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Nova Scotia monument honours eight brothers who fought in Second World War

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HALIFAX – A new memorial recently dedicated in a small Nova Scotia community honours eight brothers whose story of service in the Second World War had been all but lost to local memory.

The Harvie brothers from Gormanville, N.S., all served in Europe — six returned home, while two died and are buried overseas.

A black granite monument is now inscribed with the names and photos of Avard, Burrell, Edmund, Ernest, Ervin, Garnet, Marven and Victor Harvie. It stands in a small memorial park just up the road from their hometown, beside the Royal Canadian Legion branch in Noel, N.S.

The number eight is inscribed prominently in the middle of the memorial.

The monument in the town about 70 kilometres north of Halifax is the brainchild of legion president Jeff Thurber, who only became aware of the Harvie brothers’ remarkable story around the time of his branch’s Remembrance Day service last year. That was when he happened to see them mentioned in a memorial book kept by the legion.

Thurber was fascinated by his find but said it became apparent to him that over the years the brothers’ story had “just been lost in the dark.” Garnet, the last of the surviving brothers, died in 2000.

“There wasn’t even as much as a plaque to commemorate them,” he said in a recent interview. “I’m sure everyone in the area was aware of them at the time they served, but then of course (their story) just disappeared.”

Victor Harvie, 83, whose father Ernest served with the North Nova Scotia Highlanders during the war, said in an interview that he was only aware of scant details about his family’s wartime service.

“None of them ever told us anything,” Harvie said recently, adding that even his uncle Victor’s wife knew very little about her husband’s experiences serving in the tank corps. His uncle had told her simply, “You don’t have to know about that.”

Harvie, who is named after his uncle, also served in the military, enlisting in 1959, and he said it was his experience that many war veterans simply didn’t talk about their experience on the battlefield.

“When I joined there were still a lot of guys that had been in the war,” he said. “I never heard one of them say anything about what they did or what happened. It was very hush, hush. I guess they didn’t want to bring back any memories.”

Harvie said that while stationed in Germany he was able to visit “quite a few times” the grave of his uncle Marven at the Canadian War Cemetery in Groesbeek, Holland.

Marven Harvie, the youngest of the eight brothers who served, was killed in March 1945 at the age of 19 while fighting with the North Nova Scotia Highlanders in Germany. Burrell Harvie, who was injured while serving in the Canadian Forestry Corps, died at the age of 32 and was buried in Surrey in the United Kingdom in 1942.

In addition to Ernest and Victor, the other brothers who returned to Canada after the war were Garnet, who also served in the North Nova Scotia Highlanders and was wounded in Normandy following the D-Day landings; Ervin, who was a member of the tank corps; Avard, who was in the ordnance corps; and Edmund who served in an artillery regiment.

The monument in Noel — built thanks to $30,000 in local fundraising, including a $5,000 donation from the local fire department — was dedicated in a ceremony last month attended by Harvie family members from across Canada.

Thurber said it will stand as a fitting tribute to ensure one family’s service is not forgotten.

“This should have happened 75 years ago, and now it’s something that the next generation is going to remember,” he said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 5, 2024.

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Climate protesters arrested outside Pierre Poilievre’s official residence in Ottawa

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OTTAWA – Ottawa police say two people were arrested this morning after an “unlawful” demonstration outside Stornoway, the official residence the Opposition leader.

Greenpeace Canada says its activists blocked Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s house and two of them locked themselves to a replica oil pumpjack placed in the driveway.

The non-profit has been critical of Poilievre’s climate change voting record and his advocacy for the oil and gas sector.

Ottawa police say in a statement that about 12 people gathered outside Stornoway shortly after 7 a.m., blocking access to the residence with a “structure” and “not allowing the family to pass.”

Police say two of the demonstrators refused to comply with “repeated” orders to remove themselves from the structure and were arrested. 

They say charges are pending against the two men who were due to appear in court today. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 21, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



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N.S. Liberals say if elected next week they would move fast to cut taxes, build homes

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HALIFAX – If Nova Scotia’s Liberal Party is elected to govern on Tuesday, leader Zach Churchill says that within the first 100 days he would call for a meeting of the Atlantic premiers to discuss replacing the federal carbon tax.

Speaking at a news conference Thursday at Liberal campaign headquarters in Halifax, Churchill said he would try to sell the other premiers on his plan to use a regional cap-and-trade system to reduce carbon emissions. 

Churchill has said newly elected New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt is interested in the idea, though she has yet to commit to such a plan. He said there’s an opportunity persuade Prince Edward Island Premier Dennis King and Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Mark Furey.

“We know it isn’t the right policy for pollution pricing in Atlantic Canada,” said Churchill, who has distanced himself from Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whose government introduced the carbon price.

“We’ve got four governments that do not want the carbon tax, and we have an alternative that can lower prices at the pump while doing our part to reduce emissions.”

He acknowledged that if the federal Liberals lose the election slated for next year, the carbon tax will likely be eliminated, negating the need for a cap-and-trade system.

Churchill said that within 100 days of taking office, a provincial Liberal government would also alert Ottawa to its plan to reduce the harmonized sales tax to 13 per cent from 15 per cent; appoint a minister of women’s health; and recall the legislature to table a budget with income tax cuts and plans to build 80,000 new homes.

Meanwhile, Nova Scotia’s three main political leaders were scheduled Thursday to take part in a “roundtable discussion” organized by CTV News in Halifax. Churchill was expected to be joined by Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Houston, who is seeking a second term in office, and NDP Leader Claudia Chender.

The 90-minute exchange, moderated by CTV News anchor Todd Battis, is to be televised at 6:30 p.m. local time. 

Last Thursday, the leaders appeared together on CBC TV, and they also sparred during an event hosted earlier this week by the Halifax Chamber of Commerce.

At dissolution, the Progressive Conservatives held 34 seats in the 55-seat legislature and the Liberals held 14 seats, while the NDP had six and there was one Independent.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 21, 2024.

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What to know about Transgender Day of Remembrance and violence against trans people

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Wednesday is Transgender Day of Remembrance, which focuses on trans people who have lost their lives because of violence. Here is what to know.

What is Transgender Day of Remembrance?

Transgender Day of Remembrance is marked every Nov. 20 and began in 1999 to honor Rita Hester, a trans woman who was killed in Massachusetts.

The day marks the end of Transgender Awareness Week, which is used to raise public knowledge about transgender people and the issues they face.

The Williams Institute at UCLA Law estimates that 1.6 million people in the U.S. ages 13 and older identify as transgender. And it says transgender people are over four times more likely than cisgender people to be victims of violence, including rape and assault.

Candlelight vigils, memorials and other events are held to mark the day. The Human Rights Campaign also released its annual report on deaths of transgender people in conjunction with the day.

International Transgender Day of Visibility, which is designed to bring attention to transgender people, is commemorated in March.

How many transgender people have lost their lives to violence?

At least 36 transgender people have died from violence in the 12 months since the last Day of Remembrance, the Human Rights Campaign said in its annual report. Since 2013, the organization has recorded the deaths from violence of 372 victims who were transgender and gender-expansive — which refers to someone with a more flexible range of gender identity or expression than typically associated with the binary gender system.

The number of victims is likely higher because many deaths often aren’t reported or are misreported, or misgendering of the victims leads to delays in their identification.

The Human Rights Campaign said there was a slight increase from the previous year, when it identified at least 33 transgender victims of violence.

A large number of the victims tracked over the past year were young or people of color, with Black transgender women making up half of the 36 identified. The youngest victim identified was 14-year-old Pauly Likens of Pennsylvania.

Two-thirds of the fatalities involved a firearm, the organization said. Nearly a third of the victims with a known killer were killed by an intimate partner, a friend or a family member.

What is at stake politically?

This year’s remembrance follows an election where advocates say victories by President-elect Donald Trump and other Republican candidates who focused on issues like transgender athletes dealt a setback to trans people’s rights.

It also follows a wave of measures enacted in Republican states this year restricting the rights of transgender people, especially youth.

Half the states have banned gender-affirming medical care for transgender youth. The U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear arguments next month in a lawsuit challenging Tennessee’s ban.

Advocates say the legislation and rhetoric is creating fewer safe spaces for transgender people, and they worry it could spur more violence against trans people.

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Associated Press writer Jeff McMillan in northeastern Pennsylvania contributed to this report.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



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