The Grand Parade podcast: Did HRM staff try to pull a fast one on council?

Last week, when Halifax Regional Municipality staff gave councillors an update on how the city’s key priorities are progressing (short answer: poorly), they did so rather subtly: Not with a presentation, where councillors could ask pointed questions about the city’s lack of progress toward its goals, but instead in the form of an information item attached to the Jan 14 meeting’s agenda. Whether the sleight of hand was intentional or not, the move gave off the air of a schoolchild hiding their report card in the stack of flyers that go straight to recycling. And make no mistake: The report card was a rough one for Halifax. Of the 85 council priorities staff tracked over three years, the report concluded that nearly half (45%) showed little to no progress or that “results are worsening.” That includes, notably, council’s long-term goal of creating affordable communities.

This week on The Grand Parade podcast, The Coast’s Matt Stickland and Martin Bauman host an emergency episode to talk through the staff update and why the HRM is falling short of its goals. Plus, the two dig into Halifax Regional Police’s request for an armoured police carrier and the Board of Police Commissioners’ decision to approve it.

Listen to the episode and subscribe to the podcast below.