There are far better ways to improve standards of living in Uniacke Square than throwing up dehumanizing security cameras. So says Josh Creighton, who used to live in the public housing community. He calls plans to install a new surveillance system in the area an invasion of privacy, and proof of the wide disconnect between […]
City Council
Posted inNews + Opinion
Poet laureate heartened by council’s Cornwallis vote
While Halifax Regional Council was debating the legacy of Edward Cornwallis on Tuesday afternoon, Rebecca Thomas was following along from the other side of the country. The municipality’s poet laureate is in Vancouver this week, competing in the Canadian Individual Poetry Slam. So she wasn’t able to attend Tuesday’s council meeting, where it was approved […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Panel of experts to review use of Cornwallis name
Halifax will finally get some truth and reconciliation on its controversial founder, Edward Cornwallis. On Tuesday, Regional Council voted 15-1 to assemble a panel of experts to review and recommend changes on how HRM commemorates Cornwallis. The motion from Halifax West Armdale councillor Shawn Cleary also asks for recommendations on how the city can better […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Halifax scoping out economic partnership with Zhuhai, China
The municipality is hoping a partnership with the Chinese city of Zhuhai will be a great opportunity to increase Halifax’s economic development. Last Thursday, the standing committee for Community Planning and Economic Development passed a motion to move forward with an economic partnership agreement with Zhuhai. According to a staff report, the Chinese city is considered a […]
Posted inArts + Music
Is the downtown big enough for two cultural hubs?
Two projects aiming to create cultural hubs in the downtown will both depend on public funding, but organizers for the renovated Khyber building and Culture Link Inc. aren’t worried about stepping on each other’s toes. Earlier this month the newly created Culture Link Inc. announced plans to convert the former World Trade and Convention Centre […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Halifax’s food insecurity is creating unhealthy communities
The city has a long way to go to create a healthy, just and sustainable food system. A new report, called Food Counts: Halifax Food Assessment, outlines some problems with food accessibility throughout the city. It was created by the Halifax Food Policy Alliance, which collected data showing that many people in HRM still don’t […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Halifax CAO apologizes for harassment text
The city’s chief administrative officer has apologized to HRM employees for an inappropriate text message he sent to a subordinate. “As CAO, I should have known better and not assumed that I had permission to communicate about a matter unrelated to work,” writes Jacques Dubé, in an email sent out Thursday afternoon to all city […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
“Destroy the Indians”
On October 1, 1749, governor Edward Cornwallis gathered his council in Halifax to discuss the growing French and Mi’kmaq threat. Cornwallis’ bright successes at the Battle of Culloden and in the Scottish Pacification may have been illuminating his mind when the councillors met in his Parade Square home. The Halifax settlement was small, isolated from […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Council Report Card 2017
There’s a new council in town. Last fall’s election went and disrupted the political DNA at City Hall. Some heavy hitters—at least in terms of career lengths—are gone from council chambers and a new team of fresh, young faces are finding their footing and taking over the city’s reins. It’s a strong group that already […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Halifax CAO’s Beaverton parody prompts harassment complaint
Chief administrative officer Jacques Dubé’s attempt at humour is no laughing matter at city hall. Sources with knowledge of the situation confirm a harassment complaint has been made against the CAO over a text message he sent two months ago to one of his employees. The message includes a rewritten version of an article first published by […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Cogswell redevelopment bucks the (energy) system
The city’s plans for the Cogswell Interchange redevelopment are centered on creating a source of renewable energy out of the wastewater coming from the nearby sewage treatment plant, though it remains unclear whether this will attract or deter potential buyers. The energy in the wastewater would be converted into thermal energy at a transfer station […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Waste of commercial space
The city should have a better grasp on a neighbourhood’s commercial needs when approving new developments, says the councillor for Cole Harbour–Westphal. Lorelei Nicoll asked for a staff report this week looking at options for including retail and commercial policy concerns in any significant development proposals and planning amendments brought to city hall. The councillor […]
