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Alberta

Written in the stars: The legendary tale of Maritime ice cream favourite Moon Mist

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HALIFAX — The lore in the Hart household was as rich as the ice cream served every day.

After joining his family’s creamery business, the story goes, Bruce Hart travelled from Nova Scotia to the U.S. to attend ‘Ice Cream University.’

The dates and places are foggy — as often happens with family history passed down through generations — but it was sometime before or after he served during the Second World War and likely took place at what’s now the University of Massachusetts, a school with strong roots in agriculture and food science.

It was there, legend has it, that a young Bruce Hart had the audacity to swirl three ice cream flavours together: banana, grape and blue raspberry.

He called it Moon Mist, a lush ice cream flavour with colourful ripples of yellow, purple and blue.

“My grandfather told us he got to experiment with flavour mixtures, and that’s how those improbable flavours came together that some people love and some may find disgusting,” said Peter O’Brien, grandson of the late Bruce Hart.

“It was always part of family lore that my grandfather invented Moon Mist.”

***

By the mid 1970s, the specialty flavour was catching on. The exact flavour combination of Moon Mist shifted over the years, with a popular local dairy swapping out blue raspberry for blue bubble gum in its recipe.

Yet regardless of the flavours of the tricolour swirls, Moon Mist ice cream would come to be celebrated as Atlantic Canada’s favourite ice cream.

To some, it’s a heavenly trilogy of tastes, while to others it’s an odd mash-up of cloyingly sweet flavours. But it’s defended by many as the region’s unofficial frozen treat.

Moon Mist has become a symbol of the East Coast’s uniqueness in Canada, a cultural marker of sorts for the region.

Ice cream stands and corner stores across the Maritimes scoop out Moon Mist all year long. Many say they go through several 11.5-litre vats on a summer weekend, leaving children in tears and adults in a huff if they sell out.

It evokes both nostalgia and pride, making a cameo on the Nova Scotia-based TV show “Trailer Park Boys.” A local distillery sells a limited edition Moon Mist vodka and folk artists have sought inspiration from the flavour.

“If you’ve ever had a scoop of Moon Mist ice cream, you know it just has a very unique flavour and iconic aroma,” said Rae Ryan, a Truro, N.S.-based research and development specialist with dairy giant Agropur, which acquired Nova Scotia’s Scotsburn dairy in 2017.

“I think it’s so popular because people in Atlantic Canada grew up with it in the 1980s and are now serving it to their kids. It’s had a lot of staying power.”

***

Bruce Hart returned from his ice cream training — and purported invention of Moon Mist — and got to work for the family business, Halifax Creamery Ltd.

The company soon after began making the blend of banana, grape and blue raspberry under its Polar Ice Cream brand.

Hart’s grandson Peter O’Brien, now a 54-year-old classics professor, recalls ordering scoops of Moon Mist at local ice cream parlours as a child.

“My grandfather was big into ice cream, he ate it every day, probably twice a day,” O’Brien said.

“We would go over for lunch or dinner and eat ice cream for dessert and often the conversation would return to his days in the business and how Moon Mist was created,” he said.

The family business was eventually sold to Twin Cities Co-op Dairy Ltd., which later became Farmer’s Dairy Co-op Ltd., though the family stayed active in the industry for a few years after that.

It’s around this time that a competitor came to town.

***

For more than a century, one of the largest dairies in the Maritimes was based out of Scotsburn, a village surrounded by sprawling dairy farms on Nova Scotia’s north shore.

Sometime before the early 1980s, the Moon Mist flavour was likely introduced to Scotsburn by a so-called flavour house, said Jennifer MacLennan, the former marketing co-ordinator with Scotsburn dairy from 1993 until Agropur took over in 2017.

Flavour houses are companies with commercial food labs that develop, manufacture and supply flavours to various industries. The concentrated natural and artificial flavours can be used in everything from ice cream to gum. One of these companies likely promoted Moon Mist as part of a portfolio of new flavours presented to dairies, MacLennan said.

“It was probably introduced to several dairies as an up-and-coming flavour,” she said. “Scotsburn decided to try it … it may have started as a limited-edition flavour but clearly became a favourite.”

Exactly why it became a top seller in Atlantic Canada while dairies in other parts of the country seem to have mostly passed it over is unclear.

Some smaller outfits across Canada offer Moon Mist, including Kawartha Dairy Ltd. based in Bobcaygeon, Ont., which markets it as an “out of this world” East Coast favourite. The Big Scoop in Duncan, B.C., also sells Moon Mist with a twist: bubble gum, banana and grape with a cherry ribbon.

But other than a few smaller dairies, Moon Mist ice cream largely seems to be an Atlantic Canadian phenomenon.

“A lot of flavours can be regional,” MacLennan said. “In New Brunswick, grape nut ice cream was a big seller, but it wasn’t as popular in other areas, like Cape Breton.”

When Moon Mist was introduced, many of the popular flavours were classics like vanilla, chocolate and strawberry, she said.

“Back in the ’80s, a lot of the popular ice cream is what you might hear people call ‘old people’s flavours’ nowadays,” MacLennan said. “So when Moon Mist came out it was likely a huge hit with kids.”

For decades, Moon Mist was only sold in 11.4-litre tubs to ice cream parlours. But in 2015, Scotsburn began selling smaller sizes in retail stores.

“I remember urging our marketing department to sell Moon Mist in the 1.5-litre packages in retail stores,” MacLennan said. “It was always a bestseller so it made sense to have it available year round.”

***

While Bruce Hart may have invented the original Moon Mist — and potentially the recipe later used by Farmers — Scotsburn’s would become the favourite of many.

But not all.

A petition launched in the spring of 2020 called on Farmers to bring their version of Moon Mist, with blue raspberry rather than bubble gum, back to Nova Scotia.

The recipe change can be traced back to 2013, when Halifax-based Farmers Co-operative Dairy and Agropur Cooperative of Longueuil, Que., merged.

Four years later, Agropur purchased Scotsburn’s frozen ice cream and frozen novelties business.

With two Moon Mist flavours in house, Agropur made the decision to phase out the Farmers recipe.

Agropur spokesman Guillaume Bérubé said sales volumes of both Scotsburn and Farmers Moon Mist tubs were “almost identical” at the time, but Scotsburn had the advantage of also having the smaller retail-sized format.

In terms of which recipe was oldest, Farmers may have launched Moon Mist first. While Scotsburn traces Moon Mist back to “before the early 1980s,” Bérubé said company’s archives show Farmers launched Moon Mist in 1973.

Regardless, the Farmers recipe — possibly inspired by Bruce Hart’s original creation — was phased out by Agropur in 2017, permanently replacing blue raspberry with blue bubble gum, a subtle but notable change among some Moon Mist connoisseurs.

Agropur now says Moon Mist sales are second only to vanilla in the Scotsburn ice cream portfolio. It’s sold in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island.

“A lot of people growing up in Nova Scotia either went to school with someone who was a dairy farmer or had some connection to the dairy industry, and ice cream is just really popular here,” said Agropur’s Ryan. “It’s part of the culture. We have a lot of scooping stands in the region and the colour combo of Moon Mist is very recognizable.

“It’s always been popular, but there’s been a lot of buzz about it over the last couple years,” she said.

“It’s a happy story.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 13, 2023.

Brett Bundale, The Canadian Press

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Alberta

Early Success: 33 Nurse Practitioners already working independently across Alberta

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Nurse practitioners expand primary care access

The Alberta government’s Nurse Practitioner Primary Care program is showing early signs of success, with 33 nurse practitioners already practising independently in communities across the province.

Alberta’s government is committed to strengthening Alberta’s primary health care system, recognizing that innovative approaches are essential to improving access. To further this commitment, the Nurse Practitioner Primary Care Program was launched in April, allowing nurse practitioners to practise comprehensive patient care autonomously, either by operating their own practices or working independently within existing primary care settings.

Since being announced, the program has garnered a promising response. A total of 67 applications have been submitted, with 56 approved. Of those, 33 nurse practitioners are now practising autonomously in communities throughout Alberta, including in rural locations such as Beaverlodge, Coaldale, Cold Lake, Consort, Morley, Picture Butte, Three Hills, Two Hills, Vegreville and Vermilion.

“I am thrilled about the interest in this program, as nurse practitioners are a key part of the solution to provide Albertans with greater access to the primary health care services they need.”

Adriana LaGrange, Minister of Health

To participate in the program, nurse practitioners are required to commit to providing a set number of hours of medically necessary primary care services, maintain a panel size of at least 900 patients, offer after-hours access on weekends, evenings or holidays, and accept walk-in appointments until a panel size reaches 900 patients.

With 33 nurse practitioners practising independently, about 30,000 more Albertans will have access to the primary health care they need. Once the remaining 23 approved applicants begin practising, primary health care access will expand to almost 21,000 more Albertans.

“Enabling nurse practitioners to practise independently is great news for rural Alberta. This is one more way our government is ensuring communities will have access to the care they need, closer to home.”

Martin Long, parliamentary secretary for rural health

“Nurse practitioners are highly skilled health care professionals and an invaluable part of our health care system. The Nurse Practitioner Primary Care Program is the right step to ensuring all Albertans can receive care where and when they need it.”

Chelsae Petrovic, parliamentary secretary for health workforce engagement

“The NPAA wishes to thank the Alberta government for recognizing the vital role NPs play in the health care system. Nurse practitioners have long advocated to operate their own practices and are ready to meet the growing health care needs of Albertans. This initiative will ensure that more people receive the timely and comprehensive care they deserve.”

Jennifer Mador, president, Nurse Practitioner Association of Alberta

The Nurse Practitioner Primary Care program not only expands access to primary care services across the province but also enables nurse practitioners to practise to their full scope, providing another vital access point for Albertans to receive timely, high-quality care when and where they need it most.

Quick facts

  • Through the Nurse Practitioner Primary Care Program, nurse practitioners receive about 80 per cent of the compensation that fee-for-service family physicians earn for providing comprehensive primary care.
    • Compensation for nurse practitioners is determined based on panel size (the number of patients under their care) and the number of patient care hours provided.
  • Nurse practitioners have completed graduate studies and are regulated by the College of Registered Nurses of Alberta.
  • For the second consecutive year, a record number of registrants renewed their permits with the College of Registered Nurses of Alberta (CRNA) to continue practising nursing in Alberta.
    • There were more than 44,798 registrants and a 15 per cent increase in nurse practitioners.
  • Data from the Nurse Practitioner Primary Care Program show:
    • Nine applicants plan to work on First Nations reserves or Metis Settlements.
    • Parts of the province where nurse practitioners are practising: Calgary (12), Edmonton (five), central (six), north (three) and south (seven).
  • Participating nurse practitioners who practise in eligible communities for the Rural, Remote and Northern Program will be provided funding as an incentive to practise in rural or remote areas.
  • Participating nurse practitioners are also eligible for the Panel Management Support Program, which helps offset costs for physicians and nurse practitioners to provide comprehensive care as their patient panels grow.

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Alberta

Province considering new Red Deer River reservoir east of Red Deer

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Central Alberta reservoir study underway

Alberta’s government is moving forward a study to assess the feasibility of building a new reservoir on the Red Deer River to help support growing communities.

Demand for water from communities and businesses is increasing as more families, businesses and industries choose to live and work in central Alberta. The Red Deer River supplies water to hundreds of thousands of Albertans across the region and expanding water storage capacity could help reduce the risk of future droughts and meet the growing water demands.

Alberta’s government has now begun assessing the feasibility of building a potential new reservoir east of Red Deer near Ardley. A two-phase, multi-year study will explore the costs and value of constructing and operating the reservoir, and its impact on downstream communities, farmers and ranchers, and businesses.

“Central Alberta is a growing and thriving, and we are ensuring that it has the water it needs. This study will help us determine if an Ardley reservoir is effective and how it can be built and operated successfully to help us manage and maximize water storage for years to come.”

Rebecca Schulz, Minister of Environment and Protected Areas

Reservoirs play a vital role in irrigation, drought management, water security and flood protection. Budget 2024 allocated $4.5 million to explore creating a new reservoir on the Red Deer River, at a damsite about 40 kilometres east of the City of Red Deer.

Work will begin on the scoping phase of the study as soon as possible. This will include reviewing available geotechnical and hydrotechnical information and exploring conceptual dam options. The scoping phase also includes meetings with municipalities and water users in the area to hear their views. This work is expected to be completed by December 2025.

“Reliable water infrastructure is essential for Alberta’s growing communities and industries. The Ardley reservoir feasibility study is a vital step toward ensuring long-term water security for central Alberta. As we assess this project’s potential, we’re supporting the sustainability of our economic corridors, agricultural operations and rural economy.”

Devin Dreeshen, Minister of Transportation and Economic Corridors

“Water is essential to the agriculture industry and if the past few years are any indication, we need to prepare for dry conditions. A potential dam near Ardley could enhance water security and help farmers and ranchers continue to thrive in Alberta’s unpredictable conditions.”

RJ Sigurdson, Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation 

Once that is complete, the feasibility study will then shift into a second phase, looking more closely at whether an effective new dam near Ardley can be safely designed and constructed, and the impact it may have on communities and the environment. Geotechnical and hydrotechnical investigations, cost-benefit analyses and an assessment of environmental and regulatory requirements will occur. The feasibility phase will also include gathering feedback directly from Albertans through public engagement. This work is expected to be completed by March 31, 2026.

Quick facts

  • The Ardley dam scoping and feasibility study will be undertaken by Hatch Ltd., a Canadian multi-disciplinary professional services firm.
  • Once the feasibility study is complete, government will assess the results and determine whether to pursue this project and proceed with detailed engineering and design work and regulatory approvals.
  • Alberta’s government owns and operates several large reservoirs in the South Saskatchewan River Basin that help ensure sufficient water supply to meet demand from communities, irrigators and businesses, while also maintaining a healthy aquatic environment.
  • Water stored at Gleniffer Lake, the reservoir created by Dickson Dam, helps supplement low winter flows along the Red Deer River and helps ensure an adequate water supply for Red Deer and Drumheller.

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