Dear Nova Scotia, Today marks our two-year anniversary. Writing this letter has additional significance to me because it is the first time I have written a love letter in my 25 years of existence. And although it isn’t to a person, rather a place, you have changed me in much the same way I envision […]
Nova Scotia
Posted inNews + Opinion
No sugar-coating NS election results
In the aftermath of the May 30 election, Nova Scotia NDP leader Gary Burrill claimed that the NDP’s “trajectory of difficulty has been reversed,” the glass is “way more full than empty” and “we have won, because only the NDP has opened up a door to hope.” Yet the NDP received its fewest votes since […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Liberals get another shot at saving Nova Scotia’s ecology
The Liberals started their re-election campaign promising decisive new actions on environmental policy: Implementing the party’s cap-and-trade proposal, holding another review on forestry and clearcutting, legally protecting our coasts and passing a Biodiversity Act. Now that Stephen McNeil’s government has won a second majority, environmentalists are waiting to see how quickly the Liberals follow up […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Michelle Coffin is reclaiming her story
On a recent Sunday afternoon in May, Michelle Coffin’s doorbell rang. Leaving her apartment to answer it, she was surprised to find her upstairs neighbours already in the shared vestibule of their building. Just beyond them stood the Liberal MLA seeking re-election in her riding, Labi Kousoulis. Next to him, to bolster support, was federal […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Liberals win second majority in close election
It was a night of twists and turns, but the Liberal Party will once again form Nova Scotia’s government. The victory was bittersweet, though. Stephen McNeil’s second mandate lost several important seats, and just barely held onto the party’s majority at Province House. Still, the premier-designate called the night’s results “democracy at its best.” “Nova […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Deciphering which election promises will be kept, and which will be forgotten
My day job involves speaking to Nova Scotians who are struggling to access public health care and trying to help them organize to demand better service in their communities. Unsurprisingly, I’ve been on the road a lot this month and I’ve heard frustrating, often heartbreaking stories of people whose communities, and too often their family […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Why the Liberals need to win Halifax
As Nova Scotia’s party leaders prepare to make their closing arguments before voters head to polls on May 30, experts say one question will be key to determining whether outgoing premier Stephen McNeil’s Liberal government wins a second mandate: Will the province’s sprawling capital stay primarily red? “Halifax is pivotal,” says Dr. Jeffrey MacLeod, a […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
When will Jamie Baillie be premier?
Failure is not an option for Jamie Baillie. “Oh, we’re going to win,” he says. “I’m in this to win.” This election will be the Progressive Conservative leader’s second attempt to form a government. He might not get a third. The goal is a PC majority. Anything less, Baillie will need to atone for. Honestly, […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
What’s next for the NDP?
So it’s the homestretch of the provincial election and a guy, a proud NDP supporter, asks Gary Burrill how it’s all going. “We’re going to put our head down and give her all we’ve got,” the party leader replies. The guy, Burrill later recalls, wasn’t too impressed with that answer. “Oh no, Gary,” he says. […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Where has the Green party been?
With his voice travelling over five thousand kilometres to play on speakerphone, Thomas Trappenberg is not where you would expect the leader of Nova Scotia’s Green Party to be during a provincial election—he’s in Anchorage, Alaska. “I wish we had more time,” Trappenberg says, with a rueful laugh. “I was already up here [in Alaska] […]
Posted inLifestyle
Falling through the cracks
Few people know Nova Scotia’s mental health system as well as Truro’s Twyla Wilband. “It’s been a long road to say the least,” Wilband said, who was first diagnosed with anxiety and depression at the age of 14. Living in New Brunswick, Wilband received some counselling at school but the illness became increasingly severe, leading […]
Posted inLifestyle
From a fellow warrior
A small painting hangs on the wall of the Antigonish Public Library. Its edges are a somber mix of grey, black and white, which become a brilliant array of colourful brushstrokes. At the centre of the canvas is a grey door. “‘Nothing can keep you from shining.’ A collaboration between Jordon Myles and Taryn Langille,” […]