Editorial

For two years, journalist Chris Benjamin has been working on Indian School Road, examining how the government set out to solve “the Indian problem” through the horrific residential school system. The Halifax author, and occasional writer for The Coast, spoke about his new book prior to its launch. Why did you want to write this […]

The Coast: Are you just trying to preserve a memory? Why keep the Khyber? Emily Davidson: I think there’s a really good connection between the very inspiring history of the Khyber building and also the alive and exciting uses of the Khyber in recent years. It’s not as though the Khyber is only inspiring as […]

This newspaper you hold in your hands…the one whose weekly listings have long since become required reading for anyone in Halifax going anywhere at anytime to do anything; whose annual Best of Halifax plaques are sought-after cultural seals-of-approval for local businesses from restaurants to clothing boutiques to neighbourhood barber shops; whose commercial success has spawned […]

[ Jump to: Anne Derrick | Fred Connors | Robin Metcalfe | Mike Clattenburg Stephanie Bertossi | Jane Wright | Mike Campbell | Bill Lewis ] Anne Derrick Through many trials, Halifax barrister-turned-judge remains committed to social justice. The expressionist swirls of a painting by a Laing House social worker hang to the left of […]

Summing up 20 years of music in Halifax is a rough task. Confining it to a single volume of books would be tough. The Coast’s very first issue, published June 17, 1993, is very near and dear to my heart for a few reasons, one of which is that the cover featured all-female rock-pop band […]

In the beginning, we were part of a team of six friends at university, most of us working together on the school paper, all facing a post-graduation world—like today’s—of dim job prospects. So when esteemed journalist and professor Stephen Kimber planted (or didn’t, see page 5) the idea of a new publication for Halifax, we […]

Hannah Thomson photographer 1995-99 I shot my first cover for The Coast in 1995. And then worked steadily for the next four years. But before I started, I was fresh out of school and I had no idea what I was going to do with my life career-wise. I was feeling lost and waiting tables. […]

Monday, Supreme Court justice David MacAdam overturned the city’s sale of the former St. Pat’s-Alexandra school site to Jono Developments. The ruling is a victory for three non-profit groups in the north end that want a chance to put together a proposal for the property. Already I fear that we’re learning all the wrong lessons […]

For many people, the last six years have been an exercise in municipal frustration. In 2006, Halifax city council adopted the regional plan, a planning document that outlined how the city was supposed to grow over the next 25 years. It envisioned a city with sensible neighbourhoods, good transportation links and protected environments. The 2006 […]

Summer’s over and it’s time to get serious about city elections. We’ve set up a blog at thecoast.ca/VoteHRM and I will post each day until the October 20 vote, exploring issues like transit, the creation of a greenbelt and the cost of housing. But it makes no sense to talk about the nuts-and-bolts of running […]

In back-to-back weekly meetings, Halifax council has managed to contradict itself on transit policy, frustrate itself by pulling the rug out from any hope of coherent management of Metro Transit and disgrace itself with bald election pandering. Two weeks ago, council voted to cut late-night ferry service, starting next week. That vote generated a lot […]