When the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released a special report in October warning of how quickly we’re advancing toward irreversible climate chaos, it led the —for a day. A massive study in May by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services about rapid wildlife extinction met a similar fate. In Canada, issues […]
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The Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board has an extensive public relations department, yet it seemed determined to avoid relating with “How your paycheque supports fracking in Colorado.” The PR team did not respond to multiple phone messages, email requests for an interview or a list of emailed questions sent over the course of more than […]
Speaking for The Coast: Foreign correspondence
It’s a funny thing about alternative newsmedia organizations like The Coast. More than 100 of us across the US and Canada have banded together as members of the Association of Alternative Newsmedia, and we have great meetings where people who do the specialized work of producing an urban weekly newspaper discover their peers. But because […]
On journalism and biting the hand that feeds you
Last week, as part of their Fall Economic Statement, the federal government announced several initiatives to provide financial support to news organizations, including tax credits to support the production of original news content and to support subscriptions to Canadian news media. They also announced additional direct support for non-profit local news organizations to create open […]
Trump’s words have weaponized terror
Words cannot adequately express my outrage at the attempted bombings against one of the most reliable sources of journalism in America and on this planet. It is heartbreaking to imagine what CNN workers and their families went through as these attempted bombings unfolded. Likewise for the families of the Democratic politicians, liberal supporters and Trump critics […]
25 for 25: episode 2009
Former Coast news editor Tim Bousquet joins us to talk about the day the sewage treatment plant failed and what lessons were learned at city hall. Then we get into HRM By Design and Tim’s early days live-tweeting council. Plus Paul McCartney comes to town for what’s sure to be a successful concert, chef Ray […]
25 for 25: episode 2006
The (almost) original cast of CBC’s groundbreaking television hit, Street Cents, have reunited for the first time in 25 years. Jonathan Torrens, Jamie Bradley, Benita Ha and Brian Heighton (AKA Ken Pompadour) are this week’s guests on 25 for 25. The three original cast members and Torrens (who replaced host Chris Lydon after three episodes) […]
SCIENCE MATTERS: Fake grassroots campaigns deserve uprooting
AstroTurf looks and feels like grass—in an all-too-perfect way. But it’s not grass. Now the well-known artificial turf’s brand name has taken on a new meaning, referring to purported “grassroots” efforts that are actually funded and supported by industry and political entities. Some people, organizations and campaigns around everything from forestry to fossil fuels look […]
UPDATED: False outrage over this past weekend’s Marine Band protest
Update: Since this piece was published Shaw has deleted his tweets and web producer/social media manager Andrea Jerrett has apologized to Masuma Khan. Her emailed message is shared below with Khan’s permission. “While CTV Atlantic always strives to report accurate information, in this case, our reporter did issue a tweet with incorrect information,” Jerrett writes on […]
25 for 25: episode 1995
This week on the podcast, Tara and Jacob try to clean up the mess that was the G7 summit, stroll down to the waterfront hoping to hit the jackpot at Halifax’s newly opened casino and find out what Bon Jovi got up to after the band’s Natal Day concert. The Carleton owner Mike Campbell also […]
Being Black and a tourist in Halifax
I live in Toronto. In May, I spent two weeks in Halifax visiting a friend who lives in the city. I went to the Central Library, the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, Pier 21, the Halifax Seaport Farmers’ Market, Peggys Cove, the Nova Scotia Museum of Natural History and […]
TorStar CEO wines and dines Halifax bigwigs with mini lobster rolls
Halifax officials got some Star treatment on Monday night. TorStar chief executive officer John Boynton was in town, hosting various city hotshots for dinner at The Bicycle Thief. According to one attendee, the event was to dialogue about how the Toronto Star and its StarMetro Halifax paper can shift the way they target and portray news […]

