[Image-1] In the heady early days of the internet, the players were few. But among that small group, there was one pioneering Canadian province: Nova Scotia—the first place in the country where the internet was widely available. On face value, we’re still doing well. In Nova Scotia, broadband internet is technically available to 99 percent […]
HUMAN rights
Posted inNews + Opinion
Talking human rights, with Amnesty International Canada’s secretary general
[Image-1] The Canadian branch of international human-rights organization Amnesty International will gather this weekend in Halifax for its annual general meeting. Secretary general Alex Neve spoke about the never-ending battle for human rights. What will members of Amnesty International Canada be doing in Halifax? The simple answer is we will be gathering for our annual […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
It took seven years to get a decision from the Human Rights Commission
[Image-1] Update: You can read the full decision by board of inquiry chair Lynn Connors online. It finds Pearl Kelly was discriminated against because of her sex and disability. Connors also owns up to being behind the eight ball in her decision. I am late in filing this decision. There are a number of reasons. […]
Posted inLifestyle
Nova Scotia misses the mark
Jainey Lee Bresson is a woman with a trans medical history. Last year, in the midst of her transition from male to female, she applied for her name to be changed, and for the correct designation of her gender to be shown on her government-issued ID. Two months later, she was issued a birth certificate […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Hoping for something better
Jessica Dempsey, a transgender woman, is asking the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia for a judicial review of a recent decision made by the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission. Dempsey, a Halifax resident and former Dalhousie student, filed a complaint with the NSHRC last year after she was allegedly refused service and humiliated by two […]
Posted inLove the Way We Bitch/Love
Pagan Intolerance
The lack of attention given to hate crimes and bullying against wiccans/pagans is starting to tick me off. I identify as pagan, and the acts of violence and emotional abuse I’ve witnessed and been a victim of myself is awful. Right now, everyone is talking about how the bullying of gay people needs to stop, […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Omar Khadr’s treatment ruled supremely unjust
In a sharply worded 9-0 ruling, the Supreme Court declared last week that the federal government’s ongoing treatment of Omar Khadr violates the principles of fundamental justice and his right to liberty and security. In one scathing passage, the judges condemned Canadian officials for repeatedly interrogating the Canadian teenager at the Guantanamo Bay torture camp […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Seven human rights complaints involve HRM or its employees
Last week constable Charles Bruce, who is black, filed a complaint against the Halifax Police Department with the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission. In the complaint, Bruce alleges that he was passed over for promotion on account of his race. Bruce’s complaint is just the latest to arise in the ranks of HRM. Sergeant Robyn […]