News 1. Street checks “On Friday, Justice Minister Mark Furey announced that street checks would be permanently banned following a legal opinion written by former Nova Scotia Chief Justice Michael MacDonald and researcher Jennifer Taylor that concluded street checks are illegal,” writes El Jones: We should, of course, not have needed this opinion to ban […]
Nature Trust fills in the “gap” of the Blue Mountain – Birch Cove Lakes Wilderness
Morning File, Friday, October 18, 2019
News 1. Assoun evidence Last night, I wrote about “the long and absurdly strange journey I’ve taken to access what should be readily available public records” — the evidence presented at trial in 1999 to convict Glen Assoun of the murder of Brenda Way. Court evidence is typically public. But in the case of Assoun’s […]
The Halifax police department is going to great lengths to prevent you from knowing how Glen Assoun was wrongfully convicted
With very limited exceptions (national security, for instance), we do not have secret court evidence in Canada. We have the exact opposite: an Open Court Principle. I wrote about the Open Court Principle after the Halifax Examiner, the CBC, and the Canadian Press prevailed in our effort to get court documents unsealed in the Glen […]
Don’t fence me in: adventures in city de- and re-construction
Morning File, Tuesday, October 15, 2019
News 1. Gold fever and our water supply Joan Baxter reports that mineral exploration companies have staked claims next to the Halifax and Dartmouth lakes that are the source of our drinking water. Click here to read “Gold fever is coming to Halifax.” This article is for subscribers. Click here to subscribe. 2. Yarmouth ferry […]
Police misconduct is the inevitable result of the lack of accountability
Morning File, Friday, October 11, 2019
News 1. Green growth won’t save us We’ve published the second of Linda Pannozzo’s four-part series on the climate change emergency and the economy. In this part, Pannozzo interviews two authors who argue that we can’t solve the climate crisis with our business-as-usual, ever growing capitalist economy. She writes: Anders Hayden has a finger on […]
Halifax Mayor Mike Savage recognizes “Wrongful Conviction Day” but takes no action on the wrongful conviction his city is responsible for
Morning File, Monday, October 7, 2019
1. Boat Harbour “The day-by-day countdown to the closing of Boat Harbour happens on a large painting erected in front of the Pictou Landing First Nation band council office, reports Joan Baxter: The painting depicts Boat Harbour as it was before it was dammed (and damned) in 1966, transformed from a healthy tidal estuary to […]
The Cory Taylor case: Nova Scotia’s racist context and cops investigating cops
Morning File, Wednesday, October 2, 2019
News 1. Cory Taylor decision Yesterday, Justice Gerald Moir issued a decision in Cory Taylor’s appeal of the Police Complaints Commissioner’s dismissal of his complaint that Halifax police “arrested him without cause, used unnecessary force to do so, and caused him serious injury.” Taylor is Black. At the time of the August 2017 incident, Taylor was […]
The Halifax stadium proposal: private profit for Anthony Leblanc, socialized risk for the public
Morning File, Tuesday, October 1, 2019
News 1. More stadium updates MLA Susan Leblanc, whose Dartmouth North district includes the Shannon Park site of the proposed stadium, has come out swinging against it: Tomorrow I will table legislation on behalf of the @NSNDP caucus that would block public money for a CFL stadium. #nspoli #HRM #Dartmouth — Susan Leblanc (@susanleblancMLA) September […]
The stadium proposal hijacks the real need for recreation and sports facilities
Morning File, Monday, September 30, 2019
News 1. Stadium Writes Stephen Kimber: [L]et me ask a simple question. Where would you rather your governments spend $5–6-million (almost certainly more) of your tax dollars every year for the next 30 years (and likely the next forever after that)? Would you prefer they spend that $180 million (interest included, over-runs not included) on […]
Would you like to buy a stadium?
Morning File, Friday, September 27, 2019
News 1. Strike for climate Today’s “strike for climate” is the main local event for this week’s climate actions. People are meeting at 11am at Victoria Park — half the park is closed due to the collapsed crane, but the “back,” southern half is open. From there, strikers will march to Nova Scotia Power, thence […]