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” […]
“Paving the streets with gold”: Why Halifax council turned down a look into raising standards for sidewalk snow-clearing
One of the more telling moments of budget season in Halifax was not even a part of city council’s official budget discussion. At a regular council meeting on January 29, Councillor Shawn Cleary asked for a report assessing the costs and benefits of tightening up the standards for snow-clearing in Halifax. His fellow councillors, seemingly […]
Six public policy failures in one morning news recap
Morning File, Wednesday, November 14, 2018
November subscription drive Sorry to pester you again, but just a short note to say we’re in the middle of our annual subscription drive. The Halifax Examiner needs your money to make this work possible. Please subscribe. Subscription party details: Reserve Sunday, November 25 on your calendars. We have Bearly’s Tavern, 1269 Barrington Street, 4-7pm. The […]
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 […]
Outlines of the stadium proposal emerge
Morning File, Wednesday, July 11, 2018
News 1. Stadium details Yesterday, Bedford councillor Tim Outhit posted details of the stadium proposal on his Facebook page: Next Tuesday Regional Council will be asked to give direction to the CAO to officially enter into investigations and preliminary negotiations with the private group looking to bring a regional CFL team to Halifax. They will […]
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 […]
You’re already getting a tax increase because of the convention centre
Morning File, Wednesday, April 25, 2018
News 1. City budget “They flirted with the idea of dipping into the savings account to lower the number, but in the end Halifax regional councillors approved the municipality’s budget for the year ahead with an increase of nearly 2 per cent to the average property tax bill,” reports Zane Woodford for Metro: Councillor Tim Outhit […]
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...
Beware of rats in Bedford: Morning File, Thursday, October 5, 2017
News 1. Transit Priority Lanes on Bayers Road and Gottingen Street “Consulting engineers WSP have proposed three options for Bayers Road, the most ambitious of which calls for road widening to allow for two new dedicated bus lanes running from Windsor Street to just past Romans Avenue,” writes Examiner transportation columnist Erica Butler: The most surprising […]