Way back on August 31, Halifax Regional Council held a special meeting to discuss the housing crisis. It was only a few weeks after the violent police action on August 18, and the disturbing images from that day were still at the forefront of the city’s collective consciousness. The meeting was mainly councillors feeling remorseful, […]
Mike Savage
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“Massive” Cogswell redevelopment coming for 2025-2026
The redevelopment of the Cogswell Interchange, which is billed as the biggest city-building project in Halifax’s history, is expected to finish up in the 2025-2026 fiscal year. Construction will break ground this winter on the rebuild that mayor Mike Savage says will bridge a gap between peninsula Halifax’s north end and the downtown core. “Make […]
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HRM says modular housing units will be here “before the snow flies”
For several months, unhoused people in HRM have been struggling to find a safe place to sleep. Residents “sleeping rough,” as the city has dubbed it, have had municipal workers threaten eviction, seen promises of shelter announced and then revoked and been the focal point of violent police action. Many houseless citizens eventually settled at […]
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City council report: Housing is never far from council’s thoughts
Highlights from Tuesday’s regular meeting of Halifax Regional Council include a plan for 137 new affordable housing units in HRM, a doubled housing grant program and a mobile shower pilot that’s supposed to start this week. During the Sep 28 meeting, council doubled the amount it will spend on an affordable housing grant from $200,000 […]
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City responds to housing crisis with modular units and staffer used to emergencies
The assistant chief of emergency management for HRM usually deals with the fallout from hurricanes, power outages and nor’easters. Erica Fleck has been in that position since 2017, but the duties of the job largely changed earlier this month when Fleck was assigned to what the city calls “a three-month role leading the emergency response […]
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Welcome to Halifax, students, here’s a run down of your local politicians
Let’s be honest: sometimes politics can be overwhelming. But we’re here to introduce university students to their new home, right here in the Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM). Now that you’re here, it’s good to know who you can complain to. Knowing who represents your community is an important part of being an engaged citizen, and […]
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25 for 25: episode 1997
The year 1997 is when Mike Savage first tried—and failed—to enter politics. It’s also the year his father, John Savage, resigned as premier. The mayor joins us in studio to talk about both events and his family’s history in Dartmouth of yore. University of King’s College professor Susan Dodd is also here to discuss the […]
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City Council Report Card 2018
There’s a renaissance of buffoonery at City Hall. Whatever goodwill towards fellow councillors existed two years ago, when this self-righteous clique was elected, seems to deteriorate daily. There are spiteful remarks and passive aggressive attacks, on social media and in front of TV cameras. Some turn the other cheek. More than a few dig in […]
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Matt Whitman stands by white supremacists’ message
All the people who don’t like Matt Whitman just don’t know the “real” Matt Whitman. So says Matt Whitman. “They just know the guy that criticized an RCMP officer for giving someone a ticket,” says the councillor. “Or the guy that ran around his car with his 19-year-old son after coming from a funeral.” Or […]
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Mayor on Cornwallis panel: “I don’t really think it’s useful to point fingers”
The Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaq Chiefs wants immediate action. Halifax mayor Mike Savage, however, is looking forward to more conversation. On Friday afternoon the Assembly officially walked away from participating in HRM’s historical panel on the legacy of Edward Cornwallis. The Chiefs cited ongoing delays in dealing with city hall and called for the statue […]
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Halifax will try to “wow” Amazon
Mike Savage will try and sell Halifax to Amazon and that’s just barely an embellishment. The Seattle-based mega-company announced on Thursday that it’s looking for a location to build a second headquarters, dubbed HQ2. Amazon says it will invest $5 billion US on the project, which it claims will employ up to 50,000 workers over the […]
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Savage and MacPherson face off at public forum
[Image-1] Mayoral incumbent Mike Savage and election challenger Lil MacPherson, co-owner of the Wooden Monkey restaurant, squared off on Tuesday night during a debate hosted by HRM’s eight business improvement districts. The event, held at the Westin Hotel, covered a range of issues from environmental concerns to city development. Here are some of the highlights. […]