[Image-1] The municipality’s latest homicide has left the councillor for Halifax Peninsula North saddened and offering his condolences to all those impacted by HRM’s continuing gun crime. Lindell Smith warned those in attendance at Tuesday’s meeting of Regional Council that he might be “a little off” due to Monday night’s shooting death on Gottingen Street. “We’re […]
Justice
Posted inNews + Opinion
Doula service resumes at women’s prison
[Image-1] Inmates at the women’s prison in Truro once again have access to doulas after inexplicably being denied the volunteer support service for the past several months. “Thanks to extensive media coverage, Women’s Wellness Within [WWW] has been contacted by management at Nova Institution for Women and we hope to resume working with women who […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Doulas locked out of Nova Institution for Women
[Image-1] Female inmates at the Nova Institution for Women in Truro no longer have access to doula services, and the doulas don’t know why. “We’re available, but since the new warden took over in June we haven’t been allowed to meet with anyone,” says Martha Paynter, a coordinator with the volunteer group Women’s Wellness Within […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Fliss Cramman’s shackles removed
[Image-1] The mood was somber and supportive, but the tone indignant, as poet El Jones led a rally for the rights of Fliss Cramman, who was shackled to her hospital bed while recovering from surgery. Jones posted a call to arms on Facebook earlier this week in order to rally people to the Dartmouth General […]
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Rally to stop the deportation of Fliss Cramman set for Thursday
[Image-1] Chaining a mother of four to a hospital bed while she awaits a decision on whether she’ll be deported is torture—full stop. So says HRM’s former poet laureate and prison reform advocate El Jones, who is organizing an emergency rally outside Fliss Cramman‘s Dartmouth hospital room to try and get the Department of Justice to […]
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No safe way home
[Image-1] Take a cab. It’ll be safer. For many people out at night, looking for a secure way home, it’s a familiar refrain. Lately, a different kind of phrase is becoming familiar. And for some women, the safety promised by taxis has been anything but. Since the start of 2016, five sexual assaults have been […]
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Halifax taxi drivers keep sexually assaulting their passengers
[Image-1] For the third fourth time in as many three months, a taxi driver in Halifax has been accused of sexually assaulting their passenger. The latest incident happened July 17. It follows an incident the previous weekend when Halifax Regional Police responded to a call from a 20-year-old woman who’d allegedly been “touched in a […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Finding the strength to seek help after my sexual assault
[Image-1] Two-and-a-half years ago I was sexually assaulted, and it is by far the hardest thing I’ve ever had to go through. In many aspects of my life, I am changed. There were times when I didn’t think I could ever be happy again. There were times when I doubted myself so much that I […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Police rule out gun buy-back program to curb recent violence
[Image-1] Halifax police say they aren’t looking to bring back a 2009 program that took thousands of guns off the streets, even after the city’s recent string of shooting deaths. At last month’s Stop the Violence rally, The Coast asked Halifax Regional Police chief Jean-Michel Blais if a buy-back program was being considered in the […]
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Where are all the guns in Halifax coming from?
[Image-1] According to first quarter statistics released yesterday by Halifax police, violent crime is down in 2016, compared to the same period last year. Doesn’t feel like a very peaceful year, though, does it? Despite a recent string of gun-related homicides that shook the city, violent crime has generally been on a downward trend for […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
The justice system after Ghomeshi
[Image-1] While the Jian Ghomeshi verdict has created much discussion both nationally and locally about the justice system’s treatment of sexual assault survivors, it appears politicians are taking baby steps in response. This week, Ghomeshi appeared in a Toronto court to sign a peace bond and apologize to the former coworker he was charged with […]
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Hundreds gather in Halifax to march against violence
[Image-1] Over 600 people took to the streets of Halifax on Sunday afternoon in an effort to “stop the violence” that has left three men dead in less than a week. Stop the Violence founder Quentrel Provo organized the day’s event. Walking alongside several young children and a heavy police escort, Provo personally led the […]
