Let’s talk about the exciting world of bylaw simplification! Right now, there are a couple dozen planning strategies and land-use bylaws on the books in HRM, along with a plethora of other outdated bylaws and regulations, many of which pre-date amalgamation. It’s a patchwork of civic governance, amended piecemeal over the past 20 years—if amended […]
City Hall
Posted inNews + Opinion
City hall’s equity watchdogs
It’s been a year since Liane Tessier got her apology. A lot has changed since then, but not much is different. For 12 years, the former firefighter battled city hall looking for justice. Her human rights case was finally settled last December with a muddled sorry-not-sorry from chief Ken Stuebing. Tessier experienced systemic gender discrimination, […]
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Arts hub gets $10 million in public funding
Looks like downtown will finally get some Culture. The Link Performing Arts Centre will receive $4.5 million in funding from the federal government. Pablo Rodriguez, minister of Canadian Heritage and Multiculturalism, made the announcement on Monday alongside Halifax MP Andy Fillmore. “The Halifax region has benefited greatly from arts and culture for many years,” Fillmore […]
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Raymond Taavel to be memorialized with city park

A small park at the corner of Barrington and Inglis Streets is set to be renamed after Raymond Taavel, six years after the celebrated LGBTQ+ activist’s tragic death. 
Taavel was one of the city’s most prominent voices for gay rights—instrumental in bringing about HRM’s first public proclamation of Pride Week, raising the rainbow flag at […]
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Unclear how many people have signed up for CFL season tickets
Maritime Football isn’t releasing many details about its season ticket campaign. The company announced last week that 5,000 pre-sale deposits have already been made towards season tickets for Halifax’s unnamed, unconfirmed CFL expansion team, just two weeks after the ticket drive was announced. But 5,000 tickets doesn’t equal 5,000 butts in seats. Pre-sales on season […]
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Halifax steps up to fund Africville Museum
Halifax is stepping in to help keep the Africville Museum running. On Monday, the city’s grants committee approved a three-year operating grant of $8,000 to help the underfunded museum keep its lights on. This is a first for the municipality. The money is coming out of an interim community grant program that helps support a […]
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Dartmouth 4-pad named after bank
Surprise! It’s a bank. It was announced today that RBC will dump $1 million over the next decade into Halifax’s Dartmouth four-pad arena. As a result, the facility will now be formally known as the RBC Centre. The bank purchased the right to stick its branding all over municipal property by offering up $100,000 per […]
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Council approves new campaign 
finance rules
Halifax council has approved its first ever set of campaign finance rules, putting restrictions on who can donate and how much can be contributed to a municipal election. Donations from any corporation, union or organization are now illegal under the new bylaw, which was approved at Tuesday’s meeting. The limit for an individual to donate […]
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New smoking bylaws to be enforced starting October 15
You’ve got two more weeks to light up on public property. Come October 15, Halifax will officially start enforcing its new bylaw amendments banning all smoking on public property outside of designated smoking areas. A “couple dozen” smoking areas will initially be in place come October 15, just two days before cannabis is legal. “We […]
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Halifax doubles down on consultants
Halifax Regional Municipality has nearly doubled the amount of money it spends on consultants, according to an analysis of the approved 2018-19 budget, but whether the city is getting what it pays for is harder to determine. Council earmarked $2.08 million for consulting fees this year, compared to the $956,600 it spent last year. It’s […]
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Delay in addressing workplace racism a “slap in the face,” says councillor
It shouldn’t be taking this long. This week at council, staff presented a progress update on efforts to address widespread racism within city hall’s workforce, as documented in the 2016 Employment Systems Review. The update on that external consultant’s report comes more than two years since its completion and nine months after Peninsula North councillor Lindell […]
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Planner’s exit could impact Centre Plan
Mayor Mike Savage isn’t sure what sort of impact Jacob Ritchie’s departure from city hall will have on the long-delayed Centre Plan. The urban planner has been shepherding the new planning bible through a slow, often delayed approval process for the past few years. But this week he’ll be leaving city hall behind to head […]
