[Image-1] “Scotian” food is hearty, delicious and made with soul. As the earliest black settlers to Nova Scotia, our ancestors overcame unmeasurable hardships to survive and thrive. Along with our resourcefulness we also brought our knack for southern cooking, or what is commonly known as “soul food,” and meshed it with what the land and […]
Opinion
Posted inNews + Opinion
Letters to the editor, February, 2016
Stop denying me My name is Karen R. Clarke. I have received the CCSVI (angioplasty) treatment for my Multiple Sclerosis twice. I have the quality of life that I have not had since my MS diagnosis in 1991. Discrimination denies anyone with an MS diagnosis the right to receive the CCSVI treatment in Canada. This […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Minister is “colour-blind” to environmental racism
[Image-1] I was struck last week by Nova Scotia’s new environment minister Margaret Miller’s response to Coast editor Jacob Boon’s question about the legacy of environmental racism in this province and how Nova Scotia can better protect marginalized communities. Her response that the province does not have to “look at any segment or any part […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Letters to the editor, January 28, 2016
Snow justice Dear mayor Mike Savage, Last March I sent you a letter—to which I received no response—regarding the city’s failure to clear snow. This year I would like to remind you that your salary is paid by the citizens of this city, and that your office has an obligation to respond to complaints made […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Why some of us aren’t thrilled about IKEA’s return to Halifax
[Image-1] IKEA’s arrival in Halifax promises jobs, which, in a province and city with high unemployment, is appealing. But what sort of jobs? Perhaps because of its socialistic Scandinavian roots, IKEA is a bit kinder than its retail competitors in terms of wages and working conditions. For instance, IKEA prides itself on a relatively generous […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
The future of weather
[Image-2] “The trouble with weather forecasting is that it’s right too often for us to ignore it and wrong too often for us to rely on it.” —Patrick Young, American author Folks, a “cold front” isn’t just a between-the-sheets phenomenon, and thermocline isn’t just another fun word to spell with Alphagetti. And even the TV […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Letters to the editor, January 21, 2016
Try another Day As February 15 approaches, I am reminded that Viola Desmond did not get the honour of Viola Desmond Day as promised for Nova Scotia’s first Heritage Day, in 2015. People may recall the weather that day was pretty rough—very cold with huge chunks of ice blocking the sidewalks and roads. The plows […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
This city deserves better fire service
[Image-1] As this new year gets underway, the citizens of Halifax are being called to action to voice their pleasure (or displeasure, depending on their perspective) concerning the fire service in this city. The battle cry in this fight is being led by the men and women of the Halifax Professional Firefighters, who unfortunately have […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
To my former bosses at the Chronicle Herald
[Image-1] Before I go any further, I’d like to take a moment and applaud husband and wife Mark Lever and Sarah Dennis. Clap. Clap. Clap. The owners of the Chronicle Herald have, over the past seven years, managed to cut the region’s largest newsroom almost in half, shedding years of journalistic experience and excellence, cutting […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Letters to the editor, January 7, 2016
Sun life A moratorium on high-volume hydraulic fracturing, commonly referred to as “fracking,” has been in place in Nova Scotia since November 2014. Efforts to further refine the definition of high-volume hydraulic fracturing have been going very slowly. Fracking advocates like Progressive Conservative leader Jamie Baillie lament that this delay may impede investment, which could […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
A new year and a new beginning
[Image-1] They say timing is everything—well now is the time for the urban aboriginal community to begin to develop a new relationship with Halifax Regional Council and the citizens of HRM. With a new year on the way, the possibilities are endless. On December 8, 2015 the mayor presented a Statement of Reconciliation to council […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Letters to the editor, December 17, 2015
Walkers vs drivers I am a pedestrian and raising my son to be a pedestrian. I disagree with your Voice of the City writer Amy McLay Paterson, who says Nova Scotia’s new transportation bill—with its infamous $697.50 fine for jaywalking—is chasing people off the streets and discouraging walking (“I am a pedestrian, and I am […]