A year after discovering a half-million-dollar case of vendor fraud, HRM’s procurement policies remain dangerously unguarded. In a report presented Wednesday to the Audit and Finance committee, auditor general Evangeline Colman-Sadd says the municipality’s oversite of contracts and tenders needs “significant improvement.” Twenty percent of the 94 procurement files reviewed by the Office of the […]
City Hall
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Halifax Transit contract talks stalled
The union representing Halifax’s bus and ferry workers says contract negotiations with city hall have stalled. Local 508 president Ken Wilson announced Wednesday that the Amalgamated Transit Union is filing for conciliation as it continues bargaining for a new contract with HRM. “We’ve met over 24 times in the last 20 months,” says Wilson. “My side, […]
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Council trades Willow Tree height for (some) affordable housing
Halifax council has decided 10 affordable housing units are worth more than 36. On Tuesday, councillors approved a motion moving forward with a 25-storey height for the proposed Willow Tree tower at the corner of Quinpool Road and Robie Street in exchange for some below-market rents and other public benefits. Previously on Willow Tree, a […]
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Councillor tries again for code of conduct review
After censuring one of its members for retweeting a white supremacist group and leaking confidential information, Tony Mancini is politely suggesting Halifax council take another look at this whole code of conduct thing. The Harbourview–Burnside–Dartmouth East councillor is asking for a staff report at council’s meeting next week looking for recommendations on improving his colleagues’ […]
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Mayor “prepared to revisit” integrity commissioner after Whitman debate
After yet another in-camera debate about Matt Whitman’s conduct, mayor Mike Savage is eager to explore hiring an integrity commissioner at city hall “I’m prepared to revisit that,” Savage told reporters after Tuesday’s council meeting. “I think it may be something we need to do so that we can get an impartial person to give […]
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Halifax searching for next poet laureate
Rebecca Thomas has some advice for whoever replaces her as Halifax’s next poet laureate. “Grow thick skin, but keep your heart soft,” she says. The poet’s two-year term as the municipality’s supreme scribe is ending in April and HRM is already seeking nominations for her successor. Applicants can be a poet, storyteller or spoken word […]
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Explosive costs from 100-year memorial
Honouring our heritage can be educational, sobering and life-affirming. And expensive. Much of the cost of last year’s centennial commemoration of the Halifax Explosion covered the makeover of Fort Needham Memorial Park in the north end. That job came in at slightly more than $3.5 million, according to figures provided by city hall. The refurbishment […]
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Matt Whitman worries #MeToo climate could impact how politicians hug
Matt Whitman warns that politicians need to be more careful about who they embrace, given the rising number of sexual misconduct complaints against elected officials. Speaking to reporters Tuesday at City Hall, the Hammonds Plains–St. Margarets councillor lamented how changing times are impacting the behaviour of men like him in politics. “You can’t be quite as […]
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Cornwallis statue is history
Edward Cornwallis is coming down off his pedestal, at least for a while. Halifax Regional Council voted Tuesday to remove the controversial bronze statue of the city’s founder and place it into temporary storage. There it will remain until a more permanent solution can be agreed upon in the spirit of truth and reconciliation. “We […]
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Mi’kmaq Chiefs call for immediate removal of Cornwallis statue
The Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaq Chiefs will no longer work with city hall on a solution to how Halifax commemorates its problematic founder, Edward Cornwallis. According to a press release sent out Friday afternoon, the Chiefs unanimously agree that the process to form the joint historical committee has “taken far too long and have […]
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Province passes on Bloomfield Centre
For the second time, the province of Nova Scotia won’t be buying Halifax’s Bloomfield Centre. The deteriorating former school and community centre is once again facing an uncertain future according to an update heading to Regional Council on Tuesday. Council voted last August to sell a portion of the 3.3-acre site to the provincial government […]
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Cleary downplays Stroink conflict on Willow Tree
Ask Shawn Cleary about his friendship with Joachim Stroink and he’ll tell you something this town already knows. “In Halifax, it’s one-and-a-half degrees of separation,” he says. “Everybody knows everybody.” The councillor’s platonic relationship with Armco’s latest hired gun doesn’t raise any ethical or legal conflicts, he says, even as the development firm tries one […]