[Image-1] Newfoundlander Norman Crewe was a member of Canada’s Merchant Navy during the Second World War. He served in operations on the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific, but many comrades aboard these enemy-targeted vessels carrying crucial equipment and supplies never returned home. Chances of survival were slim because convoy ships weren’t allowed to stop to rescue […]
Michael Lightstone
Posted inNews + Opinion
Turmoil at the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission
[Image-1] In Nova Scotia, race relations are strained, gender equality remains an issue, LGBTQIA people still face challenges and barriers, and the disabled must be vigilant so that they aren’t ignored or shafted. So having a stable, smoothly running human rights commission seems like a good idea. In its 2015-16 statement of mandate released last […]
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Looking down the road at the Hollis Street bike lane’s future
[Image-1] As active-transportation plans go, the new bicycle lane on Hollis Street in Halifax wasn’t exactly a pedal-to-the-metal project. Installation was delayed for years before it finally took place this summer. And the project wasn’t the last upgrade to be done on the busy one-way street. At some point, City Hall must look down the […]
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More women are needed in municipal politics
[Image-1] The Union of Nova Scotia Municipalities says women should represent at least 30 percent of elected members of local governments. City councillors Jennifer Watts and Barry Dalrymple—both not re-offering in next year’s municipal election—recently stated HRM’s council needs younger, more diverse voices. A free, municipal “campaign school” this Saturday at Mount Saint Vincent University […]
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The not-so-amazing race, Canada
[Image-1] The anticipated dog days of August in Canada’s Ocean Playground caught few people by surprise. Three provinces away, neither did the dissolution of Parliament. Aside from customary sunny periods and high temperatures, Nova Scotians and others across the land were exposed to the elements of an early federal election call when prime minister Stephen […]
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NSLC won’t say how much money it’s spent fighting a 2009 human rights complaint
Taxpayers must wait before they learn how much public money has been poured into an enduring human-rights battle involving the Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation. The provincial Progressive Conservatives this summer were denied a freedom-of-information request for the disclosure of the cost of legal fees associated with the disagreement between liquor corporation worker Pearl Kelly and […]
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Dartmouth trail to be completed 12 years after being started
[Image-1] It’s a conspicuously missing link on the multi-use paved path along part of Dartmouth’s waterfront. Now, more than a decade after the first phase of the municipal trail was constructed, a long-lasting gap is scheduled to be filled. Halifax spokesperson Tiffany Chase says that the city will finally plug the linear break that exists […]
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Rick Clarke’s work isn’t over
Labour Day weekend was a time to enjoy summer’s wrap-up, and a holiday to give Canadians the opportunity to reflect on how far workers’ rights in this country have come. Rick Clarke, departing president of the Nova Scotia Federation of Labour, has led an organization advocating for fair treatment of workers and an improved standard […]
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Does this bench look like a swastika?
Sometimes, it’s not only beauty that is in the eye of the beholder. Years after a bench in Point Pleasant Park was built with wood from a tree (or trees) uprooted by hurricane Juan, Halifax city hall last month altered the seating unit because a park user complained it resembled a swastika. The complaint came […]
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The long, winding road to getting a bike lane built in Halifax
[Image-1] Bikeway planning in the Halifax region sometimes rolls on smoothly, but getting an actual path built in this town can be a bumpy experience. Blueprints are drawn, the public is consulted, plans might get tweaked, projects are approved, anti-cycling outrage is duly noted, project cash is earmarked—and then bike trails are occasionally subject to […]
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What’s the future hold for Shannon Park?
Shannon Park in Dartmouth is a waterfront ghost town that could one day rise again as a sort of fanciful, mixed-use redevelopment. Just what this modern layout should look like was the subject of a public forum last week in Dartmouth hosted by the Canada Lands Company—the federal Crown corporation overseeing the proposed refurbishment of […]
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Marthe Bernard wants to break the silence on mental health
[Image-1] Canadian actress Marthe Bernard, known for her role on Republic of Doyle, is speaking out about the stigma around mental illness. Her brother, Louis, died by suicide last year at age 28 after a long battle with mental illness. Bernard will be at a Queen’s University alumni event in Halifax tonight, as part of […]