Editorial

Surveillance cameras won’t reduce violent crime in Halifax because they do nothing to solve the deeper problems of poverty, racism and youth alienation. But we shouldn’t be surprised that Halifax police are testing them anyway. We live in a society addicted to quick techno-fixes, even if there’s little evidence that they work. The human rights […]

There’s something very Wizard of Oz about the violence summit that happened at City Hall. The invited guests met behind closed doors—pulling the curtain to keep the regular people out—before emerging with gifts. “We bring you surveillance cameras,” said the mayor. “We bring you more cops,” said the justice minister. And with that, the citizens […]

Last Thursday, some of Metro’s best citizens gathered at Rain nightclub for The Coast’s Best of Halifax awards. It was a large crowd, sprinkled with boldface names like film stars (Ellen Page, Thom Fitzgerald) and politicians (Maureen MacDonald, Alexa McDonough). Dawn Sloane’s mother was on hand to watch her daughter collect the Best City Councillor […]

“With words we rule,” declared England’s Benjamin Disraeli. The Tory PM’s 150-year-old notion is popular these days as Steve Harper and his pal George Bush spout misleading slogans to hide their antiquated, anti-people actions. Want to allow big polluters to let their emissions rip? Want to scuttle the Kyoto Accord on cutting greenhouse gases? Well, […]

Summer break is almost over for the province’s elected officials, who start their fall session Monday, October 30. The MLAs who are returning to their seats are not exactly the politicians who left when the legislature closed July 14. For one thing, they should be well rested. For another, they are definitely better paid. This […]

Military recruiting ads have come a long way from those First World War posters showing a stern Uncle Sam pointing a bony finger and yelling, “I WANT YOU for the US ARMY.” Nowadays, the US military has created an action-packed video game called America’s Army to entice young adults to sign up for the bloody, […]

A couple weeks ago I wrote a piece called “Seeing green” about Karl-Henrik Robèrt, the Swedish environmentalist who invented The Natural Step planning method. During a visit to Halifax, Dr. Robèrt spoke at city hall on ways to plan today for the most sustainable future. As a local example of how The Natural Step works, […]

Tears stream down an old man’s face as he remembers Africville. “It was a heaven, a home, a real home,” he says of the tiny black community on the Bedford Basin that was bulldozed by the city in the 1960s. “I’ve been around this world twice. I never met a place like Africville. Never.” That […]

The death of a bricklayer at a construction site in Lower Sackville this week followed a familiar and disturbing pattern. The worker fell four metres from a scaffold, hit his head and died. The provincial labour department then ordered his employer, Darim Masonry of Bedford, to ensure that the scaffolding and guardrails were installed properly. […]

Whether or not you go to Saturday’s Sloanye Westoner show, you’re probably paying for it. City hall offered $100,000 towards a “Proposed Major Concert” back in early July, before The Rolling Stones rumours were confirmed. The province is also putting your tax dollars to work for The Stones, at least 140,000 of them, according to […]

When Condoleezza Rice spoke at the Maritime Museum on Monday, September 11, a small group of demonstrators gathered on the street outside to greet her. Among the hand-lettered placards was a personal note to America’s chief diplomat. “Hey Condi,” the sign said, “the whole world hates you.” Be that as it may, you’ve got to […]

Who says you can’t fight city hall? Jerry Reddick, aka the Dawgfather, has been battling Halifax Regional Municipality for six years over the right to sell cheap eats outside Dal’s Student Union Building. On Tuesday, the self-styled black pugilist won another round when Regional Council overruled city staff and voted to “grandfather the Dawgfather.” That […]