Dartmouth Cove: The Fight for Bylaw Changes Continues

On Monday night, over 150 people packed into our community meeting to talk about Dartmouth Cove. A clear sign that our community cares deeply about the future of our waterfront. We were joined by Councillor Sam Austin, Councillor Becky Kent, and MLA and Opposition Leader Claudia Chender, all of whom spoke powerfully about what’s at stake.

Friends of Dartmouth Cove Public Meeting,

The Honourable Claudia Chender reminded us that this isn’t just a local issue. The Province and Ottawa have poured millions of taxpayer dollars into the Centre for Ocean Ventures and Entrepreneurship (COVE). If the current infill proposal is allowed to go forward, it risks undermining that investment. COVE has been crystal clear: this project could be detrimental to their research, their work, and the jobs they support. Allowing road builders to dump waste into our harbour isn’t “economic development”, it’s environmental damage and short-term gain for a few, at everyone else’s expense.

Fast forward to the past Tuesday’s Council meeting. The staff report recommended more waiting, essentially, do nothing while Dartmouth Cove sits vulnerable. But thanks to Councillor Austin, that recommendation was challenged. He moved to defer the vote so that staff could bring back an alternative: applying the same bylaw protections in Dartmouth Cove that already exist in the Northwest Arm. That motion passed, with all but two councillors voting in favour.

And here’s where it gets concerning. The two votes against? Mayor Andy Fillmore and Councillor Hendsbee. Mayor Fillmore, who supported restrictions in the Northwest Arm, suddenly doesn’t see the need in Dartmouth Cove. Fillmore even wrote directly to the Minister of Transport in 2022 to directly ask for his support in the community's pursuit for regulation of pre-Confederation waterlots. Why the double standard? It’s worth noting that Fillmore accepted the maximum campaign contributions from ARCP owners Tom and Brad Hickey, the very people pushing the active Dartmouth Cove infill proposal. Councillor Hendsbee also received money from Brad Hickey. When our community is fighting to protect public space, the environment, and millions in taxpayer investment, we need to ask: whose interests are being served here?

A potential solution to this problem was raised during the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada’s (IAAC) recent engagement process that was held earlier this year. It was suggested that, given the local and unusual nature of the water-lots as well as HRM’s role and interest in regulating land-use, HRM could exercise concurrent jurisdiction over the water lots and implement a regulatory framework. - MP Andy Fillmore via a 2022 letter to the Minister of Transport.

The fight is far from over. The amended report will come back to Council for a vote on Tuesday, September 23. That’s when the real decision will be made. Between now and then, we need to make our voices impossible to ignore.

Here’s what you can do:

• Email Halifax Regional Council and demand Dartmouth Cove be given the same protections as the Northwest Arm. (Full council list below.)

  
  

• Share this update with your neighbours, friends, and networks. Turnout matters, and Council notices when the public is paying attention.

  
  

• Question Mayor Fillmore directly: why are they willing to protect one part of Halifax Harbour, but not Dartmouth Cove?  mayor@halifax.ca 

Dartmouth Cove is more than a dumping ground. It’s a natural space for recreation, a vital research hub, and part of our community’s identity. We stopped Transport Canada once, we rallied over 150 people into a meeting on a weeknight, and we’ve proven again and again that when this community shows up, we can change the outcome.

Now it’s time to do it again. On September 23, let’s make sure Dartmouth Cove wins.

Full HRM Council List:

• cathy.deaglegammon@halifax.ca, david.hendsbee@halifax.ca, becky.kent@halifax.ca, trish.purdy@halifax.ca, sam.austin@halifax.ca, tony.mancini@halifax.ca, Laura.White@halifax.ca, Virginia.Hinch@halifax.ca, shawn.cleary@halifax.ca, kathryn.morse@halifax.ca, cuttelp@halifax.ca, Janet.steele@halifax.ca, nancy.hartling@halifax.ca, john.young@halifax.ca, billy.gillis@halifax.ca, jean.st-amand@halifax.ca, mayor@halifax.ca