At the 11th hour, a temporary ceasefire deal was reached in the dumbest trade war in history. Hostilities between Canada and the USA are set to resume next month. Should the cold trade war become hot, it will have catastrophic impacts on the Canadian economy, although since most of our economic models are designed to […]
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
Halifax city staff’s status quo sedition
One of the most important things revealed at Tuesday’s council meeting, although it slipped by pretty quietly under all the headlines about the death of the Windsor Street Exchange, was the extent to which staff in the city’s bureaucracy are undermining the will of council and the integrity of our municipal democracy. But that’s pretty […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Council kills Windsor Street Exchange redesign plan
At Halifax Regional Council’s Tuesday, Jan 28 meeting, by a tight vote of 8 to 6, councillors made a tough decision to do the right thing. For the past six years or so the city has been working on a plan to re-do the Windsor Street Exchange. At first it was supposed to be a […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Will Halifax’s city council prevent wasting another year?
Tuesday’s meeting of Halifax Regional Council is shaping up to be consequential for this city. It could be the TSN turning point. It could be like Boston’s Nathan Horton scoring a goal with just over 10 minutes left in game seven against the Leafs. It could also be a dud. It’ll really depend on council’s […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Transport committee preps for a parking tax on big cars
Thursday, Jan 24th’s Transportation Standing Committee meeting was one for the record books—but only because the city keeps records of all municipal meetings. The meeting started off with a few public speakers. A few folks said they don’t want to see Robie Street widened: They suggested that three lanes is enough, and that the HRM […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
The city you love is dying: Halifax’s sustainability crisis explained
The warning signs have been there for a while, but it’s becoming harder to deny that Halifax is dying. Not some glamourous death, a noble sacrifice for the greater good. Nor is it something expected after a prolonged and public illness. No, it’s a far more embarrassing death; We’ve been bitten by a zombie, and […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
The Grand Parade podcast: Did HRM staff try to pull a fast one on council?
Last week, when Halifax Regional Municipality staff gave councillors an update on how the city’s key priorities are progressing (short answer: poorly), they did so rather subtly: Not with a presentation, where councillors could ask pointed questions about the city’s lack of progress toward its goals, but instead in the form of an information item […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Councillor Cuttell throws spanner in big-vehicle parking plan
Halifax’s Transportation Standing Committee is meeting Thursday, Jan 23. On the agenda is a staff report that recommends to the committee that they not implement a policy that would help council achieve its strategic priorities. For a bit of background, in July of last year councillor Shawn Cleary put forward a motion asking for a […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
The Board of Police Commissioners needs to be more pro-police
Wednesday, Jan 15’s Board of Police Commissioners meeting featured strong showings from veteran commissioner Yemi Akindoju and rookie Virginia Hinch. But in spite of a few good arguments against, the board, predictably, rubber-stamped both the Halifax Regional Police and RCMP draft budgets for 2025/26 on to council with very little scrutiny. Related The RCMP stand […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Everything you need to know about Halifax council’s Jan 14 meeting
Halifax’s city council met on Tuesday, Jan 14, for a painfully boring meeting. A lot of the debate was on things like survey methodology, what the Property Valuation Services Corporation does, and not double-checking technical documents. If this meeting were a game of soccer, it’d be a comfortable 1-0 victory against a team we should […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Planning to fail, an HRM strategic plan update
Halifax’s city council is meeting on Tuesday, Jan 14, and the agenda is pretty interesting. In addition to the stuff they’ll debate, there is a written report updating council on the progress of Halifax’s strategic plans. The city’s bureaucracy seems to really be struggling with implementing its strategic plans. Of the council’s priorities that […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Rising property taxes and more expected from Halifax council agenda
Everyone’s favourite administrative body, the Property Valuation Services Corporation, will present the new property tax numbers to this week’s regular meeting of city council, Tuesday Jan 14. If this year is like every other year, assessments will go up and in the coming 2025/26 financial year the average tax bill will be going up a […]