City salary freeze
Consumer Price Index inflation in Canada has been running around 1.5 percent for the last several years. Annual wage increases to government workers have been exceeding the CPI rate, while wage settlements for non-government workers have been at or below. The HRM should take the page from premier Stephen McNeil's play book and tell its negotiators to cap all wage agreements at zero percent for the first two years, followed by increases of one percent in the third year and 1.5 percent in the fourth. Council should take the high ground and freeze their salaries for the next two years—to set the example. —PS, Halifax
A Titanic crime
I grew up in Halifax, and one of my childhood rhymes was "They built the ship Titanic." We learned about this tragedy in school, and the graveyard's rows of white crosses were a constant reminder of this horrendous disaster. "The Lord put up his hand and said 'This ship is not going to land." New research now suggests that the 1,503 passengers possibly perished by the hand of man (see "Titanic's song of fire and ice," Film + TV story by Kyle Shaw, posted at thecoast.ca January 3). Supposedly the merciless greedy owners of the Titanic, fearing financial losses, allowed it to sail for New York with an uncontrollable coal fire in its keel, and not enough life boats. They presumed it would not hit an iceberg and that the fire would burn itself out. "It was sad when the great ship went down kerblunk bubble bubble." I am sure that the Lord did put up his hand and saved the souls of the 1,503 dead passengers. However I sincerely hope that the supposed collaborators of this tragic murderous disaster are now down below shovelling coal until the end of time. Amen! —Karen R. Clarke, Dartmouth
Yes to Jacobrexit
You need to stop Jacob "the Buffoon" Boon from writing his completely idiotic opinion pieces. For a prime example, Jason [sic] "the Buffoon" called England's Brexit "anti-intellectual," without any reason or motivation ("Science March offers global warning," The City, April 20). What the hell? This was seriously one of the stupidest comments I've ever read. Fire him please. Otherwise I want to debate this loser face-to-face in public. Just set it up. —Kevin Topley, Halifax
Warning wanted
In your most recent publication, there is a Dan Savage piece titled "Dick monsters" (Savage Love, April 20). The description included at the top of the piece is brief: "You don't have to be kind to aggressive randos just because they brought booze." What it doesn't mention is that the first question in the column includes a very graphic description of rape.
I am not in any way saying that survivors of sexual assault shouldn't be able to submit questions to advice columns, or have them published—but it is unacceptable that there was no sort of content warning given for the article. It is no secret that hearing graphic accounts of sexual assault can trigger a range of emotional responses from survivors, including (but not limited to) panic attacks, dissociative episodes and self-destructive behaviour. This should not have slipped past your editors. —Emerson Roach, Halifax
Corrections
Because of a production error, Zach Faye was not credited for taking the photo on the "Twelve actors, four Seasons" story April 20. The "Gaffe house" story by Rebecca Dingwell, about the Laugh House comedy podcast, needs clarification. The story said the podcast divulged identifying details about a non-binary person, but only that person's place of employment was mentioned, not the "area where they live" as the story said, nor their name or address. Also, it wasn't clear that the quote "Now I have to edit this fucking thing" came from a different part of the podcast than the discussion of the non-binary person. The Coast sincerely apologizes for the errors.
