It’s been over a week since Halifax Regional Council voted for an expert panel to examine how the city commemorates its problematic founder, but there’s still no word on who will take part. Officially, HRM has four names selected. Those individuals are being contacted by city staff for confirmation. Another four names will be selected […]
First Nations
Posted inNews + Opinion
The Donald Marshall decision and Digby’s lobster wars
A debate over illegal fishing has reached a boiling point in southwest Nova Scotia. Amidst accusations from non-Indigenous fishers about black market lobster sales, the Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaq Chiefs is calling on the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to finally clarify the policy surrounding a legal case nearly 20 years old. Mi’kmaw fishers […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Eight-person expert panel proposed to determine the fate of Cornwallis
Eight people will help decide Edward Cornwallis’ place in history, but it’ll be up to the 16 members of Halifax Regional Council to follow through on the expert panel’s advice. The municipality has released its tentative terms of reference for the special advisory committee it hopes to task with examining Halifax’s commemoration of its controversial […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Police board to discuss new services for First Nations communities
Halifax’s police oversight board wants to help serve and protect the municipality’s First Nations-owned lands. Councillor Waye Mason will put forward a motion at the next Board of Police Commissioners meeting looking to establish a more formal relationship between Halifax Regional Police and the city’s First Nations. Three Indigenous bands currently own addition-to-reserve lands that fall […]
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Cornwallis tarp already removed
Only a few hours after being covered up, the statue of Edward Cornwallis has already been unveiled. Municipal workers, under orders from mayor Mike Savage, draped the controversial monument with a black tarp during a protest early Saturday afternoon. It was a compromise from municipal officials hoping to keep the peace as nearly 300 people […]
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Daniel Paul on protest to topple Cornwallis statue: “If it goes, it goes”
The man who for decades has led the charge to bring Edward Cornwallis down from his pedestal isn’t opposed to a little civil disobedience. Organizers of a divisive protest happening this Saturday are hoping to topple the bronze, south-end statue, which they say “for too long has been representing genocide in M’ikma’ki.” Mayor Mike Savage […]
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Mayor and Mi’kmaq Chiefs oppose plans to topple Cornwallis statue
Mayor Mike Savage says both he and the Nova Scotia Assembly of Mi’kmaq Chiefs are against a protest planned to topple the statue of Edward Cornwallis. “If Mi’kmaq activists and their supporters take down the Cornwallis statue before we are given an opportunity to cooperatively forge a better way forward, we will set back progress […]
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Proud Boys are a microcosm of the unchecked violence in Canada’s military
The July 4 opinion piece in The Coast on the “Proud Boys” left out a small but important detail about the members of this fascist right-wing group: they are all members of the Canadian military, as confirmed by Royal Canadian Navy. As an Indigenous person with close ties to the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF), I think that […]
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Rear admiral apologizes for Proud Boys’ behaviour
The Proud Boys have shamed Canada’s military. At a press conference Tuesday afternoon, rear admiral John Newton apologized for the behaviour of Armed Forces members who disrupted an Indigenous protest on Canada Day. “I’ll stand here in front of you and apologize to the Aboriginal community, to anybody, the entire public community,” Newton said. “We can […]
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Pathetic, dumb and dangerous: The Proud Boys make their debut in Halifax
On July 1, a group of Indigenous activists and their allies gathered at the statue of Edward Cornwallis that inexplicably still stands in downtown Halifax to commemorate and mourn the genocide of Canada’s First Nations. In the midst of the sombre ceremony, a group of five idiots in matching polo shirts showed up singing, waving […]
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Canada’s myth of multiculturalism
Canada is a concept. A concept that’s been formed on the basis of many myths. The myth of discovery by European settlers and the myth of confederation are two that come to mind. However, there’s another myth that Canadians shy away from discussing; the myth of multiculturalism and how it came to be the centrepiece […]
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A Creation Story
Today I’m going to tell you a creation story. Many of you have heard them before, or at the very least have heard of them. We tell stories to pass on our knowledge, teach lessons and morals. This story is going to be a bit different than any story you might have heard before. It’s […]
