It was another busy news year in the Maritimes region, with stories emerging that captured local, national and even international headlines. Several of the most prominent storylines revolved around the justice system and violent crimes, but there was also plenty of political debate about key issues including fracking, abortion and health care.
READ MORE: Top national and international stories of 2014
POLL: Who is Canada’s newsmaker of the year?
The local Global News team has selected some of the top stories of the year from the region — ones that garnered widespread attention, prompted online discussions or led to calls for social change. We asked you to choose your top pick, and the top pick by a wide margin was the story of the Moncton shootings. Read all the top newsmakers below and view the full results at the bottom of the page.
RCMP officers gunned down in Moncton
On June 4, a heavily armed gunman shot three Mounties dead and injured two others in Moncton. Justin Bourque, 24, was apprehended nearly 30 hours later after a manhunt that left the city at a virtual standstill. He later pleaded guilty to three counts of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder, and was sentenced to life in prison without parole eligibility for 75 years.
READ MORE:
- Justin Bourque to serve 75 years before parole eligibility for RCMP killings
- Judge orders release of Justin Bourque sentencing exhibits to media
- RCMP launches sweeping review into shooting deaths of Moncton officers
- Thousands attend RCMP regimental funeral service for Moncton officers
- More coverage of the Moncton RCMP murders
Bluenose II becomes a ‘boondoggle’
It was a difficult year for Nova Scotia’s sailing icon, the Bluenose II schooner, as more delays and budget overruns prompted Premier Stephen McNeil to call the beleaguered restoration project a “boondoggle”. After the government spent the entire summer grappling with safety concerns and the installation of a new hydraulic steering system, the vessel missed its window to sail and won’t set out on the seas until sometime in 2015.
READ MORE:
- Bluenose II hydraulic steering in place, but sea trials pushed to 2015
- Bluenose safety regulator has no legal duty to ensure vessel’s safety: documents
- Bluenose II regulator questions ship’s stability report
- Bluenose II inspection reveals dozens of deficiencies
- More coverage of the Bluenose II project
New Brunswick elects a new premier
After four years under the leadership of David Alward’s Progressive Conservatives, New Brunswickers chose to move in a different direction and voted in Brian Gallant and the Liberal Party. The election campaign was fought on issues including shale gas development, how to fix the province’s flagging economy and access to abortion. Gallant won on a promise to rebuild the province’s roads and bridges to create jobs, rather than relying on fracking, which was a pillar of the Conservatives’ platform.
READ MORE;
- New Brunswick election: Did shale gas and fracking sway the vote?
- David Alward resigns as leader of New Brunswick Progressive Conservatives
- Vote tabulators not to blame for New Brunswick election results glitches: official
- Green leader David Coon makes history in Fredericton South riding
- Fracking moratorium a top priority, promises Gallant
- More coverage of the 2014 New Brunswick election
McNeil apologizes to former Home for Colored Children residents
Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil apologized to the former residents of the Nova Scotia Home for Colored Children for the abuse and neglect they faced at the Dartmouth orphanage. Class-action lawsuits were launched by the former residents against the home and the provincial government, which ended in settlements totalling $34 million.
READ MORE:
- Nova Scotia Home for Colored Children survivors celebrate settlement with tears, applause
- Court cuts down fees payable to Home for Colored Children’s lawyers
- Lawyer won’t appeal fee decision in Home for Colored Children case
Amber Kirwan murder trial
Nova Scotia teen Amber Kirwan went missing on Oct. 9, 2011, and people in Pictou County organized quickly to search for the young woman — some 70,000 posters were put up around the province, vigils were held for weeks and a memorial of candles, flowers and other tokens grew along a wall across from where she was last seen. Her body was found almost a month later in a muddy grave in a wooded area about 26 kilometres from where she was last seen alive. Christopher Falconer was later charged with her murder, and after a month-long trial in January, he was found guilty.
READ MORE:
- Medical examiner testifies Amber Kirwan stabbed at least 10 times
- DNA expert links Chris Falconer and Amber Kirwan
- Amber Kirwan murder trial captivates small-town Nova Scotia
- More coverage of the Amber Kirwan murder trial
Loretta Saunders murder
Loretta Saunders, 26, disappeared from her Halifax apartment in February and her body was found in a wooded area off the Trans-Canada Highway in New Brunswick two weeks later. Police charged her roommates, Blake Leggette and Vicotria Henneberry, with first-degree murder. Saunders’ death, along with a number of other similar cases, sparked renewed calls for a federal inquiry into the issue of missing and murdered aboriginal women.
READ MORE:
- Trial for accused in Loretta Saunders murder set for spring 2015
- Rally aims to keep issue of missing and murdered Aboriginal women in the spotlight
- 2014 pivotal for issue of missing, murdered women
- More coverage of the Loretta Saunders case
Nova Scotia, New Brunswick Liberals say no to fracking
The new Liberal governments in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick clarified their positions on fracking in 2014. In September, the Nova Scotia government introduced legislation to place an indefinite moratorium on high-volume hydraulic fracturing for onshore oil and gas from shale deposits. New Brunswick Premier Brian Gallant, who campaigned on economic promises unrelated to shale gas exploration, said in early December he wanted to see a fracking moratorium in place by year’s end.
READ MORE:
- Fracking ban could mean missed opportunity for Nova Scotia: minister
- Majority favour ban or moratorium on fracking in Nova Scotia: paper
- New Brunswick Liberals clarify definition of shale gas moratorium
- Petroleum industry group disappointed in Nova Scotia fracking ban
Nova Scotia’s controversial health merger bill
When Stephen McNeil’s Liberals introduced legislation to reduce the number of provincial health districts from 10 to two by April 2015, the bill also included a controversial reduction to the number of bargaining units for about 24,000 health workers from 50 to four. The health unions protested, and the matter is to be settled by an arbitrator in January.
READ MORE:
- Nova Scotia health minister extends arbitration deadline for health unions
- Nova Scotia legislature passes contentious health merger bill
- McNeil says he won’t amend health-care labour legislation
- McNeil defends N.S. health merger bill as protesters rally
New Brunswick’s last abortion clinic closes
In April, New Brunswick’s last abortion clinic, the Morgentaler Clinic in Fredericton, announced it would be shutting down. The closure, caused by the province’s steadfast opposition to paying for abortions in private clinics, suddenly focused national attention on the province’s uniquely restrictive approach to offering the medical procedure. Abortion rights activists were galvanized into action, turning to social media to rally support and heading to the streets to organize protest marches. Newly elected premier Brian Gallant pledged to eliminate several requirements for women who wish to have the procedure, including the need for written permission from two doctors.
READ MORE:
- Clinic closure in New Brunswick an unlikely catalyst for change on abortion
- Still many questions on abortion reforms within New Brunswick hospitals
- New Brunswick to scrap regulation that restricts access to abortion
Dennis Oland sent to trial for father’s death
More than three years after prominent businessman Richard Oland was found dead in his Saint John office, his son Dennis Oland was ordered to stand trial on a charge of second-degree murder. The younger Oland was originally arrested in 2013 and granted bail, and will return to court in the new year.
#YouKnowHerName
Two young men pleaded guilty to child pornography charges in a prominent local case where the victim died following a suicide attempt. One was given a conditional discharge while the other will be sentenced in the new year. The victim’s name, although previously widely reported, was the subject of a publication ban, which gave rise to the Twitter hashtag #YouKnowHerName during the court case.
READ MORE:
- #YouKnowHerName highlights anger over handling of high-profile Halifax child porn case
- Man given conditional discharge in prominent Halifax child porn case
- Second young man accused in child porn case in Halifax pleads guilty
- Halifax news outlet publishes victim’s name in high-profile child porn case
More headlines from 2014
- Man charged with murder of missing Dartmouth woman Catie Miller
- Halifax lawyer Lyle Howe found guilty of sexual assault
- John Leonard MacKean found guilty on all charges in teen confinement case
- Sewing needles now found in 10 potatoes from Prince Edward Island
- Halifax police investigating 4th case of Halloween candy bar tampering
- Police conclude search for missing man James Cuthbert, foul play not suspected
- Halifax Central Library opens to much fanfare
- Thrill-seekers young and old say goodbye to Crystal Palace
- Application filed for Energy East pipeline
- ‘I don’t know what the next step is’: Ashley Smith’s mom on Corrections Canada response
- Owner of Farm Assists medical marijuana lounge in court after police raid
- Portland Place structure fire engulfs Halifax’s north end in smoke
- Clinical trial of Ebola vaccine to be held in Halifax
- Victim of fatal Dartmouth crosswalk accident remembered by family
- Historic cross stolen from university chapel returned for reward
Global News features you might have missed
Halifax artist hopes comics will inspire new wave of ‘supergirls’:
Non-profit organization helps LGBTQ refugees settle in Halifax:
Deaf and hard of hearing Nova Scotians can soon text 911:
Spryfield program celebrates first high-school graduating class:
Sisters reunite after 50 years apart:
Arm wrestling grandmother makes championship comeback a family affair:
Nova Scotia artist’s therapy dog learned to paint to help owner:
Man diagnosed with MS completes walk from Dartmouth to Truro:
Witness comes forward in case of abandoned Cape Breton puppies:
Young Nova Scotia owl released after recovering from serious injuries:
Nature Trust aims to protect 100 islands off Nova Scotia coast:
With files from The Canadian Press and Nick Logan, Global News
Vote results
Here’s your pick for top news story in the Maritimes in 2014:
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