Editorial

Thank god for rising oil and gas prices. SUV sales are down, people are getting leery of suburban sprawl, businesses are trying to use less fuel. The sorts of changes that environmentalists have been advocating for years—to fight global warming—are now going mainstream because of a little pain at the pumps. The end of the […]

In honour of the International Year of the Potato, I planned to scribble an editorial this week lauding the humble spud. But then, Mrs. Prentice’s boy Jim—who obviously has mashed potatoes for brains—introduced his new copyright bill. It would place severe restrictions on our enjoyment of music and movies, TV shows, e-books and photos. So, […]

Welcome to The Coast’s 666th edition, the Issue of the Beast. A couple weeks ago was the paper’s 15th anniversary, and around then I was in a meeting with some local business owners and I mentioned the birthday. The group burst into applause, a thankfully brief ovation that I felt a little embarrassed accepting for […]

The boys and girls at the New York Times seemed shocked in April when they uncovered a military propaganda campaign aimed at the American people. The US defence department had recruited more than 75 retired military officers to talk up the invasion of Iraq and then, to boast about the “success” of the US occupation. […]

Bigfoot is at the Spring Garden Road library (in the Don Hunter book Sasquatch, for example). Ditto the Loch Ness monster, the fountain of youth, Oak Island’s treasure and the Bermuda Triangle (this last is available on DVD in an episode of Scooby-Doo, where are you!). The library’s holdings on the mythical and mysterious are […]

Donald Clairmont was visibly enjoying himself as hepresented his massive report on crime, violence and public safety to city council last Friday. The gregarious 69-year-old retired sociology professor said he spent about 1,600 hours over the last year-and-a-half on research and writing. “I could have been drinking beer and watching Captain Kangaroo,” he joked, “but […]

The premier was so upset with a recent headline in The Chronicle Herald atop a story on energy conservation that he had his office send letters to 24 other newspapers to explain himself. The headline said “take the bus” in paraphrasing the premier’s comment, “take up the opportunity for transit.” —from the Herald on May […]

Note from the web editor: Why we are running this Upfront again? Well, because it recently sparked an email debate that speaks clearly to the murkiness surrounding this issue. After reading this article, Dave McCusker, Manager of Strategic Transportation Planning at Halifax Regional Municipality, sent our news editor, Tim Bousquet, a letter. Tim passed it […]

War. Famine. Blackout. The rising price of oil has some heavy implications. But what’s the one that North Americans are freaking over? The high cost of gasoline. Politicians of all stripes, presidential candidates to premiers, are facing calls to lower gas taxes from a consistently whiny group: Those among us who are convinced cheap gas […]

Imagine my surprise when I heard CBC radio proclaiming last week that George Bush was “trying to revive the stalled Mideast peace process.” As the Israelis slaughter Palestinians in Gaza with US-made fighter jets, helicopters, tanks, missiles and guns, the CBC tells us that Bush is working for peace. This kind of propaganda is a […]

The most exciting thing happening in Halifax development is, strangely enough, a bureaucratic exercise—the HRM by Design planning plan. (The new Farmers’ Market comes in a close second.) HRM By Design started in July 2006, asking for public ideas on improving the city’s urban core, continued through more brainstorming sessions and updates, and almost two […]

The philosopher Immanuel Kant argued we should never treat people as simply a means to some end. But that’s exactly what Canada’s immigration system does when it evaluates prospective immigrants based on their skills, education or money. We assume that the most desirable immigrants are those who can fill high-end jobs and contribute to a […]