Chebucto Heights controversy Controversy surrounding an article published 8 April 2016 online (appearing in print on 9 April) made national headlines. The story alleged that Syrian refugee children attending Chebucto Heights Elementary School were "choking, pushing, slapping and verbally abusing their fellow classmates". The paper was widely condemned as the story was unverified, having been based on a sole anonymous source, and was written with a highly sensational tone that alleged acts of "brutality" by children as young as five. It was published anonymously, lacking any byline, and was picked up by right-wing media abroad to bolster anti-refugee sentiment. The superintendent of the Halifax Regional School Board, Elwin LeRoux, stated that he was "deeply offended to see the school represented so inaccurately". LeRoux stated that the school board had investigated the allegations and had come up empty-handed. In the face of public outcry the newspaper tweaked the article online, removing some details before deleting it from the Herald website altogether on Monday morning. The paper published an editor's note that admitted the story "needed more work". In the wake of the controversy award-winning non-union columnist Lezlie Lowe quit the newspaper in protest, stating in her farewell column that "The story lays bare the worst of the worst xenophobia in our city and our province. It lacks all proportion. Balance eludes it, start to finish." Regional expansion On 13 April 2017, Transcontinental announced that it had sold all of its newspapers in Atlantic Canada to SaltWire Network, a newly formed parent company of the Herald. The Halifax Typographical Union called the purchase evidence that the Herald'''s claim of impending financial collapse was a "total fabrication". The president of CWA Canada also weighed in, stating of the ongoing labour dispute: "This has never been about money. It has been about power and union busting." Government inquiry and conclusion On 13 July 2017, the Department of Labour and Advanced Education announced that it was setting up an Industrial Inquiry Commission, under the provisions of the province's Trade Union Act, to force mediation between the union and the Herald management from 4 August 2017. A union spokesperson called the move "long overdue" while the Heralds chief operating officer called the announcement "puzzling". The dispute finally ended in August 2017 when the union voted to ratify a new eight-year deal. The agreement included an increase in the work week from 35 to 37.5 hours, the