Annual Report 2006 and 2007 - Halifax Regional Municipality

Produced by: 

Produced by HRM Corporate Communications 

Graphic Design: Corinne Hartley-Robinson 

Project Manager: Michaelyn McCormack 

For further information, contact: 

Corporate Communications Officer 

C/o Chief Administrative Office 

1841 Argyle Street 

Halifax, N.S. B3J 3A5 

Phone (902) 490-6531; Fax (902) 490-4044; 

or email: storyd@halifax.ca 

— 2 —

H 

Halifax Regional Municipality is one of 

the best-managed and most liveable municipalities in 

Canada. We strive to provide the best quality of life in 

a healthy, sustainable, vibrant community at work, play 

and everyday. Our incomparable culture, contrasting 

scenery, alluring coastal villages and the world’s second 

largest natural ice-free harbour are just some of the 

many valued characteristics that make HRM such a 

vital and dynamic place to call home. 

In 1996, Halifax, Dartmouth, Bedford and Halifax 

County amalgamated, forming the rich mosaic that is 

today’s Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM). HRM is 

home to approximately 380,000 and encompasses a land 

mass larger than the province of Prince Edward Island. 

HRM’s citizens are served by 23 Councillors, each 

representing one District, and by one Mayor, who is 

elected at large. The municipality is structured under a 

Council/Chief Administrative Officer governance model. 

The CAO is responsible for the provision of advice and 

direction to Council, implementation of policies and 

programs and the overall organization administration. 

We are Atlantic Canada’s transportation hub, 

processing 3.2 million passengers annually through the 

Halifax International Airport, which is served by 16 

airlines offering 540 weekly flights to 39 domestic and 

international destinations. The Halifax Port Authority is 

the preferred connection to Europe, the Mediterranean, 

the Middle East and Southeast Asia. It’s a North 

American gateway to the northeastern United States, 

Atlantic Canada and beyond. Both contribute greatly to 

HRM’s sustained economic growth. 

HRM has six degree-granting universities and three 

campuses of the Nova Scotia community college, which 

contribute greatly to the strength of our communities by 

their cultures, their purposes and their very presence. 

An international leader in environmental sustainability, 

we continue to provide and promote a healthy and vibrant 

community through our waste management strategies, 

harbour clean-up, pollution prevention initiatives, 

pesticide By-law and numerous environmental events, 

endeavours and partnerships. n 

Table of Contents 

HRM Profile ............................................................... 3 

Mayor's Message ................................................ 4 

CAO's Message .................................................... 5 

Organizational Structure ............................... 6 

Halifax Regional Council ............................... 7 

HRM Map of Electoral Districts ................... 8 

Awards & Recognition ................................. 33 

Chief Administrative Office 

Corporate Communications ...............9-10 

Economic Development .....................11-12 

Fire & Emergency Services .................13-14 

Police Services ............................................15-16 

Operations 

Community Development .................17-18 

Community Response .................................. 19 

Environmental 

Management Services .........................20-22 

Transportation & 

Public Works Services .............................23-24 

Boards & Commissions 

Halifax Public Libraries ..........................25-26 

Corporate Services & Strategy 

Business Planning & 

Information Management ................27-28 

Finance .................................................................. 30 

Human Resources .....................................31-32 

At A GlAnce — 

Area: 5,577 square km • about 60 million people live within a two-hour flight 

of HRM • about 40 per cent of Nova Scotians and 15 per cent of Atlantic 

Canadians live in HRM • HRM is Canada’s 13 th largest metropolitan area 

and the largest city east of Quebec City and north of Boston • when ranking 

Canadian cities on the proportion of the population 18 years of age or older 

with a Bachelor’s degree or higher, HRM ranks fourth in Canada, ahead of cities 

like Vancouver and Montreal • HRM continues to account for about half of the 

economy of Nova Scotia and one fifth of that of Atlantic Canada

Our annual report is largely about 

looking back, but as we reflect it 

becomes clear that our efforts over 

the past two years—as government, 

as Halifax Regional Municipality 

employees and as citizens—are all 

about HRM’s future: 

Fiscal responsibility is critical for 

HRM’s future. Halifax regional council 

delivered balanced budgets in both 

2006/07 and 2007/08, meaning we 

have had eight consecutive years of 

balanced books. Our economic strategy 

has us focussed on long-term economic 

growth. Our Tax Reform Committee 

has made tremendous progress and 

will soon hold public consultations on 

taxation fairness in HRM. 

Council approved HRM’s new 

Regional Plan in 2006, providing a 

master plan for the municipality for 

the next 25 years. Growing from the 

Regional Plan, HRMbyDesign has 

delved into the development of our 

urban core, engaging members of the 

public, business and government in 

extensive consultations. Community 

visioning projects have been successfully 

piloted in Bedford, Fall River and 

Musquodoboit Harbour, leading the 

way for future visioning projects in 

other HRM communities. 

HRM continues to lead on the 

environmental front, a fact noted this 

year by Corporate Knights magazine, which ranked us second for medium-sized 

Canadian cities for sustainability. That ranking is due in part the great strides 

we’ve made with the Harbour Solutions Project (HSP). The first of three new 

Harbour wastewater treatment facilities is now operating in Halifax, with the 

Dartmouth and Herring Cove facilities scheduled for completion this coming year. 

Also on the Harbour, we launched Alderney 5, an innovative geothermal seawater 

cooling system for five large municipal buildings on the Dartmouth waterfront. 

We’ve rolled out a comprehensive Community Energy Plan, a clean air strategy, 

and pollution prevention, litter and anti-dumping campaigns. Council has also 

committed to reducing HRM’s greenhouse gas emissions by 2012. 

HRM’s Youth Engagement Strategy is also on the move. Our first youth 

conference, Youthfest ‘06, brought together hundreds of young people for a day 

of learning and fun, while our Regional Youth Advisory Committee is advising 

council on what matters to our youth. A “Toolkit” resource was created to help 

members of the community engage youth, and youth have been actively involved 

with our graffiti management and public art plans. 

Violent crime and perceptions of violent crime in HRM impact our entire 

community. Extensive public consultation and research formed the cornerstone 

of the Mayor’s Roundtable on Violence in HRM, which I initiated in November 

2006 to help address violence in our community. Nationally renowned 

criminologist Professor Don Clairmont is facilitating the Roundtable; a final 

report will be delivered in spring 2008. 

Finally, in 2006 HRM earned the right to host the 2011 Canada Winter 

Games—I know we will put on a Games experience our young athletes will 

remember for a lifetime! 

These are, of course, just a few highlights of the many exciting initiatives and 

programs taking place throughout HRM. I wish to extend my sincere thanks and 

admiration to all of our HRM staff and volunteers: your hard work and dedication 

make HRM a wonderful place for our citizens to live, work, play, learn, do business 

and raise a family—for today and tomorrow. 

To the residents of HRM, I am honoured to serve as your mayor and I value 

and welcome your feedback, suggestions and participation. Please contact me 

* by e-mail at kellyp@halifax.ca 

* by phone at 490-4010, or 

* by mail at PO Box 1749, Halifax, NS B3J 3A5 

Respectfully, I remain 

Peter J. Kelly 

Mayor

We’ve taken a different 

approach to this year’s report 

and combined issues for 2006 

and 2007. The 2006 report 

has remained the same as in 

previous years but we chose to 

share our 2007 information 

in a different format. The 

content focuses on the areas 

that Halifax Regional Council 

has determined as those that 

need the most attention as our 

municipality moves forward. We 

hope you enjoy this double issue. 

HRM, as a relatively young 

municipality, has reached a 

number of significant milestones 

during the past few years that 

have taken strong focus, courage 

and vision on the part of Council. Decisions that affect others are always 

difficult, but Council chartered the course on which it believed our community 

should be moving. They determined four focus areas and, as mentioned, the 

second half of this double issue of the Annual Report concentrates on those, 

which are Public Safety, Infrastructure, Community Building and Tax Reform. 

We have HRM’s first Regional Plan and staff is now working on the many 

functional plans that will flow from it. We have our Economic Strategy, our 

first Immigration Action Plan and our first Cultural Strategy. 

During the past few years, we have seen the tangible signs of implementing 

our $333 million Harbour Solutions Project, which will be the largest clean-up 

of a saltwater body in Canada when it is completed. 

We’ve already officially opened the Halifax wastewater treatment plant and 

during spring/summer 2008 we will see the commissioning of the Dartmouth 

plant and late fall 2008 will welcome the opening of the Herring Cove plant. 

Halifax Water Commission and HRM’s Underground Services successfully 

merged. We’ve carried out a timely review of the role and responsibilities of 

Greater Halifax Partnership as well as overseen its merger with the former 

Halifax Regional Development Agency. 

In addition to what Council has already done, we have a significant number 

of other major projects underway now that should further enhance our 

community as a great place to live, learn, work and play. Among them are the 

Tax Reform Project, Urban Design Project, improvements in the Planning and 

Development approval process, the Community Facilities Master Plan and the 

Major Events Hosting Strategy. 

We are working with the other levels of government on our plan to host the 

2011Canada Winter Games. I believe that HRM’s relationship with the federal 

and provincial governments have improved during Council’s term, thanks to 

the Intergovernmental Relations Plan that 

was approved. I am confident we’ll see even 

stronger ties in the coming years. 

I’m also pleased to announce that 

HRM will be launching an exciting new 

social marketing campaign called Good 

Neighbours, Great Neighbourhoods 

(GNGN) in 2008. 

It is my sincere hope that the longterm 

impact of this campaign will be 

a culture change within HRM where 

being neighbourly and caring about the 

environment becomes “simply the way 

people do things here”. 

By drawing on old-fashioned values 

central to being a good neighbour, the 

GNGN campaign aims to increase civic 

pride, improve the local environment, 

and encourage residents to participate 

in community life. The slogan for the 

campaign is: Great neighbourhoods don’t just 

happen…they happen one good neighbour at 

a time! It highlights the need for a personal 

commitment in creating welcoming, safe, 

vibrant neighbourhoods where we live, 

work and play. I look forward to the 

successes of 2008. 

Sincerely, 

Dan English 

CAO, Halifax Regional Municipality 

5

Organizational Structure 

Chief Administrative Officer 

Business Systems 

& Control 

Economic 

Development 

Councillor's 

Support Office 

Police Services 

Intergovernmental 

& Corporate Affairs 

Corporate 

Communications 

Mayor's Support 

Office 

Fire & Emergency 

Services 

Halifax 

Regional Council 

Operations 

Corporate Services & Strategy 

Integrated 

Service Team 

Community 

Development 

Infrastructure 

& Asset 

Management 

Municipal 

Clerk's Office 

Finance 

Business Planning & 

Information 

Management 

Transportation & 

Public Works 

Human 

Resources 

Legal Services

Halifax Regional Council 

Front row (left to right): Stephen Adams, Linda Mosher, Mary Wile, Reg Rankin, Mayor Peter Kelly, Becky Kent, Gloria McCluskey, Russell Walker 

Middle row: Bill Karsten, Dawn Sloane, Bob Harvey, Sue Uteck, Sheila Fougere, Andrew Younger, Jim Smith, Gary Martin, Patrick Murphy, 

David Hendsbee, Steve Streatch 

Back row: Brad Johns, Harry McInroy, Debbie Hum, Krista Snow, Gary Meade 

What you get for your Municipal tax dollar 

SERVICE 

Typical 

householder 

pays per month 

A Police 

$ 

26.12 

B Fire & Emergency 15.99 

C Transit (urban only) * 10.57* 

D Roads 15.05 

E Parks & Open Spaces 5.15 

F Libraries 4.67 

G Recycling, Compost & Refuse 8.52 

H Recreation & Culture 2.47 

I Community Development 1.82 

J Governance & Administration 5.25 

K Stormwater & Wastewater 23.38** 

L Municipal Water Service 19.97 

* paid for by urban taxpayers and others with Transit service 

** applies to sewer & water users only and is collected on water bill 

collected on 

Property Tax bill 

L 

collected on 

Water bill

Halifax Regional Municipality 

Electoral Districts 

Eastern Shore - 

Musquodoboit Valley 

District 2 

Waverley - Fall River - 

Beaver Bank 

District 3 

Preston - Lawrencetown - 

Chezzetcook 

District 4 

Cole Harbour 

District 5 

Dartmouth Centre 

District 6 

East Dartmouth - The Lakes 

District 7 

Portland - East Woodlawn 

8 

District 1 

District 8 

Woodside - Eastern Passage 

District 9 

Albro Lake - Harbourview 

District 10 

Clayton Park West 

District 11 

Halifax North End 

District 12 

Halifax Downtown 

District 13 

Northwest Arm - South End 

District 14 

Connaught - Quinpool 

District 15 

Fairview - Clayton Park 

District 16 

Rockingham - Wentworth 

District 17 

Purcell’s Cove - Armdale 

District 18 

Spryfield - Herring Cove 

District 19 

Middle & Upper Sackville 

- Lucasville 

District 20 

Lower Sackville 

District 21 

Bedford 

District 22 

Timberlea - Prospect 

District 23 

Hammonds Plains - St. Margarets

HRM’s Corporate Communications team supports HRM’s 

Hcommitment to effective and timely communication both internally and 

Hexternally. We provide in-house communications and media relations 

Hservices to the Mayor and Council, the Executive Management Team, Senior 

HManagement Team and the business units of HRM on public relations and 

Hpublic information/education issues. In addition, Corporate Communications 

Hhas a full service in-house printing and distribution service, which is located in 

Hour our Printing Centre. This service provides cost-efficient and flexible high-speed 

copying, variable data printing, two-colour press printing, and bindery and mail 

services. The Printing Centre carries out all printing and copying for HRM 

that is feasible to be done in-house. All other jobs are tendered to outside 

printers and mail houses that have the capability to handle these functions 

in a cost-effective manner. Corporate Communications manages all of these 

outsourced printing projects. 

Accomplishments 

Corporate Communications provided communications, design and printing 

support for many HRM initiatives throughout the year, which included: 

• Business Planning and Information Management: Municipal Archives 

grand opening; Street Maintenance Directory communications 

• HRM Initiatives Report, spring and winter, Councillors’ newsletters, 

weekly Council packages 

• Metro Transit: MetroLink service launch of Phase II – Sackville 

Corridor, transit schedules and maps 

• Human Resources: Occupational Health and Wellness materials 

designed to promote a healthy work/life balance, help cards for Progressive 

Discipline and Coaching 

• Environmental Management Services: 2006 Litter Prevention Campaign; 

Naturally Green newsletter; Pollution Prevention print and television ads; 

display exhibits for Harbour Solutions Project and Pollution Prevention; Public 

Information and Involvement Program for the Harbour Solutions Project 

• Financial Services: printing and distribution of tax bills and parking notices 

• Community Development: redesign of Capital District web page and 

marketing of HRM by Design; the Toolkit: Resources, Tools and Strategies 

for Youth Engagement; Youth Engagement Strategy and YouthFest; launch 

of the Facility Development website profiling new Community Recreation 

Centre development in HRM; East Dartmouth Community Centre 

and Mainland Common Project; three recreation catalogues; redesign 

of recreation website pages; launch of a seasonal e-newsletter; Aquatic 

Recruitment campaign; Volunteer Conference; launch of central phone 

line 490-6666; HRMyouth.ca; Move More program; Sun Safety; summer 

employment 

• Real Property and Asset Management: Point Pleasant Park restoration 

process; draft off-leash parks strategy; grand opening of Westmount 

Inclusive Playground Park (Canada’s first accessible playground with a 

mobility challenge course) 

• Corporate Projects: communications 

campaign for the Concert on the 

Common; positioning the Halifax 

Common as a venue for the Rolling 

Stones in concert; production, design 

and distribution of “how your Municipal 

tax dollars are spent” booklet – a 

document that outlines the municipal 

tax system; Tax Reform strategy; 

Immigration; Graffiti Management Plan 

and Community Art Pilot Project, 2005 

Annual Report, annual HRM Citizen 

Calendar, HRM Newsletter, provided 

work experience for students from Mount 

St.Vincent University and the Nova 

Scotia Community College 

• Corporate Communications maintains 

a Media Room site on the HRM website 

which functions as a short-cut for 

journalists and others to find out what's 

going on within the Halifax Regional 

Municipality and who to talk to about it. 

Initiatives 

Corporate Communications will 

continue to provide cost-effective and 

timely communications, design and printing 

services, both internally and externally, 

to keep citizens informed about the 

initiatives and services of HRM. We will 

be supporting HRM Council in their focus 

on public safety, infrastructure development, 

community development and tax reform in 

the coming year. 

For 2007, Corporate Communications 

will support the communications 

surrounding the Halifax Harbour Solutions 

Project with the Halifax wastewater 

treatment facility (WWTF) coming 

into operation, the completion of the 

Dartmouth sewage collection system 

and pre-commissioning activities on the 

Dartmouth WWTF and continued work 

on the Herring Cove sewage collection 

system and wastewater treatment facility. 

Other corporate initiatives we’ll be 

supporting are the Revenue Resolution 

project and the Immigration Strategy. 

9

In addition, we will strive to provide 

cost-effective and environmentally 

responsible printing services to achieve 

efficiencies for HRM. We will be 

introducing technology in the Printing 

Centre that will enable the business units 

to send their copying jobs directly to 

the Printing Centre from their desktop 

computer to take advantage of better copy 

rates and faster service that will allow them 

to concentrate on their core business. 

Awards: 

• The Canadian Public Relations Society’s Award of Excellence Honourable 

Mention for the Marketing and Communications for the MetroLink campaign 

• Recognition from MARCOM for outstanding integrated Marketing and 

Communications program, MetroLink campaign 

• The Communicator Print Media Award, 2006, Harbour Solutions 

Newspaper Insert 

• Award of Distinction and Annual Report 2004 Award of Excellence n 

10 

At A GlAnce — 6, 876, 815 black and white copies made • 114, 937 colour copies made • 3, 963, 628 impressions printed on press • 503, 732 pieces of mail processed • 417 press releases 

distributed • 1, 597 communications, design and printing projects • 1, 099 business card orders processed • 236,309 tax bills printed and distributed • 231,235 hits to media room web pages

Economic development in the Halifax Regional Municipality is lead 

by two key organizations: the Greater Halifax Partnership and the Halifax 

Regional Development Agency. 

The Greater Halifax Partnership is among North America’s most 

innovative and progressive economic growth organizations. Founded in 1996, 

the Partnership’s public-private model involves all three levels of government, 

140 private sector investors, and a team of dedicated business professionals, 

all working together to advance the Greater Halifax economy. The Halifax 

Regional Development Agency is one of 13 Regional Development 

Agencies in Nova Scotia. Established in 1995, the Agency provides assistance 

to entrepreneurs and non-profit organizations in the rural and suburban 

areas of HRM. Its mission is to create, facilitate and strengthen community 

economic development in the region. 

A Bold New Step 

The Partnership and Halifax RDA began 2006 at a pivotal point in our 

community’s history, with two major initiatives guiding the growth of Greater 

Halifax. HRM’s Regional Municipal Planning Strategy was unveiled last year 

and provides a solid framework for the continued growth of our region over the 

next 20 years, highlighting where we will live and the resources needed to live 

successfully and productively in our communities. 

The Halifax Region Economic Strategy, unanimously endorsed by HRM 

Council, offers a blueprint for future economic development work in HRM. The 

Strategy’s vision seeks to empower and enrich the lives of all citizens and paves 

the way as we continue to grow into a city that is prosperous, dynamic, 

creative and globally competitive – a city 

that is, quite simply, the envy of the 

world. 

This past year, the Greater 

Halifax Partnership and the Halifax 

RDA took a bold new step towards 

delivering on the Strategy’s vision for 

our community. 

Beginning in 2007, the two 

organizations will no longer operate as two separate economic development 

organizations but will function together. This new organization will have one 

board, one mission, and one goal: to develop and deliver economic growth 

initiatives that serve all of HRM. 

Coming together as one organization will ensure a central contact point 

for economic development issues. Together we will be able to offer one-stop 

access for the local, national and international community and offer a single 

point of contact for doing business in HRM. This consolidation will also 

allow the Partnership and the Halifax RDA to work effectively towards the 

vision inherent in the Regional Plan and deliver the kind of economic growth 

envisioned in the Economic Strategy. 


In 2006, the Partnership and Halifax 

RDA worked closely with HRM to align 

activities with the direction set forth in 

the Halifax Region Economic Strategy. 

Numerous projects and initiatives were 

directly aligned with the five key goals 

identified in the Strategy. Here is a brief 

overview of a few of those. 

• The Partnership, with the Metropolitan 

Immigration Settlement Association formed 

the Halifax Region Immigration Strategy 

Council and marked tangible action in line 

with the Strategy’s goal of creating a bustling 

job market for HRM, one that will encourage 

our young and ambitious to stay home and 

make our community a magnet for highly 

trained immigrants and expatriates. The 

Council comprises public, private, university, 

and not-for-profit sector representatives 

– organizations active in promoting and 

supporting immigration in HRM. 

• The Halifax RDAs Welcoming 

Communities program continued its 

important work in the field of immigration. 

International Student workshops were 

held as well as a Student-to-Business 

Networking Lunch and a Summer 

Barbeque to foster awareness and a growing 

sense of community. 

• The Nova Scotia Community College 

(NSCC) and the Greater Halifax 

Partnership signed a Memorandum of 

Understanding, enhancing the link between 

the highly skilled NSCC population and 

the Partnership’s business knowledge and 

expertise. This formalizes a collaborative 

effort to gain ground on labour shortages and 

increase economic growth in Greater Halifax. 

• The Halifax RDA is the lead agency 

delivering a two-year pilot project called 

Make Way for Youth. The project, based 

upon a well-established model from 

Quebec, aims to attract and retain skilled 

young adults (aged 18-35) to the Halifax 

Regional Municipality. The Halifax RDA 

is overseeing the project in two locations: 

one in the rural areas of HRM and the 

11

other in Colchester County in partnership 

with the Colchester RDA, ACOA and 

the Rural Secretariat. Eleven young 

people participated in the program’s first 

Exploratory Weekend held in October. 

• SmartBusiness, the Partnership’s awardwinning 

business retention and expansion 

initiative continues to conduct face-to-face 

interviews with the business community. 

Since the inception of the initiative in 

June of 2004, over 1,200 consultations 

have taken place and 1,145 jobs have been 

retained and 1,426 have been created as a 

result of SmartBusiness. SmartBusiness 

was developed in recognition of the fact 

that over 80 per cent of an area’s job 

growth comes from existing business. 

SmartBusiness’s goal is to identify and 

overcome any barriers to local business 

growth and create the most competitive 

business climate in Canada. 

• The Halifax RDA Youth Counsellor 

continued her outstanding work with 

disadvantaged youth, helping them develop 

effective résumés, secure employment and 

successfully return to school for further 

training and education. The following was 

accomplished: 35 résumés prepared, 41 youth 

achieved enhanced skills, and six youth gained 

employment and/or returned to school. 

• One of the Partnerships important 

contributions to strengthening local 

business in HRM is its role as the “go to” 

source for accurate, timely, and insightful 

information. Their information fulfillment program includes a robust website, 

responds to local, national and international requests, delivers presentations 

and presents the Building Our Future event series. 

• There were a number of Community Economic Development initiatives 

that Halifax Regional Development Agency’s community economic developers 

actively advanced in 2006. Some of these projects were strategic planning in 

nature; others aimed to help communities access necessary funding to advance 

infrastructural projects. 

• The Partnership’s marketing and communications activities continued to 

reinforce a vision of HRM as one of the continent’s great cities, a beautiful, 

immensely livable place that teems with history and creativity. The I See Growth 

campaign continued to build confidence. This marketing investment is crucial 

to the economic growth of HRM, as a confident community invests in itself, 

grows and becomes more attractive to outside investors. 

• The Halifax RDA was involved in promoting the expansion of broadband 

services within rural HRM through their involvement in developing a Request 

for Proposals (RFP). This RFP was designed to address the high-speed 

Internet deficiency in rural areas. 

• Creating and nurturing partnerships is a central feature of the Partnership’s 

overall vision, a strategy used to build investment and growth in Greater 

Halifax. In addition to working with local private sector companies, 

collaborations with local, national and international organizations were actively 

under way last year. We assisted Romania and Portugal to develop a similar 

economic development model to that of the Partnership. Such joint initiatives 

reflect the Strategy’s vision of a future in which partners work in synch to 

propel our economy forward. 

Initiatives 

As 2007 unfolds, the Greater Halifax Partnership and the Halifax Regional 

Development Agency will continue to build confidence and strategically 

market HRM to local, national and international audiences. The foundation 

for growth is stronger today thanks to the establishment of a new organization 

that brings the expertise and experience of these two organizations under one 

roof – with one mission. Together we will reach new heights. n 

12

FFire Fis Fire and Emergency dedicated to enhance and preserve the quality of 

Flife, property and environment through education, leadership, partnerships and 

Feffective response to emergencies. We give our community exemplary service 

sharing the responsibility with our citizens to develop a safe environment. 

Fwhile 


On February 14, 2006, Council endorsed and approved a Service Delivery 

standard for Halifax Regional Fire and Emergency. From its original conception 

to receiving final approval from Council, this standard has been five years in the 

making. The approval of this standard now provides a mechanism to ensure 

that the citizens of HRM have a baseline level of service that is effective and 

efficient for emergency response. These standards will also assist the Fire Service 

in planning for the future in developing multi-year plans to proactively plan for 

future station locations and/or consolidations, required resources, equipment and 

apparatus and where each should be placed, in order to provide effective service 

delivery. In addition to planning for the future, Fire Service now has a mechanism 

in place to effectively monitor and evaluate our service delivery. 

The construction phase for the new Fall River Fire Station and Recreation 

Centre is set to start in May/June, 2007 with an occupancy time frame for Fire 

Service being the spring of 2008. This station has been six years in the making 

and will replace the two existing fire stations. It will serve as a “hub for fire 

protection” in the district, along with becoming the central station for the area’s 

career firefighters. 

From August 13 - 16, 2006, Halifax 

Regional Fire and Emergency hosted the 

annual Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs 

conference, “Fire Rescue Canada 2006 

- Bridging Communities.” which attracted 

over 300 fire chiefs from across Canada, 

along with others who have an affiliation 

with the Fire Service, and was an excellent 

opportunity for us to make known our 

accomplishments, while at the same time 

promoting our region. The theme, Bridging 

Communities, incorporated diversity and 

connected with all our communities. We were 

able to showcase our recruitment strategies, 

which we use to increase diversity in our 

Fire Service of under-represented groups. 

We also highlighted a program developed 

by firefighter Andrea Speranza called “Camp 

Courage.” Camp Courage is a week-long 

camp for young females aged 15-19 years. It 

introduces them to non-traditional public 

service careers such as becoming firefighters, 

paramedics and police officers. This was the 

first time this camp was offered and it was a 

tremendous success. 

As a finale to our 250th Celebrations, the 

firefighter carving that was first displayed in 

May, 2004 which was carved from a 150-year 

old English Poplar blown over by Hurricane 

Juan, was finally dedicated and installed in 

front of the University Avenue Fire Station. 

To commemorate the event, a time capsule 

was sealed inside the carving and contained 

more than 20 items. Among the items were 

the 250th Anniversary Calendar, the latest 

union contract, a copy of Feedline, Fire’s 

newsletter, the department budget, a CD 

from the “Sons Of Maxwell” from whose 

group two members volunteer with our Fire 

Service, the 250th Anniversary advertising 

supplement in the Chronicle Herald from 

September 29, 2004 and a letter from Acting 

Chief Director Bill Mosher to the “Chief 

of the Day,” 100 years from now when the 

capsule is opened. 

At A GlAnce — 61 fire stations, 42 in rural districts • 475 career staff, 800 volunteers • 11,348 emergency response • Busiest station: #2 University Avenue (889 calls) • Busiest platoon: “C” Platoon 

(2050 calls) • 112 smoke alarms installed • 157 temporary tents/special events permits issued • 1608 inspections of buildings and properties • fire prevention realignment showed 50% improvement in 

compliance over 2005; 76% of building owners complied within specified time • Emergency Fleet Servicesmaintains 288 pieces of equipment: 68 engines, 18 tankers (water tenders),18 pump tankers, 5 quints, 

21 light rescues, 7 tactical/heavy rescues, 9 support vehicles,1-100’ aerial,1 snorkel, 1-110’ aerial, 20 boats, 76 utilities/cars, 39 miscellaneous vehicles • Service Delivery: Memorandum of Agreement with 

Millbrook First Nations for Fire Service delivery to Cole Harbour, Beaverdam and Sheet Harbour Reserves • Operations Members conducted site, residential, and life safety inspections, station tours, and 

participated in various community events • Special Teams: specialized tasks such as Confined Space Rescue, Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and Explosive, Urban Search & Rescue and USAR’s K9 

Squad • Critical Incident Stress Team: committed to helping members cope and deal with stress as a result of exposure during critical incident scenes • Peer Referral Agent Program assisted volunteer firefighters 

to resolve personal/health-related issues • Combat Challenge and Vehicle Extrication teams trained for Canadian and American competitions • developed and implemented internal communications website 

13

Initiatives 

Goals for this upcoming year will see a 

continuation of the Strategic and Operational 

goals as identified in the 06/07 business 

planning process. These goals require quite a 

length of time to develop, seek approval for, 

then implement. Council has recognized this 

and endorsed our strategy as outlined in the 

Public Safety Council Focus area. For example, 

we will be developing long-range multi-year 

plans for the implementation of the Service 

Delivery standard. The first part of these plans 

will focus on a station location study. This 

comprehensive station location plan will review 

all existing stations and plan for the future 

while aligning with the Regional Plan. The 

last study was done approximately 10 years 

ago and only looked at the urban core at a 

time when we did not have a service standard in place, nor was there a regional plan. 

Once this plan is completed and approved, we will begin the next stage of planning 

for the allocation/acquisition of resources such as staffing, equipment and vehicles. 

Another goal will be the continued development of our emergency 

preparedness with a focus on developing a Business Continuity plan for the 

Municipality in the event of a pandemic outbreak or any other major event. 

EMO will also continue to work on identifying and developing comfort centers 

as facilities are built or identified. 

Corporate Safety will also be a major focus for the Fire Service this coming 

year. Last year the CAO assigned the responsibility of Corporate Safety to 

Fire Service and staff has been working to make this a reality and is still in 

the transitional stage. This coming year we hope to have the operational plan 

approved and implemented with a new concentrated corporate focus on safety. n 

The time capsule shown below was sealed in a niche, which was then covered by a large 

bronze plaque in the front of the firefighter carving . The inscription names all the departments 

that were amalgamated in 1996 into what is now Halifax Regional Fire & Emergency. 

14

H 

Halifax Regional Police (HRP) and RCMP Halifax District 

— HRM Partners in Policing — continually strive to provide safety, peace 

and order in our communities. 


Policing our Community 

In 2006, Halifax Regional Police officers continued to uphold the Community 

Response Model of Policing to meet the needs of citizens, respond to community 

issues, increase police visibility and address public safety concerns. Community 

Response officers are assigned to individual communities to work with citizens 

as well as business and residential associations to identify and solve issues, while 

Sector Policing ensures Patrol officers work in specific geographic areas and take 

ownership of community concerns. 

RCMP Halifax District expanded its Community Liaison Program to meet 

the needs of citizens in the communities of Lake Echo-Porters Lake, Eastern 

Passage, Fall River and Beechville-Lakeside-Timberlea-Prospect Road area. 

These four additional Community Liaison positions were created to respond 

to identified community concerns and to work closely with crime prevention 

and volunteer groups while enabling stronger relationships between police and 

community members. RCMP Halifax District embraces community policing 

and community crime prevention as models where community concerns are 

assessed and citizen mobilization is enhanced to assist police. 

HRP hired 62 new members in 2006, 24 of which are new resources, which 

increased police visibility in our community. More specifically, eight officers 

were deployed as part of a new beat program in downtown Halifax, another 

eight to a new beat in north Dartmouth, and Patrol Units were augmented in 

west division by yet another eight. In 2006, RCMP Halifax District welcomed 

46 new members posted to Halifax District, 5 ½ of which are new resources 

who increased police visibility in our community. Four of these positions 

were deployed to Community Liaison duties. The remaining 1 ½ were 

deployed with 2 ½ positions formerly deployed from Enfield Detachment 

to provide a permanent policing presence in the north central area of HRM. 

The deployment of these positions to front line duties allowed for increased 

visibility and improved community involvement. 

New Facilities 

Throughout 2006, the former Northbrook School was converted into the 

HRP Northbrook Training Centre, allowing Human Resources, Training 

and the Strategic Technology Unit to be more self-sufficient with their offices, 

classrooms, training rooms and a computer lab being housed in one facility. 

In an effort to become more accessible and visible in our community, RCMP 

Halifax District opened a site office in the north central area of HRM to offer 

a more efficient and effective policing service to the citizens in the community. 

North central HRM covers a large geographic area spanning from Elmsdale, 

Middle Musquodoboit, Upper Musquodoboit to East Loon Lake. The unit is 

currently housed in temporary accommodations until the permanent office is 

established in the Middle Musquodoboit area in the spring of 2007. Similarly, 

HRP implemented new community offices in both Uniacke Square and north 

end Halifax to strengthen our relationship with the community. 

Success of Specialized Units and 

Operational Plans 

The HRM Integrated Traffic Unit 

continues to use education and enforcement 

to ensure the safety of our streets and 

roadways. When the Unit celebrated its 

one-year anniversary in October 2006, its 

members had tripled the output of overall 

Summary Offence Tickets. The Unit issued 

almost 14,000 tickets in 2006 alone. 

The Quick Response Unit, in 

partnership with the investigative units, 

continued to address community safety 

and quality-of-life issues in the urban core 

of HRM. Further, operational plans were 

developed and implemented by RCMP 

and HRP to address violent crime in the 

Cole Harbour and Sackville areas and in 

downtown Halifax and north Dartmouth 

respectively. Additionally, an RCMP Youth 

Problem Oriented Policing team was created 

to focus on areas that typically experience 

an increase in youth-related crime during 

the summer months. The team provided 

enforcement and education while developing 

positive relationships with youth. 

By planning and executing a solid 

security and public safety plan under an 

extremely tight timeline, HRP ensured the 

safety of tens of thousands of concert-goers 

and other HRM citizens during the Rolling 

Stones concert in September. 

HRM Realignment 

Following a corporate restructuring, HRP 

welcomed Integrated Emergency Services, 

Community Projects (By-Law Enforcement, 

Animal Control, Taxi and Limousine Services 

At a Glance — Combined (HRP and RCMP Halifax District Detachment): • Responded to 170,592 dispatched calls in 2006 • answered an average of 22 Emergency 9-1-1 calls per day • average 

response time of 6 minutes to Priority 1 calls for Service Issued in excess of 35,000 Summary Offence Tickets • HRP: 463 sworn officers, 242 civilians, 46 commissionaires, 160 school crossing guards 

1 officer per 594 residents • 51,204 training hours offered • 11,300 criminal records checks conducted • 1,420 CR/CP talks (1,240 school programs and 180 business & residential programs) • number 

of volunteers who contributed 13,382 hours: 106 •17,040 pieces of property seized as potential evidence, 3,602 pieces of property found and 517 returned • 14 calls for the Emergency Response Team 

• 20 calls for crisis negotiators • 1,767 files handled by Victim Services • 375 K-9 assisted arrests • 88 marked cars and 95 unmarked cars and 24 By-Law/Youth LIVE vehicles • 14 Harley Davidson’s, 

4 off-road motorcycles, 8 bicycles • 2 ATV’s, 2 seadoos, 2 boats • 5 radar trailers, 5 utility trailers and 1 bomb trailer • 1 horse in the Mounted Division • 8 HRP + 1 RCMP dogs and handlers in the 

Integrated HRP/RCMP K-9 Unit 

15

and Youth LIVE) and Parking Enforcement 

to its organization. This was very fitting in 

that it allows HRM to have a coordinated 

and better-managed response to municipal, 

provincial and federal statutes. 

Initiatives 

Response to Public Safety/Violent Crime: 

HRM Partners in Policing will continue 

to use the Community Response Model of 

Policing, directed patrols, operational plans 

and specialized units to address public safety 

concerns and the fear of escalating violent crime 

in our community. Further, police will continue 

to explore new ways to address public safety 

issues, including the final report on, and future 

plans for, video surveillance. 

As part of the provincial government’s 

strategy to address public safety issues, HRM 

Partners in Policing are being awarded 32 

additional sworn member positions (22 for 

HRP and 10 for RCMP Halifax District) in 

April 2007 as part of the 80 being allocated 

across the province. Police are focused on 

creating innovative deployment strategies and 

maximizing the benefit of these additional 

resources; HRP will augment its beat program 

in downtown Halifax, and both agencies 

will establish Anti-Street Crime teams to be 

deployed across HRM to combat incidents of 

violence, street crime, organized illegal activity, 

sexual exploitation, assaults and drug trafficking. 

Further, Chief Frank A. Beazley is Co-Chair 

of Nova Scotia Justice Minister Murray Scott’s 

task force on safer streets and communities, 

which is gathering information from citizens on 

effective crime prevention strategies. 

Superintendent Gordon A. Barnett, Officer 

in Charge of RCMP Halifax District formed 

a Halifax District Youth Advisory group. This 

group comprises local youth and members 

of Halifax Detachment with the goal of 

improving police and youth relationships by 

determining how police can help to prevent 

youth crime and better respond to the needs of 

young people in HRM. 

Space Allocation 

Given its growing and integrated operation, 

HRM Partners in Police are focusing on space 

allocation in 2007. Specifically, the remainder 

of Northbrook will be refurbished to accommodate one central, integrated HRM 

Records and Courts, and police are also seeking a new location which will centralize 

the now widespread integrated investigative units under one roof. 

Succession Planning 

Given that 95 HRP staff - both sworn and civilian - can retire within the next 

three years, police will continue to focus on succession planning. Recruitment to 

replace retiring employees and those sworn members who are promoted as well as 

training of our future leaders to replace skill sets is essential to providing exemplary 

service to the citizens of HRM. 

On a national level, RCMP predict that 21% of their workforce will retire 

within the next five years. Halifax District has experienced a significant turnover of 

resources resulting in an influx of junior members. Superintendent Barnett and the 

management team will continue to aggressively manage the succession planning of 

resources with RCMP Human Resources branch to ensure the correct mix of service 

and experience is maintained. 

Integrated Policing 

The Board of Police Commissioners will review how policing must grow 

over the next five to 10 years to ensure HRM has a service delivery model 

which will allow emergency services to keep pace with population growth. n 

Sgt. Mark Hobeck and friend during "Cop Shop 2006". The program sponsored 50 local 

children, pairing them with a police officer for a Christmas shopping trip to a local mall. 

16 

RCMP: 171 police officers and 26 Public Service staff funded by HRM • 7 police officers working from and funded by Halifax International Airport • 7 police officers and 1 Public Service staff funded by the 

Province of Nova Scotia • 35,568 training hours offered (from May 2006) • 4847 criminal records checks conducted • 400+ volunteers • 41 marked cars and 23 unmarked cars • 8 ATV’s/trail bikes • 

3 inland water transport • 2 radar trailers • 805 checkpoints checking 82587 vehicles • 1 explosive bomb profile dog team

Community Development is a means by which a group, club, organization 

or individual can work with others on issues that have an effect on the health 

and well-being of their community. It engages citizens to positively impact the 

quality of life within HRM's social and or geographical communities. 

Community Development in HRM recognizes community strengths and 

provides assistance to meet the recreation, arts, culture and heritage needs 

of the community. It enables communities to create partnerships, achieve 

self-sufficiency, and to increase citizen responsibility for implementing local 

recreation, culture and heritage solutions. 

Health initiative to train health practitioners 

in effective counselling around physical 

activity and active healthy living. 

Community Development was successful 

in the launch of the HRM by Design 

initiative to foster excellence in design of 

public spaces and developments. This project 


The first Regional Municipal Planning Strategy (Regional Plan) for HRM 

was adopted by Council on June 27, 2006 and officially came into effect on 

August 26, 2006. A new Regional Subdivision By-law and amendments to all 

land use by-laws necessary to implement the Regional Plan, were also adopted. 

The 25-year Regional Plan represents a new integrated land use and 

infrastructure investment strategy precipitating a substantial shift in emphasis 

from automobile traffic investment to transit. The Plan directs more growth 

to urban areas to significantly reduce land consumption and reduce new street 

construction, places a strong emphasis on transit and active transportation to 

reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote healthier living, sets a new water 

and sewer boundary to increase the number of households on piped services to 

avoid substantial future costs of capital and operating expenditures, and provides 

new opportunities for open space subdivision design in rural areas to protect 

environmental resources and valuable open space and natural networks. 

In 2006, HRM’s first Region-wide Cultural Plan was adopted. The Plan is 

one of the Country’s most comprehensive cultural strategies and puts a 10-year 

blueprint in place to coordinate between a number of the Municipality’s 

initiatives, policies, investments, and its service delivery. The Plan breaks down the 

conventional silo approach that has separated Culture into fragmented disciplines 

by identifying synergies between departments, governments and sectors. The 

Cultural Plan speaks to a number of areas that are critical to developing and 

promoting Culture and in building HRM as one of Canada’s cultural capitals. 

HRM’s Youth Engagement Strategy is "taking action" in all communities. 

With over 100 youth-focused initiatives, projects, events and programs, youth 

are contributing to HRM communities by building skateboard parks, dirt bike 

parks, lobbying to upgrade basketball courts, organizing events and festivals and 

volunteering within our programs. 

Developing youth as leaders and encouraging their involvement is important 

to the development of strong communities within HRM. Our youth website was 

launched in September, , to promote Youth Fest, a successful youth conference 

that attracted 300 youth HRM-wide. 

Being active is serious fun in HRM! A Physical Activity Initiative aimed at 

young girls was launched in the spring with a variety of organizations celebrating 

and motivating girls to get active! HRM was the pilot site for Move More, a 

physical activity basics course. HRM recreation staff trained leaders and delivered 

this exciting new initiative throughout HRM. Move More launched a Capital 

At a Glance — 441 new building lots approved for construction in 2006, 289 fewer lots than in 2005 • approximately 4460 construction permits issued in 2006 with over 23,000 compliance 

inspections • estimated total value of new construction in 2006 was $696 million; $497 million of this was in the form of residential while the remainder was in commercial, industrial and institutional 

developments • received 703 land use complaints resulting in 412 investigations • 21 recreation centres • 5 workout facilities • 4 arenas • 3 pools and over 8600 recreation programs • 61,144 residents 

participated in a recreation program this year • attendance at HRM-operated pools last year topped 100,000 not including the 129,000 patrons who visited and enjoyed our 24 beaches and outdoor pools 

during the summer months • assisted low-income families by providing subsidized recreation opportunities to close to 3000 children and youth since 2001 • coordinates bookings and manages customer 

service for over 30,000 park and sports field users, approximately 140 Halifax Regional School Board facilities and four arenas • contributes over $850,000 to support more than 70 festivals and events • 

employs approximately 500 youth and trains over 500 youth volunteers annually • invests approximately $750,000 to preserve heritage sites and assets throughout HRM • in 2006, provided support to 37 

film projects in HRM, including movies, commercials, short documentaries, music videos and television series • Capital District area includes the downtowns of Dartmouth and Halifax and business districts of 

17

will address tools and strategies to raise 

the bar on urban design in HRM’s Capital 

District and surrounding Regional Centre. 

In 2006, led by HRM's Urban Design Task 

Force, HRM saw the completion of Phase 

I and II public consultations leading to an 

urban design vision, principles, and guidelines 

for various urban districts. 

HRM will continue its roll-out of 

two major Urban Design initiatives in the 

Capital District: implementation of the two 

recently completed public lands plans (Spring 

Garden/Queen and Grand Parade/Province 

House), and continued consultation on 

the Regional Centre Urban Design Study, 

HRMbyDesign. On the public lands plans 

work will proceed on major public realm 

improvements in the downtown, and further 

discussions with the Province on HRM’s 

interests in redeveloping these lands. For 

HRMbyDesign, the third public consultation 

forum of four will be held and will focus on 

applying the proposed Urban Design Vision 

and Principles to a particular opportunity 

site. The fourth consultation forum on 

implementation will be held in June. For 

more information, please visit the project 

website at www.hrmbydesign.ca 

Initiatives 

Work has progressed greatly over the 

last year with major Recreation Facility 

Projects that are in the planning, design, 

and construction phases. The year 2007 

will see the celebration of the opening of 

the new Citadel Community Centre. As 

well, construction will get underway for the 

new Dartmouth East Community Centre 

and District 2 (Fall River) Community 

Recreation Centre. Each facility is unique 

to the needs of each community and will 

support hundreds of new opportunities for 

all types of recreation. 

Planning for the new Mainland Common 

Community Recreation facility is also 

proceeding towards final design stages. HRM 

and the YMCA have been working towards a 

collaborative partnership in the development 

of this project, which will include a first-class 

aquatic and dryland component. 

HRM’s new Community Visioning process, VisionHRM, is a 12-month 

pilot project recently initiated by Council. It is an important first step towards 

implementing the Regional Plan at the community level and building capacity 

within communities to identify key actions and potential approaches and 

partnerships to solve them. The communities of Musquodoboit Harbour, Fall 

River and the Bedford Waterfront area have been selected for the pilot project. 

Each process is being guided by a Community Liaison Group (CLG), comprising 

local residents. These CLGs have defined a public engagement process to ensure 

broad citizen participation. Each CLG will work with HRM staff to create a 

vision and action plan for their communities. 

As set out in the Regional Plan, and to ensure consistency in its 

implementation, HRM will undertake a series of detailed Functional Plans to 

guide the budget process for programs, services and facilities. Functional Plans will 

also guide HRM in the ongoing management of strategic initiatives, partnerships 

and demonstration projects useful to seeing the full potential of the Regional 

Plan realized over time. In 2006, the Cultural Plan and Active Transportation 

functional plans were completed. In 2007, functional plans are being undertaken 

or are already underway for Wind Energy, Community Energy, Urban 

Design, Regional Parking Strategy, Urban Forest, Finance, and Business Parks 

Development. Lidar (Light Detection and Ranging) mapping will be used to 

support these efforts and others, such as the Hazards to Development Functional 

Plan, flood plain delineation and coastal zone management. 

Youth will continue to be a focus for Community Development. Coordination 

of youth programs with RCMP, Library, Police and Recreation will be a priority 

to maximize and expand opportunities for partnerships in leadership, training, 

marketing and programs in all co `mmunities. Aquatics will be launching a 

recruitment campaign to attract youth as lifeguards and swim instructors. 

The Cultural Plan implementation will see a number of priority actions get 

underway: 

• a framework for developing and investing in public art will be in place 

including mechanisms for integrating public art into private and public 

developments and into public spaces and places 

• a community steering committee will be established to develop a proposal for 

the 2010 Cultural Capitals of Canada designation 

• HRM’s funding of community cultural organizations will be reviewed and a 

stronger program put in place to address priority areas of the Cultural Plan and to 

strengthen supports for the program and service delivery within the cultural sector 

• a framework for investing in cultural facilities and infrastructure will be 

developed including decision-making criteria and process for capital funding 

requests, cost-sharing and inter-governmental partnerships 

• an evaluation to determine demand for cultural and arts-specific program 

delivery through HRM’s Community and Recreation facilities will be undertaken 

and necessary program enhancements recommended; a promotional program will 

also be launched to raise awareness and understanding of HRM cultural program 

opportunities and to highlight the unique cultural identity of the Region n 

18 

Spring Garden, Quinpool Road, and Gottingen Street; 40% of HRM’s jobs are concentrated in the area; it is the Region's dominant employment centre and a focus for the Region's entertainment and cultural 

scene • The Capital District Task Force, created by Council in 2002, works to focus attention and coordinate the efforts of the many staff departments and external agencies that deliver services in this area 

• over 3000 volunteer hours were logged in 2006 as part of the HRM by Design Project; this effort is being championed by HRM’s citizen-appointed Urban Design Task Force • HRM invests over one 

million dollars annually in streetscape projects throughout downtown and regional business districts • 490-6666 is now a recreation "hot line," one central number which connects all centres

TCommunity The Response Team (CRT) was created in the 

Tsummer of 2002 to increase a community sense of safety and well-being, HRM 

Twide. Reporting to the Deputy CAO, Operations, the CRT includes four staff 

Tmembers: one acting manager and three co-ordinators currently seconded from 

THRP. The co-ordinators have a strong policing background, which has proven 

Tbeneficial when working with the public on safety concerns. 

TThe The CRT has the ability to bring HRM resources to the table when 

Tworking on safe community initiatives. In 2006, the team dealt with 90 

projects, liaising with other business units, all in an effort to create safe 

neighbourhoods. 


Residents along a portion of the Cole Harbour Merrimac Pathway System 

and other users were concerned with issues such as alcohol use, drugs, assaults, 

noise, fires, and litter taking place along the path. As a result, the CRT met 

with the district Councillor, RCMP, Fire Services, Parks staff and more 

importantly, the community, to discuss the issue. After several community 

meetings, residents of the immediate area became part of the solution and 

assisted staff in thinning out mature vegetation along a specific portion of 

the path to open up sight lines such that there were no longer areas where 

individuals felt safe in conducting themselves inappropriately. Further, the 

community was instrumental in building relations with the RCMP by forming 

a Neighbourhood Watch group. 

The CRT co-ordinated the painting of the Parclo Mural, which is located 

on Highway 111 on Main Street in Dartmouth. Working with Nova Scotia 

Transportation & Public Works, HRM Procurement, HRM Transportation 

& Public Works, the district Councillor, community members and eventually 

the artist, the resulting mural is something 

that has proven pleasing to the community. 

Further, graffiti has not been an issue since, 

keeping the area free of urban decay. 

The CRT was designated by Council to 

oversee the implementation of the Graffiti 

Management Plan. There are many business 

units involved with the implementation 

such as the RCMP, HRP, Community 

Development, Capital District, Corporate 

Communications, and Transportation 

and Public Works. Corporate partners 

who have been working with HRM to 

date in this endeavour are Canada Post, 

Aliant, Nova Scotia Power and the Halifax 

Regional School Board. There has been 

much accomplished to date by all staff and 

partners involved, however, there is much 

more work ahead. 

Crime Prevention Through Environmental 

Design (CPTED) is a tool used to reduce 

the opportunity for not only fear of crime, 

but actual criminal activity. The CRT 

conducted CPTED audits on plans for the 

new Citadel High School, plans for the Fall 

River Recreation/Fire Hall, Seaview Park, 

Spectacle Lake Tails, DJ Butler Playground, 

the Keshen Goodman Library and many 

others, all in an effort to design out 

opportunities from crime at the design stage 

or as a retrofit on existing facilities/open 

spaces. The team also trains HRM staff to 

enable them to conduct audits themselves. 

Initiatives 

In 2007, the CRT will continue working 

with communities across HRM, mobilizing 

residents to be part of the solution in creating 

safe neighbourhoods. Police volunteers will 

be invited in May to participate in a Safe 

Communities symposium that the CRT is 

co-hosting with both the RCMP and HRP; a 

CPTED class for HRM staff is scheduled for 

early June; the Graffiti Management Plan will 

continue to roll out over the remaining year, 

and graffiti awareness training will continue 

with members of the public, staff, the business 

community and outside policing agencies. n 

19

In 2006, Solid Waste Resources launched HRM’s 

first 20-Minute HRMakeover event; 7,200 residents 

participated in over 80 event locations. 

E 

Environmental Management Services was formed in January 

E2003 to bring a coordinated focus to the environmental aspects of HRM’s 

ECorporate Scorecard theme of Healthy, Sustainable, Vibrant Communities. 

EAccomplishments 

EHalifax Harbour Solutions Project 

EThis multi-year $333-million project will construct three wastewater Etreatment facilities (WWTFs) and associated collection systems to ensure 

that the 200 million liters per day of raw sewage that currently flows into the 

Halifax Harbour is treated. In 2006, the Halifax and Dartmouth underground 

collection systems (tunnel, screening chambers, gravity sewer, forcemain and 

outfall) were substantially completed. The access driveways to the three new 

WWTFs were also completed. Construction of Halifax, Dartmouth and 

Herring Cove WWTFs is at 81%, 33% and 17% completed, respectively. The 

Biosolids Processing Facility (BPF), which will process biosolids from all of 

HRM’s WWTFs into a finished product that meets requirements under the 

Federal Fertilizer Act for soil amendment, is substantially completed. 

Environmental Sustainability Progress: A Clean Air Strategy was developed 

in 2006. This framework document provides an overview of the current situation 

and identifies opportunities for HRM to influence stakeholders, residents, 

formal processes and attitudes in order to sustain the quality of the air for future 

generations. 

A Municipal Sustainability Office was established with the Union of Nova 

Scotia Municipalities (UNSM) in partnership with HRM and the Province. 

Priority mandates include community energy planning and community 

sustainability planning. 

HRM Council approved moving forward with a comprehensive Community 

Energy Plan; in essence, a roadmap to guide decisions, investments and 

community form related to energy. 

Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Reduction: Council set the following GHG Reduction 

Targets: Corporate GHG - 20% (24,000 tonnes) by 2012; Community GHG 

- 20% (1.3 million tonnes) by 2012. 

HRM Lake Water Quality Monitoring Program was established, 

providing for regular water sampling and water quality analysis of over 

50 lakes in and around the core of HRM. This program provides baseline 

water quality data and performance measurement for planning and 

development policies, as well as an indication of performance for HRM 

wastewater infrastructure. 

HRM adopted a Policy on Daylighting of Rivers, which is the restoration of 

streams, which have been covered over in pipes. Daylighting will be considered 

whenever major rehabilitation or replacement of storm sewers occurs, based on 

the criteria adopted. 

Solid Waste achievements: Solid Waste Resources launched HRM’s 2006 

Litter Prevention and Education campaign and first 20-Minute HRMakeover 

event with 7,200 residents participating in over 80 event locations where cleanups 

occurred involving 26 schools, 103 HRM employees and 25 downtown 

businesses. 

20

Dartmouth Wastewater Treatment Facility construction, summer 2006 

Halifax Wastewater Treatment Facility construction site, summer 2006 

Electricity was produced from the capture 

of gas from the old Sackville Landfill. Highland 

Energy commenced commissiong in October 

2006 with production of one megawatt. 

An enhanced Household Hazardous 

Waste mobile event was serviced with an 

urban collection event in June 2006. 528 cars 

drove through to drop off materials. 57 barrels 

of flammables, 13 drums of oil, 800 kg of 

batteries and 195 BBQ tanks were recovered. 

An HRM-sponsored sale of backyard 

composter units saw 1,001 units distributed 

throughout local retail distributors. 

Cell #3 at Otter Lake Landfill closed and a 

permanent gas collection system was installed. 

The Recycle Right education campaign 

with a focus on enhancing paper recycling 

combined with curbside monitoring and ICI 

compliance maintained a diversion rate of 55%. 

• Stormwater /Wastewater Capital Works 

Projects completed 

• sanitary/storm sewer separation within 

the Duke/Salter Street sewershed in Halifax 

• water/sewer service extensions to 

Prince’s Lodge underway, Lively (study & 

infiltration/inflow) out to tender, Beaver 

Bank phase 4D (& Majestic Avenue) 

completed. 

Environmental Awards/Recognitions 

• HRM presented its climate change strategy 

at the World Urban Forum in Vancouver. 

• HRM launched its “Cycle Saver” 

environmental education program in the 

major municipalities in Guyana, S.A. 

• Federation of Canadian Municipalities 

Sustainable Community Awards for Halifax 

Regional Water Commission and its water 

accountability program 

• Resource Recovery Fund Board Nova 

Scotia Mobius Environmental Award for 

waste reduction education 

At a Glance — Water: over 1100 lakes within HRM • urban lakes are impacted or threatened by sedimentation, which destroys habitat, and eutrophication (enrichment with excess nutrients) which 

causes algal and plant growth leading to oxygen depletion • streams become impacted when more than 10% of drainage basins become impermeable as a result of development • Sewer Infrastructure: 

1000 km of gravity sanitary sewers • 60 km of force main/pressure sewers • 153 pumping stations • 700 km of storm and clearwater sewers • 17,000 catch basins • 37,000 manholes • estimated 

value of all stormwater & wastewater infrastructure: $1 billion • almost $30 million worth of new/upgraded infrastructure built in 2006 • HRM projects need for approx. $600 million in water-related 

infrastructure investment (storm and wastewater collection and treatment) over the next 25 years Wastewater Treatment: 80,000 serviced by 12 HRM wastewater treatment facilities • 15 billion litres of 

wastewater treated annually • 40 million litres of biosolids processed annually • 400 million liters of potable water treated annually • approx. 20 million cubic ft. of biogas produced • Solid Waste 

Resources: 20,200 tonnes of recyclables processed • 42,600 tonnes of organics processed • 165,300 tonnes of refuse processed • 87,800 tonnes of C&D received at HRM licensed C&D facilities 

21

Herring Cove Wastewater Treatment Facility access 

driveway and sewer line construction, summer 2006 

• The Coast newspaper recognized the 

Harbour Solutions Project for “Best Use of 

Taxpayers’ Money” 

• at the World Climate Change Summit 

in Montreal, HRM represented Canada and 

presented its Climate SMART initiative for 

GHG reduction and mitigation 

• Union of Nova Scotia Municipalities 

“Team Nova Scotia” effort to help Guyana, a 

developing South American country; HRM 

was designated as the environmental lead 

• HRM is the first eastern Canadian city to 

be asked to join the International Sustainable 

Cities Network 

• inNOVAward for HRM’s Sustainable 

Environment Strategic Direction 

Environmental Infrastructure Implementation 

• Harbour Solutions Project: complete both the Halifax and Dartmouth sewage 

collection systems and treatment plants, biosolids processing facility in Aerotech 

Business Park 

• complete sewer/water extensions to Herring Cove, Armshore Drive, 

Glenmont/Millview, Prince’s Lodge 

• complete construction of cell #4 at Otter Lake Residuals Disposal Facility and 

cap half of cell #3 

• complete several wastewater/stormwater treatment plant, pumping station and 

piping upgrades/rehabilitations 

• most of these projects are in progress at various stages 

Comprehensive Community Energy Plan 

A road map to guide decisions, investments, and community form related to 

energy. 

Improve Solid Waste Diversion 

At a Solid Waste Resource Round Table, which comprises a broad spectrum 

of industry representatives, eight opportunities were identified to further 

HRM’s 55% solid waste diversion rate. In 2007, staff will explore: 

• policy changes to reduce the residential refuse bag/can limit, requiring 

separate marked containers for ICI organics and recyclables 

• the prohibition of the mixing of ICI organics and recyclables (with refuse) in 

the same compartment of private refuse collection vehicles 

• a clear residential refuse bag pilot program 

• partnership with Community College for best source separation practices for 

property management, hospitality and food service sector certificate programs, 

and permit requirement for all construction activity to direct C&D materials to 

recovery facilities n 

Initiatives 

Wastewater Services Merger with HRWC 

Staff of HRM Wastewater Services will 

be transferred to the HRWC in order to 

be regulated by the Nova Scotia Utility and 

Review Board. This will be the first regulated 

wastewater utility in Canada. 

22 

Environmental Sustainability - Land/Air: Over 98% of applicants took advantage of the online pesticide permit process in 2004 • HRM emits about 120,000 metric tonnes of GHG per year • 2005 

- warmest year on record in the northern hemisphere with temperature 0.65 degrees Celsius • HRM emits 7 million metric tonnes of GHG annually; 25-30 % of this from vehicle emissions • Environmental 

Sustainability - Energy/Utility: 19.5 km of pipeline installed by Heritage Gas in 2005 • HRM received $40-million funding commitment secured from the provincial/federal government for HRM Community 

Energy System, a district energy project on peninsula Halifax reduces GHG by 128,000 metric tonnes per year • in 2005, HRM issued the first permit for a wind turbine within HRM, owned by Renewable 

Energy Services • 24 km of new natural gas distribution pipe installed in HRM, service agreements signed for key HRM facilities such as the Metro Transit Garage, Dartmouth Sportsplex, HRM Fertilizer 

Plant, Dartmouth Harbour Solutions Plant

Transportation and Public Works Services (TPWS) is the largest 

operating business unit in HRM. This business unit consolidates critical and 

operational-based services through the effective planning and management of 

a safe, sustainable public infrastructure and transportation network enhancing 

the quality of life of HRM’s citizens. In April 2006, a corporate realignment 

expanded the scope of TPWS to include Real Property, Fleet Services, and 

Capital Projects. Additionally, Municipal Operations was created combining 

all street, sidewalk, park, and snow/ice control tactical services within one 

operational unit. In 2006, TPWS realized many significant achievements. 


Providing leadership within the community in the reduction of energy 

consumption and emissions, Traffic & Right of Way Services is modernizing 

its traffic control system with the conversion of traffic signals from 

conventional incandescent bulbs to the brighter and more energy efficient 

LEDs at 20 intersections. Sufficient LEDs have also been purchased for the 

future conversion of approximately 100 more intersections resulting in an 85% 

reduction in energy consumption. The greenhouse gas emission reductions are 

estimated at 20 tonnes per intersection per year. 

Traffic flow improvements have been made to the Mount Hope Avenue/ 

Highway 111 and the Wright Avenue/Highway 118 Interchanges. As well, 

signage and operational changes were made at the Armdale Rotary to allow it 

to function as a roundabout and six existing intersections have been upgraded 

with new signal control equipment optimizing traffic operation and reducing 

congestion delays. 

Significant progress has been made to improve HRM’s active transportation 

network. Construction of new bike lanes and pathways have been completed 

including Donegal Drive to Portland Hills Transit Terminal, bike lanes on 

Bedford Highway from Southgate Drive to Kearney Lake Road, portions of St. 

Margaret’s Bay Road, Kearney Lake Road and Main Street (Dartmouth). 

Real Property Business Park lot sales are anticipated to reach their highest 

revenue mark since the 1980's. Burnside Business Park began the year with 

approximately 4.8 million square feet of serviced lots available with 45% of 

available inventory being sold by year-end. Additionally, Research in Motion 

announced its intent to locate in the proposed Bedford West Business Campus 

with ground being broken on the new location of its technical support 

operations centre. 

The unprecedented success of MetroLink continued in 2006 with the Phase 

II implementation of the Sackville Corridor. Metro Transit increased Sunday 

Service to meet the needs of citizens for Sunday shopping. As a result of the 

continued growth of Transit Services, a new temporary Satellite Garage for 

Fleet Services was opened at 150 Thornhill Avenue and services Access-A-Bus 

and MetroLink vehicles and equipment. 

In 2006, Design and Construction 

focussed on the timely delivery of quality 

projects, which resulted in 98% of all 

projects identified being tendered before the 

end of the construction season. 

Three successful Capital Projects for 

2006 were the design and installation of 

the first fully accessible playground at 

Westmount Elementary School in Halifax 

equipped with a Mobility Challenge Course, 

completion of the Mosher River Fire Station 

and the opening of the East Dartmouth All- 

Weather Field Complex. 

Municipal Operations implemented 

sidewalk snow plowing services for major 

arterials and bus routes beginning in 

November 2006. Focussing on a more 

preventive approach to maintenance, a work 

order system to plan and track work was 

implemented. Preventive Maintenance 

Supervisors were hired and a Works 

Control Centre was established to support 

this initiative. 

In 2006, HRM received a special award 

from Communities in Bloom recognizing 

Exemplary Sport Fields. 

Initiatives 

Metro Transit is in the process of 

conducting a critical route review that 

includes the reviewing of all existing service 

routes and the development of new service 

delivery options in order to better meet 

the continued increasing needs of its evergrowing 

group of passengers. One of the 

models considered for implementation is the 

Neighbourhood Bus Program, which will 

provide greater flexibility through the use of 

neighbourhood buses to access new areas in 

an efficient manner. 

Real Property is in a position whereby 

2007 will see the largest built phase within 

the Business Parks in the last decade with 

At a Glance — over 1,220 employees • 3,384 lane km of roads, 810 km of sidewalks and 60 bridges • 244 traffic signals with the addition of 3 to 5 each year • more than 13,000 traffic and street 

name signs produced and 2,000 sign posts installed • in excess of 1,600 km of white and yellow centrelines painted • 39,000 street lights maintained • 67,000 meters of stopbars and crosswalks and 3,900 

arrows painted • 10 street sweepers; 80 pieces of snow and ice control vehicles • 150 to 200 design projects completed each year • 14 full street reconstruction projects and 23 street resurfacing projects 

completed • 40 km of street asphalt surface seal or thin overlay projects completed • HRM owns more than 300 buildings • 825 park properties with approximately 120 new parcels added annually • 

250,000 bedding plants grown and used throughout the park system annually • 325 playgrounds, 175 ball diamonds and 130 sport fields which host 30,000 organized sport participants annually • 200 

operational vehicles, 800 pieces of small equipment, 200 police vehicles and 271 fire vehicles Metro Transit: • 29.1 million passengers carried annually • 50 fixed transit routes and 3 community transit routes 

• 13 park and ride locations with over 1,100 parking spaces • over 400 operators and ferry crew members who make it work • 200 buses, which includes 46 low floor buses, and 3 ferries • Access-A-Bus, 

a shared ride, door-to-door, public transit system for persons who are unable to use the conventional, (non low floor), transit system, due to a physical or cognitive disability • 75,000 passengers per average 

weekday travel on conventional transit buses • 4,000 ferry passengers per average weekday • 900 passengers per day on #159 Portland Hills MetroLink service • 16,000 Access-a-Bus passengers per month 

23

140 acres of new lots in the Burnside and 

City of Lakes Parks. This phase will see 

Burnside and City of Lakes connect to the 

successful retail development, Dartmouth 

Crossing, set to open in early 2007. 

To better position HRM into the 

future, a five-year capital capability and 

re-capitalization plan will be developed 

to create a well-balanced approach to 

address the needs of both new and 

declining infrastructure. This planned 

approach to capital work will maximize the 

impact of available resources and allocate 

suitable levels of funding to meet ongoing 

infrastructure challenges. 

Continued efforts respecting 

playgrounds meeting Canadian Safety 

Association (CSA) standards will result in 

100% compliance by the end of 2007. 

There is an increasing demand to 

address the needs of our youth. With the 

completion of the skateboard/BMX Bike 

park on the Halifax Common, Capital 

Projects will focus on developing similar 

style parks on a regional basis. The main 

project for 2007 will be the development 

of a skateboard/BMX Bike park at the 

new Fall River Fire Station and Recreation 

Centre which will be under construction in 

2007. Construction will also begin on the 

East Dartmouth Recreation Centre and the 

new Peninsula Community Centre, located 

adjacent to Citadel High School which will 

open in the fall. 

Traffic & Right of Way Services 

will focus on implementing the Active 

Transportation Plan including the 

construction of more bike lanes and 

pathways for all users. 

Further emphasis will be placed on developing a pedestrian system, other 

than just sidewalks and walkways that are safe, efficient and accessible to 

all users. This will include the installation of audible pedestrian signals, in 

consultation with the CNIB and enhancements to the traffic education 

campaign building on the “Think Safe” cross walk safety campaign. An annual 

program will be put in place for the replacement of all traffic signals and 

pedestrian flashers with the new LED technology to improve visibility and 

reduce energy consumption as well as greenhouse gas emissions. n 

The Westmount Inclusive Playground Park (WIPP) at the Westmount School in Halifax 

officially opened to children of all ages and abilities in June. The WIPP is the first accessible 

playground equipped with an outdoor mobility challenge course in Canada. 

24

TThe The past year was an exciting one for Halifax Public Libraries. More 

Tthan 2.3 million people visited the Library and borrowed nearly 4.6 million 

Titems. Adult and children’s programs saw an increase in attendance, visits to the 

Twebsite increased significantly, and the new wireless Internet service proved to 

Tbe popular. All 14 branches continued to meet the needs of the communities 

Tthey serve by providing quality programs and services 

along with access to a 

Tbroad range of information. 

TAccomplishments 

Throughout 2006, Halifax Public Libraries collaborated with HRM 

Capital District and Urban Strategies Consultants on the Spring Garden 

Road/Queen Street Area Joint Public Lands Plan. While research and public 

consultations continued, the Capital Campaign for the Central Library was put 

on hold, pending results from the Land Plan and its presentation to Municipal 

Council. Public interest in this exciting project remains high and we look 

forward to taking the next steps to make the Central Library a reality. 

Thanks to a generous donation from Athena Colpitts, the Library offered 

new programs and services as part of a family literacy initiative. Part of 

the funding was used to install Imagination Stations at the Halifax North, 

Keshen Goodman and Tantallon branches. The Stations, which feature bead 

and lacing toys, colourful magnetic toys, 

puzzles and blocks, are designed to help 

preschoolers learn through play by engaging 

them in games that develop their thinking, 

reasoning, literacy and motor skills. 

In partnership with HRM, the Library 

made significant progress on a Youth 

Strategy to ensure that branches with 

high teen populations have the skills and 

resources to involve teens in the Library 

and the community. The Library hired 

Teen Library Assistants to work directly 

with youth and created a Teen Services 

Coordinator role to assist with regional 

services development and branch support. 

Staff also developed a Teen Services Report 

providing background on best practices for 

community youth development in libraries 

and establishing goals and objectives for 

Halifax Public Libraries. 

Halifax North Library’s Imagination Station features a puppet show theatre. 

25

Initiatives 

• building on the 2006 family literacy initiative, the Library will install 

Imagination Stations at public library branches throughout the region 

• in partnership with HRM Recreation and Community agencies, the 

Library will strengthen and further develop initiatives for youth with a 

particular focus on marginalized youth in targeted communities 

• following the designation of the building site for the new Central Library, 

the Library will proceed with development of the building program, a key 

step in the design of a new facility 

• the Library will address space limitations at the Woodlawn Library 

through an assessment and public consultation program 

• the Library, in conjunction with HRM Community Recreation, will take 

part in a comprehensive redesign and refurbishment of the Captain William 

Spry Community Centre and Library to create an attractive, welcoming 

environment for residents 

Preschoolers love the brightly coloured rug that is 

part of Halifax North Library’s Imagination Station. 

In the spring, the Library introduced the 

Body and Soul – Fitness and Healthy Living 

Series. The series combined the expertise 

of Readers’ Services, Programming, 

Communications & Marketing and 

Collections to create an integrated 

approach to Library promotions. One 

of the highlights was a panel discussion 

featuring local marathon runners that took 

place a few days before the Halifax Blue 

Nose Marathon. The series attracted a new 

audience to the Library and raised its profile 

as a leader in providing information and 

services related to popular topics such as 

fitness and healthy living. 

Halifax Public Libraries hosted the Nova 

Scotia Library Association and the Library 

Boards of Nova Scotia annual conference in 

September. More than 150 library staff from 

across the province attended the three-day 

event which included sessions on topics such 

as graphic novels, E‐Learning in libraries, 

IT trends, library design, genealogy, readers’ 

advisory services, cataloguing and technical 

services and recruiting for library leaders. 

Students take part in the African Heritage Month Youth Quiz 

26 

At a Glance — 14 branch libraries, one online branch (halifaxpubliclibraries.ca) and one mobile library • 2,385,286 people visited the library in person • 1,094,678 visits to the website, a 

substantial increase of 21.2% • 184,542 people are registered with Halifax Public Libraries with 20,484 people registering for a library card in 2006 • 4,576,670 items checked out and/or renewed • 

1,151,705 items placed on hold • 107,278 items added to the library collection, a 17.5% increase • 3,849 programs attended by 107,398 people; a 12.2% and 8.5% increase respectively • 11,891 

wireless connections • 598,285 computer bookings; an increase of 6.1% • 3,087 meeting room bookings

Business Planning & Information Management continues to 

strive for improvements in service delivery to both citizens and its partner 

municipal business units. In 2007, we will continue to pursue our objective of 

access to HRM anytime, anywhere, always serving you! 


Data/Business Information Management 

Mayor Peter Kelly and members of Halifax Regional Council marked the 

official opening of HRM’s Municipal Archives at an event in September 2006. 

The Municipal Archives is located with the HRM Records Centre and 

Corporate Library (Information Resource Management) in Burnside Park and 

houses records of HRM and the former cities of Halifax and Dartmouth, as 

well as the former Town of Bedford and the former County of Halifax. Some 

of these records date back to the early 1800s. HRM’s Municipal Archives is the 

place where each municipality’s unique identity and culture will be preserved 

through records created by municipal officials, employees and citizens. 

The Municipal Archives is open to the public to conduct their own 

research, while HRM officials and staff can request research assistance 

from Archives staff. In 2006, 1,845 people visited our website at 

http://www.halifax.ca/archives/index.html. 

Client Services 

In response to citizen need, hours of operation at the HRM Call Centre 

were increased so that it is now open from 7 a.m. - 11 p.m., 363 days a year 

(closed Christmas Day and New Year’s Day). The increase was achieved 

through schedule adjustments at no extra cost to taxpayers. In 2006, there 

were over 186,000 transactions handled at seven customer service locations 

representing over $1.8 million in revenue to the Municipality. 

HRM staff celebrate GIS Day in November with Grade 10 geography students at 

Sir John A. MacDonald High School during international Geography Awareness Week 

The HRM Call Centre answered 

534,709 calls from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2006 

and provided support for a residents-only 

dedicated hotline for city related services 

leading into the September Rolling Stones 

concert. 

In 2006, new citizen services were 

implemented on www.halifax.ca such as a 

tax certificate request system, a building 

permit system and a street maintenance 

directory. As we add services, use of our 

website has continued to increase by 

30% each year. These new services are in 

addition to our existing AccessHRM online 

non-emergency service request system at 

http://eservices.halifax.ca/accessHRM/ 

In addition to our goal of expanding 

citizen access to request municipal services, 

a quality assurance initiative is underway 

to support our goal of quality service to 

citizens, from an initial request for service 

through to the provision of the service by 

municipal staff. 

Information Technology 

Our Information Technology division 

has been very busy protecting HRM’s 

data. In today’s high-tech world, network 

intrusion attempts are not uncommon and 

HRM has seen its share - up to 175,000 

attempts from 32,000 unique sources have 

been thwarted daily (6.4 million attempts 

annually). As well, 600,000 spam messages 

are filtered weekly by our e-mail system. 

Through a partnership with the private 

sector and other levels of government, 

HRM has provided fiber optic data 

links to seven major municipal office 

locations. These high-speed connections 

provide cost savings to the Municipality 

and have facilitated further efficiencies 

in our operations. As well, through a 

comprehensive audit of telephone billing 

and circuit usage, HRM has realized an 

annual reduction in telecommunications 

charges of $300,000. 

At a Glance — Visitor services: 100,000+ visitors to Visitor Information Centres in 2006, from across Canada, US, Europe and around the world • 150,000 copies of the Visitor Guide were 

produced for these sites located throughout HRM, including the provincial VICs; 13,000 distributed via mail in response to online requests AccessHRM: almost 100 service requests per month entered 

online RecConnect: 57% increase in usage over last year Facts about www.halifax.ca: in 2006 the site was available 99.98% of the time • 14% of visits to halifax.ca were international (8% US, 

1.5% UK) •30% of the North American visits to halifax.ca were from out-of-province/US; Ontario: 9.6%; New Brunswick: 5.1%; Quebec: 1.9% • a search for “Halifax” on google.com currently returns 

halifax.ca and halifaxinfo.com as the #3 an #4 results (behind Halifax plc - a UK bank - who have both #1 and #2) • a search for “Metro Transit” on google.com returns HRM’s Metro Transit web 

page as #3, with the /Schedules/ page highlighted as link #3b • 42% more people visited halifax.ca as a result of searching Google in 2006 vs. 2005 (+260,000 visits) •more than 1/4 of all visits to 

halifax.ca are as a result of Google searches • every minute of every day of the year, two people search for and find something on Google from the halifax.ca website 

27

Initiatives 

The Data and Business Information 

Management section will develop 

and manage corporate data sets in 

support of HRM’s Asset Management 

Program. These data sets will provide 

critical information to support effective 

management of HRM-owned assets and 

strategic expenditure decisions. 

Our Information Records Management 

team will implement a corporate document 

management system to ensure appropriate 

management of HRM’s non-structured 

information (reports, memos, email, etc.). 

The result will be a central repository and 

search engine providing easier access to 

information across the organization. 

In support of HRM community 

visioning and community engagement 

initiatives, our Data & Business 

Information Management Division will 

be developing a public map site, accessible 

through the Internet, to enable citizens to 

access maps, charts, tables and other data 

about their communities. Community 

based web pages, developed by the Client 

Services Division in partnership with 

Community Development, can be linked 

to data in these systems. The ultimate 

goal is to provide one easy place to find 

pertinent information about communities 

in HRM. 

Information Technology will continue 

development of an auxiliary data centre 

to support critical systems, particularly 

those directly servicing Police, Fire, 

EMO, communications and financial 

systems. Through a partnership with the 

Valley Community Fibre Network, IT 

will obtain access to fibre strands within 

HRM from Halifax to Mount Uniacke. 

This network, combined with HRM’s 

existing systems and FUNDYweb (website 

that provides information on technology 

related initiatives and resources in the 

Western Valley region of Nova Scotia), will facilitate data services for 

municipalities from Meteghan to Dartmouth, including the HRM and 

provincial EMO centres. 

Our Client Services Division is instituting a web portal project, which 

will allow further development of our website as a service delivery channel 

for citizens. Through a portal, we can provide personalized municipal 

services to a citizen via the Internet. This might include services such as 

tax balance information or a list of Recreation courses that the citizen is 

registered in. It allows users to create custom views of our website so they 

can put the things that are important to them on their front page. The portal 

will allow citizens to access services when they want. 

Client Services will continue to provide leadership and support for the 

HRM Customer Relationship Management initiative. This initiative is 

about enhancing service delivery to citizens and using our information and 

technology infrastructure to support service delivery improvements. n 

The official opening of HRM’s Municipal Archives in September welcomed many former 

mayors, wardens, councillors and senior staff of the HRM and former municipalities. 

28 

Other interesting info: 62,000 parking tickets paid online • 34 FOIPOP applications processed • 252 reference requests for the Municipal Archives • 72 visits to the Municipal Archives research room 

• 200 community signs installed • 47 new layers of HRM data added to Geographic Information System database • Electronic HRM street directory (digital listing of all streets in HRM) made available 

to citizens through the Internet • $400,000 saved in 2006 through changes in managing desktop computer equipment

HRM’s Tax Reform Committee members meet to discuss how to best 

re-build the tax system for HRM residents. 

29

Financial Services leads corporate 

financial management and financial 

transaction processing within HRM. 

Finance provides centralized financial 

management functions in support of 

Council, EMT and business unit decisionmaking, 

in addition to directly interacting 

with citizens in response to inquiries 

and requests for services including cash 

management, financial reporting, budget 

and business planning, financial policy 

analysis, financial consulting, revenue billing 

& collection, accounting, accounts payable, 

procurement, inventory & stores, and payroll. 


In 2006, under Council direction, 

Finance staff initiated a Tax Reform Project 

in response to: 

1. Rapidly rising, uneven market 

values, unrelated to municipal 

services or income levels 

2. Resources being shifted to fund 

provincial mandatory education 

3. Issues surrounding urban, suburban 

and rural taxation and services (eg., 

tax boundaries) 

4. The need to encourage growth and 

development 

• Stronger connection between the 

tax system and the Regional Plan 

5. Unclear philosophy/long-term 

objectives existing for the current 

tax system 

• Limited sensitivity to ability to pay 

• Weak connection between taxes 

and services 

• Requirement for a competitive 

taxation regime 

The Tax Reform Committee (TRC) has 

been established to advise Halifax Regional 

Council and staff on the development of tax 

reform for Halifax Regional Municipality. 

Payroll Realignment Project saw the 

transition of payroll staff from Human 

Resources and Business Planning 

Information Services to the Finance 

Business Unit. This was completed from a recommendation of the Business 

Systems and Control Group audit of services and processes to provide services 

in a more efficient manner, and to strengthen internal controls. 

Regional Council approved a staff initiative in 2005/06 to add new electronic 

banking services which includes the ability to access HRM bank accounts using 

a secure web-based platform, the ability to pay HRM vendors and employee 

reimbursements electronically, as well some measures to combat cheque fraud. 

These services will also be available to associations, boards, and commissions 

under the HRM consolidated banking structure. In December 2006, this 

initiative was rolled out and will continue with a “go-forward” plan to introduce 

electronic billing in 2007. 

Implementation of the new Revenue Tool Replacement Project has begun. In 

2005/06, Council approved a new tool to record and collect the revenues for 

HRM as the existing platform is outdated and does not meet the future needs 

of the Municipality. The contract was awarded to HANSEN and the project is 

moving forward into 2007/08. 

During 2006, a Non-inventoried Asset Management Project was initiated 

to address the security of HRM assets. As a result of a Business System and 

Control Group study, recommendations for security such as bar coding have 

begun and will continue into 2007. 

Initiatives 

Continuation of the Tax Reform Project will provide an important 

communication and public participation link between HRM and the broader 

community and stakeholders during 2007. 

Finance is working with the HRM Asset Management Project team to 

ensure a capital asset sub-ledger is in place and HRM is in a position to adopt 

Tangible Capital Asset recommendations of the Public Sector Accounting 

Board for the 2009/10 fiscal year. 

A review of procurement policies and practices will begin in 2007, which 

should result in a streamlined process for purchasing and should promote best 

value for money. 

The Revenue Resolution Project is expected to go live with the tax module 

component of this new tool. Other modules being developed are for other 

revenue collection, cash management, licenses and permits. 

Developing leadership and promoting accountability through review and 

training on financial policies and procedures will be a goal for Finance in 

2007. Internally, we will be training staff on new policies and software and 

implementing the Revenue Resolution Project. Externally, we will provide 

financial policy training to HRM supervisors and managers. n 

30 

At a Glance: During the 2005/06 fiscal year, 136 investments were purchased at a total cost of approximately $539,000,000. The Rate of Return on the HRM Money Market Pool was 2.89%. Total 

Investment Income for the year, including income from the Province of Nova Scotia Promissory Notes related to the Harbour Solutions Project, was $9,800,000 •37,834 Accounts Payable cheques issued 

• 647 Capital Projects monitored•159,000 Tax Accounts (per Jan 06 assessment roll•45,567 Purchase Orders issued •5,247 New Price Agreements and Scheduling Agreements •1224 Tenders 

and Quotes issued • 74 Request For Proposals issued •12,144 tier 2 Hansen calls to Finance (24% of all tier 2 calls for all of HRM). Average response time of 39.65 hours, which is 8.35 hours below 

benchmark of 48 hours.

Human Resources, as a strategic business partner, strives to provide 

support to the organization through the delivery of key business outcomes to 

meet the needs of our citizens. 

In 2006, Human Resource Services continued to enhance our activities in 

all areas including labour relations, client services, organizational development, 

occupational health and total compensation. Our approach to leadership 

development, business transition, diversity, and human resource planning 

continued to add value to organizational effectiveness. 

HRM’s organizational strength is our people and Human Resources is well 

positioned to assist the organization in its efforts to attract, motivate and retain 

a highly talented workforce committed to providing outstanding programs and 

services to the citizens of HRM. 


Human Resources efforts to attract and retain employees continued over 

the past year. Policies and business practices have been revised to support our 

organizations’ efforts to compete in the labour market. Revisions in the areas 

of Parental, Adoption and Pregnancy leave will allow our staff an improved 

opportunity to achieve work-life balance. 

Our approach to compensation planning was refined through the application of 

the wage model to budget planning and position management. Our compensation 

framework was revised to reflect ongoing changes in the labour market. Ongoing 

monitoring of economic and labour market information has enabled Human 

Resources to proactively propose solutions to compensation issues. 

HRM’s employee benefits insurance program was market tested and 

the resulting savings reflects our successful efforts to enhance controls over 

expenditures in this area, while maintaining excellent benefits coverages. 

Leadership development continues to be a major focus of our human 

resource planning. Our first Leadership week was held in October, which 

provided an array of events designed to develop and enhance the knowledge, 

abilities and skills of our key leadership talent within the organization. 

Labour Relations continues to be enhanced through regular Labour 

Management meetings and a wide variety of other collaborative practices. 

HRM continues to work towards improved communications as well as 

perfecting our ability to create interest in resolving problems of mutual concern. 

The Halifax Regional Municipality underlines its obligation to provide 

a workplace free of harassment and violence. Human Resource Services 

completed a revision of HRM’s Workplace Rights Policies and will support the 

provision of a respectful work environment through education, training and the 

timely address of disputes/complaints. 

Our profile as a preferred employer has been enhanced by our revamped 

intranet site, which now includes a wide variety of information on policies, 

practices and programs of interest to all HRM employees. 

Initiatives 

Planning for HRM’s workforce and our 

ability to meet the needs of our citizens go 

hand in hand. HR is committed to preparing 

a Corporate Human Resource Plan that will 

provide a framework for our HR activities 

and guide us with addressing the many 

challenges that we face as an employer in 

attracting and retaining an effective workforce. 

Diversity is an organizational strength 

and HRM strives to be a workplace that is 

reflective of our community and demonstrates 

this commitment by valuing diversity in all its 

forms. Human Resources is a strong advocate 

for diversity and will continue to provide 

support to Business Units and employees to 

enable a more inclusive culture at HRM. 

Leadership Development will continue to 

be a major focus of training and development 

activities in order to support the ongoing 

development of an efficient, effective workforce. 

Increased efforts put into attracting, 

retaining and motivating employees will 

further enhance our ability to leverage 

efforts by business units to offer interesting 

work for good pay and benefits. By using 

these advantages in non-traditional methods 

of attracting and recruitment of talent, 

we hope to enhance our ability to manage 

current labour market conditions. 

A new approach to business practice 

improvement will be continued in our 

Compensation group in the next year. This 

project will allow for a more consistent, 

effective application of resources in servicing 

our customers and identifying best practices 

in our approach to compensation and 

benefits administration. 

HRM will continue to work with the 

Worker’s Compensation Board to identify 

more effective ways to reduce workplace 

injuries and Worker’s Compensation costs. 

This approach will provide more dedicated 

resources and better serve business units in 

their efforts to minimize organizational risk 

while maximizing our efforts to provide a 

safe, healthy work environment. 

31

Succession Planning is an ongoing 

corporate effort for which Human 

Resources provides support to the Business 

Units. Knowledge transfer continues to be 

a priority and HR continues with its efforts 

to ensure that tools are in place to assist 

with the maintenance and transfer of this 

important corporate asset. 

Employee engagement remains a 

critical issue with respect to organizational 

effectiveness. Human Resources will be 

working with Business Units to receive 

employee feedback and measure HRM’s 

performance in this area. n 

Halifax Regional Municipality employees participate in the annual volleyball tournament at 

the Tower at Saint Mary’s University. 

32 

At a Glance: Corporate Employee and Leadership Development: * Approximately 90 programs offered; over 1,000 participants attended. 

88 % of respondents surveyed saw a marked improvement (very good to excellent) in their ability to perform their job as a direct result of the training offered * SAP program Training: 8 sessions; 

47 participants -1 pt of the programs surveyed for ROI (Return on Investment): 

Average productivity increase of 3.4 %; dollar value of productivity increase, $3684.00 per employee trained. Overall, HRM is continuing to provide programs of great value to both the employees and the 

organization. Our commitment to continuous learning has helped to increase job performance and employee satisfaction.

Awards & Recognition 

When the Rolling Stones were scheduled to perform a concert in Halifax 

in September, HRM’s Geographical Information Systems (GIS) team worked 

with the Rolling Stones team to develop a series of maps. One of the most 

interesting of these was a site layout of the grounds, which provided for 

geographical placement of everything from washroom facilities, canteens and 

fencing to the stage itself. The site layout was also utilized in the planning of 

both transit and security. Many iterations of the layout were developed and 

provided a great visual tool for the team to work from. 

This same map was awarded Silver at the 2006 ESRI Regional User 

Conference held in New Brunswick in October. Darren Talbot accepted the 

award on behalf of the GIS Services Group and was the primary developer of 

the map, while both Tanya LaPlante and Jim Gannon participated in producing 

the final product. 

Sergeant Christopher Melvin, Halifax Regional Police, was the recipient 

of the first CAO Employee of the Year award. CAO Dan English presented 

the award to Sgt. Melvin during a ceremony at Pier 21. Sgt. Melvin has 

continuously improved the way HRP handles summary offence tickets, 

including the integration of these tickets with the RCMP. He liaises with 

police, lawyers, and insurance companies and has worked diligently to improve 

processes and efficiency in the business unit with his “can do” attitude. 

The Harbour Solutions Project was once again awarded the “Best Use of 

Taxpayers’ Money” in the Coast Magazine’s 2006 Best of Halifax Readers’ poll. 

The Project was also recognized at the National Infrastructure Conference in 

Toronto as one of the Top 10 infrastructure projects in Canada. 

Corporate Communications has been recognized with several awards for its 

external communications projects, involving many business units and corporate 

initiatives, and for successfully distributing vital information throughout HRM. 

In the category of Print Media, the team won the Communicator Award 

2006 Award of Excellence for the Design and Marketing of HRM’s 2004 

Annual Report. In addition, it won the Communicator 2006 Award of 

Distinction for Design and Marketing of Harbour Solutions Newspaper 

Insert. The Communicator Award is an international awards competition 

founded by communication professionals to recognize excellence in the 

communication field. 

Deborah Story, manager of Corporate Communications, was invited to 

present the Launch of the MetroLink Service at the MARCOM 2006 Annual 

Marketing Showcase in Ottawa. MARCOM, Canada’s public sector and nonprofit 

marketing symposium, addresses today’s top issues and trends in the 

public sector and non-profit marketing groups, from service delivery strategies 

to branding techniques. 

The MetroLink service launch material won a Bronze Award from the 

International Summit Creative Awards in March in the category of Outdoor 

Signage for its new bus stop signs. The campaign also received an Honourable 

Mention Award of Excellence in the category of Marketing Communications 

from the Canadian Public Relations Society National Annual Awards. 

Darren Talbot, GIS Services, receives Silver Award at 

Regional ESRI Conference. 

Jennifer Beck (centre), on behalf of HRM Corporate 

Communications and Metro Transit, accepts an 

Award of Excellence from CPRS representatives 

for the communications plan and campaign 

surrounding the launch of the MetroLink service. 

33

— 1 —

t Cover: 

Contents 

Public Art has many definitions, from any art 

placed in the public realm to artwork that is sitespecific 

or integrated into their surroundings in 

public places. 

Usually "Public Art" applies to artworks such 

as sculptures, murals, interactive multi-media, 

architectural embellishments — sometimes 

including monuments and memorials — either 

temporary or permanent in nature. 

Public Art is normally commissioned for a site as a 

creative work to engage the viewer, to celebrate 

or commemorate an image or message that 

relates to a community or site. Frequently, public 

art works become community landmarks. 

Community 

Building..........................................................................3 

Infrastructure..................................................................6 

Public 

Safety.............................................................................8 

Interesting 

Facts & Trivia................................................................ 10 

There are over 120 cairns, cenotaphs, decorative 

fountains, memorials, monuments, murals, 

sculptures and statues in HRM; many owned by 

the municipality and others owned by community 

organizations and private interests. 

Halifax Regional Municipality has embarked on 

an inventory of the markers, murals, sculpture, 

artifacts and monuments intended for permanent 

installation in a public place for the purpose of 

educating and commemorating or enhancing the 

life of the citizens of HRM. This includes Public Art 

owned by others as well as HRM. It excludes, for 

the time being, art within buildings but does not 

exclude art on the surfaces of buildings. 

At the same time, HRM has begun a Public Art 

maintenance program, which has seen three 

public art pieces cleaned and restored this 

summer. This will be an on-going program in the 

future and will be based on the needs identified by 

the inventory. 

Council has recognized Community Building as 

one of its focus areas and Public Art plays an 

integral role in shaping the kind of communities 

HRM strives for. 

Dedication 

Gary Martin proudly served the citizens of our 

community for more than 25 years as a police officer 

and as the manager of the Community Response 

Team. In the past few years, Gary represented the 

citizens of Bedford as their regional councillor. This 

publication is dedicated to his memory. 

— 2 —

Council 

Focus Areas 

2 0 0 7 H R M R e p o r t t o t h e C o m m u n i t y 

z 

community 

building 

The community development priorities include 

youth, community building and Regional Plan 

implementation. Citizens expect the delivery of 

youth services to include programs in sports, arts, leisure and leadership and 

the development of communities that are self-supporting and equipped to 

address opportunities and challenges. 

Community visioning, as part of the HRM Regional Plan, was launched and 

completed in Bedford, Fall River and Musquodoboit Harbour. Community liaison 

groups were struck and provided with training and support by Community 

Developers. All three communities devised action plans, building on their 

strengths, with implementation beginning next year. 

Community engagement in HRM was assessed as to past and current 

practices used by the municipality. Based on the findings, the Community 

Engagement Strategy was developed which will coordinate and guide all future 

public consultation for HRM business units, pending council approval. 

Asset mapping is a proactive approach/methodology used in the field 

of community development and was incorporated this year into the work 

performed by Community Developers. 

The Regional Youth Advisory Committee began as the youth voice to council 

to provide direction on current and future issues in the municipality. 

Outside Gallery, community murals on Bedford Row, Halifax and Maitland 

St., Dartmouth, showcased the partnership between HRM and other levels of 

government, business commissions and private corporations. In both locations, 

over 15 artists of professional or emerging status painted works of art for the 

public to enjoy and to act as a deterrent to graffiti. 

Restorative Justice started working with HRM to educate youth who were 

arrested for graffiti vandalism on the negative effects of graffiti on the community 

but that legal art has a positive impact. Assistance is also provided to the youth 

on painting techniques for legal art. 

Good Neighbours Great Neighbourhoods, an “umbrella 

brand” for HRM programs that support citizens towards 

positive change, is a collaborative effort between HRM 

and its citizens. A cross business unit steering committee 

was formed to roll-out the packaging of the GNGN brand for public use in 2008. 

A bid was submitted by HRM to Heritage Canada to become the Cultural 

Capital of Canada for 2010. 

HRMbyDESIGN, the community visioning process for the Regional Centre, 

aspires to foster a positive development climate downtown, create a beautiful 

and vibrant public realm, improve heritage protection, invest in public spaces, 

and promote high-quality architecture and well-designed streetscapes. 

The Public Art Forum was held in November where experts in the field 

presented information to the public in preparation for the Public Art Policy. 

The initial Public Art Inventory that was completed this year identified 

monuments, sculptures, murals and markers 

located outside in HRM. 

Significant milestones achieved this year 

include regional council’s approval of the 

urban design vision, principles and framework 

for the Regional Centre at the heart of the 

project. The shared vision and framework are 

a result of record-setting public consultations 

held with members of the public, the urban 

design task force and steering committee, 

business groups, heritage interest groups, 

the development community, design 

professionals and government partners. 

Downtown Halifax became the focus of 

the project focus during the second half of 

the year. The 10 Big Moves for downtown 

generated overwhelming support at 

Forum 4 in September; a three-day 

consultation process attended by over 500 

people. Focus areas include an increase 

in residential and office space, protecting 

heritage resources, more public open space, 

great streets, improved building design, and 

enhancing the downtown skyline. 

Urban design achievements in 2007 also 

include regional council’s approval of two 

public lands plans: Spring Garden Road/ 

— 3 —

Queen Street & Grand Parade/Province House. 

These plans represent countless hours of 

public consultations with local residents, 

property owners and businesses. Landmark 

improvements also occurred at the Grand 

Parade including the removal of parking in 

front of City Hall and the commissioning of 

a signature piece of public art for the square, 

returning that priceless open space to the public. 

Planning Services recognizes that 

processing times for planning applications 

need to improve and are already taking 

actions to reduce processing times. Over 

the past year, five new professional planners 

have been hired to process the applications. 

With the additional new planners, staffing 

levels within Planning Services have finally 

reached their desired target. As a result, the 

backlogged planning application files are now 

being completed. The completion of these 

files will greatly assist in overall processing 

times as the business unit moves forward. 

In addition to new planners, new 

supervisory staff have been hired and assigned 

to facilitate decision-making in the three 

regional offices. Ongoing staff training and increased job experience over time 

will expedite analysis and decision-making. 

In regard to the planning application process, staff have begun a number 

of initiatives to improve processing standards and procedures such as stricter 

rejection procedures for incomplete applications, a simplified application form, 

ensuring standard turnaround times by review agencies, and the establishment 

of a formalized system of application review and issue resolution. To ensure 

standards and procedures are conducted consistently across the three 

administrative regions, planning staff are receiving more training and guidance. 

Two major initiatives for improving planning application processing times will 

be the completion of HRMbyDesign (a key step towards more predictable and 

clear regulations) and community visioning exercises which will result in greater 

clarity in land use policy and regulation in the growth centres. 

HRM’s Regional Plan calls for the creation of a standing advisory committee 

to advise Halifax regional council on specific matters pertaining to the 

implementation of the Regional Plan. The committee must establish criteria and 

benchmarks to monitor success in the plan’s implementation. Additional areas 

of committee responsibility include providing advice on the need and priorities 

for background studies and research related to the functional plans; providing 

reports and presentations to regional council on the progress of Regional Plan; 

implementation, including but not limited to, community visioning, functional 

plans, master plans and community plans; leading, reviewing, and making 

recommendations to council on any proposed amendments to the Regional 

Plan; reviewing and making recommendations on the deliverables of the 

VisionHRM Community Visioning Project; being subject to the government of 

Nova Scotia’s Freedom of Information and Conflict of Interest policies. Formed 

in spring 2007, the committee currently includes eight residents and three 

councillors. Collectively, the committee members bring a balance of perspectives 

on social, health, economic, and environmental issues. Members reside in the 

rural, suburban and urban areas of the municipality. The committee’s meeting 

are open to the public. For more information about the Regional Plan Advisory 

Committee, including members, meeting schedule, agenda and minutes, visit 

http://www.halifax.ca/boardscom/rpcsc. 

ExploreHRM is the public map site that launched in December 2007. Over 

40 layers of corporate data are now available to the public in this easy-to-use 

mapping tool, available 24/7 from the comfort of home or office. ExploreHRM is 

intended to provide citizens, businesses and visitors in HRM with an accessible, 

up-to-date resource of municipal information. The map site, which was 

developed in-house by the Geographic Information Services & System (GISS) 

group, can be used to answer questions about municipal services, property 

information, and regulatory information. Look for enhancements coming 

in 2008 including additional data layers, added functionality and increased 

integration with other areas of the HRM website. These will enable citizens to 

access more information about what is occurring in their neighbourhoods, other 

neighbourhoods, and HRM as a whole. 

— 4 —

Web Services supported a successful implementation of the online presence 

for the community visioning project for Fall River, Bedford (Waterfront) and 

Musquodoboit Harbour, including development and implementation of the 

toolkits for the community liaison groups. 

Community Recreation staff were involved with over 100 partnerships with 

communities including Boys & Girls clubs, ratepayer associations, not-for-profit 

clubs, organizations and leagues, youth secretariats, YMCA’s, Black Cultural 

Centre, youth health centres, school groups, immigrant associations, family 

SOS, and libraries. 

In the spring of 2007, Highland Energy 

commenced the production of two MW 

of electricity at the Highway 101 landfill in 

Upper Sackville. The production and sale 

of electricity from the four million tonnes 

of waste has economic and environmental 

benefits for the HRM including reducing 

greenhouse gases, electricity for 2,000 

homes, displacing the burning of fossil fuels, 

and enhanced landfill gas/odour control. 

Municipal Operations staff showed 

exceptional initiative and creativity in 

special projects to involve and excite 

the community through the creation of 

“Seamore of Dartmouth” and “Conrose Field 

Vegetable Garden Flower Bed”. Seamore is a 

mosaiculture garden creation. HRM garden 

staff took an unsightly mound of earth 

and brought to life a “turtle” created from 

carpet bed plant material. Truly a work of art 

and a must-see, Seamore is located on the 

perimeter of the Shubenacadie Canal and 

visible from Alderney Drive in Dartmouth. 

The library wants young people to feel like they belong. Over the last 

two years, Halifax Public Libraries hired several teen services workers at key 

branches to build relationships with youth. On March 1, 2007, three youth 

leaders created and presented a self‐made DVD documentary and research 

project focused on north-end Halifax called Our Turn to Speak. Teenagers in 

Spryfield had an opportunity to share stories about their community through 

radio during the Hear We Are Radio Project. Halifax Public Libraries received 

a $250,000 multi‐year funding grant from the Department of Justice to build 

services for teens in north-end Halifax and Sackville. 

In the summer of 2007, the Dartmouth North Library was funded to expand 

service hours from 33 to 50 hours per week thanks to HRM council support. 

The expanded open hours have allowed the library to become more involved 

in community initiatives and provide better support to students and local 

residents. 

Staff at the Captain William Spry Public Library are part of a national 

community development initiative that focuses on targeted communities. 

Since the project’s inception three years ago, staff have been following the 

‘community led philosophy’ actively engaging residents to ensure that library 

services and programs are meeting their needs. What staff learned from the 

project has led to changes at the branch that will be implemented across the 

region as appropriate. 

In another project involving staff and 

community, a unique garden design was 

created at Conrose Field while considering 

ways to replenish an old and tired garden 

bed. The idea of “edible landscaping” came 

to life. Staff created a bed of vegetables 

with all the attributes of a beautiful garden 

and the practicality of fresh produce to 

provide to “Feed Nova Scotia”. Both are 

projects of unique value to the community 

and show how civic pride and community 

spirit are alive and becoming ever stronger 

in HRM through the initiatives of the HRM 

Communities in Bloom Program. 

— 5 —


Council 

zFocus Areas 

The existing transit U-Pass program was 

expanded in September 2007 to include 

approximately 3,000 students at MSVU 

and 1,500 at NSCAD. These organizations 

joined Saint Mary’s University and Dalhousie 

University/University of Kings College, 

who also offer U-Pass on their campuses. 

The programs are administered by each 

university in conjunction with Metro Transit 

and, through collective participation, 

enable the provision of transit passes at 

greatly reduced rates for students during 

the school year. This program also benefits 

students by allowing them greater flexibility 

to live further away from campuses in more 

affordable housing. 

Additional bus services were introduced 

on # 60 Eastern Passage and one extra 

afternoon Woodside ferry trip to help 

accommodate new NSCC campus in 

Woodside. New route, #16 Parkland, 

was introduced to accommodate MSVU 

students through Bridge Terminal, 

Dartmouth, Highfield Terminal, Dartmouth, 

MSVU and Lacewood Terminal, Halifax in 

August 2007. 

In December, 2007, transfer options 

for community transit were offered. This 

move allowed the use of monthly Metro 

passes on community transit routes with no 

additional payment required for a transfer 

to conventional transit routes from Beaver 

Bank, Porters Lake and Preston areas. 

infrastructure 

Infrastructure refers to all HRM-owned 

buildings and facilities, solid waste, transit and 

transportation networks, fleet and supporting infrastructure items including 

information technology (IT), and data. Citizens expect sound asset management 

principles, proactive capability and recapitalization planning, enhanced transit 

and transportation mechanisms and effective capital planning. 

In 2007, the Harbour 

Solutions Project 

achieved 2 major 

goals. The Halifax 

sewage collection 

system was 

completed and the 

Halifax wastewater 

treatment facility 

(WWTF) began 

accepting sewage 

flows. The Halifax 

WWTF is the largest of the three advanced-primary facilities being constructed 

as part of the Harbour Solutions Project. 

In Dartmouth, the WWTF is roof tight and extensive mechanical and 

electrical work is underway. Extensive structural work commenced on the 

Herring Cove wastewater treatment facility. Overall, the Harbour Solutions 

Project remains on budget at $333,000,000. 

Metro Transit introduced 25 new buses (10 for expansion; 15 for 

replacement purposes) & introduced a new transit brand look for conventional 

fleet in January 2007. There are also 10 30-ft new AAB buses in service (4 

expansion; 6 replacements) & the new transit brand is on the Access-A-Bus 

fleet. The number of Accessible Low Floor (ALF) Service routes increased from 

13 to 19 fully accessible routes. The new ALF routes, introduced in February and 

March, include the adaptation of existing routes #15 Purcell’s Cove, #16 Parkland, 

#51 Shannon, and #53 Notting Park as well as the new routes #56 Dartmouth 

Crossing and #88 Duke. 

The planning process for the construction of a new downtown central 

library is underway. The first step is to develop a building program, which will 

determine the services, functions and space requirements. In order to do that, 

the library has contracted HOK Canada Inc. 

Public meetings and surveys were conducted in February 2008. Public 

input will be used to develop the building program. This phase is expected 

to be complete by June 2008 and will provide the library with answers to 

important questions including budget and square footage. At that point, the 

library will be able to present the overall plan to municipal council. 

Woodlawn Area Public Library is preparing to triple in size. HRM council 

approved a study to identify a site for the expansion of the Woodlawn Library to 

better serve communities. In February 2008, a study began to analyze potential 

sites for the expanded branch based on community needs and feedback. The 

enlarged 12,000 square foot branch is expected to open in 2008/2009. 

— 6 —

As part of the overall renovation planned at the Captain William Spry 

Community Centre, the library will undergo renovations. Refurbishments will 

include new carpeting, shelving, fresh paint, a new circulation desk and new 

lighting. There will also be new soft seating and the creation of an area for 

teens. Work is expected to be complete by July 2008. 

The library launched a newly redesigned website in January 2008. The userfriendly 

new site offers enhanced online services including digital audio books, 

which let customers use their library card to download books directly from the 

library’s site to a personal computer, laptop or MP3 player. 

The Asset Management Project is a multi-year project. Its purpose is to 

develop a set of procedures and methodologies that will facilitate the effective 

management of HRM-owned assets. Some of the key benefits and outcomes 

identified include the ability to identify assets and where they are located; 

determine the current/replacement value of assets; identify assets based on 

the service they provide; use rating criteria to measure the condition of assets; 

use measurable criteria to establish level of service required; use measurable 

criteria in determining what needs to be done; use reliable information to plan 

estimate cost based on when we need to do it while taking into account level 

of risk, long-term affordability, and sustainability. 

Assets within this project include HRM-owned land and buildings, sewer 

and water systems, the road right-of-way (roads, sidewalks, curbs, bridges), and 

HRM’s fleet. 

Phase I of the project must be completed by the start of fiscal year 2009. 

Phase I includes the development of a complete inventory of the assets and 

the valuation of those assets in compliance with Public Sector Accounting 

Board requirements (PS3150). A baseline asset inventory and value at the end 

of fiscal 2007/08 is required. The Data and Business Information Management 

Division of Business Planning and Information Management has led the 

organization in the collection and maintenance of asset inventory data 

necessary to complete Phase I. 

BizPal was implemented as a cooperative effort with the provincial and 

federal governments. BizPaL is an online, one-stop service for entrepreneurs that 

simplifies the process of finding information on business permits and licences 

from all levels of government - federal, provincial, and municipal. By simply 

answering a series of questions, the user can obtain a list of permits and licences 

specific to their business activities, which includes basic information and links to 

more details where available. 

A comprehensive Community Energy Plan was developed for HRM. 

A series of watershed management plans were developed and implemented 

as required under the Regional Plan. 

80% of outstanding parks and building capital projects were undertaken or 

completed by the end of calendar year. 

The former Dartmouth Heritage Museum was demolished and the site was 

recaptured for use as open space. 

$600,000 worth of upgrades to the park and grounds of the George Dixon 

Centre was completed. 

Construction began on the $8.8M Fire 

Station 45 and Gordon R. Snow Community 

Centre and the $3.75M East Dartmouth 

Recreation Centre. 

A number of significant design and 

construction projects were completed, 

such as the Armdale Roundabout, the 

St. Margaret’s Bay Road widening, the 

Windsor Street/Kempt Road intersection 

improvements, and the Lady Hammond 

Road Bridge repairs. 

Detailed condition ratings for over 

one-third of HRM’s entire street and sidewalk 

network were completed. 

Over 25 km of gas line installation was 

inspected. 

A 5-year capital planning strategy was 

developed with a focus on re-capitalization 

and new infrastructure capability. 

A feasibility study of methods of asphalt 

recycling and sustainable construction 

methods was conducted. 

HRM’s Water Quality Monitoring program 

was refined and improved. 

An online building permit service was 

released to the general contracting public. 

— 7 —


Council 

Focus Areas 

public 

safety 

z 

The umbrella of 

public safety includes 

by-law enforcement, 

Emergency Measures (EMO), Fire Services, 

Integrated Emergency Services, Halifax 

Regional Police and RCMP. Citizens expect 

timely and appropriate emergency response; 

a feeling of safety; and assurance that 

buildings and properties owned by HRM are 

safe, healthy and well-maintained. 

A number of streets were renamed in 

north-end Halifax to commemorate the 

Halifax Explosion as part of HRM’s Civic 

Addressing Program. This program allows 

for the correction of civic address problems/ 

data impacting the delivery of 911 services 

and other municipal services. Duffus Street 

extension was renamed Wells Street for 

firefighter Billy Wells, who was the driver 

and lone survivor of the Halifax fire truck, 

“The Patricia”. A former part of Albert Street 

was renamed Vincent Street, in honour of 

Vince Coleman, the wireless operator who 

telegraphed by morse code a Halifax-bound 

passenger train urging the engineer not to 

proceed to the city because of the pending 

explosion. The former Robie Street extension 

was renamed Massachusetts Avenue, in 

honour of the people of the Commonwealth 

of Massachusetts. Governor Samuel W. 

McCall rallied the people of his state to the 

relief of the stricken people of Halifax and 

Dartmouth. Other streets renamed that 

were part of the area known as Richmond 

in the north end are Kenny Street, formerly 

Dartmouth Avenue, and Intercolonial Street, 

formerly part of Kempt Road, that was 

named after the Intercolonial Railway. 2,509 

civic addresses were corrected in the urban 

core area of HRM under the Civic Addressing 

Project. 

During 2007, Fire & Emergency 

continued to move forward the strategic 

and operational goals as identified in 07/08 

business planning process. These goals require considerable time to develop, 

approve and implement. Council has recognized and endorsed our strategy 

and direction. We continue to work on the development of long-range multiyear 

plans for the implementation of the Service Delivery Standard. The first 

phase focuses on a Station Location Program. This comprehensive station 

location plan will review existing stations and plan for the future aligning with 

the Regional Plan. The last study was done approximately 10 years ago and only 

looked at the urban core at a time when we did not have a service standard in 

place nor regional plan. The next stage of planning will address the allocation 

and acquisition of resources such as staffing, equipment, and vehicles. 

Another strategic goal is the continued development of our emergency 

preparedness with a focus on developing a business continuity plan for the 

municipality in the event of a pandemic outbreak or any other major event. 

EMO continues to work on identifying existing facilities as comfort centres as 

well as identifying new facilities as they are built. 

Corporate safety has been a major focus for the Fire Service this past year. 

We have been making great strides in moving from the transitional stage to 

developing an operational plan with a concentrated corporate focus on safety 

for all HRM. 

A groundbreaking ceremony was held in September for the start of the 

construction of the new combined Recreation Centre/Fire Station in Fall River. 

This new station has been 10 years in the process and planning in order to 

consolidate Fall River’s Stations 44 & 45. 

Halifax Regional Police (HRP) and RCMP Halifax District continually strive to 

provide safe communities across HRM. Both agencies use crime suppression 

strategies in an effort to reduce crime/disorder, and the associated fear, with a 

focus on violent crime. Officers work in partnership with citizens and 

— 8 —

usinesses to address public safety and disorder issues. Front-line officers 

are assigned to designated geographic areas, allowing them to develop a 

relationship with citizens and have a better sense of the issues. School officers 

are assigned to a family of schools to foster positive police/youth relations 

and deliver programming to encourage healthy lifestyle choices. Through 

Operation Breach, officers regularly monitor individuals released by the courts 

on conditions to ensure they are in compliance and are not committing 

further offences. Officers in the Street Crime/Quick Response Units, which are 

both uniform and plain clothes-capable, address street level crime/disorder 

“hot spots” and anti-social behaviour, and target organized crime groups and 

prolific offenders. To address the root causes of crime, police forge partnerships 

with other members of the criminal justice system as well as social agencies. As 

part of this, HRM Partners in Policing participated in the mayor’s roundtable on 

violence and the minister’s task force on safer streets and communities. 

To bolster community safety, the Nova Scotia Department of Justice 

committed to funding 250 police officers across Nova Scotia over the period 

of four years. In 2007, HRM received 32 new police officers - 22 for HRP which 

were deployed to augment the Downtown Beat Program (foot patrols) and 10 

for RCMP which were used to create the Street Crime Unit. 

RCMP established a permanent policing presence in the Middle and Upper 

Musquoboboit area, and enhanced this service by opening a new police 

office in Middle Musquodoboit in April. HRP opened a community office in 

north-end Halifax in March. 

In August 2007, HRM Partners in Policing relocated the majority of its 

investigative units, which were previously located across HRM, under one 

roof at Brunswick Street in Halifax in an effort to create a more effective team 

environment. Further, the Northbrook facility was refurbished to accommodate 

one central, integrated HRM Courts and Records office. 

Further emphasis will be placed on 

developing a pedestrian system, other than just 

sidewalks and walkways that are safe, efficient 

and accessible to all users. This includes the 

installation of audible pedestrian signals, in 

consultation with the CNIB and enhancements 

to the traffic education campaign building on 

the “Think Safe” crosswalk safety campaign. 

The campaign included spots on Global and 

Eastlink TV, multiple metro radio stations, public 

service announcements and a crosswalk safety 

brochure sent to every household in HRM. An 

annual program has been put in place for the 

replacement of all pedestrian flashers with the 

new LED technology to improve visibility and 

reduce energy consumption and greenhouse 

gas emissions. New pedestrian countdown signals will be at appropriate locations. 

Tax Reform 

The municipality is examining how an 

appropriate balance between reliance on 

the market-based assessment system and 

other forms of taxation and charges can be 

achieved. Citizens expect a tax system that 

will do what they want it to do. Council has 

created a sub-committee that has created 

principles, gathered public input and will bring 

a tax reform options package to council before 

proceeding with public consultations. 

HRM is currently re-examining the 

foundations of the municipal property tax 

system. HRM has appointed a sub-committee 

of regional council, the Tax Reform Committee 

(TRC), to lead the project. The TRC has 

been working on a re-design of the entire 

municipal tax system. The committee has met 

approximately 20 times, and has developed a 

significant body of research to support its work. 

In May 2007, the TRC initiated a series of 

public workshops aimed at determining the 

principles and objectives of the property tax 

system. The key to the development of the 

principles and objectives was to first ascertain 

whether the system should be service-based 

or based on the citizen’s ability to pay. Since 

the public workshops were held, the TRC has 

been working on a definitive mission statement 

for the tax system complete with principles, 

objectives and evaluation criteria. This is 

accompanied by options for tax reform that 

will be presented to regional council and at the 

planned public consultations. 

Information on the Tax Reform project, the 

TRC, discussions, and upcoming meetings and 

agendas, are found at the Tax Reform website: 

http://www.halifax.ca/taxreform/index.html. 

TRC meetings are open to the public. 

— 9 —


interesting 

Facts & Trivia 

community 

building 

Community 

Development: 

140 delegates 

attended 21 sessions as part of the Volunteer 

Conference in November; Civic Events 

supported 70 events financially & 55 events 

through the HRM special events task force; 

HRM Film Office worked with 49 film projects 

ranging from student films to feature films 

and commercials; the Community Mural Art 

Project that works with youth throughout 

HRM painted five murals with one each in 

Lakeside, Bedford, the Pavillion, Clayton Park 

and Woodside. 

HRMbyDesign: two interim reports 

submitted to regional council to maintain 

political momentum; three large-scale public 

consultations hosted by the project; 17 

urban design task force members; approx. 75 

targeted stakeholder workshops, meetings 

and presentations given by HRMbyDESIGN 

in 2007; 500 estimated participants attended 

the downtown Halifax forum in November. 

Recreation: Recreation staff sit on over 

22 volunteer Boards of Directors as part of 

the Facility Lease Agreement Program. These 

boards manage and operate HRM-owned 

facilities throughout HRM; over 70 new 

youth programs developed (arts projects, 

music venues, mobile skate parks, youth 

leadership training, new youth environmental 

groups (H.E.A.T), dance camps, new youth 

action teams, mentorship programs, new 

Youthscape project, floating cafes, residential 

camps, rock shows, & festival days); over 

500 programs in total for youth with over 

8,000 participants; Community Recreation 

staff involved with over 100 partnerships in 

communities including Boys & Girls Clubs, 

ratepayer associations, not-for-profit clubs, 

organizations and leagues, youth secretariats, 

YMCA’s, Black Cultural Centre, youth 

health centres, school groups, immigrant 

associations, family SOS, and libraries. 

tax 

reform 

Finance: Municipal taxes pay for municipal services such 

as police, fire and roads; an area rate is used to collect the 

provincial portion of property taxes, such as education; 

property taxes were first levied in 1882 and originally included all forms of 

wealth such as cash, furniture and silverware; in 2007, residential taxes per 

single home averaged $2,061; HRM has an urban, suburban and rural general 

property tax rate; suburban and rural residents do not typically pay for transit 

and sidewalks, water and sewer costs are not included on the property tax bill, 

these charges are billed separately and only those with these services get a 

bill; the commercial tax rate is 2.86 times the residential tax rate; the average 

commercial tax bill is as much as $35,000; there are almost 175,000 dwellings in 

HRM, this includes about 60,000 apartments, which pay tax as part of their rent. 

public 

safety 

Fire & Emergency: 479 career staff (454 uniformed & 

25 civilian); 650 volunteers; 60 fire stations; Fire and 

Emergency response, medical response; vehicle rescue, 

water/ice rescue, structural/confined space rescue, high-angle rescue; search 

and rescue; Emergency Measures Office (EMO); corporate safety; hazardous 

materials response; inspections; investigations; public education; public 

information; 11,540 emergency responses; busiest fire station - #2 University 

Avenue - 870 Calls; 41 smoke detectors installed by operations crews; 731 

public education presentations conducted; 109 public & 12 private schools 

participated in Fire Prevention Week activities; 3,512 occupancy inspections; 

500 fire safety plans reviewed; 153 front-line apparatus (engines, pumpers, 

aerials, rescues & tactical support); 145 support vehicles (utilities/cars/vans, 

trailers, boats, tractors, ATV’s, antiques); hosted & supported Combat Challenge 

Event, August 31 - Sept. 2, Halifax Waterfront; hosted the Canadian Fallen 

Firefighters Memorial held in Ottawa, September 8th, 2007; Honour Guard - 

33 active members who participate in various Fire Service functions such as 

recruitment ceremonies, service of Remembrance, Halifax Explosion, honour/ 

awards ceremony, funeral services, as well as attending HRM events, & Natal 

Day parades. 

HRP & RCMP: 647 police officers; 275 civilians/public servants; 46 

commissionaires; 170 school crossing guards; 341 marked and unmarked 

police vehicles, including 14 motorcycles used by the Traffic Unit, six all-terrain 

vehicles, eight dirt bikes, six boats, eight radar trailers, eight utility trailers, one 

bomb trailer and one horse trailer; two horses in the Mounted Unit; nine police 

service dogs in the K-9 Unit; 11 police stations, 14 community offices, one 

office building dedicated to the Criminal Investigative Division, one training 

facility and numerous satellite offices; 192, 367 calls for service; 23,000+ 

criminal record checks conducted; 46,000+ summary offence tickets issued; 

2,472 taxi and limousine licenses issued; 10 By-law Enforcement officers who 

provide enforcement/remedy for noise, dangerous and unsightly premises, 

curbside solid waste, sidewalk snow and ice removal, pesticides, and smoking 

By-laws. In 2007, they responded to 6,251 service requests; seven Animal 

Control officers responded to 10,690 service requests in 2007; 

— 10 —

Park Patrol/Parking Enforcement officers responded to 7,880 calls for service, 

conducted 31,601 park visits, issued 16,629 parking tickets and 37 summary 

offence tickets in 2007; Youth LIVE assisted 41 priority youth who diverted 

199,070 kg of paper/cardboard and 5,464,255 beverage containers from landfill, 

and completed 3,017 organic green cart service requests. 

TPW: Traffic & Right of Way Services will continue to provide leadership 

within the community in the reduction of energy consumption and emissions 

through modernizing its traffic control system with the conversion of the traffic 

signals from conventional incandescent bulbs to the brighter and more energy 

efficient LEDs. It is anticipated that operating costs can be reduced by as much 

as 86%. The resulting energy savings per intersection are approximately $930 

per year and the greenhouse gas emission reductions are approximately 20 

metric tonnes per year per intersection. TPW has invested a total of $60,500 in 

LED replacement through a 50/50 cost-sharing grant from Nova Scotia Energy. 

It will provide the funds to purchase enough LED traffic signals to convert 

approximately 36 intersections and an annual replacement program will be 

established to convert all traffic signals throughout HRM; approximately three 

new traffic signals are installed per year throughout HRM and all new locations 

equipped with LED lights; new signals were installed at Queen Street/South 

Park Drive, Caldwell Road/Cow Bay Road and Commodore Drive/Eileen Stubbs 

Avenue intersections; new installations are only installed where they are 

warranted to ensure proper traffic flow and address congestion issues. 

infrastructure 

IAM: 

In 2007, 

HRM spent $5 million on complete street 

reconstruction throughout the municipality 

(7.5km) and spent $7 million on resurfacing 

of streets throughout the municipality 

(16km). 

TPW: Metro Transit’s ongoing AVL 

project update: in conjunction with HRM’s 

Automated Vehicle Location Project, 

expansion of the Transit Communications 

Centre was completed over the summer of 

2007. In addition, 2,500 bus stop signs were 

replaced at all bus stops with newly branded 

signs featuring the new GoTime #’s. The new 

system roll-out continues into the first few 

months of 2008. System optimization and 

test processes are currently underway. Once 

completed, the new Metro Transit GoTime 

system will offer convenient, state-of-theart 

“real time” bus departure information 

for passengers; along with more efficient 

tracking capability for transit operations. 

Transit will have the ability to feature 

more video screens at terminals and other 

potential locations, with up-to-date bus 

departures and other transit information. 

An online, trip-planning feature will also be 

offered to passengers, upon completion of 

the project later in 2008. 

Significant progress has been made to improve HRM’s active transportation 

network as identified within the Regional Plan. Construction of approximately 

13 km of new bike lanes and pathways have been completed in areas such as 

the Armdale Rotary, Barrington Street, St. Margaret’s Bay Road, Kearney Lake 

Road, Flat Lake Drive, Westwood Boulevard, and Williams Lake Road. 

— 11 —

Annual Report 2006 and 2007 - Halifax Regional Municipality

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?