Nova Scotia Health Removes Wildfire Report From Website Days After Publication
A Nova Scotia Health report examining resident experiences during the 2023 Upper Tantallon and Hammonds Plains wildfire was taken offline shortly after publication. The health authority cited procedural issues, while a provincial minister criticized the lack of prior consultation and an affected resident called the move censorship.
A report examining the impact of the 2023 Upper Tantallon and Hammonds Plains wildfire on local residents was removed from the Nova Scotia Health website just days after it was made public. Titled "What the Wildfire Revealed: Learning from the 2023 Upper Tantallon/Hammonds Plains Wildfire," the document was posted on Tuesday and taken offline by Thursday.
The report was co-authored by researchers from Nova Scotia Health and the University of Alberta. It focused on the experiences of residents during the May 2023 wildfire and offered 18 recommendations directed at the Halifax municipality and the provincial government. Among the issues addressed were emergency exits, mental health support, and land-title barriers affecting historic African Nova Scotian communities. The research was funded through a federal Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) grant for community-based research on climate change.
Nova Scotia Health spokesperson Brendan Elliott stated that the report was removed because the "established approval process for publications and media engagement" was not followed.
Provincial Emergency Management Minister Kim Masland said her department and other departments had "no idea" the report was coming. She also criticized the lack of contact with the Department of Natural Resources regarding the publication.
Tricia Murray, a Highland Park resident who lost her home in the wildfire and served on the study's community advisory board, called the removal of the report "censorship." According to Murray, no one on the community advisory board was told the report would be taken down. As of Friday afternoon, board members had not been informed if or when the document would return online.