The Purcell’s Cove area (from Williams Lake to Ferguson’s Cove) is a place of striking beauty. A significant part of the Backlands to the west of the area will become Halifax’s new Urban Wilderness Park. The serenity the Cove’s appearance contrasts sharply with the tension in its relationship with the central city since its annexation […]
Voice of the City
Posted inNews + Opinion
Refugee moms at serious risk for postpartum depression
Her first pregnancy is a unique experience in any woman’s life. Welcoming a new family member could be an exciting event, especially for a woman becoming a mother for the first time. However, this isn’t always the case for newcomer Syrian refugee women resettling in Canada. From November 2015 to January 2017, 40,000 Syrian refugees […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Trump’s words have weaponized terror
Words cannot adequately express my outrage at the attempted bombings against one of the most reliable sources of journalism in America and on this planet. It is heartbreaking to imagine what CNN workers and their families went through as these attempted bombings unfolded. Likewise for the families of the Democratic politicians, liberal supporters and Trump critics […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Gothic Voices of the City
Every year Dalhousie University awards its Varma Prize to English students who compose original works of gothic fiction. The award is named in memory of Devendra Varma, former professor emeritus at Dal and a former honourary vice-president of the Vampire Research Society. For your horror this Halloween, the Midnight Society once again proudly presents, in order, […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Diversity, inclusion and the Progressive Conservative Party
Gender bias is real. Health research highlights the risks associated with gender bias and the benefits of incorporating diversity to gain a broader, more informed approach to making decisions about public health. Health research has also revealed the limitations of using men to reflect the needs of the public, which supports a larger conversation about […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Turn the ship around and come back to Nova Scotia
Last month in The Coast I read again, with dismay, another opinion piece that concluded that, while Halifax is certainly a pretty little city by the sea, it’s not the city of opportunity that Toronto is. While this negative type of opinion piece is fairly common, what was unusual was the statement that our Joseph […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Ultrasound ‘policy’ one of Nova Scotia’s many failings on abortion access
An Atlantic Canadian province is once again in the news for failure to provide timely access to abortion for pregnant people. Despite the significant changes to abortion policy in Nova Scotia in the past year—the launch of a toll-free hotline for connection to Mifegymiso (medical abortion) prescribers across the province, the creation of a billing […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Offshore drilling and political theatre
G7 leaders will be meeting in Halifax from September 19 to 21 to discuss climate change, and coastal and marine sustainability. It is an obvious case of political theatre, given that our federal minister of Environment and Climate Change invited British Petroleum (BP) to begin exploratory drilling for oil off the coast of Nova Scotia […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Nova Scotia has responded to prison protest with nothing but contempt
I have a family member in the Burnside prison. I’ve watched the peaceful protest out of Burnside unfold with a touch of hope and optimism. But the statement given by Justice minister Mark Furey makes me angry, frustrated and tired. Our provincial government has shown that it does not want to be held accountable: not […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Farewell (once again) to Nova Scotia
Joseph Howe said that “if you take any Nova Scotian away…where he cannot view the Atlantic, smell salt water or see the sail of a ship, the man will pine and die.” Howe connected Nova Scotia by print and rail, secured responsible government and acted as an eloquent spokesperson for the province. He was also […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
As prisoners protest, is the province listening?
On August 21, the prisoners at the Central Nova provincial jail in Burnside launched a peaceful protest, in solidarity with a nationwide prisoner strike in the United States, to call for basic improvements in health care, rehabilitation, exercise, visits, clothing, food, air quality and library access. The protest is ongoing. East Coast Prison Justice Society […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Unclear mandates at the Office of African Nova Scotian Affairs
How and why did the original African Nova Scotia Affairs’ mandate change and why is the Office of African Nova Scotia Affairs now part of the ministry of Communities, Culture and Heritage? The expansion of the OANSA can be of benefit, if it had the goal of creating an African Nova Scotian representative in the […]
