Convention centre supporters are consistently touting about the job-creation potential of the proposed convention centre. “A new convention centre could result in as many as 12,000 new jobs,” says Infrastructure minister Bill Estabrooks. “A shadow bid prepared by Deloitte…estimates the project will add $893 million to economic output, $171 million in taxes and 28,000 jobs […]
Tim Bousquet
Posted inNews + Opinion
Mary Wile gets angry
At Tuesday’s council meeting, councillor Mary Wile took exception to a new policy discouraging the use of bottled water in City Hall, because the policy includes a suggestion that people be asked to carry their own reusable coffee mugs. Listen here: Wile on coffee mugs
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Why the convention centre sucks, part 1
No alternative uses for the public money have been suggested, and the alternative proposals for a convention centre were discarded without public explanation. Moreover, the proposed public/private arrangement is a disservice to the public, giving us a crappy convention centre for the money, and handing a huge bill to the future.
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Bill Estabrooks says building convention centre is “right decision”
Transportation and infrastructure minister Bill Estabrooks sent an email Wednesday to the NDP’s rank-and-file members throughout the province. It explains why “your NDP government has released the financial detail for a proposed new convention centre in Halifax.” Near the top of the message, Estabrooks clearly says the government “has not yet made a decision on the project.” But by the end it’s also pretty clear he’s kinda sorta made up his mind: “I believe that this is the right decision, should we choose to go forward with the project.” That’s a little cart-and-horse, isn’t it? If it’s the right decision,
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Ottawa vs Halifax convention centres
Much in this Ottawa Citizen article from last week is self-serving convention centre management tripe, which I’ll leave off for another day, but I was struck by the financing of the new Ottawa Convention Centre: The federal and provincial governments are each paying $50 million to the $170-million construction cost and the city has invested […]
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Who hates downtown?
Who hates downtown Halifax? Certainly not the thousands of people who head to Argyle Street for post-work drinks. Most definitely not the shoppers mobbing the Spring Garden Road shopping district. And unquestioningly, without a doubt, not the crowds that flock to the boardwalk every chance they get. By all indications, regular Haligonians love downtown. And […]
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Saving the worst of the worst
In bureaucratic circles, the child is known as “File #400.” In the neighbourhood, he’s known as a terror. In 2008, he’s just 11 years old, but already well on his way to a life of crime and probably future prison and early death. Between June 2005 and November 2008, he is the subject of 55 […]
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Dexter to make convention centre announcement
Premier Darrell Dexter will announce his support for the proposed new convention centre, today at 12:30. The Coast will live-blog the announcement via our Twitter account, twitter.com/twitcoast.
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Province rolls out convention centre details
The debate is over: it is abundantly clear that the NDP government has decided to move forward with the proposed convention centre complex in downtown Halifax. Those opposed to the proposal, myself included, have lost the debate. The details of the proposal were spelled out this afternoon via a press conference at the World Trade […]
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Parody preserved: Google saves FakeSueUteck
The real Halifax councillor Sue Uteck may have complained to the police about the FakeSueUteck Twitter account, but that complaint fell on deaf ears at Twitter. “Parody impersonation accounts are allowed to exist on Twitter,” says “The Captain,” a spokesperson with “Twitter Trust and Safety,” Twitter’s communications wing, responding a week late to a request […]
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Nova Scotia government’s absurd culture of secrecy
[image-1] Updated below Updated again, 5:45pm. Yesterday, I was looking through the latest batch of Orders in Council– the decrees made by premier Darrell Dexter’s cabinet, and only cryptically alluded to on an obscure corner of the internet– and found this one, from September 21: Order Number 2010-356 Date of Order 2010/Sep/21 Statute Industrial Development Act Text of Order The Governor in Council on the report and recommendation of the Minister of Economic and Rural Development dated September 10, 2010, and pursuant to Sections 2, 3 and 5 of Chapter 222 of the Revised Statutes of Nova Scotia, 1989, the
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Common concert promoter goes out of business
[image-1] Yesterday, The Coast’s business office received the following email from Harold MacKay, of Power Promotional Events: As you are aware Power Promotional Events Inc, has experienced a significant cash flow shortfall and we have now exhausted all of our efforts to try and resolve this situation. It is therefore with much regret that we inform you that Power Promotional Events Inc. will cease operations and we sincerely apologize for not being able to fulfill our obligations to you. We thank you for your support over the years helping us to try and create Halifax as a destination for major
