This year, Halifax is alight with junior hockey excitement. For the second time in the Halifax Mooseheads’ history, the Memorial Cup—Canada’s nationwide junior hockey championship—will be played right here, at the Scotiabank Centre in May. The team is also celebrating its 25th anniversary this season, as the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League commemorates its own […]
Julia-Simone Rutgers
Police department unhappy with workplace, says survey
Halifax Regional Police plan to address low employee engagement numbers during the second phase of its 10-year strategic plan. Staff presented a report to the Board of Police Commissioners on Monday, outlining updated goals for the next three years of the plan, which was originally introduced in 2015. Additions include a set of goals in […]
Brain injuries and broken bodies
There’s no question that football is a dangerous game— even if the leagues in charge choose not to acknowledge it. Only three weeks into the 2018 season, the Canadian Football League had lost four quarterbacks to the injured list—a surprisingly high number for so early in the year. Two months later, another QB took a […]
Plastic bag ban still up for debate
Plastic bags may be in peril in the HRM. The municipality’s environmental standing committee is holding off on a vote to reduce single-use plastic waste through voluntary collaboration with the city’s businesses. Back in January, regional council asked for a report to come to the Environment and Sustainability standing committee outlining options to reduce or […]
Halifax steps up to fund Africville Museum
Halifax is stepping in to help keep the Africville Museum running. On Monday, the city’s grants committee approved a three-year operating grant of $8,000 to help the underfunded museum keep its lights on. This is a first for the municipality. The money is coming out of an interim community grant program that helps support a […]
Anti-abortion centre targets trafficking victims
Open Door Women’s Care Centre on Spring Garden Road is once again under scrutiny—this time from an advocate for victims of human trafficking. When The Coast first reported on Open Door back in 2014, it was because the self-identified “faith-based” organization had taken out a series of bus ads that veiled the centre’s anti-abortion policy […]
Dalhousie’s research grant money and Big Oil
Major oil and gas corporations gave Dalhousie University just short of $2 million for petroleum research from 2013 to 2015. The financial specifics, previously undisclosed in Dal’s more generalized annual funding reports, were contained in a Freedom of Information request submitted by The Coast in 2015 that was finally awarded this summer. The list of […]
Claiming a seat at the table
At its core, this essay is an act of healing. I have written it for myself, as a reflection on my time with the western canon, and as an assertion to myself and to the world that my voice has value. I draw from my memories and my lived experience. I posit myself as the […]
Parking up the wrong street
Cyclists and pedestrians are about to have easier access to some of the city’s busiest shopping districts. Halifax Regional Council approved motions this week to install a protected bike lane on South Park Street and a dedicated bus lane on Gottingen Street, over the protests of small business owners worried about parking. On Tuesday, council […]
Rush to reform
In the fall of 2016, armed with only a $95 budget, a few social media accounts and a passion for public education, Halifax-raised mom Jennifer Raven beat out incumbent Steve Warburton for the South Shore/Bedford seat on the Halifax Regional School Board. “It was kind of a dare,” Raven recalls. “I’m a single mom. I’m […]
Khyber sale moving forward
The 1588 Barrington Street Building Preservation Society is one step closer to taking over the former Khyber building after council’s vote to move the sale along at this Tuesday’s council meeting. While the original motion on the table asked for more information from the non-profit group before deciding on the sale, deputy mayor Mason instead […]
Khyber Catch-22: HRM wants funding commitments before selling historic arts hub
The fight for the former Khyber building continues next week at City Hall. The 1588 Barrington Street Building Preservation Society is urging Halifax Regional Council to push forward with the sale of the former Khyber building, despite a staff recommendation to wait the process out a little longer. This Tuesday’s Regional Council meeting will consider a […]

