News 1. Board of police commissioners’ meeting cancelled and other tales of non-transparency and lack of accountability El Jones writes about the cancellation of today’s Board of Police Commissioners meeting, ostensibly because — three months into the pandemic — they can’t figure out how to use Microsoft Teams. Jones writes: As the movement to defund […]
In the midst of a crisis over policing, Halifax’s police commission has cancelled its scheduled meetings and is declining to accept public input
I've got 99 problems; Microsoft Teams ain’t one of them.
In the midst of sustained protests about policing, and facing increasing questioning about their role and responsibilities, the Board of Police Commissioners cancelled their meeting planned for today. Members of the Board indicated to Harry Critchley that the reason for the cancellation was that not everybody on the Board was set up to use Microsoft […]
Tank rethink: ‘Buyer’s remorse’ has councillors reconsidering armoured vehicle for Halifax police
Halifax councillors who voted in favour of an armoured vehicle for police are considering cancelling the purchase in the wake of protests over the latest police violence against Black people. The purchase of an armoured vehicle was approved during the fiscal 2019-2020 budget process at a cost of $500,000. Police presented the idea to the […]
Black people already struggle to breathe in Canada. Ignoring us during this COVID-19 crisis will only make it worse.
The Halifax Examiner is providing all COVID-19 coverage for free. Black women are concentrated in frontline health care work. The agricultural industry employs large numbers of Black migrant workers who are affected by border closures. New State of Emergency declarations raise concerns about the intensification of racial profiling directed at Black communities. Black people make […]
Hateful slurs disrupt online gatherings
As racialized and marginalized communities move online in response to COVID-19, they are increasingly the targets of organized racist and sexist attacks.
The Halifax Examiner is providing all COVID-19 coverage for free. The social isolation measures around COVID-19 have caused communities to adapt quickly to new forms of interacting. As in-person gatherings have shut down, online platforms have become popular places not only for business meetings and university lectures, but also for music performances, information forums, protests, […]
Puzzling developments with Cape Breton’s non-existent container terminal
Morning File, Monday, January 20, 2020
News 1. Walmart incident “When a young black woman accused the Halifax police of racially profiling and abusing her in connection with an alleged shoplifting incident at Walmart last week, officials did what officials do,” writes Stephen Kimber. “They obfuscated, they passed the buck, they pretended to take it seriously.” Click here to read “Can […]
Halifax woman says she was racially profiled by Wal-Mart employees who wrongfully accused her of theft, then beaten by police
Santina Rao was at the Walmart at the Halifax Shopping Centre on Wednesday when she was accused of stealing by store staff, assaulted by the police, and arrested. Rao was shopping with her two young children, age 3 and 15 months. She paid for $90 worth of items in the electronics department. The cashier told […]
The collapse of legacy newspapers: don’t blame the internet; blame deregulation of finance and the corporate raiders of the 1980s and 1990s
Morning File, Monday, June 10, 2019
News 1. A loss for energy efficiency “EfficiencyOne has lost a battle with Nova Scotia Power to spend more of ratepayers’ money on energy conservation programs,” reports Jennifer Henderson: Today was supposed to be the day E1 made its case before the Utility and Review Board seeking a budgetary increase from $105 million to $129 […]
All-white Donner Prize jury shortlists book by white man defending blackface
Peter MacKinnon’s book, University Commons Divided: Exploring Debate and Dissent on Campus, has been shortlisted for the Donner Prize. The selection criteria for the prize identifies three areas of scrutiny: The importance of the subject; The soundness and originality of the analysis in terms of identifying and defining the issues in question and presenting authoritative analysis […]
“That Rude Girl”: organizing as a Black woman
This week, Jody Wilson-Raybould’s testimony about SNC-Lavalin dominated Canadian politics. My timeline is filled with articles praising her integrity, her courage, her honesty. And yet, only weeks ago, these same newspapers ran articles quoting colleagues calling her “difficult,” “not a team player,” “hard to work with” — in short, a bitch. In her testimony, Wilson-Raybould […]