News 1. Maurice Pratt Yesterday, Justice James Chipman dismissed Maurice Pratt's habeas corpus application. Pratt was the first of at least eight prisoners at the Burnside jail to have their habeas applications heard by Chipman. (The others are scheduled for Monday, but I'm hearing there may be a delay.) The prisoners filed their applications in response to a three-week … [Read More...]
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Great white sharks are killing people and they’re coming to Nova Scotia
News 1. Deaths in custody Yesterday morning, I reported that an official at the Burnside jail had testified in court that "several" prisoners at the jail have … [Read More...]
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As reliable as a beer commercial
Erica Butler here, helping out with Morningfile today. Fear not, Tim's still all over it. News 1. Burnside jail Tim reports from the hearing for … [Read More...]
Featured Stories
Habeas corpus hearing illuminates jail conditions
Highlights from this story: • a prison official agreed with the statement that "several" prisoners at the Burnside jail have died in the past week * (see note below) • the three-week lockdown at the jail started when an inmate allegedly said that … [Read More...]
Africville in Black and White: “hybrid performative piece” about Africville premieres tonight
I was heartened to spend time this summer with Black scholar Chana Kai Lee who arrived in Halifax to conduct research on, among other topics, Africville. Now home, the associate professor of history and African American Studies at the University of … [Read More...]
“Networking” by its very nature is exclusionary
News 1. Acadia and Rick Mehta "The university {Acadia] had good reasons to fire Rick Mehta," writes Stephen Kimber: But by conflating and commingling those reasons with specious arguments about its own reputation and seeming to accept the … [Read More...]
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Rick Mehta: Acadia clarifies, commingles, confuses
Start with this. I am no longer conflicted about Acadia University’s decision to fire psychology professor Rick Mehta. The … [Read More...]
True love: KFC, a bottle of Vodka, Sun Chips, and a copy of the Uranus Examiner
News 1. South Shore bus service "Starting this week," writes Examiner transportation columnist Erica Butler, "Maritime … [Read More...]
“Pig in a poke”: die-hard proponents want to open Nova Scotia to fracking
About 200 people gathered last evening in Pugwash, filling the Northumberland Community Curling Club for a debate framed … [Read More...]
Three buses a day now connect Halifax and the South Shore. Let’s make sure the service works.
Well, I’ll be darned. While Saskatchewan mourns the loss of its extensive regional bus service (shut down by an austerity … [Read More...]
Animals are dominating Halifax’s news cycle
News 1. The Whalley trial and Cecil Clarke I'm still wading through Parts 4 through 8 of Mary Campbell's Whalley trial … [Read More...]
Welcome to the new Halifax Convention Centre! Here’s your $100 fine for smoking on the sidewalk
News 1. Burnside jail update The prisoners at the Burnside jail have ended their 20-day strike and have issued a … [Read More...]
Prisoners at the Burnside jail end 20-day strike, issue statement
Editor's note: the prisoners at the Burnside jail have ended their 20-day strike. They have issued this statement to the … [Read More...]
Who killed Robin Hartrick?
News 1. "Culture of fear" "A former correctional officer who worked at Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility (the … [Read More...]
“Culture of fear”: a former guard relates his experience at the Burnside jail
A former correctional officer who worked at Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility (the Burnside jail) is concerned that … [Read More...]
The convention centre is running a $4 million operating deficit this year… and that’s just the beginning of the costs
News 1. Mehta Stephen Kimber writes: Last winter, Acadia University said it was investigating [Rick] Mehta “for the … [Read More...]
Rick Mehta: a firing offence or just offensive?
I will confess I’m conflicted about the news Acadia University has fired Rick Mehta. On Friday, the university confirmed … [Read More...]
A prisoner in the Burnside jail responds to Justice Minister Mark Furey
On Thursday, 17 days into the protest at Burnside, Minister of Justice Mark Furey released an op-ed piece publicly addressing … [Read More...]
Three men say they were sexually abused as teenagers at the Nova Scotia Youth Training Centre
News 1. Child sex abuse Three men allege that they were sexually abused as teenagers when they were housed at the Nova … [Read More...]
Five prisoners at the Burnside jail ask the court to order them released from solitary confinement
Five prisoners at the Burnside jail have filed habeas corpus applications with the Supreme Court. The applications arrived at … [Read More...]
Nova Scotia jails are increasing the use of torture
News 1. "Expert panel" is toothless Reports Jennifer Henderson: After the deaths of three former nursing home … [Read More...]
The nursing home “expert advisory panel” is prohibited from recommending radical or costly changes
When law enforcement agencies confront a potentially dangerous situation which they need to defuse quickly, they send in a … [Read More...]
Tidal energy investors and fish: the Minas Basin is full of sharks
News 1. Nursing home legislation An NDP proposal would legislate minimum nursing home staffing levels and make public … [Read More...]
NDP proposal would legislate minimum nursing home staffing levels and make public inspection reports
NDP leader Gary Burrill is turning up the pressure on the McNeil Liberal government to improve care for 6,900 people in … [Read More...]
Fire in the city, gold in the hills
Tim here. I'm back in Nova Scotia (not quite in Halifax yet, but heading that way) after a much-needed vacation. I can't … [Read More...]
Tidal power isn’t dead yet
Tomorrow (Wednesday), an Irish High Court will begin to sort out the ownership of an Irish company whose bankruptcy forced it … [Read More...]