Growing up in India, Aro Narendran was always taught that the British rule over his country was unquestionably bad. History classes were clear that colonization was a dark and terrible period in India. “You’d have been called crazy if you thought otherwise,” he says. When he moved to St. John’s, NL for university, Narendran, who […]
Opinion
Posted inNews + Opinion
Nova Scotians rate Tim Houston one year after his big election win
The election that brought Tim Houston to power as premier of Nova Scotia was a year ago—August 17, 2021. To mark the occasion, we asked readers of The Coast Daily email newsletter to share their thoughts on Houston’s performance. And readers obliged, sending in dozens and dozens of emails. Three main themes emerged from this […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
How Halifax treats unhoused people brings shame to us all
Author’s note: Since this story ran, I’ve received feedback about the accuracy of my reporting. There is a porta potty at the Geary Street site; I’ve been told it was there when I was there a week ago. I did not see it then but I have since found it. Unfortunately as is the way […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Province’s latest housing scheme barely passes muster
On May 31, 2022, the media were invited to an announcement where the provincial minister of municipal affairs and housing, John Lohr, unveiled the PC government’s latest plan to help ease the housing crisis. The policy, titled Land For Housing Initiative, is quite simple. The province owns at least 50,000 parcels of land—maybe as many […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
How cop Nicole Green’s pursuit of justice leaves injustice in its wake
When a non-lawyer watches the legal system in action, a vague sense of injustice lingers in the aftermath. It’s often hard to nail down exactly what’s causing the malaise. There’s always a hint—a certain je ne sais quoi d’injustice. And, unsurprisingly, the same malaise that permeates courtroom proceedings also crept its way into the recent […]
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Engineers Nova Scotia, protecting Nova Scotians for over 100 years
Every year in March, the Canadian engineering community celebrates National Engineering Month. In-person and virtual events are held across the provinces and territories with intent to showcase the diversity, ingenuity, and resourcefulness of engineers as they work to find innovative solutions to everyday problems.
Posted inNews + Opinion
Nova Scotia’s COVID-19 pandemic at 2 years old
Sunday, March 15, 2020, the provincial government’s media briefing room in downtown Halifax was packed with journalists and TV cameras. This was before social distancing and gathering limits. Before masks. It was even before COVID-19 had officially arrived in Nova Scotia—this press conference would be the disease’s coming out. True to the Shakespearean warning, Dr. […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
The pitch: Halifax should give away bus passes as gas prices soar
Pop psychology gospel says it takes three weeks to make a habit stick. Just ask anyone with a Pinterest account, where elaborate, 21-day “life hacks” are pinned into ubiquity. Fast-food monolith McDonald’s knows it, too: Why else would it discount its coffee to a dollar a cup just long enough to make you change your […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Let’s Talk about action
Today is the day. The day I mute every thinkable combination of words and hashtags across all social media platforms. The day I turn off the television and radio and anything that could have advertisements. The day I wonder if I can detach my retinas by rolling my eyes too hard. Today is Bell Let’s […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Failure of imagination drives the COP26 deal to cut transportation emissions
Resolving the climate crisis isn’t just about shifting from one technology to another; it’s about shifting our ways of thinking and being. It’s a point that often gets missed in conversations about major greenhouse gas emission sources. That was illustrated at the recent 26th Conference of the Parties (COP26) climate summit, in Glasgow, where governments, […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Dear mayor and council, you can’t blame the protesters because none of you were there
I am writing to denounce the municipality’s complicity in the eviction enforcement that gave rise to the police violence around the old library on Spring Garden Road on August 18, 2021. I am especially outraged after seeing some post-protest comments from municipal elected officials and HRP spokespeople, which ranged from weak to odious. None of […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
A back-to-work to-do list for the new Nova Scotia legislature
Nova Scotia is the “home of responsible government in Canada,” the place that launched parliamentary democracy in Canada on October 2, 1758. This auspicious beginning lead to a minute 250 years later, back in the early aughts, when all these folks were singing our praises, and many Nova Scotians were walking around wearing D250 swag and […]
