Welcome
As the MLA for Colchester North, I'm pleased to provide this website as a useful and informative resource.
My committment as a MLA is to be open and approachable to all residents of Colchester North. I invite you to share your ideas, concerns and/or questions. Together we can seek solutions.
Karen Casey
Ticks & Lyme Disease
As the temperature rises, many of us will be spending more time enjoying the outdoors in Northern Nova Scotia. It is important to take steps to reduce the risk of being bitten by a tick.
Nova Scotia is a suitable climate for many types of ticks. The black-legged tick (also called the deer tick) can carry and transmit the bacterial infection that causes Lyme disease. This infection initially appears as a rash near the tick bite. It may look like a bulls-eye target, and it usually appears 7 to 10 days after the bite. It can show up approximately 3 to 30 days afterward. Infected individuals also can experience flu-like symptoms such as fever, headaches, tiredness, stiff neck, joint and muscle pain. If identified early by a health care professional, it can be treated with antibiotics.
Here are some things you can do to help prevent tick bites and Lyme disease:
Recognizing what a black-legged tick looks like is an important first step. Black-legged ticks are much smaller than dog ticks. They have no white markings on the large part of the body; whereas dog ticks usually have white markings or silver colored spots. Unattached ticks can also vary in size depending on the stage of their life cycle. Very small (young) ticks, called nymphs, can be the same size as a poppy seed. Larger adult male and female ticks are similar in size to a sesame seed.
Left to right: female black-legged tick, groundhog tick, dog tick (https://novascotia.ca/ticksafety/)
Top to Bottom: Engorged female dog tick, engorged female black-legged tick (https://novascotia.ca/ticksafety/)
Black-legged ticks are found throughout our province, and Northern Nova Scotia is now considered a higher risk area for Lyme disease. These types of ticks thrive in damp woods and forests where there is shade and leaf litter to provide cover. It is important to note that black-legged ticks cannot jump or fly. They attach to their host by climbing on plants and waiting for the host to rub against them. They then climb onto the host body and try to attach and feed.
Adult black-legged ticks are most active in the spring and fall. They can remain active until the first snowfall or until the air temperatures are consistently below 4°C. Larvae and nymphs (younger ticks) are usually more active in the spring and summer.
You can protect yourself from ticks by using insect repellent that contains DEET or Icaridin. Follow the directions on the package carefully. DEET use is different for different ages. Do not use DEET or Icaridin on infants less than six months old.
If you do find a tick attached to you or someone else, remove the tick as soon as possible to help prevent the transmission of the bacteria that causes Lyme disease.
Karen Casey, MLA
No Child Should Ever Go Hungry
Through Nourish NS, your Nova Scotia Liberal government is expanding the school breakfast program to provide a healthy breakfast to every single student in the province, five days a week.
FINANCE/TREASURY BOARD--Budget 2019-20 Invests in Northern Nova Scotia
Communities in northern Nova Scotia will benefit from investments in health care, education, the economy and communities as part of Budget 2019-20.
Budget 2019-20, the government’s fourth consecutive balanced budget, estimates a surplus of $33.6 million with revenue of $11.01 billion and expenses, after consolidation adjustments, of $10.98 billion. It also projects balanced budgets in each of the following three years.
“This budget builds on our strong fiscal foundation,” said Karen Casey, Minister of Finance and Treasury Board. “Managing our finances well and balancing budgets has given us the ability to invest in new and existing programs and services for Nova Scotians, in areas most important to them.”
2019 Budget - Capital Plan
One important part of the Nova Scotia Provincial Budget is the Capital Plan. This Plan supports infrastructure projects in communities across the province. The Capital Plan for 2019-20 is $691.3 million. The infrastructure projects include roads, schools, health care facilities and other Capital grants.
Each year the Department of Transportation & Infrastructure Renewal (TIR) prepares and publishes a 5 Year Capital Plan. This portion of the Plan is announced in November/December of each year and outlines the major Capital projects that will be completed over that 5 year period. Included in those projects are major construction for 100 series highways, improvements and asphalt projects for 100 series highways, routes and trunks and bridge replacements. This Capital Plan is announced early so that construction companies and the Nova Scotia Road Builders Association can prepare their business plans and their responses to tenders called by TIR. The Capital Plan for TIR for 2019/20 is $300 million.
The second major part of our Capital Plan is related to school construction. For the first time this year the Department of Education has also prepared and presented a 5 Year Capital Plan. This also allows for the next 5 years. That plan includes new school construction, school additions and alterations. The Capital for Education for 2019/20 is $63.1 million.
2019 Budget
As Finance Minister, the focus is to finalize the Nova Scotia provincial budget for 2019-20. The budget will be presented during the Spring Session of the Legislative Assembly. This budget will continue to deliver on the plan to strengthen the fiscal health of the province.
The budget building process began several months ago, and includes starting with a set of basic economic assumptions which, once approved, form the foundation upon which to build the budget. As with all construction projects, that foundation must be solid and the assumptions must reflect the economic conditions of the province, the country and the major trading partners around the world. Those assumptions are prepared by the Department of Finance, but must be reviewed by many outside the department before they are accepted. That includes an external panel of experts made up of economists from the 5 major banks in Canada, universities within Nova Scotia, the Office of the Auditor General and business leaders of major corporations. This high level of scrutiny and independent assessment provides me, as Minister, with a level of confidence that our budget is a solid plan for Nova Scotians. On December 4, we presented before the expert panel, and they determined that our assumptions were “wise and prudent”…so the building process began.
Boston Christmas Tree
With Christmas 2018 now in our past, we can take time to reflect on time spent with family and friends during the holiday season.
I recently had the honour and privilege to represent the Province of Nova Scotia at the Annual Christmas Tree Lighting in Boston. Over 30,000 men, women and children attended the event at Boston Commons. I was so proud to represent you and our Province as Deputy Premier. One of the best ways to share that great experience with my constituents is through the pictures that tell a thousand words.
The Christmas tree which was cut on private lands in Oxford was magnificent, with its many lights and grandeur in Boston Commons. I had the opportunity to attend the tree cutting at the private owners’ woodlot where we were joined by students from Oxford Regional Education Centre. It was a bitter cold day, but warm toques provided by the Province of Nova Scotia and lots of hot chocolate and cookies helped keep the spirits bright. Students sang Christmas carols and watched safely as the 46 foot white spruce was cut and loaded onto a tractor trailer where it began its journey to Boston.
Heating Assistance Rebate Program (HARP)
It is that time of year when many of us are thinking ahead to the winter season and that means among other things, prepare our homes for the cold weather that we can expect. The Heating Assistance Rebate Program (HARP) launched October 15, offers rebates that range from $100 to $200. This helps low income Nova Scotians with the cost of heating their homes. Each winter the program helps thousands of Nova Scotians manage their heating costs. The online application process is easy, fast and convenient and it has helped people get their rebate sooner.
The HARP program is available to Nova Scotians who buy energy to heat their homes with oil, electricity, natural gas, wood, wood pellets, coal, or other heating source. To qualify for the rebate, the income threshold for one-person households is $29 000 and $44 000 for households with more than one person. More than 42 000 people received rebates in 2017.
Christmas Greeting - MLA Report
Let me begin by extending to all my constituents and to all readers of The Shoreline Journal, wishes for a safe and happy holiday season. It is a wonderful time of year, and we need to pause, to enjoy our family and friends, and to support those less fortunate.
It is also a time to reflect on the past year, to give thanks, and then to look forward with hope and excitement. It is a time when communities come together to decorate and to celebrate. Countless volunteer hours are given to transform our homes, our businesses and our communities into a Winter Wonderland. I wish to acknowledge and thank those who have been busy organizing events that allow us to celebrate the Season together. These events provide great opportunities to meet, to laugh, to share and to enjoy one another.
Electricity for Community Buildings Program
Community groups in northern Nova Scotia are adding more clean, renewable solar energy to our electricity grid with support from the province. Five organizations in the region have been approved for the solar Electricity for Community Buildings Program through the Department of Energy and Mines.
“This is a pivotal time in Nova Scotia’s push toward our cleaner energy future, and this program offers local groups the chance to participate in, and benefit from, our potential,” said Ms. Casey. “Together we are reducing emissions and building on Nova Scotia’s successes as a leader in fighting climate change.”
We have been hearing a lot about climate change and Nova Scotia’s cleaner energy activities go back more than a decade. Nova Scotians have been clear. Addressing climate change is a priority. Today, we are leaders in addressing climate change by reducing emissions. Over the last decade, no province has reduced its emissions as much as Nova Scotia.
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