DISCLAIMER: Victoria Walton attended the University of King’s College from 2013-2017; she attended lectures given by Wayne Hankey as part of the first-year Foundation Year Program. Wayne Hankey was once a well-respected scholar. An esteemed academic. An Anglican priest. The big man on campus at the University of King’s College, in Halifax. But when the […]
Victoria Walton
Victoria was a full-time reporter with The Coast from April 2020 until mid-2022, when the CBC lured her away. During her Coast tenure, she covering everything from COVID-19 to small business to politics and social justice. Originally from the Annapolis Valley, she graduated from the University of King’s College School of Journalism in 2017.
Posted inNews + Opinion
Ukraine, Russia and “a long history of tension and conflicts”
Thursday evening, March 10, the 15th day of the Russian invasion into Ukraine, Dalhousie University hosted an online panel discussion on the conflict featuring professors from local universities. Moderator Ruben Zaiotti, the director of the Jean Monnet European Union Centre of Excellence at Dal, opened the panel by explaining how this war could permanently alter […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Halifax Regional Police 2022-23 budget demystified (but not defunded)
To really understand the police budget means starting with the acronyms, not the numbers. HRP—the Halifax Regional Police department—wanted more money in its budget this year. HRP told its governing Board of Police Commissioners, the BOPC, which agreed with the department, so then the BOPC went to its higher power: HRM, the Halifax Regional Municipality. […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
5 International Women’s Day messages that missed the mark
March 8 is known around the world as International Women’s Day, and across the internet as “When is International Men’s Day!?” Day. (That’s November 19, FYI.) IWD has taken place since 1911, but new bad takes still seem to crop up each year. We’ve seen corporations trying too hard to be socially conscious, and out-of-touch […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Pavilion building turning into temporary overnight shelter
On Tuesday, Nova Scotia’s community services department teamed up with the city to make a long-awaited announcement about a emergency overnight shelter. So long-awaited, in fact, that winter is almost over, and unhoused residents will benefit from it for only one month. “The Province will operate a temporary overnight shelter at the Pavilion on the […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
NSLC starts selling Fumes papers in historic deal for a Black-owned business
A year ago, Fumes Rolling Papers were selling in about 30 convenience stores around Halifax. Not bad for a local start-up, but co-owners Josh Creighton and his brothers Treno and Tyler Morton had even bigger ambitions. Their sights were set on the Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation and its $86-million legal-cannabis business. “We very much saw […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Police and city staff tear down pantry at People’s Park
Update (March 2): Halifax Regional Police public information officer John McLeod tells The Coast “we made the decision based on the totality of the circumstances and concern for the safety of the public, neighborhood and the residents. Information we received related to the nature of the structure and the potential fire hazard it presented were […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
No masks, no limits, no POV as Nova Scotia lifting all COVID restrictions March 21
Nova Scotia just put its three-phase reopening plan on a fast track. Instead of the previously planned phases that were “expected to last about a month” each—taking us from the February 14 start of phase one until phase three sometime in April—we’ll now hit phase three on March 21. “The restrictions put in place during […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Want to defund the Halifax police? Participate in this budget discussion tomorrow
Halifax Regional Council will soon vote on its municipal budget for the upcoming year, including what will be allocated to Halifax Regional Police—which at this rate will be $2.9 million more than originally projected for the 2022/23 fiscal year, bringing the total budget to over $90 million. The hike was recommended by the Board of […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Monday’s holiday is Nova Scotia Heritage Day, not Family Day
Nova Scotia Heritage Day became a thing in 2015 with the push for a February holiday. Across Canada, eight provinces now have a February holiday, all but Newfoundland and Quebec. Most of those provinces—Alberta, BC, NB, Ontario and Saskatchewan—call it Family Day, while PEI has Islander Day and Manitoba has Louis Riel Day. But in […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
9 places to eat, shop and learn about Nova Scotia’s African heritage
Last summer, René Boudreau told The Coast why she started Elevate and Explore Black Nova Scotia, a business all about promoting experiences for Black Nova Scotians through travel. Since then, she tells us now, it’s only grown. “There’s gaps in terms of the representation and cultural awareness that yes—there are Black people in Nova Scotia […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
$875 COVID cash coming to students with NS student loans
Students attending university or college in Nova Scotia may have an extra deposit hitting their bank accounts. On Wednesday morning, the province announced that it was dishing out a total of $9.8 million to help post-secondary students pay their bills. The grant of $875 per person will not have to be repaid and will be […]