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HALIFAX – A strike that has shuttered libraries in the Halifax region for the past three-and-a-half weeks could come to an end on Thursday now that the employer and union representing hundreds of workers have reached a tentative labour deal.

The Nova Scotia Union of Public and Private Employees Local 14 and Halifax Public Libraries issued a joint statement on Friday announcing the agreement, though they did not share details on its terms.

It said both library workers and the library board will vote on the deal as soon as possible, and branches will re-open for business on Sept. 19 if it’s approved.

Chad Murphy, spokesperson and vice president of NSUPE Local 14, said voting for library workers opened Saturday morning and will close at 12 p.m. Sunday. He declined to share details of the deal but said the membership met to “review the offer in its entirety” on Friday night.

About 340 workers at libraries across the region have been on strike since Aug. 26 as they fought for improvements to wages they said were “miles behind” other libraries in Canada. Negotiations broke down after the employer offered the workers 3.5-per-cent raises in the first year of a new contract, and then three per cent in each of the next three years.

Library service adviser Dominique Nielsen told The Canadian Press in the first week on the picket line that those increases would not bring wages up to a livable wage for many workers, adding that some library workers sometimes have to choose between paying rent and paying for groceries.

When the strike began, employees were working under a collective agreement that expired in April 2023. Librarians make between $59,705 and $68,224 a year under that agreement, while service support workers — who are the lowest paid employees at Halifax Public Libraries — make between $35,512 and $40,460 annually.

By contrast, the lowest paid library workers at the London Public Library in London, Ont.— a city with a comparable population and cost of living to Halifax — make at least $37,756, according to their collective agreement.

Library workers also cited a changing workplace as another reason why they rejected Halifax Public Libraries’ first offer. Libraries have become gathering spaces for people with increasingly complex needs, and it is more common for library workers to take on more social responsibilities in addition to lending books.

“We need to ensure that members are able to care for themselves first before they are able to care for our communities,” an NSUPE strike FAQ page reads.

Other issues at play during the strike have included better parental leave top-up pay for adoptive parents and eliminating a provision of the collective agreement that calls for dismissals for employees who are absent from work for two days or more without approved leave.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 14, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

EDMONTON – RCMP say a second suspect has been arrested in the killing of an Alberta county worker.

Mounties say 28-year-old Elijah Strawberry was taken into custody Friday at a house on O’Chiese First Nation.

Colin Hough, a worker with Rocky View County, was shot and killed while on the job on a rural road east of Calgary on Aug. 6.

Another man who worked for Fortis Alberta was shot and wounded, and RCMP said the suspects fled in a Rocky View County work truck.

Police later arrested Arthur Wayne Penner, 35, and charged him with first-degree murder and attempted murder, and a warrant was issued for Strawberry’s arrest.

RCMP also said there was a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Strawberry, describing him as armed and dangerous.

Chief Supt. Roberta McKale, told a news conference in Edmonton that officers had received tips and information over the last few weeks.

“I don’t know of many members that when were stopped, fuelling up our vehicles, we weren’t keeping an eye out, looking for him,” she said.

But officers had been investigating other cases when they found Strawberry.

“Our investigators were in O’Chiese First Nation at a residence on another matter and the major crimes unit was there working another file and ended up locating him hiding in the residence,” McKale said.

While an investigation is still underway, RCMP say they’re confident both suspects in the case are in police custody.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

RICHMOND, B.C. – The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says the 26-year-old son of a man found dead on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast has been charged with his murder.

Police say 58-year-old Henry Doyle was found badly injured on a forest service road in Egmont last September and died of his injuries.

The homicide team took over when the BC Coroners Service said the man’s death was suspicious.

It says in a statement that the BC Prosecution Service has approved one count of first-degree murder against the man’s son, Jackson Doyle.

Police say the accused will remain in custody until at least his next court appearance.

The homicide team says investigators remained committed to solving the case with the help of the community of Egmont, the RCMP on the Sunshine Coast and in Richmond, and the Vancouver Police Department.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.