“Premier Stephen McNeil reiterated Thursday that no money from general revenue will go toward a stadium.” Uh-oh. Not “uh-oh” that our premier told the Chronicle Herald he didn’t intend to pluck any money out of our general revenue and dump it into the latest $110-million stadium-in-the-sky scheme, but “uh-oh” that he qualified his no with...
The convention centre property tax bill for this year alone is $3.6 million more than expected
Morning File, Tuesday, June 25, 2019
News 1. After the Gold Rush: the toxic legacy “If learning from past mistakes were a government tradition in Nova Scotia, the current government would not be exhibiting all the symptoms of gold fever,” writes Joan Baxter.” But it is, and it looks like a raging bout of the affliction.” Baxter goes on review the […]
Panglossian vox pop at the Herald: not a contrary word to be heard
Morning File, Wednesday, June 19, 2019
News 1. Steve Craig Steve Craig won the byelection for MLA in Sackville-Cobequid. (Preliminary results are above.) The district has long been solidly NDP, so a PC victory is notable, but I wouldn’t read too much into it. The NDP candidate, Lara Fawthrop, didn’t have Craig’s name recognition, and Craig is more on the “progressive” […]
Postmedia CEO Paul Godfrey was paid $5 million in 2018, but says his company is so broke it needs public subsidies
Morning File, Wednesday, November 28, 2018
News 1. Legacy media: CEO compensation and public subsidies Yesterday, Postmedia released its Management Information Circular in preparation of January’s shareholder meeting; the circular shows that CEO Paul Godfrey was awarded a $1.2 million bonus on top of his $1.2 million dollar salary in 2018, and with stock options brought in over $5 million in […]
Bad behaviour everywhere
Morning File, Thursday, August 2, 2018
1. An apology The Halifax Examiner acknowledges that the Armour Group Limited neither hired, nor fired, the janitors previously employed to clean Founder’s Square. Further, The Halifax Examiner retracts, and apologizes for the allegation that Armour Group engaged in racial discrimination in determining to no longer engage with GDI Integrated Facility Services. The original article […]
Examineradio 155: Adelina Iftene on Canada’s Prison Health Shame
This week, we speak with Dal law prof Adelina Iftene about the sad state of health care in Canada’s prisons. Also, privacy breaches, the convention centre, and laughing about dead people. (Direct download) (RSS feed) (Subscribe via iTunes)
Examineradio 154: Convention centre problems? Halifax, you were warned!
Urban studies prof Heywood Sanders, an expert on convention centres, weighs in on ours. Sanders came to Halifax in November 2010 to warn city councillors against approving the deal for the convention centre: In response to a question of clarification by Councillor Rankin, Dr. Sanders explained that if the base assumption of number of events […]
It started badly and it’s ending wrong: Morning File, Friday, October 21, 2016
News Views Noticed Government On campus In the harbour Footnotes News 1. Tidal power “Inshore fishermen from the Bay of Fundy made a last-ditch plea to the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia yesterday to stall the placement of two massive, five-storey-high turbines on the bottom of the Minas Passage near Parrsboro until an appeal of […]
The Grafton Street Glory Hole and other obscenities: Morning File, Wednesday, October 5, 2016
News Views Noticed Government On campus In the harbour Footnotes News 1. Convention centre opening delayed… again The Halifax Convention Centre will not open as scheduled on April 1. A new opening date has not yet been established, but Trade Centre Limited is rescheduling conventions booked through the end of June; seven national and international conventions […]
Mayor Mike Savage on the delay in the convention centre
I just interviewed Mayor Mike Savage about the delay in the opening of the convention centre. Listen to that interview here: Part 2: