It was a Saturday morning and Ellen Page was giving up some of what could have been a bit of down time to do a telephone interview about her forthcoming film on environmental racism in Nova Scotia, which will have its world debut this September at the Toronto International Film Festival. I was hammering her […]
The McNeil government is going for the secrecy gold medal
Is Nova Scotia Canada’s most secretive jurisdiction? Or does it just act that way? Consider a few especially egregious, not-at-all-transparent episodes from just the last week.
Is Nova Scotia Canada’s most secretive jurisdiction? Or does it just act that way? Consider a few especially egregious, not-at-all-transparent episodes from just the last week. Let’s start with the latest on plans to build a new 126,000-sq. ft. community outpatient healthcare facility in Bayers Lake Business Park. Though the facility is ostensibly going to...
Ka-ching. Ka-ching. Your tax dollars at work covering government butt
As Justice David Farrar summed up the appeal court ruling in the Alex Cameron case: “It would be manifestly unfair to allow the province to hide behind solicitor-client privilege while at the same time impugning the conduct of its solicitor.” But that didn't stop the McNeil government from trying. And trying.
Last week, the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal instructed the McNeil government to stop hiding behind the skirts of solicitor-client privilege in order to hobble a lawsuit brought against it by a former government lawyer who claims the government impugned his conduct and attacked his character and reputation. Alex Cameron, a 26-year veteran of the...
Water, water everywhere
Morning File, Thursday, April 11, 2019
News 1. Feds announce environmental assessment for Boat Harbour plan Jennifer Henderson has the latest on the Boat Harbour cleanup plan. Yesterday, the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency announced it would be undertaking an environmental assessment. Henderson explains the lagoons are where tens of million of litres of daily effluent from the kraft pulp mill at […]
Alton Gas asks court for order to remove Mi’kmaw protestors from Shubenacadie River site
A group of 40-50 people opposed to a plan by Alton Natural Gas Storage Inc. to dump brine into the Shubenacadie River packed a courtroom in Halifax yesterday afternoon. They were there to support protesters Dale Poulette, a Mi’kmaw man who considers himself a traditional water protector, and Rachael Greenland-Smith, an environmental researcher. Both are […]
Science will determine just how much you people are pissing off your bartenders
Morning File, Tuesday, March 12, 2019
I’m Suzanne Rent and I’m filling in for Tim this morning. You can follow me on Twitter @Suzanne_Rent News 1. Here’s a tip: Be nice to your servers and bartenders Oh, how I can relate to this story. Vanessa Myers, a psychology graduate student at Saint Mary’s University, is researching how customer interactions affect the […]
Stephen McNeil’s pricey PR people suck at their jobs: Morning File, Monday, November 28, 2016
November Subscription Drive Click here to purchase a subscription. News 1. McNeil’s pricey PR people suck at their jobs Yesterday on Facebook, Graham Steele posted an analysis of the McNeil government’s reaction to the collapse of negotiations with the teachers union. Steele’s entire post is worth reading, but I was most struck by this: The government’s communication strategy […]
Make people work more so they are not so tired: Morning File, Friday, November 25, 2016
November Subscription Drive Jane Gagle-Bennett writes: The Halifax Examiner is independent journalism at its best, and when people ask me why I subscribe — you live in Portland, Indiana, and you subscribe to The Halifax Examiner??? That’s in Nova Scotia! In Canada! — I tell them that I’ve learned to look at my town, county, state, country […]
The government paid for Steve Murphy’s news coverage: Friday, November 18, 2016
November Subscription Drive Several readers have pointed me to Dan Rather’s recent Facebook post. Although written in response to the American election results, the same issues hold in Canada: A lot of you have asked me on this page, what can you do in the wake of this election. It’s a question that seems to […]
We just want to make sure that journalism is done: Examineradio, episode #80
This week we speak to Edward Greenspon, current CEO of the Public Policy Forum and former Editor-In-Chief at the Globe & Mail about the current state of journalism in Canada and what can be done to stop the hemorrhaging of jobs and revenue. Also, Robin Tress of the Council of Canadians joins us to talk about […]