Breaking from the dominant position of their colleagues, this week over 300 doctors across the country sent a letter to finance minister Bill Morneau voicing support for proposed tax changes that will eliminate several money-saving mechanisms used by many Canadian physicians. Monika Dutt, a family physician in Cape Breton, is one of the signatories. Dutt […]
Nova Scotia
Posted inNews + Opinion
Party’s over at the IWK
Nova Scotia’s auditor general will conduct financial and performance audits on the IWK hospital’s books and turn over all the information to police “for their consideration on any possible legal matters.” The announcement from AG Michael Pickup was made Tuesday afternoon. It’s the latest chapter in a growing expense scandal that’s been plaguing the Halifax hospital […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Wade Smith’s Afrocentric legacy
Andre Fenton barely made it to class in his first two years of high school. But the poet and activist eventually graduated with honours after finding inspiration in an Afrocentric literature course he took his senior year. “If it wasn’t for that class, I would not be doing spoken word poetry,” says Fenton. “It influenced […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Province reluctant to legislate university sexual assault policies
With orientation week just around the corner, thousands of students attending Nova Scotian universities will be living, working and learning on campuses without developed sexual assault policies. The problem, according to the Canadian Federation of Students, is the Nova Scotia Liberal Party’s reluctance to pass legislation mandating the development of sexual assault policies on all […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Ray Ivany finally gets his name on something of value
Embracing the only real tangible result of the Ivany Report—using the word “Ivany”—the Nova Scotia Community College is honouring Ray Ivany. To that end, NSCC’s waterfront campus will henceforth be known as the Raymond E. Ivany campus. The bold rebrand was announced during a ceremony Tuesday in Dartmouth. “NSCC is a place where youth are […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Home for Colored Children inquiry still on track
It’s been over six months since a progress report was released by the restorative inquiry examining past abuse at the Nova Scotia Home for Colored Children. Officials plan to have their next update ready for the fall, to be made public shortly after MLAs resume sitting at Province House, says inquiry spokesperson Tony Smith. Smith, […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
City council gives province 120 days to figure out a future for Bloomfield
Halifax is giving the provincial government one more shot to get it right at Bloomfield. On Tuesday HRM council voted to sell the former north end school to the province, with the implicit hope of using the site for a new Francophone school. Although councillor Lindell Smith’s motion doesn’t specifically name any organizations, the Conseil […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Domestic violence court fast-tracked
A Halifax court designed specifically to deal with domestic violence will open sooner than planned. The court, based on a pilot project in Sydney, Cape Breton, appeared set to launch sometime in 2018. But at a recent meeting between provincial justice department bureaucrats and community advocates, it was announced the court will be up and […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
P3 schools debacle, lessons not learned?
Last summer, my organization published an evaluation of the 39 P3 schools built in the late 1990s. We concluded that it was a failed experiment marred by cost overruns, massive private profits, mismanagement and an overarching lack of evidence-based decision-making (echoing the Auditor General). We recommended that the province take the discount rate (43 percent […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Climate change a large, systemic problem for Maritime farmers
A year-long research project from Oxford University’s Environmental Change Institute says small-scale farms in the Maritimes are vulnerable to rapid and long-term disruptions caused by climate change. Just how vulnerable is “vulnerable?” “Pretty vulnerable, is the answer,” says Bernard Soubry. The Master’s candidate in environmental change and management compiled the newly released study, which says […]
Posted inArts + Music
Summer Theatre Preview
The summer months are perfect for road trips. There is seafood to eat, waterfalls to trek to, and an abundance of theatre to see across the province. With over 20 shows, not including the late-summer Halifax Fringe Festival, where does one even begin? From Shakespeare by the Sea in Point Pleasant Park to Tony Award-winning […]
Posted inLifestyle
Six restaurants worth booking a vacation around
The Bite House As if you need an excuse to go to Cape Breton but, if you’re a fickle road trip-taker, allow the 12-seater Bite House to make up your mind. After spending years cooking in Montreal and Europe, Bryan Picard opened in an adorable farmhouse in Baddeck in 2014. The restaurant takes much inspiration […]