The wave of reconciliation is shallow, but it’s spreading. So says Wyatt White, the Halifax Regional Municipality’s first-ever Indigenous advisor. White, who hails from the Listuguj Mi’kmaq First Nation on the New Brunswick/Quebec border, is a former aboriginal affairs advisor to Environment Canada and to the provincial department of Education. He recently sat down with […]
Jacob Boon
Posted inNews + Opinion
World-class convention centre “opens”
A still-unfinished Halifax Convention Centre hosted a grand opening for media and dignitaries Friday—nearly two years after it was supposed to be completed. As documented on social media, the convention centre’s interior is still lacking drywall in some areas. Several escalators are non-functioning and wires are sticking out from the walls. But despite the work in […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
We didn’t start the (garbage) fire
Lorne Grabher, Jacques Dubé, Jamie Baillie walks away Street check data, Jimmy Melvin, rockets in Canso Robert Bjerke, Lady Drive Her, Sea Bridge floating on the water Cheryl Blossom, Donkin mine, Whitman says “negro” Saltwire buys out Transcon, women march on Washington Moonlight beats out La La Land, Matthew, Bill and Jad are canned David […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
New home for Mi’kmaw Native Friendship Centre moving forward
Regional council approved an agreement Tuesday to sell the former Red Cross property on Gottingen Street to the Mi’kmaw Native Friendship Society. Terms and conditions of the deal are contained in a confidential report that wasn’t released to the public, but what is known is that the sale will be at market value and is […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Matt Whitman’s deafening silence
Confronted with the single most important planning document for the future of transit, walkability and accessible living in the entire Halifax Regional Municipality, councillor Matt Whitman had nothing to say. When it came time later in the same meeting to protect a niche tourism business, the Hammonds Plains–St. Margarets representative couldn’t stop talking. Whitman didn’t […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Halifax skirts around first test of its new Integrated Mobility Plan
The city’s new active transportation priorities don’t have a lot of traction when it comes to improvements for the Hollis Street bike lane. On Thursday HRM’s Transportation Standing Committee voted to continue the ongoing planning process for a permanent, protected “all ages and abilities” bike route in the downtown, which will either enhance or replace […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Where’s the weed at? Over at the NSLC
Starting next year anyone 19 or over will be able to use, purchase and possess cannabis products in Nova Scotia, which will be legally sold online and through existing NSLC stores. The much-anticipated details were released Thursday by the province. According to the government, the number of liquor stores that will stock pot is yet […]
Posted inLifestyle
Rejected Cineplex holiday trailers
A Holiday DuetTwo best friends, Melody and Harmony, head to the movies on Christmas. One of the girls is too poor to afford a ticket so her BFF grabs her hand and they sneak into the theatre. It’s joyous. MONTAGE: The girls grow apart. Melody gets into college and moves away, becoming a successful businessperson […]
Posted inLifestyle
Gonna find out who’s noggy or nice: A blind tasting of seven egg nogs
Seven nogs. Many Dixie cups. One completely amateur blind taste test. In the name of holiday imbibing we got to the bottom of the standard egg nog selection and discovered both minor and complex differences in the flavour profiles of the yellow (or supposedly yellow) elixir. The resounding winner? Scotsburn’s classic Holiday Nog. But there […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
HRM council salaries jump 2.3 percent to $87,409
Happy holidays to HRM councillors, who are taking home a 2.3 percent pay bump. It’s a slightly smaller raise than last year when salaries jumped by 3.4 percent. Back in May council approved a motion to tie its annual raises to average weekly earnings in Nova Scotia, as reported by Statistics Canada. Under the new formula, […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Halifax to wait-and-see on this whole basic income thing
A staff report on poverty reduction recommends Halifax hold off on endorsing a basic income pilot project from the province. The municipality’s Community Planning and Economic Standing Committee asked for the report back in July after a presentation from Basic Income Nova Scotia. At the time, the group had suggested some minor steps HRM could take […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Irving Shipyard workers vote for strike mandate
Unionized employees of the Irving-owned Halifax Shipyard voted 99 percent in favour of a strike mandate this past weekend. More than 700 members of Unifor’s Marine Workers Local 1 showed up to a meeting Sunday for an update on their current collective agreement, which expires December 31. The news wasn’t good. “After a healthy discussion, […]