A 2010 audit of Trade Centre Limited conducted by the provincial department of economic development zeroed in on the uncertain relationship between the city and TCL, and specifically with regard to ticket sales for the Metro Centre. “The relationship [of TCL] with HRM is governed by a 1981 operating agreement that does not reflect changes […]
Tim Bousquet
Posted inNews + Opinion
No amount of spin can hide ticket scandal facts
It’s now cover your ass time, as everyone connected to the ticket scandal attempts to shift blame off themselves and put it on someone else. Fred MacGillivray says its Scott Ferguson’s fault. Scott Ferguson says it’s Fred MacGillivray’s fault. Darrell Dexter says it’s the city’s fault. Peter Kelly says no way is it the city’s […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Should the city be responsible for Fred MacGillivray’s million dollar pension?
Thanks to auditor general Larry Munroe, we now know the details of how Fred MacGillivray, who was then the president of provincial crown corporation Trade Centre Limited, lifted the ticket operation away from the city-owned Metro Centre and made it part of TCL’s operation. As a result, the city has been shorted about a million […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Morally bankrupt
Last Thursday morning was a crystalizing moment for my understanding of Halifax. A crowd of more than 300 people, overwhelmingly male and exclusively white, besuited in the attire of folks who consider themselves movers and shakers, had gathered at the Neptune Theatre on Argyle Street for a masturbatory celebration of the imminent construction of a […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Auditor general slams Trade Centre Limited management of Metro Centre
Trade Centre Limited’s management of the Metro Centre is fundamentally flawed and is costing the city plenty of money, auditor general Larry Munroe told the city’s audit committee Wednesday morning. How much money? That remains to be seen. Last year, in Munroe’s extensive report on the concert scandal, he noted that that scandal had its […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
“Private” Nova Scotia property info is widely available…in Ontario
For three years, professionals in the local real estate and appraisal industries have been arguing—unsuccessfully—that property sales information should be a public record, easily accessible by anyone, for free. Both appraiser Mike Turner and viewpoint.ca owner Bill McMullin have been told explicitly that under the terms of the province’s Freedom of Information and Protection of […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
New Bridge Terminal will open August 27
The new Bridge Terminal will open on schedule, on August 27, the same date the revised fall transit schedule starts. Construction on the new terminal was apparently way ahead of schedule, so there was some hope that it would have opened as much as a month early, but crews are still working on the interior […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Trade Centre Limited’s accounting irregularities
Trade Centre Limited has some serious financial irregularities, and inconsistencies in reporting from 2001 leaves over $168,000 mis-accounted, and nearly $20,000 simply gone, missing forever, not accounted for, not reported as missing or stolen, not acknowledged at all. That dollar amount isn’t much in the scheme of things, not even a single drop in the […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Halifax council OKs convention centre deal
At its regular Tuesday meeting, Halifax council OKed the framework for a contract with the province and Rank, Inc. for a new convention centre. Council did not vote on a specific, detailed contract because “the details are still being worked out,” said deputy CAO Mike Labrecque, who however assured council that those details would reflect […]
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Why the convention centre sucks, part 5: Trade Centre Limited’s hidden subsidies
City council will vote Tuesday to give final approval for the convention centre, so I spent the weekend revisiting financial reports for the existing convention centre. They are extremely relevant, and councillors should pause and consider them before casting their votes. I created the above chart using numbers collected from audited financial statements found on […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Nova Scotia Business, Inc. drops $800,000 into Intelivote
The province’s primary economic development arm, Nova Scotia Business, Inc., announced today that it is dropping another $800,000 into Intelivote Systems, the Dartmouth-based internet voting firm. That brings NSBI’s total investment in Intelivote to $2.8 million. The additional funds will be use in part for “five or six enhancements” to Intelivote’s voting software, says Dean […]
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Morris East turns five years old
Morris East (5212 Morris Street, 444-7663) turns five years old this month, and in celebration owner Jennie Dobbs is including ice cream cake—“layers of housemade seasonal ice cream and a fudgy centre”—on a three-course $30 prix-fixe birthday menu through the rest of July. Dobbs’ resto is a remarkable success story. She set out to create […]