Progressive Conservative caucus: 1. Bay Ferries: 0. In a court decision released today, Justice Peter Rosinski has rejected all of Bay Ferries’ arguments that a lawsuit filed by the Progressive Conservative ferry related to provincial financing of the Yarmouth ferry should be thrown out of court. I explained the background of this issue earlier this […]
How Vaportecture is used to obscure Canada Land’s untendered sale of land for a Shannon Park stadium
Morning File, Tuesday, April 2, 2019
News 1. Joan Baxter and Jennifer Henderson on Northern Pulp This evening at 7pm, Joan Baxter will be interviewed by Jennifer Henderson on stage at the St. Margaret’s Centre in Tantallon. From the Facebook event page: Incisive, no nonsense, take no prisoners. Joan Baxter’s brilliant exposé “The Mill – Fifty Years of Pulp and Protest” […]
We’ve spent $15 million a year on the Yarmouth ferry; here’s a better and lots more fun idea for spending the money
Morning File, Thursday, March 21, 2019
News 1. Ferry funding The province announced funding for the Yarmouth ferry yesterday: The province is helping to renovate the Bar Harbor ferry terminal to accommodate the Nova Scotia-Maine ferry service. The expected cost is $8.5 million. … The renovation costs will be included in the province’s 2018-19 spending. The work is currently underway with […]
Northern Pulp’s environmental assessment “is simply not credible” says EAC
Morning File, Wednesday, March 13, 2019
News 1. Pulp Culture We’ve published Linda Pannozzo’s detailed review of how through the decades the province has oriented forest policies — and purposefully subverted science — to favour the pulp industry over the lumber industry. As a result, overcutting has resulted in smaller trees that provide less lumber, and now the sawmills are […]
The Yarmouth ferry is going to Bar Harbor — a little late, and at some unknown cost…
Bay Ferries has announced that the Alakai ferry — dubbed “The Cat” — will begin sailing between Yarmouth and Bar Harbor, Maine starting June 21. On its website, the company says that date is “subject to change” because of the renovations required to the ferry terminal in Maine. A public hearing will take place in […]
Not feeling the love
Morning File, Thursday, February 14, 2019
News 1. Can we even discuss improving snow-clearing standards? In her latest column, Erica Butler looks at how implementation of the city’s Integrated Mobility Plan (IMP) keeps sliding down the list of priorities. Butler takes as an example Councillor Shawn Cleary’s seemingly reasonable request “for a report assessing the costs and benefits of tightening up […]
Why did the McNeil government subsidize my trip to Maine?
Morning File, Wednesday, February 13, 2019
News 1. Weather There’s weather today. 2. Divest Dal Today was a huge win for @DivestDal and a moment to show @DalPres what Dal students are all about. Dalhousie BOG committed to signing onto the UN's Principles of Responsible Investing, which includes recognizing the risk that fossil fuels pose to our endowement fund. #DalDoBetter pic.twitter.com/0ioIo3vfBJ […]
The cost of the Yarmouth ferry keeps increasing
Morning File, Friday, February 8, 2019
News 1. Jackson trial This item refers to sexual assault. Yesterday was the fourth day of the sexual assault trial of Blake Jackson. Jackson, a student support worker at Citadel High School, is accused of sexually assaulting a then-student on December 15, 2015. At the time, the student was 18 years old; a publication ban protects […]
Gnawing away at the vitals of this community, since 1970
Morning File, Friday, January 18, 2019
This is Erica Butler, filling in for Tim. News 1. Council defers capital budget approval As we know from last December when it first appeared on council’s agenda, Halifax’s proposed capital budget leaves A LOT out, especially just about anything to do with the city’s approved Integrated Mobility Plan (IMP), and the final years’ implementation […]
Stephen McNeil would never abuse his position, honest
Morning File, Friday, January 11, 2019
News 1. Bar Harbor ferry terminal “The question of Nova Scotia taxpayers footing the bill for the salaries of a handful of U.S. Customs and Border Protection employees in Bar Harbour, Maine was raised by reporters following today’s meeting of Cabinet ministers, the first since the holiday break,” reports Jennifer Henderson: Bay Ferries, which operates the […]