A new staff report recommends Halifax continue its prohibition for all types of smoking on public property—that is if the city ever wants to be successful in prosecuting cannabis users. City council passed new bylaw amendments back in July outright banning smoking and vaping on municipal property outside of specially designated smoking areas. The motion […]
Jacob Boon
Posted inNews + Opinion
Matt Whitman and Faith Goldy
Matt Whitman doesn’t want you to get the wrong impression about his support for Toronto’s most prominent white-nationalist mayoral candidate. “Retweeting for a friend. Stay calm,” writes Whitman in a retweet from earlier this week of Lindsay Shepherd’s March 22 Macleans story, “Why I invited Faith Goldy to Laurier.” The Hammonds Plains–St. Margarets councillor has since […]
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Justice minister finally responds to Burnside prison protest
After weeks without comment, Nova Scotia’s justice minister has issued a response to the ongoing prisoner protest at the Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility. In an op-ed sent out Thursday afternoon, Mark Furey says that correctional facilities “can be challenging places to live and work,” but that the province is respecting and protecting the rights […]
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Seeking second-generation Nova Scotians who’ve made a difference
The Immigrant Services Association of Nova Scotia is looking for some second-generation Canadians to share their stories for a new book on the long-term benefits of immigration. Anyone can nominate either themselves or someone they know (with the nominee’s permission) provided they were born in Canada to an immigrant parent. Selected nominees will be photographed and […]
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Nova Scotia FOIPOP website somewhat back online
Five months after being taken offline to address some basic security flaws, the province has finally brought back its Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy web portal—albeit in a limited format. The new-and-improved FOIPOP site provides previously completed Freedom of Information requests (used by the public, politicians, academics and journalists to access public data not […]
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25 for 25: episode 2005
This week on the podcast, author (and former Coast columnist) Lezlie Lowe is here chatting about her new book, No Place To Go: How Public Toilets Fail Our Private Needs. (You can read Lezlie’s 2005 cover feature on public bathrooms in Halifax right here.) Lezlie also sticks around as we talk about the aborted fast […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
25 for 25: episode 2004
It’s 2004 and The Pavilion is finally reopening. Historic music promoter Condon MacLeod is with us in studio talking about the birth, death, rebirth (and death again?) of Halifax’s all-ages music scene. Then, Dartmouth icon Gloria McCluskey tells us what made her come back to municipal politics 14 years ago and offers her unfiltered assessment of […]
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Burnside prison “operating as usual” despite inmate protest
The department of justice is arguing against claims made by prisoners inside the Central Nova Correctional Facility who say they don’t have access to adequate health care, rehabilitative programs or healthy food. Justice spokesperson Sarah Gillis says everything is under control inside the infamous Burnside prison, where inmates have been engaged in a peaceful protest […]
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Everything wrong with Nova Scotia’s forestry review
Raymond Plourde is trying to be optimistic about the province’s new forestry review, but it’s a struggle. At best, says the Ecology Action Centre’s wilderness coordinator, the report is a mixed bag. The overarching idea to prioritize forest protection is laudable. But there are still some glaring omissions and dangerous proposals in the long-awaited document. […]
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25 for 25: episode 2003
Author and journalist Phonse Jessome calls in to talk about Operation Hammer—what made the Hells Angels ride out of town and why the cops got lucky. Then, boxer Kirk Johnson shares stories about his landmark Human Rights victory against the Halifax police department for racial discrimination, and why 2003 was such a hard year for him […]
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People are losing it over Halifax Transit’s new giant-ass bus tickets
As part of ongoing efforts to modernize Halifax Transit’s technology and improve the ridership experience, bus tickets will soon be really, really, really big. The city put out a tender this week looking for someone to print the new transit tickets, which will each measure six inches in length by 2.75 inches in width. That’s […]