During the HRM’s final budget preseason meeting, on December 12, councillor Trish Purdy caught a lot of stick. Tuesday’s budget meeting was the Capital Updates and Advance Tenders meeting. The capital update is bleak: We need a lot of capital projects—arenas, libraries, fire stations and the like—but we have no money. We have no money […]
Matt Stickland
Matt spent 10 years in the Navy where he deployed to Libya with HMCS Charlottetown and then became a submariner until ‘retiring’ in 2018. In 2019 he completed his Bachelor of Journalism from the University of King’s College. Matt is an almost award winning opinion writer.
Posted inNews + Opinion
“History will not be kind to us” warns councillor
There is a growing disconnect between what our governments think is progress and what we think is progress. Nowhere is that more evident than in municipal committee meetings, especially with old-school progressives. There is a mindset common in an older generation of progressives whereby incremental action towards the right thing is, or should be, celebrated […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
The Grand Parade podcast: How HRM council might just have radically changed budgets for the better
It would be natural to think that Halifax’s five-year Strategic Priorities Plan, a vision set forth to clearly identify HRM council’s priorities—things like a “prosperous economy” with “safe, inclusive and affordable communities” and a “sustainable mobility network”—would have a bearing on how the region determines its annual budget. (Why else call them priorities?) But in […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Will $1.4 million fix the police scheduling problem?
Halifax Regional Police’s acting chief Don MacLean has a scheduling problem. It’s a big scheduling problem. A $1.4 million scheduling problem. But it can’t be fixed by the $1.4 million Halifax’s Board of Police Commissioners is recommending council give him, a decision the board made at its Nov. 29 meeting, the culmination of a series […]
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The saga of Otago Drive part 3: Unsafe by design
To recap earlier chapters of this special three-part feature, part 1 answered the question “Who cares about a speed hump?” and yesterday, part 2 explored “Halifax’s plan for a strategic bankruptcy.” We hope you enjoy today’s conclusion. The city of Halifax streams almost all of its meetings. This is helpful on weeks when life is […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Everything you need to know about HRM council’s Nov. 28 meeting
After a brutally long offseason, we are now back at everyone’s favourite time of year. That’s right, it’s budget season! We’ll cover that in (a lot) more detail below in the Notable Debates section, but for now let’s get on with the standard recap of Tuesday, November 28’s standard council session. This meeting started off […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
The saga of Otago Drive part 2: Halifax’s plan for a strategic bankruptcy
In case you missed it yesterday, part 1 of this special three-part feature answered the question “Who cares about a speed hump?” Read on for part 2, and be sure to come back tomorrow for part 3, “Unsafe by design.” According to city staff, the speed hump on Otago Drive was built in service of […]
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The saga of Otago Drive part 1: Who cares about a speed hump?
The first chapter in a three-part series that continues tomorrow and Friday. Protected from the cold bite of the wind by the windshield, the clear blue sky looks extra clean, the way it sometimes does in the winter. It fills your view as you crest Breakheart Hill. The steep hill got the name because it’s […]
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The Grand Parade podcast: How to fix the HRM’s road safety problems, starting today
Municipal engineer Paul Young has a vision for a “major behavioural change” within Halifax: Converting all urban speed limits in the HRM to 30 kilometres per hour. The reason? Not just to lower the likelihood of deadly collisions, which findings resoundingly show drop off significantly compared to 50km/h, but to cut back on things like […]
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Sprawl is still a problem for Halifax, 20 years after it was flagged as an urgent issue
The Community Planning and Economic Development Standing Committee met on Thursday, Nov. 16, and the only thing they did of consequence was vote on a motion allowing construction companies to pour concrete an additional hour and a half until 9:30 pm. This will go to council for final approval. Councillor Patty Cuttell also kept her […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Police budget discussions finally get started for real
The Board of Police Commissioners met on Wednesday and finally had their initial strategic budget meeting at the third time of asking. That is, three meetings into the police budget deliberation process and the Nov. 15 meeting was the first time the board got to actually see the Halifax Regional Police’s proposed 2024/25 budget rather […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Halifax’s looming money problems take shape
The Audit & Finance Standing Committee met Wednesday, Nov. 15, to get an update on Halifax’s financial performance in the second quarter of this fiscal year. And there was some good news, as the city’s investments did okay in Q2. The city made $9.6 million from its portfolio during April, May and June 2023, including […]