For several years me and my Indigenous community have been fighting Alton Gas and the pulp mill to keep our waters clean. My intention at the Extinction Rebellion protest on Monday morning was to try to get the government and Trudeau to make decisions and changes. The group was only supposed to march the bridge from […]
Activism
Posted inNews + Opinion
A war on every front
You are eight years old and today is the first day of fishing season. Your father has finally taken you out with him and even bought you your own pole. Though you’re too young to understand adulthood, you can tell that this is how you become the person you hope to be. Your chest swells […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
The Ecology Action Centre’s unsustainable ecosystem
No one’s speaking, but beneath the surface there’s disquiet. Over 60 supporters of the Ecology Action Centre rustle in their seats at the not-for-profit’s annual general meeting last week, inside the Halifax Forum’s Maritime Hall. For the first time ever, the media is in attendance. Reporters are placed off to the side by the cake […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
RIP Betty Peterson, iconic peace activist and voice for change
An inspirational figure who spent several decades fighting for peace around the world has passed away. Betty Peterson has died at the age of 100. The American-born activist, who served as a role model to a generation of women in Nova Scotia, leaves behind a lifetime of work battling inequality. “She’s been a familiar sight […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Dalhousie looks at fossil fuel divestment
The province’s biggest university will look at divesting its financial portfolio from fossil fuel companies. The Halifax school’s board of governors approved the motion Tuesday to investigate a new ecological option for its investment portfolio. A third-party financial consultant will be hired to figure out a financial strategy free from climate-changing fossil fuels is viable. […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Marking the anniversary of the Halifax Women’s March
Women are marching again. It’s been a year since people gathered in Washington and cities around the world to advocate for issues such as women’s rights, racial equality, LGTBQ+ rights and reproductive justice. The rally was catalyzed by the election of the Trump administration and the hateful rhetoric being spread by many of its supporters. […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Wheels in motion at the Halifax Cycling Coalition
Over the last decade, the Halifax Cycling Coalition has helped shape this city’s streets. The citizen advocacy group has fought—quite literally block-by-block—for better, safer cycling infrastructure in HRM. Its biggest win came just recently, with the approval of the Integrated Mobility Plan and designs for a connected bike lane grid across Halifax and Dartmouth by […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
A roundtable discussion with the vanguard of Halifax activism
The major news stories of 2017 highlight how much labour has come off the backs of activists, but they also emphasize how much further we still need to go. From Cornwallis and street checks to white fragility and Pride’s pinkwashing, Halifax has a lot of work to do. Fortunately, the resilient spirit of resistance in this […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Believe in Nova Scotia, not coal-fired billionaires
Last week the owners of the Donkin coal mine in Cape Breton laid off 49 workers, or just over 35 percent of the mine’s workforce. The bad news was delivered to the workers without warning from Kameron Coal, a subsidiary of the Cline Group, which is owned by US billionaire Chris Cline. Although the mine […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
The politics of bullshit
What is political bullshit? Figure out what people want, then tell them what they want to hear. Make claims that aren’t true but can’t easily be disproven. If they are disproven, attack personally whoever disproves them. If you have to, make stuff up. Promise whatever it takes to win a vote. If you break a […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
United against hate
Halifax United 2017 Saturday November 18, 12-5pm Halifax Forum Bingo Hall, 2901 Windsor Street Comment sections and social media have made Halifax feel like a cesspool of hatred as of late. Outrage over a Halifax Pop Explosion show and a Facebook post from months ago are a couple of the causes of conflict, spurring accusations […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Upcoming rally will tackle key issues faced by women in Nova Scotia
“We’re not going anywhere,” says Jackie Barkhouse. In January of this year, the Women’s March on Washington garnered support around the world—including a sister protest in Halifax. Barkhouse was one of the organizers and, since then, she’s helped continue the movement. The local protest was followed up in May by Nova Scotia Women Vote, an […]