Our thirteenth council meeting of 2026 was held on Tuesday, 14 July 2026.
The full meeting agenda, reports and video recording as well as the draft Minutes are linked below.
Halifax Regional Council – July 14, 2026
July 14, 2026 Regional Council Draft Minutes
Items most relevant to District 7 are highlighted below. The agenda was very heavy (we ended at 10:30 pm), and our 11 August tentative meeting has been canceled, so I am not a fan of the upcoming 6 week break we are having in between meetings (because it makes the meetings on either side too intense). We are not at our best after 8 pm in my opinion!
12.1 PUBLIC HEARING: MPSA-2025-02020 – Amendments to the Regional Centre Secondary Municipal Planning Strategy and Regional Centre Land Use By-law for 1528 Queen Street, Halifax (PID 00077313)
(Staff) “Motion:
That Halifax Regional Council adopt the proposed amendments to the Regional Centre Secondary Municipal Planning Strategy and Regional Centre Land Use By-law, as set out in Attachments A and B of the staff report dated June 8, 2026, to reduce the required minimum setback from side lot lines above the streetwall height to 0.0 metres at 1528 Queen St, Halifax (PID 00077313).”
This is for the new build replacing the jellybean houses on Queen Street, following the first reading on 16 June 2026. Instead of the usual set back after 3 stories, this building will have flat vertical side walls, similar to the Bond and Vertu buildings in the area.
You can see the planned look of the building along Queen and Birmingham on pages 11 & 12 here:
This motion passed 16 – 0.
12.2 PUBLIC HEARING: Proposed Administrative Order SC-110, Respecting Closure of Parcels Within the Cogswell District Right Of Way Cogswell District, Halifax
(Staff) “Motion:
That Halifax Regional Council approve Administrative Order SC-110 as set out in Attachment B of the staff report dated June 9, 2026 to permanently close the subject street right-of-way, and authorize the Chief Administrative Officer to direct the Clerk to certify a copy of the policy passed by Council incorporating a survey or a metes and bounds description of the area, and to file the certified copy of the policy in the Halifax County Land Registration Office and with the Minister of Public Works.”
This is an on-paper exercise about changing some former Cogswell interchange land into parks or building lots and changing some land into roads, following the first reading on 16 June 2026. We need to do this before moving forward with any sale of the new lots.
We had a member of the public come to speak about how we sell the lots, with some great ideas. This step taken today was required regardless, and reports from staff on how to sell are pending.
This motion passed 16 – 0.
13.1.1 Fly-past Request – Convoy Cup Foundation Sail-past
(Staff) “Motion:
That Halifax Regional Council grant permission of a fly-by by a Canadian Armed Forces aircraft / helicopter as low as 500 feet, for the planned Convoy Cup Foundation sail-past being conducted astern of HMCS Sackville on the Halifax Waterfront on August 29, 2026, starting at 11:00 a.m.”
This motion passed on the consent agenda.
15.1.2 First Reading Proposed By-law U-121, an amendment to By-law U-100, Respecting User Charges – Halifax Transit Fare Update 2026
(Staff) “Motion:
That Halifax Regional Council give First Reading to By-law U-121, amending By-law U-100, the User Charges By-law, as set out in Attachment 2 to the staff report dated June 29, 2026.”
This motion was brought to council to increase transit fares on 21 September, as ratified in the 2026/27 Budget. Council also received new information this week that the tap pay system (with debit and credit cards) will not be up and running until the end of December. During budget deliberations, there was some comfort on the part of council for a fare increase as we were also planning to provide a service improvement (tap pay) and it is good practice to accompany a fare increase with a service improvement. (I voted No to a fare increase when we debated it at budget but voted Yes to ratify the full budget.)
Mayor Fillmore brought an amendment to this motion to delay the fare increase to 21 December, at an unbudgeted cost of $288k (similar to Alternative 3 in the staff report).
“Motion:
“THAT Halifax Regional Council:
1. Give First Reading to By-law U-121 effective December 21, 2026, amending By-law U-100, the User Charges By-law, as set out in Attachment 2 to the staff report dated June 29, 2026; and
2. Direct the Chief Administrative Officer to prepare a Supplemental Report identifying options to account for the revenue gap of $288,600.
The amendment and the resulting main motion passed 16 – 0.
15.1.5 Transit 2026 Core Service Bus Expansion
(Staff) “Motion:
That Halifax Regional Council:
1. direct the Chief Administrative Officer to include the purchase of 20 expansion buses in the 2027/28 Multi Year Capital Plan to enable the implementation of Halifax Transit’s 2026 Core Service Plan, with funding as described as the Recommended Funding Option in the Financial Implications of the staff report dated July 2, 2026; and,
2. direct the Chief Administrative Officer to include the purchase of 20 expansion buses in the 2027/28 Advance Tender schedule request in December 2026 so that the Municipality may optimize supply chain lead times.
This is basically a budget motion to make sure that we have the equipment available to implement our 2025-2027 Core Service Plan, following a motion from Councillor Morse (Item 10.3) on 31 March 2026 on how to pay for them.
We also learned recently learned that the funding we approved during Budget 2026/27 to purchase the first 10 expansion buses was only enough to buy 7, so we are still short 3 expansion buses to implement our Core Service Plan over three years.
Staff delivered this news and how to mitigate it via an information report at our 23 June meeting:
Purchase of Articulated Buses – Jun 23/26 Regional Council
This motion passed 15 – 1. I voted Yes.
15.1.7 Large Sports and Entertainment Venue Proposals
(Staff) “Motion:
That Halifax Regional Council direct the Chief Administrative Officer to implement and follow the Process for Review of Proposals Related to Large Sport and Entertainment which is set forth in the Discussion section of the staff report dated July 3, 2026.
We get a lot of ideas floating around about stadiums and arenas. The report clarifies that proposals for these projects are to go to the CAO, with the exception of the Wanderers Grounds, which will continue to follow the direction given by council in August 2025 (Item 10.1).
19 August 2025 HRM Council Meeting: Wanderers, Special Events, Regional Plan, Argyle Pedestrian Zone
This motion passed on the consent agenda.
15.2.1 Cogswell Water Feature Budget Transfer
(Staff) “Motion:
That Halifax Regional Council transfer $2,100,000 of the fountain budget from Cogswell Account CT0000007 to Granville Park Water Feature CP260001 to proceed with a design-build approach for a water spray pad in Granville Park targeting construction in 2027.”
I asked for an amendment to the wording of this motion:
“THAT the motion be amended to add ”a water feature such as a civic cooling river or a water spray pad or hybrid approach””
We cannot afford a fog machine, but perhaps we can afford a river feature? The purpose of my motion is so that we do not settle for only a spray pad here, and that we look into a feature I have seen in other cities that encourages all ages interaction. Staff have assured me that we are looking for the best interactive fountain/cooling station that we can afford. This is great, but I asked for the amendment to ensure a cooling river option is explored. The wording allows us to revert to only a spray pad if necessary.
The amendment passed 12 – 4. The main motion passed 15 – 1. I voted Yes in both cases.