CTVNEWS

Mayor to apologize to former residents of Africville

The Canadian Press Published Tuesday, February 23, 2010 3:20PM EST

Eddie Carvery, left to right, his brother Victor Carvery and cousin Leo Carvery display family land deeds at a ceremony in Halifax where Heritage Minister Sheila Copps declared Africville a national historic site on Friday, July 5, 2002. (Andrew Vaughan / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

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HALIFAX - Halifax Mayor Peter Kelly says he will offer an official apology Wednesday to former residents and descendants of a historic black community in the city that was razed four decades ago.

The apology, on behalf of Halifax Regional Council and the municipality, will be part of an event held in recognition of Africville.

Now a park and national heritage site, Africville was demolished in the late 1960s to make way for the approaches to a bridge across Halifax harbour.

Kelly and Irvine Carvery, president of the Africville Genealogy Society, will also announce details of an agreement reached between the municipality and the society.

Media reports have said the deal consists of a $3-million payout and a hectare of municipal land.

Premier Darrell Dexter and Percy Paris, minister of African Nova Scotia Affairs, will also be on hand and are expected to make an announcement regarding the former community.