Liane Tessier says she decided to start the Equity Watch group because she doesn’t want anyone else to go through what she did. Tessier is a former firefighter who fought for 12 years to receive a settlement for her human rights complaint. She has recounted the instances of bullying and gender-based harassment she experienced while […]
HUMAN rights
Posted inNews + Opinion
Former firefighter reaches human rights settlement with Halifax
A former Halifax firefighter is expected to receive an apology for the gender discrimination she faced while working at a station in Herring Cove almost 20 years ago. Liane Tessier was granted a hearing from the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission last year, after fighting for nearly a decade to have her case heard. Tessier […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Federal trans rights bill passes without amendment
Bill C-16, the federal trans rights bill, passed in the Senate today with a vote of 67-11. This bill calls for the Canadian Human Rights Act to be amended by adding gender identity and expression to the list of prohibited grounds of discrimination, which currently includes colour, sex and sexual orientation, among others. In an […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
We need to talk about Venezuela
On Saturday, May 20, Canadians and Venezuelan-Canadians gathered at Grand Parade in solidarity with Venezuelans fighting against president Nicolas Maduro. I organized this gathering in response to the countless protests happening in Venezuela over the past 53 days. They started in March, when president Nicolas Maduro dissolved the opposition-led National Assembly. This means that there is […]
Posted inArts + Music
Gaffe House
“They’re words, goddamn it.” Andrew Vaughan speaks into the microphone before his audience at The Company House on April 11. His routine is part of the weekly Laugh House event: Experienced comedians and newbies alike take the stage in 10-minute segments to work the crowd. Ahead of each event, a live taping of a podcast […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Halifax women protest in solidarity with Washington
[Image-1]When Dawn Ferris first heard the results of the US election, she was devastated. “There’s equal concern here, north of the border,” says the Halifax activist. “If you’re not a white, wealthy, fully able-bodied male under the Trump reign—you’re gonna be negatively impacted over the next four years.” People who share Ferris’ unease are taking […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Questions linger over Halifax police’s street check data
Nzingha Millar says recent statistics released by Halifax Regional Police makes her question the progress made when it comes to racial profiling the community. “This is anti-black racism specifically–not just non-white people being checked.” Millar is currently a student in the one-year journalism program at King’s. She’s one of four panelists scheduled to participate in […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Weapons of mass intimidation
[Image-1] It was a police emergency like few others. A man, possibly armed with a sword, had broken into a house and was fleeing the scene in a canoe on the Northwest Arm. Two police cars arrive at the Armdale Yacht Club, the officers inside looking to hitch a ride on a boat so they […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Tony Smith is still looking for the truth
[Image-1] The restorative model of the long-sought public inquiry into decades of abuse at the Nova Scotia Home for Colored Children is designed to answer questions about what went wrong and help with healing for Tony Smith and others who lived at the home. The Coast: What are you hoping to get out of the […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Bending towards justice: Nova Scotia’s human rights trials
[Image-1] Many of us have never been the victims of intolerance or persecution—or worse. But other Nova Scotians have unfortunately been subject to civil rights abuses. The history of this province also includes decisive human rights triumphs, and late-hour victories that came decades after the wrongs had taken place. In honour of Human Rights Day […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Nova Scotia Power’s coal is “drenched in blood”
[Image-1] According to Nova Scotia Power’s website, coal still accounts for about 59 percent of energy production in our province. And according to Colombian union activist and lawyer Francisco Ramirez Cuellar, this coal is “drenched in blood.” The vast majority of this coal comes from international markets, including Colombia, where 3,000 union organizers have been […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Turmoil at the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission
[Image-1] In Nova Scotia, race relations are strained, gender equality remains an issue, LGBTQIA people still face challenges and barriers, and the disabled must be vigilant so that they aren’t ignored or shafted. So having a stable, smoothly running human rights commission seems like a good idea. In its 2015-16 statement of mandate released last […]