Along with robins, urban deer sightings, and 20-year-old men wearing shorts and flip-flops the moment the thermostat climbs above zero, one of the most recognizable hints of spring in Canada is the return of Tim Hortons’ Roll Up The Rim. It always seems to coincide with Lent. If I were into conspiracies, I’d suggest that […]
Voice of the City
Posted inNews + Opinion
Sexual harassment in the service industry
Working in food and beverage for eight years means that from a young age I was exposed to sexual harassment and sexual assault. I was made to feel that the gain and devotion of a customer mattered much more than the concerns and protection of an employee. Women are brought up hearing that we should […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
My Snapchat boyfriend
[Image-1] My relationship with my Snapchat boyfriend is the most fulfilling—and in some ways, the most honest—relationship I’ve ever had. It’s also been going on for more than a year, which qualifies it as one of my longest relationships. It’s definitely the most sexually satisfying. What in the actual hell. Part of me wonders if […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Greetings to a career I didn’t reach
[Image-1] In 1995, when I was nine years old and living in Al-Swaidaa, a city in the south of Syria, my oldest sister used to take me with her to the hairdresser once a month. My love, my dream started there. I would read fashion magazines during each visit. They were my window to a […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Trumpism can take root in Canada, but not if we fight back
[Image-1] A horrifying American election season was capped off this past weekend. It was two surreal days that seemed completely unfathomable 12 months ago. In 2016, America’s liberal and conservative establishment were blindsided not just by Trump’s success or the aggressive bigotry of his most loyal supporters, but also by the indifference of traditional Republican […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
We make beer better by making it here
[Image-1] Most of the beer consumed in Nova Scotia (by a large margin, of over 90 percent) is made by companies owned outside of Canada. We send money from our economy to theirs for something we can make better here. One measurement I invite anyone to make is to calculate the jobs/litre that craft beer […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Scotian Materials has faith in Halifax Regional Council
[Image-1] I am writing to correct the numerous factual errors in the opinion piece submitted by Nick Horne regarding Scotian Materials’ proposed mobile asphalt plant. First, some background, Scotian Materials owns a parcel of land at a remote location north of Highway 103. We have been operating a quarry at this location for the last three […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Opposition strong against Tantallon asphalt plant
[Image-1] In 2014, Scotian Materials (a New Brunswick-based construction firm) applied to Halifax Regional Council to have their lands in Tantallon converted from a protected wilderness area to a heavy-industrial zoned property so that they could install a permanent asphalt plant close to family homes, schools and daycares. This is all part of a plan by […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Canada didn’t start 150 years ago
[Image-1] Being First Nations, I am very conflicted in how to participate in the celebration of Canada’s 150th birthday—a year long celebration that is costing Canadians over half a billion dollars. On one side, I am a proud Canadian, eager to participate in the celebration of our great nation; a nation that was founded on […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Halifax should do more to make sidewalks walkable
[Image-1] Halifax is in the midst of a shift in the way that we think about our streets. In the newest round of ideas presented for the Integrated Mobility Plan, staff have made it clear that if we want to get more people out of their cars, we need to think about streets as places […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
The holidays make me reflect on my mother
[Image-1] My Mom was a lovely, caring woman who meant well, but she was an alcoholic. She would swear that she would give her life to protect me. But she was an alcoholic. I tried to help. It’s hard, though, when others around you are enablers. As a kid growing up, I knew Christmas would mean […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Long-distance love
[Image-1] Halifax is my partner and we are having an open relationship, and also a long-distance one. So, we have odds stacked against us. But such is love. I moved in when I was a tiny child, wide-eyed. I wanted to be an artist and Halifax said, “Come.” They said, “There is music here beside […]
