It’s not a public inquiry, says deputy mayor Waye Mason. It’s better than that. “A public inquiry would be a moment in time. This is an ongoing commitment.” In response to continuing outcry about the discrimination faced by HRM employees, Halifax Regional Council approved a motion Tuesday requiring CAO Jacques Dubé to provide quarterly public […]
Halifax Transit
Posted inNews + Opinion
Two more ex-councillors speak up about discrimination inside HRM
Two former city councillors are joining with one of their past colleagues in demanding a public inquiry into racism within HRM’s workforce. Previous downtown and south end councillors Dawn Sloane and Sue Uteck, along with Equity Watch co-founders Jackie Barkhouse and Liane Tessier, held a press conference outside City Hall on Thursday afternoon to describe […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
How Halifax failed Randy Symonds
Marie Symonds hates the bus. Growing up, her kids were told to always be careful taking transit. If anything happened, keep calm and call her. “You never know what’s going to happen when you get on the bus when you’re Black,” she says. About a year ago, her daughter Carole was taking a bus to […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Confidential hotline, external consultant promised to address racism in HRM’s workforce
Halifax’s chief administrative officer is trying to quell growing public outrage now that the racial discrimination inside city hall’s workforce has come to light. In a public update sent out Monday afternoon, CAO Jacques Dubé says a new confidential hotline will go live next month for employees to report abuses when they aren’t comfortable going […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
No public inquiry into Halifax Transit racism says CAO
The municipality’s top manager and the transit union’s president are both laying the blame on each other for the decades of racial harassment that occurred inside Halifax Transit. Despite the confusion, chief administrative officer Jacques Dubé doesn’t think a public inquiry is needed to find out who should be held accountable. “We’re not considering that […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Maximum damages sought in Halifax Transit racism case
A Halifax Transit employee is asking for maximum damages after facing years of threats and racial harassment. The complainant is seeking the maximum allowable damages of $367,000 for psychological injuries sustained over a period of almost 20 years at Metro Transit (now Halifax Transit) and another $1 million in lost earnings and pension. The man’s […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Lawyer slams HRM’s freedom of speech defence for racial abuse
The municipality apparently feels its employees have a Charter right to call each other racial epithets. It’s the bizarre defence that lawyers representing HRM used during an independent board of inquiry into complaints of racial discrimination at Halifax Transit’s Burnside warehouse. As exposed earlier this week in the board’s decision, Black and Indigenous employees in […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Halifax fires transit supervisor
A supervisor at the Burnside bus garage has been terminated after a board of inquiry found him responsible for multiple instances of racial discrimination and harassment over the past 18 years. The Coast has learned that Halifax Transit employee Arthur Maddox was fired last week, just days before the scathing board decision by barrister Lynn […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Halifax Transit contract talks stalled
The union representing Halifax’s bus and ferry workers says contract negotiations with city hall have stalled. Local 508 president Ken Wilson announced Wednesday that the Amalgamated Transit Union is filing for conciliation as it continues bargaining for a new contract with HRM. “We’ve met over 24 times in the last 20 months,” says Wilson. “My side, […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Safer and accessible seating needed on Halifax Transit buses
When I see those blue plastic bus seats, I know I’m in for a stressful ride. Ever since Halifax Transit introduced them last year, they’ve added yet another awkward complication I’m forced to confront en route to my destination. The seats are extremely slippery and difficult to stay on, and I’ve fallen off them more […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
The worst bus in Halifax
Halifax Transit’s buses continue to arrive on-schedule far below industry standards, with the flagship Route 1 being late over half the time during rush hour. A performance report headed to HRM council next week says the overall percentage of Halifax Transit’s fleet that arrived on time in the second quarter of 2017/18 was a humbling […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Go home, you’re drunk
As midnight passes and people everywhere are staggering out of bars and house parties into 2018, there comes a challenge. You may have waited 15 minutes to get that last cocktail, but patience wears thin pretty quickly when you find yourself on the street wondering how to get home. Here are the best options. Taxis […]
