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When is $15 million really $10 million, but actually only $5 million?

Welcome to the world of higher education in which "gift" and "gift commitment" can be parsed so billionaires can claim to give what they haven't, and dictate whatever they want.

January 10, 2021 By Stephen Kimber

On this Makeover Monday, let us pretend — because there will be more than a little smoke-and-mirrors pretend in this column — that it is actually the morning of Thursday, Oct. 20, 2011. On that day, according to Dalhousie News, the official public relations organ of Dalhousie University, this happened: Though it was pouring rain...

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Filed Under: Commentary, Education, Featured, Subscribers only Tagged With: corporate funding for universities, Dalhousie University, economic inequality, Ken Rowe

Business and Schools

Education is underfunded, and donations from businesses help fill gaps. But when do corporate donations — and the schools' acknowledgement of them — cross an ethical line?

December 5, 2020 By Philip Moscovitch 7 Comments

The photo shows a bunch of plastic takeout containers, most with the logo of a small local restaurant chain. The picture, in a tweet sent out November 27 by the official account for CP Allen principal Stephanie Bird, thanked the restaurant for providing 115 free meals for school staff. The tweet ended with: Check out […]

Filed Under: Commentary, Education, Featured

University enrolments survive COVID punch

October 31, 2020 By Jennifer Henderson

The number of full-time students attending Nova Scotia’s 11 universities this year dropped by 2.9%, for a total of 39,619 students. The decline was more pronounced in this province than for the Atlantic region as a whole where full-time enrolment was down only 1.3%. However, the number of international students who pay more than double...

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Filed Under: Education, Featured, News, Subscribers only Tagged With: Allister Surette, Association of Atlantic Universities (AAU), Cape Breton University, COVID-19, David Dingwall, pandemic, university enrolment

Nova Scotia education minister downplays significance of lead in most schools’ water

October 1, 2020 By Zane Woodford 6 Comments

Nova Scotia’s education minister is downplaying the importance of thousands of failed tests for lead in water in hundreds of schools across the province, without putting forward any kind of action plan or clear timeline to fix the problem. Education and Early Childhood Education Minister Zach Churchill spoke to reporters following a cabinet meeting on […]

Filed Under: Education, Featured, News, Province House Tagged With: Brad Johns, Education Minister Zach Churchill, Health Minister Randy Delorey, lead in drinking water, NDP leader Gary Burrill, Paul Wozney, Premier Stephen McNeil

Nearly 84% of Nova Scotia public schools had elevated levels of lead in water

October 1, 2020 By Zane Woodford 4 Comments

Nearly 84% of Nova Scotia public schools had elevated levels of lead in water flowing from at least one tap in the past year, according to a Halifax Examiner analysis of testing data released by the provincial government on Wednesday. The Department of Education and Early Childhood Development posted the results of tests of drinking […]

Filed Under: Education, Featured, News, Province House Tagged With: Education Minister Zach Churchill, lead in drinking water, school drinking water dataset

Staying home for Back to School

Concerned about the risks around COVID-19, some Nova Scotia parents skipped sending their kids to public school this year and are homeschooling instead

September 8, 2020 By Suzanne Rent 1 Comment

The Halifax Examiner is providing all COVID-19 coverage for free. Thousands of kids across Nova Scotia went back to class today. But some parents whose children were in public schools in March decided that for the 2020-2021 school year, their kids would learn from home. Krystal Acker-West and her family live in McGee Lake in […]

Filed Under: Education, Featured Tagged With: Back to school, COVID-19, homeschool, Jeff Healy, Justine Taylor Hyslop, Kimberly Charron, Krystal Acker-West, Leah Hemeon, Nova Scotia Home Education Association (NSHEA), Sue Healy, Violet MacLeod

Where Nova Scotia stands with contact tracing, the COVID exposure app, and supports for nursing homes

September 4, 2020 By Jennifer Henderson Leave a Comment

The Halifax Examiner is providing all COVID-19 coverage for free. Health Minister Randy Delorey says federal money available to provinces under the Safe Restart program will be used to beef up contact tracing as public schools and universities begin re-opening in the next two weeks.  As more people begin to gather and share space indoors, […]

Filed Under: Education, Featured, News, Province House

Premier chastises Teacher’s Union president for inaccurate “rhetoric”

September 3, 2020 By Jennifer Henderson 2 Comments

The Halifax Examiner is providing all COVID-19 coverage for free. “Teachers and principals are getting ready to welcome kids to school right now,” said Premier Stephen McNeil today. “Obviously there is some anxiety associated with that, no question. But the rhetoric around schools being in chaos is not helpful and not accurate.” McNeil was referring […]

Filed Under: Education, Featured, News, Province House

Province breaks commitment to publish results of schools’ lead testing, union raises concerns about availability of drinking water

September 2, 2020 By Zane Woodford Leave a Comment

When classes resume in Nova Scotia public schools next week, the provincial government says students and staff will have to continue drinking bottled water because — despite a commitment made last year — the government has yet to prove their drinking water isn’t contaminated with lead. And while the government says every school will have […]

Filed Under: Education, Featured, News, Province House

Psychologist: parents shouldn’t let their anxiety over school reopening spook their children

September 1, 2020 By Yvette d'Entremont 2 Comments

The Halifax Examiner is providing all COVID-19 coverage for free. A Halifax psychologist and university professor says the benefits of next week’s return to school far outweigh the risks, and we must be mindful of how our fears impact our children. “We can’t get into an avoidance cycle because of our fear. That’s how fear […]

Filed Under: Education, Featured, News

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The Tideline, with Tara Thorne

Mo Kenney. Photo: Matt Williams

Episode #18 of The Tideline, with Tara Thorne is published.

Mo Kenney’s new record Covers is a perfect winter companion — songs from across the rock spectrum that she’s pared down to piano or guitar and turned them into sad ballads. She joins Tara to talk about choosing and arranging them, and opens up for a frank discussion of the alcohol dependency it took a pandemic for her to confront. Plus: Movies are back (again).

This episode is available today only for premium subscribers; to become a premium subscriber, click here, and join the select group of arts and entertainment supporters for just $5/month. Everyone else will have to wait until tomorrow to listen to it.

Please subscribe to The Tideline.

Uncover: Dead Wrong

In 1995, Brenda Way was brutally murdered behind a Dartmouth apartment building. In 1999, Glen Assoun was found guilty of the murder. He served 17 years in prison, but steadfastly maintained his innocence. In 2019, Glen Assoun was fully exonerated.

Halifax Examiner founder and investigative journalist Tim Bousquet has followed the story of Glen Assoun's wrongful conviction for over five years. Now, Bousquet tells that story as host of Season 7 of the CBC podcast series Uncover: Dead Wrong.

Click here to go to listen to the podcast, or search for CBC Uncover on Apple podcasts, Spotify, or any other podcast aggregator.

About the Halifax Examiner

Examiner folk The Halifax Examiner was founded by investigative reporter Tim Bousquet, and now includes a growing collection of writers, contributors, and staff. Left to right: Joan Baxter, Stephen Kimber, Linda Pannozzo, Erica Butler, Jennifer Henderson, Iris the Amazing, Tim Bousquet, Evelyn C. White, El Jones, Philip Moscovitch More about the Examiner.

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Recent posts

  • 4 new cases of COVID-19 announced in Nova Scotia on Saturday, Feb. 27 February 27, 2021
  • How safe is dentistry in the pandemic? Dalhousie researchers aim to find out February 27, 2021
  • Former city lawyer wins fight with Halifax Water over pipe under her property February 26, 2021
  • 10 new cases announced in Nova Scotia: new restrictions imposed in Halifax area February 26, 2021
  • You should get a COVID test, even if you have no symptoms February 26, 2021

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