Halifax’s board of police commissioners voted Monday to appoint El Jones to propose a committee to define defunding the police, and Jones hopes to turn that into an opportunity for more public input at the board. It’s the culmination of months of debate at the board over how to approach the issue of defunding the […]
Halifax refuses to reveal source of mysterious motion defining defunding police
Halifax is refusing to reveal the source of a controversial motion around defunding the police that was added to a Board of Police Commissioners agenda at the 11th hour this summer. At the board’s July 9 meeting, municipal staff brought forward a motion aimed at defining the concept of defunding the police: That the Halifax […]
Dartmouth development to include affordable and accessible housing, but it needs help from government
Plans for an affordable and accessible housing development in Dartmouth are nearing completion, but there are still significant financial hurdles in the way — indicative of the difficulties of building non-market housing in the Halifax area. Affirmative Ventures released the design for its Main Street development through project planner David Harrison this week. The plan […]
Not satire: Halifax police board to consider appointing committee to define defunding
At a meeting where it was expected to debate defunding the police, Halifax’s police board voted to debate appointing a committee to define defunding the police — at its next meeting. The board of police commissioners had a lengthy agenda for its meeting on Thursday, but after starting more than half an hour later due […]
HRM: 5,490 square kilometres, 20 public toilets
Morning File, Wednesday, July 8, 2020
News 1. Council needs to step up on fighting anti-Black racism, says Senator Wanda Thomas Bernard In a half-hour presentation to council yesterday, Senator Wanda Thomas Bernard called on the city to go beyond statements and act on combating racism, Zane Woodford reports: The presentation, titled “Unpacking Anti‐Black Racism in the HRM: Creating Sustainable Change […]
Five Halifax councillors wouldn’t support letter advocating abolition of nuclear weapons
It was meant to be a symbolic gesture — “a wish for peace” — but concerns over jurisdictional meddling kept some of Richard Zurawski’s colleagues from fully supporting his call to abolish nuclear weapons. Zurawski brought the four-part motion to council’s meeting on Tuesday. It read in full: That Halifax Regional Council: Declare August 6, […]
Halifax council’s shameful rejection of a living wage policy
Morning File, Monday, July 6, 2020
News 1. Rents “A Dartmouth woman recently got a rent increase of 45% for what she believes is retaliation for making complaints about safety and maintenance issues in the building where she lives,” reports Suzanne Rent: Kimberly Rankin has lived at 6 Nivens Avenue in north end Dartmouth since January 2019. But this year, she […]
Halifax police board to discuss defunding, body cameras, making policies public
For the first time since the movement to defund police took hold across North America, Halifax’s board of police commissioners has scheduled a meeting. The city previously cancelled all the board’s meetings due to the COVID-19 pandemic, aside from those dealing with the budget in early May. El Jones reported last month that that the […]
How Halifax council can (and must) regulate police use of force
As has already been reported, at today’s Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) Budget Committee meeting, every councillor with the exception of Steve Adams voted to approve an amendment to the budget that cancelled the purchase of an armoured vehicle for the Halifax Regional Police (HRP) and instead reallocate the funding. Specifically, after an hour in camera […]
Defund the Halifax police
With calls around the world to redirect police resources, Halifax city councillors are tripping over themselves to see who can be most "pro police"
Since the widely publicized death of George Floyd at the hands of MPD officer Derek Chauvin (what some commentators have called a “televised lynching”), calls for police accountability and even abolition have been growing, with protestors taking to the street in cities across North America, including Halifax. These calls are beginning to be heard and […]