In Office: Elected September 18th, 2021 - present
Belle takes her seat at the council table after a special election in September 2021, called to fill the vacancy left by the death of Councillor and former Deputy Mayor Jim MacLeod. She is a lifelong resident of Yarmouth.
She is a journalist and told the stories of this community for 30 years in the pages of The Yarmouth Vanguard newspaper, working with her late husband Fred. Her work has earned dozens of national writing awards. Her six-part series on child sexual abuse earned the newspaper national recognition for outstanding community service (Michener Awards) in 1991. She gained management experience during a five-year stint as Public Relations Manager for Western Counties Regional Library. Prior to her career in journalism, she counselled nursing mothers, parlaying her own experience as a teen mother to connect with young mothers at risk.
Belle has a background in health governance and policy, having served as a board member on both the Provincial Medical Board (Nova Scotia College of Physicians and Surgeons) and the Nova Scotia Health Authority’s Patient, Family and Public Advisory Council.In her retirement, she has served in a number of volunteer capacities including the Tri-County Local Food Network, the Sara Corning Society, the Yarmouth Music Society and the Yarmouth Facade Society.
She sits as a patient representative on the Nova Scotia Health Authority’s COVID Network, which advises the executive leadership team that sets policy for managing the province’s pandemic response. She is a co-founder and chair of Hear! Here! Society, a musical presenters group that produces classical and jazz music concerts. She is president of the Kritosophian Club, a literary club that has been operating in Yarmouth since 1889. Belle has two adult daughters, Samantha and Laura, and two grandchildren. Her daughter Sarah died in infancy.
Current Committee Appointments
Committee of the Whole
Yarmouth Water Utility
Planning Advisory Committee
Police Advisory Board
Doctor Recruitment (alternate)
Audit Committee
Public Transit Nominating Committee
Yarmouth & Area Industrial Commission
Yarmouth International Airport Corporation (alternate)
Contact Information
Email: Belle.Hatfield@townofyarmouth.ca