News 1. Burnside jail update The prisoners at the Burnside jail have ended their 20-day strike and have issued a statement, which reads in part: Dear supporters, You are commended for your work on our behalf. None of us thought that we would gain so much support by sharing our conditions with the public. The […]
The convention centre is running a $4 million operating deficit this year… and that’s just the beginning of the costs
Morning File, Monday, September 10, 2018
News 1. Mehta Stephen Kimber writes: Last winter, Acadia University said it was investigating [Rick] Mehta “for the manner in which you are expressing views that you are alleged to be advancing or supporting and, in some instances, time that you are spending on these issues in the classroom.” We need to parse that sentence. […]
News from the “under-explored global petroleum province”
Morning File, Tuesday, August 21
Hi there. It’s Erica Butler at the Morningfile wheel again today. News 1. Justice department asked to please release documents, three years later The Nova Scotia justice department has been asked to release documents related to the death of Clayton Cromwell, who died of a methadone overdose in 2014 in custody at the Central Nova […]
Halifax’s moral panic over the legalization of cannabis
Morning File, Wednesday, August 1, 2018
News 1. Convention centre Oh, running out of time for this… I’ll write it up today for tomorrow’s Morning File. 2. Smoking ban On Monday, Dartmouth councillor Sam Austin published a blog post saying he was reconsidering his support for the smoking bylaw, weirdly wanting to keep the provisions of the bylaw as they pertain […]
Halifax council passes stupid and overreaching cannabis restrictions
Morning File, Wednesday, July 18, 2018
News 1. Government drops effort to deport Abdoul Abdi The news was announced by Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale via a tweet at 9pm last night: The Government of Canada respects the decision filed on July 13 by the Federal Court concerning Abdoul Abdi. The Government will not pursue deportation for Mr. Abdi. — Ralph Goodale […]
Shawn Cleary’s betrayal of voters
Morning File, Wednesday, June 27, 2018
News 1. Shawn Cleary I’m taking a mapping class at the Journalism school this week. It’s pretty cool! I’ve always wanted to get into mapping beyond simply using Google Maps, and in recent years new software programs have become available that allow people without extensive tech backgrounds to manipulate GIS databases and make maps. About […]
Looks like we’re getting a stadium, whether we want it or not
Morning File, Wednesday, June 20, 2018
News 1. Stadium Yesterday, I went to Halifax City Hall expecting to hear councillors discuss cannabis legalization; I was preparing for a hilarious debate about the evils of smoking the ganja. But before that conversation could get going, the Maritime Football Ltd. people showed up and council kicked the public out of chambers so they […]
Sam Austin makes case for extended ferry service
Regional council to decide Wednesday on ferry and rural transit funding.
On Wednesday, Halifax council will discuss its “parking lot” budget items — about $2.6 million in additional costs or programs that city staff have not included in department budgets, but that councillors felt should be considered for the 2018-19 budget. Two items on the list will impact the future of the publicly funded transit network,...
City council, the developer, and the deal that isn’t quite
APL promises 10 affordable housing units in exchange for being allowed to add five storeys to its Willow Tree project. Who benefits? Hint: not the city...
Halifax City Council can be — even at its best of times — confusing, contradictory, confounding. Last week, council was not, even by its own modest standards, at its best. Councillors were considering again/still/always a proposal from APL, an Armoyan development company, to erect a commercial-residential tower at the corner of Robie Street and Quinpool...
IMPing along: under Halifax’s new transportation plan, what will change?
Highlights from council's opening budget talks on transportation and the Integrated Mobility Plan.
Last week, Halifax council met with city staffers to talk budgets, big picture style, in advance of nitty-gritty budget deliberations in the coming months. It’s worth recapping some of the highlights from the discussions for the city’s two big transportation departments — Transportation and Public Works (TPW) and Halifax Transit. (You can check out the...