The municipality is calling in the police to kick unhoused people out of a park, stoking fears, even among councillors, of a repeat of the chaos of last August. Halifax regional council held a special virtual meeting on Tuesday with one item on the agenda: “Homelessness in Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM).” There was no motion […]
Auditor general finds Halifax isn’t doing enough to foster a respectful workplace
Halifax’s auditor general says the city is failing to create a respectful workplace culture, and the chief administrative officer suggests the release of her report could make it worse. Auditor General Evangeline Colman-Sadd tabled her office’s Management of Respectful Workplaces Audit at a meeting of council’s Audit and Finance Standing Committee on Wednesday. The audit […]
As winter approaches, residents of People’s Park, volunteers, and neighbours wait for a better housing solution
One volunteer says people "do not want to allow ourselves or the community to get enticed or get distracted" by the city's purchase of new modular units that will only meet the needs of a small percentage of the homeless population.
At any given moment, a car might pull up to a small park at the corner of Chebucto Road and Dublin Street in Halifax. The driver will get out and talk to a man standing on the sidewalk. The pair will exchange “hellos” and “how are yous.” Then the driver will pass along food, cash, […]
Council votes to approve $3.2 million for purchase of new modular housing units for locations in Halifax, Dartmouth
CAO Dubé said the modular units that had originally been slated for use by people living in city parks “will not meet our needs.”
Halifax councillors voted unanimously to approve $3.2 million for the purchase, installation, and maintenance of modular units for unhoused residents at two sites — one in Dartmouth and another in Halifax. Although a location for the Halifax site has yet to be determined, four modular units that can accommodate 24 people will be installed on […]
Parking boots, Centre Plan, climate change and more: Halifax council round-up
After parking the topic at the last meeting, Halifax regional council agreed on new regulations for the vehicle booting industry on Tuesday. Council’s Transportation Standing Committee asked for the regulations in February 2020, and parking manager Victoria Horne brought a new bylaw to the committee in June. As the Halifax Examiner reported following that meeting:...
Senator calls for action from Halifax councillors with presentation on anti-Black racism
Senator Dr. Wanda Thomas Bernard is calling on Halifax regional councillors to take action to combat anti-Black racism in the municipality. Bernard, an independent Canadian senator appointed in 2016, gave a roughly half-hour long presentation to council’s virtual meeting on Tuesday morning. The presentation, titled “Unpacking Anti‐Black Racism in the HRM: Creating Sustainable Change for […]
Halifax’s big climate change action plan is ready, but the COVID-19 budget crunch means it’s already ‘jeopardized’
Halifax’s new climate change action plan aims for carbon neutral city operations in 10 years and carbon neutrality across the municipality by 2050, but the COVID-19 pandemic has put the ever-important short-term success of the plan in jeopardy. “The level of effort and timelines of this plan are ambitious and unprecedented,” reads the final chapter […]
A look at Halifax’s foot-dragging around opening up streets to cyclists and pedestrians during COVID-19
The Halifax Examiner is providing all COVID-19 coverage for free. Kourosh Rad picked a hell of a time to get into the restaurant business. On Feb. 1, the city planner turned small business owner took over Garden Food Bar and Lounge at the corner of Clyde and Queen streets, near the Halifax Central Library in […]
Port Wallace Gamble: the real estate boom meets Nova Scotia’s toxic mine legacy
Part 2: the suburb proposed to be built in the shadow of Montague Gold Mines
This is a story about the toxic legacy from historic gold mines in Nova Scotia, which its citizens will be paying many millions of dollars to try to clean up, and how the contamination at just one of these sites — Montague Mines in HRM — is still affecting us today. This, the second in […]
Halifax auditor general confirms the city’s website redesign was a mess
It will come as no surprise to anyone who has logged on to halifax.ca: the city’s auditor general has confirmed that the redesigned website was riddled with errors when it went live in 2017. But in a report published Tuesday and presented to council’s audit and finance standing committee, auditor general Evangeline Colman-Sadd wrote that...