Editorial

Building a culture of peace may seem like an impossible dream when rich nations are spending billions in Afghanistan waging war on the world’s poorest people, all in the name of self-defence. Yet participants at a conference this week at Mount Saint Vincent University know full well that discussing ways of building a culture of […]

On November 24, 2008, the Nova Scotia legislature debated Bill 179, which, if passed, would give the Halifax Regional Municipality its own charter, giving HRM powers that other cities and towns in the province don’t have. No longer would the city have to ask the province for permission every time the city needed to undertake […]

As Canada’s finance ministers discussed pension reform at a seaside resort on Prince Edward Island last week, about 125 union members marched outside the gates chanting, “Hey-ho! Hey-ho! CPP has got to grow.” The workers, who sported blue t-shirts emblazoned with the words “Retirement Security for Everyone,” also waved placards calling on federal and provincial […]

As the planet continues to bleed oil in the Gulf of Mexico, this is a good time to take stock of our local energy strategies. Unfortunately, the province seems stuck in a permanent quest for elusive offshore riches, the idea being we’ll build our economy on exporting oil and natural gas. As Larry Hughes, of […]

Our new NDP government has turned its back on its dearest friends. At the party convention last weekend, Darrell Dexter made a point of not thanking the opposition parties and the media for helping his government weather its first year in office. Yes, the NDP won the provincial election a year ago this week and […]

No such thing as a free lunch? Well, how about Dalhousie Mountain on April 23, where Darrell Dexter unveiled his government’s renewable electricity targets? Due to the generosity of Nova Scotia taxpayers, about 200 invited guests stuffed their faces with free sandwiches as they gazed at the gaggle of wind turbines that served as giant […]

It’s easy to cry foul when city bureaucrats call for a tax increase, but I’m going to give lukewarm support for staff’s proposed 2010-11 city budget. First, the details. Staff is proposing an operating budget of $731.4 million. That reflects $16 million in new taxes ($56 for the average house in HRM), but also $19.5 […]

After decades of neo-liberal assault, our public institutions are in sad shape, none more so than CBC. A recently leaked survey of 24 CBC national radio reporters revealed that 95 percent felt morale was lower than it had ever been during their careers. Yes, 24 is a small sample for any survey, but this one […]

Last week, provincial infrastructure minister Bill Estabrooks nearly made good on his pledge to release uncensored versions of the four reports that supposedly make the business case for a new convention centre—one of the reports, by Criterion Communications, was redacted in two places, and another, by the consulting firm Deloitte, had a redacted table in […]

Nova Scotia’s energy minister was delivering a prepared speech atop Dalhousie Mountain, Pictou County last Friday when he suddenly stopped to observe, “My god, it’s quiet isn’t it?” Bill Estabrooks was standing beneath the barely-turning blades of a 400-foot wind turbine. Six of nine turbines in the distance stood stock still. Seemingly unaware of the […]