFAX SEAPORT CIDER AND BEERFEST AUG. 9 AND 10 Atlantic Canada’s largest beer and cider show returns for its 13th year. Taste over 300 beers, ciders, and meads from around the world.

Plus, Seaport hosts the Maine Beer Box, a 40-foot container featuring 78 taps of fresh Maine craft beer. seaportbeerfest.com FULL MOON MARKET AUG. 15 Amid the cozy confines of the Halifax Brewery Market, food and drink vendors gather from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. to fill your belly with local nosh. facebook.com/hfxbrewerymarket

tadams@metroguide.ca Halifax Magazine @HalifaxEditor @HalifaxMagazine

David Sedaris

Happy birthday HRM! One day isn’t enough to contain the 124th annual Natal Day celebrations. Running from Aug. 2–6, prepare for five days of family fun featuring free events aplenty.

This year the festival hosts 30 events including: family activities, live music, a road race, an entertainment showcase, a comedy night at Casino Nova Scotia, and busker performances. Two of the most popular events are the Mayor and Council Garden Parties (held in Halifax and Dartmouth) and one of Atlantic Canada’s oldest parades.

You’re probably thinking, that all sounds great, but when are the fireworks? This year features three displays: Aug. 3 from a barge on Halifax Harbour, Aug. 4 on the Halifax Common, and Aug. 5 at Lake Banook.

natalday.org

JULY/AUGUST 2019 halifaxmag.com | 19

| ADVERTISING FEATURE |

PRIDE FESTIVAL SEEKS TO EMPOWER

EVERYONE HALIFAX PRIDE WANTS TO MAKE EVERY EVENT BETTER, MORE INCLUSIVE

By Amanda Jess

As Halifax Pride organizers prepare for the 11-day 2019 Pride Festival, they’ve been looking at ways to make it better.

Executive Director Adam Reid says while there is always something new, their focus is on improving events.

“We want to make sure we’re presenting a festival and events that are inclusive and diverse and offer our many communities opportunities to participate. We don’t really spend a lot of time thinking about how to make it bigger. We always think about how we can make this better and more reflective of our community needs.”

One way they’ve tried to do this is by changing the organization of the festival with the addition of specialized committees.

After Reid’s first festival as executive director in 2017, he realized the board and Halifax Pride Society couldn’t plan it alone.

In 2018, they had four or five active committees, he says. This year, they have nine groups with five to 10 people from the 2SLGBTQ+ community, focusing on youth, elders, accessibility, communications, education, events, governance, health and wellness, and programming.

Reid says it’s a work in progress, but organizers are excited about the new structure.

“It’s removing some of the burden of planning off of a small collection of volunteers and ensuring there’s a greater diversity of input and thought and experience coming to the planning team.”

They’re still working on getting the word out about the committees. Reid hopes to see them become a bit more reflective of the diversity in the community, noting the members are predominantly cisgender and white.

20 | 2019 HALIFAX PRIDE FESTIVAL

One addition people can expect to see this year is a new venue for the Candlelit Vigil.

The event, which is an opportunity to reflect and remember those who have passed, will appropriately be held at a park that will be renamed after activist Raymond Taavel.

Taavel, who was killed outside a Halifax bar in 2012, was an integral part of Halifax Pride and one of the founders of Fierté Canada Pride. He is also known for his work as a writer and managing editor of Wayves magazine, and for his efforts in getting equal marriage and transgender rights added to the province’s Human Rights Act, as well as many other achievements.

“A collective of Raymond’s loved ones have been working with the city, lobbying the city to recognize his impact in the community. They will be renaming this park in his honour.”

The dedication ceremony will coincide with the festival’s vigil on July 22 at the corner of Barrington and Inglis streets, beginning at 9 p.m.

Each year, Halifax Pride names a new Parade Ambassador, with this year’s being Chris Cochrane.

Cochrane, who is also known as drag performer Elle Noir, is a trans activist, often speaking about her experience in schools, universities, and community organizations. She is also a make-up artist and actress.

“As this is the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, a pivotal moment in our history that was led by trans women of colour, it is my honour as a black trans woman to serve as the 2019 Halifax Pride Parade Ambassador,” Cochrane says about her role in a press release from Halifax Pride.

Reid says Halifax Pride organizers have a lot of respect and admiration for Cochrane.

“It’s not always easy to be really vocal and proud and those things come with risk and potential criticism. She has really stepped up and recognizes her ability to speak for positive change and speak up for those maybe who don’t have a voice.”

EMPOWERMENT

This year’s Halifax Pride theme is all about feeling empowered personally and the empowerment of others. Reid says Pride organizers want to create spaces in which people can be their authentic selves.

“We really want people to be able to join with us and feel they are in safe spaces where their diverse needs and interests are respected and valued.”

Reid says Pride organizers are always discussing how to create more inclusive and accessible spaces, and that’s where the theme comes from.

Halifax Pride wants to not only help facilitate conversations, but also “lift up others who are sharing those messages and that can only happen if they feel included and welcomed and have opportunities to take part,” Reid says.

Pride’s signage will show off this theme.

ARTWORK BY REVOLVE BRANDING & MARKETING

| ADVERTISING FEATURE |

“As individuals arrive on site, they’re going to see signs that have messages of support and empowerment, messages that reflect our values and let folks know that when in these spaces, when taking part in these spaces, we’re going to treat each other with respect and dignity and we’re going to share those messages in ways that reflect the festival as a whole.”

Festival attendees can expect to see this theme reflected throughout the events, during the Evening Speaker Series and Noon-Hour Panel Series in particular, where participants will be discussing issues relating to inclusivity, safer spaces, and the need for prioritization of communities of colour.

The Evening Speaker Series will feature three main speakers over three days.

Jeremy Dutcher, an Indigenous two-spirit artist who recently won a Juno for Indigenous Music Album of the Year and the Polaris Music Prize, will be in conversation with former Halifax Poet Laureate Rebecca Thomas to discuss identity and art on July 22 at 7:00 p.m.

Director Philip Pike will be speaking on July 23 after a screening of his documentary about queer Black activism in Toronto over four decades, titled Our Dance of Revolution, beginning at 6:00 p.m.

On July 25, Vincent Mousseau will be speaking about their identities as a Black queer and trans community organizer, educator, and activist and the search for community in 2SLGBTQ+ spaces, starting at 7:00 p.m.

The Noon-Hour Panel Series topics include treaty-informed community building, healthcare resources, Nova Scotia at the time of Stonewall and partial decriminalization, chemsex culture, and cyber violence and inter-community harm. Those 2019 HALIFAX PRIDE FESTIVAL | 21

MAKING

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events take place each day at 12:00 p.m. on July 22 to 26.

All the Evening Speaker Series talks and panels will be held in the Paul O’Regan Hall at the Halifax Central Library.

STAPLES OF THE FESTIVAL

The festival begins on July 18 with lots of events, including the Rainbow Flag raising at Grand Parade Square at 5:00 p.m. Following that, part of Argyle Street will be blocked off for the free, all-ages TD Block Party at 5:30 p.m. The fun continues with Halifax Pride Comedy Night later that evening. The line-up includes Martha Chaves, Tranna Wintour, Jane Kansas, Lindsay Dauphinee, and host Bill Wood at the Spatz Theatre. Doors open at 7:30 p.m.

One of the most recognized events of Halifax Pride is the parade, taking place during opening weekend on July 20.

Attendees can expect a plethora of rainbows, people, and political and celebratory messages. It will, as always, be led by the queer community, Reid says.

Beginning at 1:00 p.m., approximately 150 entries make their way down Upper Water Street, Barrington, Spring Garden Road, and South Park, before finishing at the Garrison Grounds.

“That’s a great opportunity to gather, but we hope folks recognize it’s an 11-day festival. We’re more than just a parade. The parade affords us a really wonderful opportunity to focus attention on the festival, but we hope that attention also falls on some of the really amazing work that’s happening throughout our community.”

Another returning favourite is The Bump, which will feature local and international drag performers for an outdoor dance party on July 19 at the Garrison Grounds. Chi Chi DeVayne

PHOTO: SHAUN SIMPSON

| ADVERTISING FEATURE |

Chris Cochrane, Elle Noir, is this year’s Parade Ambassador

2019 HALIFAX PRIDE FESTIVAL | 23

| ADVERTISING FEATURE |

and Kennedy Davenport from RuPaul’s Drag Race will be alongside performers Tynomi Banks, Mo B. Dick, Rita Baga, Elle Noir, and more.

On July 20, it’ll be another night of dancing with The Grind, which is headlined by DJ and singer Sandy Duperval.

One of the events organizers are most excited about is the Gottingen Block Party, a free, all-ages event with a community market, food trucks, performances, and beverage garden hosted in the north-end. That takes place on July 27 from 4 p.m. until midnight.

Closing the festival is the Dykes vs.

Divas softball game on July 28 at the Canada Games Baseball Diamond on the Halifax Common.

“That is a really lovely community event that is cross-generational in its appeal. It’s an outdoor day in the park. It’s

24 | 2019 HALIFAX PRIDE FESTIVAL

a free event and it’s just a really lovely opportunity for folks to gather and enjoy a tongue-in-cheek softball game, so we really love that.”

For organizers, the best part of the festival is when they’re able to find moments of beauty and education, which Reid says could be on a dance floor, at a community conversation, or on a float.

He says often individuals in the community work in isolation and don’t have the opportunity to come together.

Halifax Pride offers a chance to do that.

It’s a time for reflection, remembering achievements, and identifying challenges, Reid says.

“We really want to rise to the challenge of ensuring our Pride is more than simply a celebration or party. This is an incredible platform, an incredible opportunity for education and advocacy and gathering.

We think Pride can be all of those things.”

DARRELL SAMPSON

PHOTO: STOO METZ

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| ADVERTISING FEATURE |

GIVING VOICE TO THE 2SLGBTQ+ COMMUNITY

While Halifax Pride organizers put a lot into planning, they themselves are not the festival. Reid says their role is facilitation and caretaking while the community is the festival. It’s the

26 | 2019 HALIFAX PRIDE FESTIVAL

organizers’ responsibility to identify how their platform and resources can be used in the community’s best interests.

“We’re always trying to find out how can we be more inclusive. How can we create space and opportunities for community members? How can we ensure we’re offering our community what it needs to be able to take part?” Reid says, adding they try to do this through

outreach. They hold community meetings throughout the year to gather feedback and update the public on the festival.

Halifax Pride is working on making events more accessible. For example, at the parade this means a viewing platform for those with mobility issues or difficulty standing for long periods. There’s also a low-sensory area, spaces prioritized for elders, and audio description. There’s also American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters at all Halifax Prideorganized events.

However, Reid says there’s always opportunity for improvement.

“We’re open to criticism. We need criticism because it really helps us grow and change and improve, and that’s why we do this outreach and that’s why we have these conversations with the community.”

Organizers never feel their work is done, Reid says.

“We recognize there’s certainly a need to ensure communities who have historically been underrepresented at our festival have a place of prominence at our events. So, certainly we work to ensure our presenters and performers and participants reflect the diversity of our communities. We really try to prioritize communities of colour on our stages, and trans and non-binary folk, because we want to ensure folks coming to our festival see themselves reflected in all aspects of the festival.”

Reid says he often tries to identify what volunteers are seeking from the festival and then tries to help them find that. He hopes for the same outcome for everyone who partakes in Halifax Pride.

“I hope those organizations and those folks who take part find what it is they’re looking for. We all need opportunity for gathering, for sharing our identities and experiences.”

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Pleasures N’ Treasures expanding in Nova Scotia

We’re expanding in Nova Scotia Pleasures N’ Treasures is expanding after three decades of operation in the Maritimes.

Since opening its first store in Halifax on Quinpool Road more than 30 years ago as X-Citement Video, the business has evolved, changed its name to reflect its extensive and ever-growing selection of products, and added more locations.

Three new stores, one in Cape Breton and two in Quebec, will open this summer, bringing the total up to 13 locations spread out across Eastern Canada.

The flagship store in Halifax is still thriving today, having recently moved to a beautiful, new building at 6232 Quinpool Road, just a few doors down from their previous spot.

Halifax manager Kristin Purdy says the selection has improved with the added space. It’s easier to browse, too.

“Where we are in a bigger space, we are working on bringing in all kinds of new stuff because we’ve got the room for it.”

Purdy says the company has tried to be strategic in the placement of its products in the two-storey space, placing lingerie, costumes, featured product lines, and party items on the first floor. This layout allows them to keep their windows unobstructed and helps to create a more inviting and welcoming space.

“You can see in and it looks nice. It looks more boutique-y than it did at the old place,” Purdy says.

On the second floor, customers can find sex toys, DVDs, magazines, and many other products.

“One of our big things is we try to have something for everyone here, so that’s toys at different price points and lingerie at all kinds of different price points.”

Purdy notes they’ve been expanding their lingerie offerings as well and now have an extensive plussize section.

Pleasures N’ Treasures is a great place to shop as Halifax Pride approaches. They have many Pride-themed items available for sale, such as flags, jewelry, hats, and other accessories.

Customers are their first priority. The staff is friendly, respectful, and trained to answer questions and make the right recommendations. They ensure their customers walk away armed with information about using products safely and how to properly care for their toys.

“I think the big thing that sets us apart is our selection.

We have so many different items for so many different

people. I know not everyone can afford the high-end luxury vibrators, so we do have stuff that’s as low as $10, $15, which I think is really important because everybody deserves to have a nice orgasm,” Purdy says.

In addition to their Quinpool Road location, Pleasures N’ Treasures has three other stores in N.S.: 155 Main Street in Dartmouth, 295 Sackville Drive in Lower Sackville, and 30 Mill Street in Truro.

More information on their locations, hours of operation, and products can be found at pntcanada.com.

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| FEATURE |

ROCKET MAN STEPHEN MATIER SAYS CANSO, WILL BECOME THE NEXT CAPE CANAVERAL. SOME THINK HE’S A VISIONARY. OTHERS THINK HE’S SPACED OUT. BUT HE’S NOT KIDDING AROUND

PHOTOS: COURTESY OF MARITIME LAUNCH SERVICES

BY ALEC BRUCE

One bright, sunny day in the near future, the inhabitants of tiny Canso, Nova Scotia, might spy from their craggy shoreline a new vessel launching into the great wide open. This time, though, it won’t be a fishing boat they see, but a rocket carrying commercial satellites.

That’s because an unassuming, yet oddly garrulous, mechanical engineer from New Mexico has proclaimed that this, of all possible places in the world, is the perfect site on which to erect a commercial spaceport for Ukrainianbuilt, Yuzhnoye Cyclone-4M missiles; replete with a blast-off pad, a vehicle-handling complex, and mission control.

Meet Stephen Matier, a former NASA project manager who worked for 16 years at the White Sands Test Facility developing propulsion systems for the American Space Shuttle program. That’s another way of saying that while the president and CEO of something called Maritime Launch Services Ltd. (MLS) may be laughing, he isn’t kidding.

The Albuquerque native, who now resides in Halifax with his wife and two kids, has almost singlehandedly spearheaded the venture over the past three years. He’s met dozens of provincial and federal officials. He’s conducted myriad public meetings and given speeches to community and business groups. He’s completed and submitted environmental assessments and negotiated Crown land-use agreements.

He’s arranged about $210 million in private financing with international and Canadian investors to help vault his start-up company over the initial operational hurdles. He keeps a lid on the details; nevertheless, he reports in an email, “We are looking at a cross cut of equity, non-dilutive debt, [and] launch pre-sales, etc., for our entire needs to get to first launch. The specific split is, of course, fluid and we are under non-disclosure agreements at this point.”

JULY/AUGUST 2019 halifaxmag.com | 39

| FEATURE |

Still, he adds, “My wife Anne and I have a lot riding on this in terms of investment, sweat equity and otherwise having transplanted our family here. We’ll be making some investment announcements [soon].”

Through it all, he has fought a pitched battle against critics who think his project, which received provisional environmental approval in June from the Nova Scotia government, is naïve, reckless, or both.

Chuck Black, one of the few journalists in Canada who cover the nation’s commercial space industry full time is somewhat more sympathetic, but only somewhat. “I’m really of two minds about this,” the editor of the Toronto-based Commercial Space Blog says. “In the first place, I appreciate what he’s facing.”

Black notes the process involved in obtaining a launch licence in this country is cumbersome and primitive, compared with other jurisdictions, such as the United States and the European Union. In this context, he adds, “Matier’s company is putting in enough money at least to go through the process. That should help Canadian governments find out what they want and then, presumably, they’ll start licensing launch providers.”

On the other hand, Black observes, the basic Ukrainian missile technology MLS plans to employ is almost 20 years old. “I know about 100 commercial rocket companies around the world,” he says. “Some of them are really big, like Elon Musk’s SpaceX. Some of them are really small. About half of them are already using innovative technologies that have been developed within the last five years. But if MLS goes ahead, it would be like competing in the modern car market with new Studebakers.”

“MY WIFE ANNE AND I HAVE A LOT RIDING ON THIS IN TERMS OF INVESTMENT, SWEAT EQUITY AND OTHERWISE HAVING TRANSPLANTED OUR FAMILY HERE”

PHOTO: BRUCE MURRAY, VISIONFIRE

—STEPHEN MATIER

None of which seems to daunt Matier. His 2016 project description calls the Yuzhnoye Cyclone-4M rockets the “latest model,” “highly reliable,” and “proven.” If all goes as planned, perhaps as soon as 2021, he’s certain this technology, combined with his industriousness, will transform an unprepossessing spit at the eastern edge of the continent into the only facility of its kind in the country.

That raises the tantalizing possibility of Canso with barely 739 souls (where the average age is almost 50 and the median annual income is less than $24,000) becoming the next Cape Canaveral (with all the economic benefits that might accrue) in the hot, new race for private-sector ascendency over outer space. Not bad for a town where the only other claim to fame is the summertime Stan Rogers Folk Festival.

But that still raises the question: Why now and why, on Earth, here?

“I used to get that a lot,” the budding astropreneur says by phone during one of his frequent business trips. “Consider the old adage: location, location, location. I started several years ago by doing a study that looked at 14 potential venues—from Chiapas in Mexico to Newfoundland and Manitoba; from Alaska to California and Virginia.

And of all of them, Canso fulfills every criterion I had outlined.”

The coastal village’s remoteness (it faces the ocean on three sides, and only one road in and out connects it to civilization) is its greatest advantage. It’s an ideal spot, he explains, for ensuring optimal rocket trajectories and safeguarding people along the seaboard from the statistically miniscule risk of falling debris.

It’s surrounded by hundreds of hectares of leasable, publicly owned wilderness, some of which would be cost-effectively handy when the time comes to install launch pads, buildings, roads, power lines, and sewer systems. And despite its relative seclusion, Canso is relatively near major entrepôts such as Halifax’s airport and the Mulgrave Marine Terminal, both of which would be essential to the timely delivery of launch vehicles and associated equipment.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, local support for the scheme seems to be growing. “You can’t do a damn thing without a community that stands solidly behind you,” Matier says.

Vernon Pitts, warden of the Municipality of Guysborough (which governs Canso) echoed the attitude of many area residents last summer when he declared in a letter to then-Nova Scotia Environment Minister Margaret Miller, “We look forward to…this project and encourage its expeditious review and approval. [It] has the potential to provide significant benefits to a region that has been greatly impacted by the collapse of the cod fishery in the 1990s.”

If there is something poignant about this sentiment, there’s also something concrete to it. This is not Matier’s first rodeo in the high frontier. As he told the House of Commons Finance Committee last fall, apart from his experience at NASA, “I have been an independent consultant working directly with the U.S. commercial space industry PHOTO: B on building and licensing spaceports and working with launch vehicle operators from around the world.”

The Canso operation would reprise that approach by managing the lift-offs of as many as eight, medium-range orbital rockets a year, plus booking and processing the payloads of satellite providers. MLS would make its money as an “integrator” or middleman, charging fees for the services it renders.

As for the commercial marketplace’s appetite, Matier isn’t worried.

He points to research by the Space Foundation, an unaffiliated think tank based in Colorado Springs, and others, which stipulate that revenues from the “global space economy” now approach $350 billion US annually. That represents yearly growth of about 15% since 2004, with most of the expansion having occurred after NASA retired the Space Shuttles in 2011.

40 | halifaxmag.com JULY/AUGUST 2019

PHOTOS: COURTESY OF MARITIME LAUNCH SERVICES

The launch segment of the industry is currently struggling to meet burgeoning demand for mid-range rocket systems and operations.

These are the work horses that provide frequent and cheap access to near-Earth orbit, which is crucial to modestly sized satellites designed to collect real-time, up-to-date information on just about everything… well…under the sun: From the layout of municipal street grids to the condition of residential roof tiles.

Into all of this, Matier expects, MLS and, of course, Canso will step.

He’s loath to predict economic returns to his own company, but he has no problem outlining the potential boons to the town. “Our employment is probably going to be in the neighbourhood of 40 or 50 people,” he says. “So that would be plumbers, pipefitters, instrumentation technicians, and the like. They are the backbone of any facility like this. We will also have 24–7 security services, as well as emergency response capabilities.”

He added in a recent email updating the project’s progress: “The community support has been great. They collected about 750 signatures in a petition in Canso, Hazel Hill and Little Dover, and it was tabled by MLA Hines [Guysborough-Eastern Shore-Tracadie] … before the legislature rose.”

Even so, not everyone in the province is sold. Following an initial assessment last July, Environment Minister Miller wrote back: “During the EA review, concerns were raised regarding the potential impacts of the project on: water resources, soil, air quality, noise, flora and fauna, fish and fish habitat, protected areas and parks, human health and contingency planning.

“These concerns came up through public and Mi’kmaq submissions, plus submissions by Nova Scotia Environment, Nova Scotia Department of Lands and Forestry, Nova Scotia Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Health Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and Department of National Defence.”

According to a CBC news report at the time, “In one of the 25 letters received, an Environment Department staffer wrote any spill of hazardous material from the site ‘would destroy the impacted ecosystems with no chance of recovery for the next several hundred years.’”

Another critic, writing in the opinion pages of the Halifax ChronicleHerald, went further, calling into question MLS’s decision to manage rockets that use the propellant Unsymmetrical Dimethylhydrazine (UDMH), a known carcinogen.

“A launch failure at Canso would not in itself be of great concern— except for those 10 tonnes of UDMH within the upper stage [of the rocket],” British Columbia political scientist Michael Byers wrote. “The last UDMH-fuelled rocket launched from the United States was in 2005.

European and Japanese launch providers have also switched to nontoxic fuels. Even China and Russia are replacing their UDMH-fuelled rockets with more modern, non-toxic alternatives.”

Matier says he addressed all concerns, dealing with each in a bricksized tome he filed with the Environment Department in March. Here, for example, is only part of that 475-page document’s dissertation on

With its abundant Crown land and ocean on three sides, Canso is uniquely situated to host a spaceport, says Stephen Matier.

UDMH: “The effect of unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine on the human body is irritation of the mucous membranes of the eyes, respiratory tract and lungs, damage to the central nervous system, and damage to the digestive tract. Concentrations of 240 milligrams per cubic metres (mg/m3) is considered human-tolerated during exposures up to 10 minutes, and concentrations up to 120 mg/m3 for 30 minutes.”

Nevertheless, the report adds, “propellant spills would occur only in the event of malfunction of ground support equipment and/or personnel errors.” In the worst case, “the procedure of collection and neutralization in combination with personal protective equipment allows quick elimination of the spill with minimal risk of acute and chronic exposures.”

Even so, Matier assures, the probability of such an accident is vanishingly small. “Look,” he says, “we list 50 different launch pads in a dozen countries that still use UDMH, and the reason they do is that there is simply no replacement for it at this point in the technology. A forest fire is pretty scary, too. But that doesn’t mean we stop cooking or using our fireplaces. It all comes down to engineering controls. And that’s what I’ve done with my time for a whole career.”

For now, the provincial government seems to concur, although it requires MLS to reimburse Nova Scotia Environment as much as $100,000 a year for the public costs of monitoring its compliance. Says Matier in an email: “My…team was surprised [by this], but to me it is a measure of the uncertainty of them of embracing Canada’s first orbital satellite launch facility. It seems prudent and once we are up and operating, they should find that it might not be needed. We are or will produce almost everything they’ve asked for in the normal planning, design, development and operation of the launch site.”

For the time being, the oft-travelling engineer will spend most of his time filling out forms, answering questions, deflecting verbal barbs, and issuing occasional bromides to the bureaucrats and elected officials who hold the virtual launch codes of his ambitious undertaking. “We are now moving to complete the land lease application with Lands and Forestry as efficiently as possible,” he reports.

Sometimes, though, he does afford himself a few moments to imagine that bright, sunny day in the near future when he will watch, from tiny Canso town, the first rocket ship ever to launch into the great, wide open of Canada’s craggy, eastern shoreline. tadams@metroguide.ca

Halifax Magazine

@HalifaxEditor @HalifaxMagazine

JULY/AUGUST 2019 halifaxmag.com | 41

| FEATURE |

WHY DO PEOPLE USE MEDICINAL CANNABIS AND HOW HAS LEGALIZATION AFFECTED THEM?

BY ROBYN MCNEIL

F

or all her adult life, Daisy Patten struggled daily with anxiety. Ten years ago the Dartmouth resident turned to cannabis and found relief.

“The doctor wanted to put me on all kinds of drugs,” Patten recalls.

“I said, ‘let me try pot first.’ They didn’t like that idea. So, I tried it first anyway, and it saved my marriage.”

When menopause hit with a wallop just a few years later, a new doctor prescribed Effexor to treat a spike in her anxiety that accompanied the hormonal shifts. The doctor upped her dosage a year later, and Patten began experiencing hallucinations, “yucky” dreams, and near-constant illness. She weaned herself off the Effexor against the doctor’s orders, and without a medical prescription, increased her daily pot intake.

“That stuff [Effexor] might help some people, but it’s not for me,” Patten says. “I just upped my cannabis usage and it’s way better.”

Halifax business owner Carman Pirie had a similar experience.

At Farm Assists, activist Chris Enns works to help medical cannabis users.

42 | halifaxmag.com JULY/AUGUST 2019

When he was in his early 30s, Pirie developed chronic back pain.

His doctor prescribed opiates. He was not a cannabis user at the time but had friends who smoked regularly. Leery of opiate use, he decided to try cannabis instead.

“And,” he says, “that was that.”

Unable to find a doctor who would prescribe cannabis, Pirie bought on the black market. Then, one day in 2011, Pirie was rolling up at the New Amsterdam Café in Vancouver and met David Easterbrook.

Easterbrook (who has since died), was a legend known in Vancouver’s cannabis scene as Guppy Fish. After sharing a few tokes, Guppy told him about an organization of canna-friendly doctors on Vancouver Island who could likely help.

One appointment, one prescription, and about 12 weeks later, Pirie’s medical-use licence arrived in the mail at his Halifax home.

When he first became a legal user, Pirie ordered his medicine from Karuna Health Foundation. This foundation is a member-based organization that serves medical users at its bricks and mortar locations in Vancouver and patients from across Canada via an online dispensary.

These days, Pirie grows his own. He cites affordability, reliable access to preferred strains, quality, and consistency as his reasons.

“Not all of my use is medical, obviously, but I think that’s one problem medical users have: they land on a strain that really works and then that strain isn’t available,” he says. “People who grow their own, obviously, get more consistency.”

Growing isn’t an option for everyone. Lack of space, prohibitive startup costs, and conflict with landlords and rental agreements, mean many medical users still face barriers to reliable access to cannabisbased treatments and medicines.

This is where an organization like Farm Assists, a Gottingen Street dispensary serving medical patients, steps in. Owned and operated by cannabis activist Chris Enns, Farm Assists initially focused on connecting medical cannabis patients to growers and providing free cannabis-based therapies to cancer patients in need.

| FEATURE |

“WHO CAN ACTUALLY LOOK A PATIENT IN THE EYE AND SAY THEY DON’T HAVE THE RIGHT TO USE THEIR PRESCRIBED MEDICINE IN THE FORMAT THEY FIND MOST EFFECTIVE?” —CHRIS ENNS

Enns first operated from his home outside the city but soon realized there was a need for a proper dispensary to ensure patient access to the medicines they require and to fund the free oil program. He opened a not-for-profit storefront in Porters Lake known as The Halifax Compassionate Club, but after a police raid in 2013, he incorporated as Farm Assists and relocated the business to its current home on Gottingen Street.

Techically the dispensary’s operation flouts the law, but Enns believes the Supreme Court’s 2015 decision in R. V. Smith (which, in part, gave medical patients the right to access medicinal cannabis in any form) has rendered their work lawful.

And Enns and his fellow activists are prepared to mount a constitional challenge to ensure the decision is implemented and recognized federally. On the eve of what was supposed to be the start of a constitutional challenge, the Crown withdrew the case. That’s a sign to Enns that they recogize it’s an impossible battle to win.

“At the end of the day, who can actually look a patient in the eye and say they don’t have the right to use their prescribed medicine in the format they find most effective?” he asks.

After the federal government passed the Cannabis Act in June of 2018, and in the lead-up to legalization taking effect on Oct. 17, Enns witnessed increased fear within the local cannabis community. A bump in raids and prosecutions against local dispensaries meant patients had fewer options and heightened insecurities over access to the medicine they need.

“It was a big concern among patients,” Enns says. “And so right from day one, we emphasized that we’ll be here. Absolutely. Unless you know, it’s a ‘we’re in jail’ kind of thing.”

Most of the warnings circulating before legislation (like the fears legal weed will be more accessible to youth or that there will be a surge in drug-impaired driving) have so far been unfounded, but there are issues still giving people pause. Even veterans of pot culture like Pirie.

Due to new (and stricter) measures in place to curb drug-impared

driving, Pirie spends less time behind the wheel. And the restricted mobility is an inconvenience.

“When I wake up in the morning, even if I’ve never smoked and I get in my car, and I drive, I am [technically] impaired,” he says. “And every medical cannabis patient is faced with that question. Am I going to get pulled over and charged?”

Patten has another concern.

She turned to cannabis again just over three years ago after having a mechanical heart valve implanted to correct mitral valve stenosis, a condition she developed after having rheumatic fever as a child. The disease causes the mitral valve to narrow, blocking blood flow to the main pumping chamber of the heart.

She was in a lot of pain, and unable to smoke post-surgery, so she tried THC-infused cookies. “They were amazing,” Patten says. “They blew me away. I learned how to make them as soon as I got better.”

She began offering treats for sale to others who needed them, which remains illegal. Prior to Oct. 17, business was booming. However, demand has slowed since legislation. Patten attributes this to customers being nervous about the black market and making the switch to legal sellers to purchase cannabis to make homemade oils, butters, and treats.

Despite the fact that selling edibles is illegal, Patten (whose name has been changed to protect her identity) says she intends to continue, even though business is down to just a few orders a month. “It isn’t about the money. I’ve helped so many people, and that’s what it’s all about,” she says.

She recounts the story of one woman who was housebound due to severe anxiety. She started using Patten’s edibles and now comes and goes normally. “Why wouldn’t you keep doing it?” Patten asks. “I make people happy. And that’s all it’s ever been about, really.”

tadams@metroguide.ca

Halifax Magazine

@HalifaxEditor @HalifaxMagazine

JULY/AUGUST 2019 halifaxmag.com | 43

DRINK

A SPLASH OF

FRUIT

THESE BRIGHT FLAVOURFUL BEERS OFFER SOMETHING DIFFERENT FOR SUMMER

BY KIM HART MACNEILL

When it comes to summer beer, most Haligonians’ minds turn to light lagers like Spindrift Brewing’s Killick. But as Nova Scotia’s beer scene expands and customers seek new flavours, more local brewers are turning out summer sippers crafted with fruit.

Firstly, fruit beers, radlers, and shandies are easily confused, but are not the same thing. Radler is a German blend of half beer, half fruit soda or lemonade. The beer is brewed, fermented, and then mixed with the soda. Radlers are much sweeter than regular ales. A shandy follows the same process, but offers a longer list of what you can mix with your beer.

Fruit beer can be any beer, though it’s often a wheat or a sour beer, with added juice and whole or puréed fruit. The key to a good fruit beer is that it still has to taste like the beer style. The fruit flavour is a passenger, not the driver.

Sours are made by adding wild yeast to a newly made or already fermented beer. This makes them a particularly good option for adding fruit, as the sweetness balances out the beer’s tart flavour.

Sours also share an acidity with wine, which makes them an excellent choice for wine lovers looking to try something new.

A FEW TO TRY THIS SUMMER 1. Let’s Jam (Strawberry rhubarb kettle sour) Breton Brewing Co. Coxheath, N.S. 4% You’ll find this beer low on the sour side, despite the name and the rhubarb. Its tight bubbles feel soft in your mouth and carry just enough strawberry flavour to know it’s there, but not overwhelm the light malt flavours of the original beer. Try it with a summer salad packed with cucumbers, mint, and lemon.

2. 12 Minutes to Destiny (hibiscus pale lager) Flying Monkeys Craft Brewery Barrie, Ont. 4.1% While not local, this seasonal is available in private liquor stores. The blend of hibiscus flowers (cranberr y-like), rose hips, raspberries, orange peel, and Cascade hops make for a refreshing brew that blends well 44 | halifaxmag.com JULY/AUGUST 2019

with the straightforward malts of this pale lager. While low in alcohol, this one will make you pucker.

3. Arnold’s Apricot Wheat Boxing Rock Brewing Co. Shelburne, N.S. 5.5% Brewery co-owner Henry Pedro says he brewed this beer to fill the hole left by Montreal brewery McAuslan pulling its St. Ambrose Apricot Wheat out of the Atlantic market. Unlike a lot of apricot wheat beer you find around, this one packs real apricots for a big juicy flavour. Try it with white cheddar popcorn or grilled salmon.

4. Mango Basil Saison Tanner & Co. Brewing Chester, N.S. 6.2% Fruit beers are generally pretty light when it comes to alcohol volume. This beer goes

against the grain to be more of a sip-and-share bottle. The style is inherently spicy and slightly sweet. Here you’ll find mango puree and basil leaves added during the boil, and more added during the conditioning of the beer. The second addition heightens the traditional flavour of the base malts to create a complex beer you’ll want to drink slowly and ponder.

5. Dark Berry Sour

5

Propeller Brewing Co. Halifax 5% Propeller jumped into the fruit beer market last year with Stone Fruit Summer Ale, and this one followed along shortly after in September. If you missed it last year, get on it now. More sweet than sour, this can bursts with ripe, dark raspberries, blackberries, and blackcurrants. It’s dry-hopped, which adds a note of spice while enhancing the berry flavour.

1

6. Jamboree (sour ale)

6

2 Crows Brewing Co. Halifax 4.8% If you’re looking for an adult smoothie, this beer will satisfy that craving. Jeremy Taylor, 2 Crows head brewer, says it’s important to him that his fruit beers are true to style first and foremost and contain a massive quantity of fresh, cut fruit. This one will pucker your lips and make you feel like you ate at least two of your five daily servings.

2

7. Aquakultre’s Legacy Lager

7

Good Robot Brewing Co. Halifax 4.5% Take Alter Egos Café’s (Gottingen Street) blueberrypineapple breakfast smoothie and blend it with a bright, crisp pilsner and you have a beer for any summer occasion. The pineapple bulks up the mouth-feel so you’d think you’re drinking a far heartier beer. Get it while you can as this was a limited run. A quarter from each glass goes into the fund for Aquakulture’s upcoming album.

3

8. Electric City Tusket Falls Brewing Company Tusket, N.S. 4.5% With its bright, nearly neon-yellow colour, this beer earns its name. It features a basic wheat base built up with Citra hops (think juicy citrus fruits). The brewer added the mango purée after the beer fermented, which means it’s the first thing you taste.

8

4 JULY/AUGUST 2019 halifaxmag.com | 45

OPINION

FINDING THE MISSING PIECE WITHOUT A GOOD JOB, IT’S HARD FOR A NEWCOMER TO FEEL AT HOME

BY MARIANNE SIMON

In my native India, I was a newspaper editor and writer. As I build a new life in Halifax, I’ve struggled to find meaningful work.

The majority of Canadians will not understand why this is important for an immigrant, because they have no idea of the difficulties a newcomer to this country experiences. They have no memory of their ancestors’ struggles to come here looking for a safe haven and work to provide a better life for their descendants.

After searching for jobs and sending out many applications (most of the employers did not even acknowledge them), I did find a full-time contract job for six months. It makes a world of difference and should lead to more opportunities. No more casual part-time jobs, wondering from one day to the next if I’ll be working. A definite destination to go to every day, a desk to sit at and work, to meet a group of people who could be potential friends, and the facility to have a hot lunch! These may sound like mundane things, but it is the small things that make life interesting.

My earlier job as a substitute Educational Program Assistant didn’t bring enough money to pay all the bills. Living on my savings for two years was turning into a financial disaster.

Working outside in the middle of winter was beginning to cause health problems. Living with the constant worry about finding a good job was raising my blood pressure and stress level.

There were moments of despair. Was moving to Canada the right decision? Coming to a new country is one thing, but making a comfortable living there is totally another for a newcomer.

Many times I thought I should go back to India. I was at the verge of starting preparations to return when I received the news that I was selected for a six-month job.

Now I need to stretch this into a permanent job. I’m working on it and I’m sure it will happen or at least this will open new opportunities for me when I finish this contract.

New immigrants often take on two or three jobs and work seven days a week in order to meet the initial expenses of settling down in Canada. Some of them have to send money home to support their family. This gives many Canadians the misconception that the newcomers are taking away their jobs.

This is not true because most newcomers get only entry-level jobs that no one else wants.

There are new immigrants with advanced degrees working as taxi drivers or labourers at construction sites. They will take any jobs they can get because they need the money. Rents are

46 | halifaxmag.com JULY/AUGUST 2019

high and the prices of essentials go up continually. And they have to pay taxes just like anyone else. I’m not complaining.

Sometimes people forget that for most immigrants, the most important preoccupation is just paying the next bill. It’s a miserable existence initially.

With my new job, I am hoping for an environment that is safe, inclusive, and welcoming to the newcomers. When I talk to my immigrant friends, I get mixed opinions about their workplaces.

Some are happy, others talk about being marginalized because of their differences.

What every immigrant looks for is acceptance, but it’s hard to find. In his internationally recognized documentary Salaam B’y, Aatif Baskanderi talks about growing up in Newfoundland as a Muslim boy. What does it mean to be truly welcoming? “We can pray the way we choose, dress the way we choose, eat different food and keep different traditions, but we must make a common bond of how we treat each other,” says Aatif.

Recently I read Forgiveness–A Gift from My Grandparents by Mark Sakamoto. I also had the opportunity to meet him very briefly at a book reading in Halifax. The book is Mark’s memoir and the story of his Japanese ancestors who immigrated to Canada looking for a home and a better life for their children.

He paints vivid pictures of people, places, and incidents. The hardships and atrocities they faced were inhuman. But they were fighters. Their indomitable spirit triumphed, urging them to survive and prosper. I could identify myself with some of the characters and some of the incidents because I had been in those situations sometimes.

When immigrants read the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, they learn of Canadian values like equality, fairness, and freedom from persecution. Newcomers conclude the people living by these principles must be welcoming. This is what motivates them to think they have made the right choice in coming to this country. Every Canadian, newcomer or lifetime resident, has a duty to work to help the country live up to those ideals.

tadams@metroguide.ca Halifax Magazine @HalifaxEditor @HalifaxMagazine

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