Halifax councillor says cops should be called if harbourfront development work begins

HALIFAX — A Halifax councillor is urging the public to call police if construction crews show up next week on a part of the city’s harbourfront known as Dartmouth Cove.

Coun. Sam Austin says the city has sent a letter to the company looking to develop the site, almost directly across Halifax Harbour from the city’s downtown, saying the firm does not have the right to cross the municipal easement that is home to a public park and paved walking trail along the shoreline. It’s the only way for the firm to access the water.

In a letter just before Christmas, Mayor Andy Fillmore told the province construction work was set to begin Jan. 5.

Austin said construction crews crossing over the park would be trespassing.

“If folks see workers going over with equipment crossing to and fro at that location, they should call police because we have notified the property owner that they’re not allowed to do that,” Austin said in an interview Tuesday.

A company associated with Tom Hickey’s Atlantic Road Construction and Paving Limited owns several properties around Dartmouth Cove. The so-called water lots, a relic from before Confederation, come with deeded rights to the adjoining submerged land and typically include provisions to infill above the water line. Atlantic Road Construction has a plan to dump pyritic slate as a base for a future development and has said housing is part of the plan. Premier Tim Houston has previously called Hickey a personal friend.

Company officials were not immediately available for comment on Tuesday.

Pyritic slate is often excavated from building sites and dumped in salt water to prevent the acid of heavy metals from leaching into the environment. The city and community groups have opposed the plan.

Austin says he understands that the construction the company wants to begin next week is related to some sort of service road. The company would still need building permits and other approvals, including some from the federal government, which regulates harbours, before any construction of buildings could begin.

The city passed a bylaw prohibiting Dartmouth Cove infilling in October. The province approved it with certain caveats in November, but has not yet given the bylaw final approval, which would officially ban infilling.

“We’re hopeful that the province will acknowledge that we’ve met all their conditions, but we have to consider a judicial review at a certain point because we can’t have this limbo go on forever,” Austin said.

A few days before Christmas, Municipal Affairs Minister John A. MacDonald wrote to Fillmore saying his department was satisfied the city had a right to regulate infilling, but two more conditions for the approval remained outstanding. They included providing proof the properties fall within the city’s boundaries and confirmation from Justice Canada that the bylaw doesn’t infringe on federal jurisdiction.

The mayor responded that the city believes it’s fulfilled both those conditions, outlining how the properties became part of the Halifax Regional Municipality and saying Ottawa had never raised an issue with a potential bylaw over years of discussion. He said the city doesn’t expect a formal response from the Justice Department on “what is essentially a constitutional question” and urged the minister to seek his own confirmation.

“We are reviewing the information provided by the municipality. We expect everyone to abide by the law and if infilling is prohibited, we expect that the law is followed,” a municipal affairs spokesperson said in a statement.

Jill Brogan, founder of the Save Dartmouth Cove community group, points to a similar bylaw the city passed in 2024 banning infilling in the Northwest Arm, a sheltered section of Halifax Harbour known for its boating clubs, parks and multimillion-dollar mansions that house some of the wealthiest residents in Halifax.

“Why is it that on the Dartmouth side (of the harbour), we have to jump through hoops in order to get the same treatment as those on the Halifax side, and in particular, you know, in the wealthy Northwest Arm?” Brogan said in an interview. “It’s a double standard that the province is using, and it’s not fair, and it is not just.”

Claudia Chender, the NDP Opposition leader whose riding includes Dartmouth Cove, said Halifax is in a building boom with a glut of pyritic slate being excavated. She said the city and the province need to get together and regulate how disposal is going to work. She also noted the Halifax Port Authority has enough capacity to dump slate along its property for years to come.

“So there is no reason that we should allow that kind of sequestration in other parts of our waterfront that are widely used and enjoyed,” she said in an interview.

The bylaw still allows infilling in Dartmouth Cove for public purposes or to protect the shoreline.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 30, 2025.

Devin Stevens, The Canadian Press