The first hint that the change of Nova Scotia government might be more than a simple shuffling of shop-worn deck chairs did not come from the new government. It landed on the day before Iain Rankin was even sworn in as premier. On Feb. 22, Bay Ferries Ltd. issued a “media advisory,” publicly releasing information...
‘The rest is for the seagulls’
We may never know all the complex factors that led Lionel Desmond to murder his wife and family, and then kill himself. But we're learning. It's complicated.
On the evening of Jan. 3, 2017, Lionel Desmond, a 32-year-old former Canadian soldier, murdered his 31-year-old wife, Shanna, their 10-year-old daughter, Aaliyah, and his 52-year-old mother, Brenda, in their home in tiny Upper Big Tracadie, N.S. Then, he turned the rifle on himself. In the immediate aftermath of that horrific quadruple murder-suicide, we as...
New Premier Iain Rankin should revisit costly and environmentally harmful biomass directive
When the new premier and cabinet are sworn in today, one item on their agenda should be a return visit to a directive the McNeil government gave to Nova Scotia Power last May. The directive has led to increased burning of biomass (aka “trees”). According to a decision released by the Utilities and Review Board […]
Iain Rankin says he’s listened and learned. Now it’s time to lead
On Tuesday, Rankin will get his first chance as premier to make his first lasting impression on Nova Scotians. What will he say? What should he say?
After Nova Scotia Lieutenant-Governor Arthur LeBlanc performs his ceremonial and socially distanced laying on of hands at the Halifax Convention Centre on Tuesday morning — instantly transforming Iain Rankin, the twice-elected MLA for Timberlea-Prospect, into Iain Rankin, the suddenly unelected premier of all he surveys — our 29th premier will get a first chance to...
Atlantic Gold says it is getting “into the halls of government” in Nova Scotia, but it has no registered lobbyist
Craig Jetson, CEO and Managing Director of St Barbara — the Australian company that owns Atlantic Gold that in turn owns the Touquoy open pit gold mine in Moose River and plans to open three more gold mines along Nova Scotia’s Eastern Shore — says that he has lined up “quite a few meetings over […]
COVID-19 underscores the many failures of imprisonment
Today, February 15, is a relatively new statutory holiday, called Family Day in half of the provinces and Heritage Day in Nova Scotia, although of course here too those of us who can do so are home with our families. For the most part, the people in prison in Canada have now gone 11 months […]
The Wayne Hankey case
When former King's College professor Wayne Hankey was charged in an historic sexual assault case earlier this month, it raised questions about what happened — and why — after he was accused of similar behaviour 30 years ago.
I can still remember where I was when I heard the news: in the Senior Common Room at the University of King’s College, staring across the quad at the beautiful, new, soon to be opened university library. At the time, which was the spring of 1991, King’s was still small enough that faculty meetings were […]
Is Iain Rankin the voice of ‘the next generation’?
He's young. He offers up progressive platitudes. But can he 'be the change?' We shall see.
My colleague, Jennifer Henderson, summed it up best. “This was perhaps the dullest political leadership convention in Nova Scotia history,” she wrote. “I’ve been to wakes that were more fun.” My wife and I chose to have dinner at a pub instead. All the screens in the pub showed sporting events. No one seemed to...
Atlantic Gold’s lobbying blitz
The company is now in court on charges of harming the environment, regulators are casting a wary eye at its plans for future environmental protection, and investors are getting worried, so Atlantic Gold has hired a lobbyist to fast track federal approval of its Nova Scotia projects.
Last year it was a propaganda blitz. For several weeks in the spring of 2020, Atlantic Gold, which operates an open pit gold mine in Moose River in the Halifax Regional Municipality and wants to open three more along the Eastern Shore, bombarded people in Nova Scotia with its PR. Atlantic Gold’s owner, Australia’s St […]
Save our forests? Not now. We’re too busy destroying them
A lawyer for logging contractors says there's a time and place to discuss concerns about forest harvesting practices. But the courtroom isn't either. Which begs a few questions. What is the time? Where is the place?
A protester in Santa costume at the Nova Scotia forestry blockade. (Facebook) “There is a time and place to debate [the validity of protestors’ concerns about forest harvesting practices], and this courtroom is not it.” Ian Dunbar Lawyer for WestFor Forest Management January 26, 2021 *** If you met Sandra Phinney, the last words that...
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