Growing up in India, Aro Narendran was always taught that the British rule over his country was unquestionably bad. History classes were clear that colonization was a dark and terrible period in India. “You’d have been called crazy if you thought otherwise,” he says. When he moved to St. John’s, NL for university, Narendran, who […]
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Posted inNews + Opinion
The Queen and I
On Thursday, September 8, Queen Elizabeth II passed away at age 96 after a 70-year reign. She visited Halifax four times as Queen, so there are many people in this city with a royal story to tell. To mark her passing, we’re inviting readers to share their memories of QEII. To kick things off, we […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Why Canada’s environment minister shouldn’t call himself an activist
Prior to The Coast’s interview with Steven Guilbeault, the federal minister of environment and climate change, his staff sent a file called “Guilbeault narrative and brand (BDC)(MA).docx.” “Minister Guilbeault is an activist,” it starts. This narrative/brand document is supposed to sow the seeds of optimism in the face of the climate crisis. “People must be […]
Posted inArts + Music
For Rouge Fatale, life’s a drag
When Jason Spurrell—who performs under the drag name Rouge Fatale—took to the stage in a gown for the very first time, it was on a dare. “I had one dress, one wig. One pair of heels. I didn’t know I needed an evening gown, I didn’t know anything,” they recall, ice clattering in their glass […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Meet the local scientist changing the narrative for cancer
If you were to enter Dr. Paola Marignani’s lab at Dalhousie University, you’d find every surface covered in writing. That’s because she sees the process of coming up with an experiment the same way an artist maps out their vision before touching the canvas. “Art and science are the same to me, there’s no difference […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
The truth about great white sharks in Nova Scotia
On August 30, 1891, a 21-year-old sailor named John Roult was knocked overboard and “immediately seized” by a shark. The predator had been following the French fishing schooner Societe off the coast of Halifax. Both Roult and the shark were never seen again. At least that’s the story that appeared in the August 31, 1891 […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
From China, with Pride
Victor Jin is lying awake when he’s startled by a noise. He bolts up from his mattress on the floor. “The back door is made of glass; it would be easy to break,” he thinks, and rushes downstairs to check for an intruder. No burglar is smashing through the door. Victor, 30, is alone. It’s […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Media, money and misdirection: our Titanic investigation wraps
Last week, Halifax found out the city was getting a $300 million Titanic tourist attraction, complete with a hotel, restaurant and aquarium. We’d be treated to “the best of food and wines from Nova Scotia and around the world,” “escape hatches and virtual reality rooms” and a “revolutionary 4Dp holographic stage,” whatever that is. These […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
A Titanic fraud?
One of the fun things about working for The Coast is that sometimes we get to write stories like “Hey, do you think there are enough funny tweets about that Titanic hotel to do something with?” Related And there are, there are some absolute bangers, like these: For a lot less than $300 million, I […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
The ongoing fight for suicide prevention on Halifax’s MacKay Bridge
Amanda Dodsworth doesn’t drive across the MacKay Bridge anymore. Not since last spring. “I cry a lot when I do,” she says. In late March 2021, one of her closest childhood friends died by suicide, jumping from the bridge that looms 55 metres over the northern end of Halifax Harbour. Two bridges have spanned the […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Nova Scotia’s “discriminatorily underfunded” gender-affirming care system needs a revamp
Onna Young’s first memory of gender dysphoria is during a “puberty class” in fifth grade. “Everybody got to write down a question and have it anonymously answered,” she says. “Thirty questions went in the hat. Twenty-nine were answered, and I was held after school.” Young’s question was about whether someone wanting to transition had to […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Dalhousie University wants to tear down a 125-year-old home on Edward Street
Dalhousie University is growing. Enrolment numbers for Atlantic Canada’s largest university totalled nearly 22,000 students at the end of 2021, and have been increasing by at least 500 students annually for the past five years. Dalhousie is also expanding as a real estate developer, particularly around its Studley campus in south end Halifax. Last year, […]