Haligonians, like all Canadians, are fond of thinking of themselves as “better than Americans.” This thought comes with a gentle self-congratulatory pat on the back, and a brazen lack of awareness about the ways anti-Asian racism permeates the membranes of our city. When a racist, misogynist 21-year-old murdered eight people, six of Asian descent, in […]
Opinion
Posted inNews + Opinion
We’re still calling it femicide
It’s been one year since the mass shooting in Portapique. Across the province, communities and families are taking time to remember the 22 lives that were violently and prematurely taken in an act of misogynist violence. Over the past year we have all struggled to make sense of this violence, the loss of innocent lives […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Yes, we should share the vaccine
This week I—an able-bodied, healthy, working-from-home individual—have: Attended an in-person pottery class, an in-person violin lesson and an in-person yoga class. I went out for drinks after yoga with a friend, and met another friend for drinks the next night. (It’s been a long week.) I went into the office and worked in a frenzy […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Nova Scotia needs to do more to ensure its shelters embody harm reduction
Since COVID-19 arrived in Nova Scotia a year ago, we have been doing what we can to keep ourselves, our loved ones and others safe. We have masked up, social distanced and ensured our neighbours in isolation have what they need, ranging from grocery drop-offs to dog walks. We have shown Canada and the world […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Press Forward is plotting a strong future for Canadian journalism
The Coast has been part of many different trade organizations over the years, but most important in the early days was the Association of Alternative Newsmedia. We found nerds like us at AAN, journalists and entrepreneurs who loved putting out a free, feisty weekly newspaper for their city. We were welcomed by and shared knowledge […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Halifax should follow Vancouver’s lead and decriminalize drugs
While the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic shows no signs of slowing, another Canadian public health issue is worsening: The opioid crisis. Across the country, we are experiencing record-high numbers of drug-related deaths. Last week, in a move to mitigate this crisis, Vancouver city councillors unanimously voted to request that the federal government decriminalize […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Voice of the city: A premier should consider housing a human right
Last week, after more than seven years as government MLAs, two wannabe premiers—Labi Kousoulis and Iain Rankin—proposed modest, provisional versions of the much-needed policy of rent control as part of their bids for the Liberal leadership. Given that my NDP colleagues and I have been advocating for rent control since 2017 when we first introduced […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Voice of the city: The show must go on
COVID-19 has had a devastating effect on the arts sector, especially for the performing arts. Now, two months into the school year, it’s time we take a moment to shout out public school music teachers. In September, music teachers returned to work under incredibly difficult conditions with dramatic disruptions on their teaching practices. There are […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
You’re not too old to trick-or-treat if you’ve never celebrated Halloween before
Haunted houses, fake limbs planted in soil, a scary head dripping with blood. I felt like I was in the scene of a horror movie as I walked down my street in Halifax. I had seen similar images and tropes on screen, but this time, it was real. It was my first Halloween in Canada […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Landlords getting the final word on heritage designation won’t work
By March 2020, Halifax had lost a full forty percent of its historic buildings in 11 years. Out of 104 buildings inventoried as heritage assets in 2009, 43 had been demolished. More have tumbled since then. And barring drastic action to save them, the remainder will fall to the wrecker soon. Halifax Regional Council finally […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Federal court rules that the US is not safe for refugees as per the Safe Third Country Act
In a federal court ruling that came down last week, the Canada-US Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA) was found to be unconstitutional. For those of us who’ve been organizing against this agreement for years, this decision could not come soon enough. And, still, we know that much work remains. Even as the horrors of modern-day […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
250 years later, the province is still trying to shirk its promises in North Preston
A decision came out of the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia recently. The Downey v. Nova Scotia ruling affirms what pro bono lawyers and the grassroots movement of North Preston residents (that spurred the mobilization of those pro bono lawyers) have been telling the Department of Lands and Forestry for at least half a decade: the […]