Politicians don’t like to say what they mean anymore. It’s an annoying habit they’ve picked up over the years, but it’s one that helps them avoid accountability. Which, in turn, increases the odds they can screw up in office and still get re-elected. Being able to deflect questions is an important skill where avoiding accountability […]
Tim Houston
Posted inNews + Opinion
Nova Scotians rate Tim Houston one year after his big election win
The election that brought Tim Houston to power as premier of Nova Scotia was a year ago—August 17, 2021. To mark the occasion, we asked readers of The Coast Daily email newsletter to share their thoughts on Houston’s performance. And readers obliged, sending in dozens and dozens of emails. Three main themes emerged from this […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
“There will be some people that die from COVID”
Monday morning at 8:30, the province sent an email to media organizations advising that Dr. Robert Strang would be holding a virtual press conference at 1pm “to answer questions about COVID-19.” My first thought was that Nova Scotia’s chief medical officer of health wanted to talk about the BA4 and BA5 virus variants that are […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
We’ve never had a deadlier COVID week and Tim Houston doesn’t seem to care
The deadliest, and most confusing, phase of Nova Scotia’s pandemic began two months ago on March 21, the day premier Tim Houston removed almost all public health restrictions around masking, distancing and gathering. This was Houston’s “Mission accomplished” moment, acting as if COVID was over and we could finally get back to normal, even though […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Premier Houston’s bizarre new COVID video annotated by Twitter
Wednesday morning, the Nova Scotia government’s Twitter account released a two-minute video of premier Tim Houston and chief medical officer of health Dr. Robert Strang. Houston’s come under a lot of criticism lately for his handling of COVID, particularly because the government dropped most public health rules and stopped giving daily updates about the disease, […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Nova Scotia now has almost no COVID rules, but masks are still mandatory in schools
At one minute after midnight this morning, Monday, March 21, Nova Scotia removed almost all of its COVID-19 restrictions. Yesterday, it was illegal for more than 25 people to hang out together indoors; today there is no gathering limit. Last week, people in line at the grocery store had to stand two metres apart; today […]
Posted inArts + Music
$23 million investment in Nova Scotia’s film industry has money for a soundstage
The provincial government is putting a total of $23 million into the local film industry, premier Tim Houston announced today. Eight million of the funds will support a soundstage that, according to a press release from the province, “will increase the industry’s capacity, create more jobs and allow productions to continue year-round.” The remaining $15 […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
The X-Ring marks the spot as COVID outbreak at St. FX hits 59 cases
The COVID outbreak connected to St. Francis Xavier University is under investigation, and more new cases are expected in the coming days. As of today, 59 cases have already been tied to the outbreak. “That’s a significant number in my mind,” premier Tim Houston said Thursday after a cabinet meeting. Of the 52 new COVID […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Gambling with Nova Scotia’s future
1 A WHOLE NEW WORLD “Icome from a family of people that gamble,” John says. “I learned how to play poker from my grandfather when I was like three. I’ve always been kind of attracted to money.” This explains his Bachelor degree in business, his “early” Bitcoin investment and his steady, if unexciting, day job […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Premier Tim Houston apologizes for minimum wage “real jobs” comment
In a tense back and forth with NDP leader Gary Burrill, during one of the final days of the legislature’s fall sitting, premier Tim Houston explained why he’s not focused on hiking the minimum wage to $15 an hour. “What I’m focused on is the economy of this province and making sure that every Nova […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Rent control extended until the end of 2023
Until the end of 2023, rent in Nova Scotia cannot be hiked above a two percent annual increase. Premier Tim Houston announced the measure—a two-year extension of the pandemic-time rent control measure first set out in November 2020—today, following weeks of public pressure on the government amid the housing crisis. The PC leader, who has […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
PCs apologize for whitening the African Nova Scotian affairs department
It has been more than a month since Progress Conservative premier Tim Houston’s cabinet reveal named Pat Dunn as minister of African Nova Scotian affairs—the third white politician to hold the role since it was created in 2003. In this move the former deputy minister of the department, a Black woman, was replaced with a […]