News 1. City keeps policing report secret The city is keeping a $200,000 consultants’ report into police services private. Councillor Lorelei Nicoll requested the report in 2018 as a way to identify service gaps and ways to save money. The report has been completed, but you can’t read it. Zane Woodford writes about the report’s […]
Zombie ideas that won’t die
Morning File, Thursday, December 12, 2019
I’ve said this before, but when I first started writing for the Examiner, a friend asked how much Tim paid. After I’d replied, the person I was speaking with said, “Oh, so it takes [x] monthly subscriptions just to pay for you to do one Morning File.” I’d never thought of it in such bald […]
Bad news for local journalism
Morning File, Wednesday, November 20, 2019
News 1. Torstar shuts down StarMetro newspapers The Toronto Star is closing down all of the StarMetro newspapers across the country, including the The Star Halifax. Other papers affected include those in Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, and Edmonton. Seventy-three people, including journalists and those working in advertising and distribution, will lose their jobs. In Halifax, Star […]
Northern Pulp owes the province $85 million
Morning File, Monday, November 18, 2019
Philip Moscovitch told me yesterday that I buried the lede when I announced a couple of weeks ago that I’ve been hired by the CBC to write and host a podcast series about the wrongful conviction of Glen Assoun. So here it is right in the lead (let the lede v lead wars begin): I’ve […]
Are anti-vaxxers meeting with your MLA?
Morning File, Tuesday, November 5, 2019
November subscription drive It’s getting frosty out there, which means its the time of year when we at the Examiner take a stab at convincing you and yours (those who aren’t already subscribers) to support the continued existence and growth of the Halifax Examiner. From her first Morningfile back in May 2015, El Jones has […]
Lands, forests, oceans, and more
Morning File, Wednesday, August 22, 2018
I’m Philip Moscovitch filling in for Tim, who was sitting by a campfire last night. On Twitter I’m @PhilMoscovitch. News 1. Forestry Review Bill Lahey released his much-anticipated review of forestry practices in the province late yesterday morning. Jennifer Henderson reports for the Halifax Examiner: Bill Lahey’s prescription was sweeping: “We need a new paradigm […]
Smokers are victims of a cruel marketing campaign, so why are we further victimizing them?
Morning File, Monday, July 23, 2018
News 1. Election intervention “Americans are right to be outraged at the outrageous Russian interference in their 2016 presidential elections,” writes Stephen Kimber: They are correct to be appalled not only that their Putin-puttana-ed president continues to pretend that what happened didn’t happen, but also that their commander-in-chief and his principle-free, me-too Republican Congressional congregation […]
Silver Sands: the best Halifax-area beach we ever destroyed
Morning File, Monday, June 25, 2018
News 1. BP spill On Friday, BP reported a small spill of synthetic lubricating mud at its West Aquarius drill site on the Scotia Shelf drill site. The government regulator has ordered drilling suspended until an investigation is complete. News of the spill is posted to the incident page of the Canada–Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board […]
How a mom got caught up in the Ivany Report’s contradictions: Morning File, Wednesday, February 28, 2018
News 1. Spaceport I’ve been fascinated by the proposal to launch rockets from Canso. A spaceport is of the ilk of flashy megaprojects that through the decades have been sold to Nova Scotians as the route out of their economic malaise and into riches, but which oh so often have just dragged the province further […]
Stadium economic impact projections are nonsense: Morning File, Friday, January 12, 2018
News 1. Accessible transportation Examiner transportation columnist Erica Butler looks at two problems with accessible transportation — an ever-shrinking fleet of accessible taxis and an ever-increasing demand for Access-A-Bus — and sees a solution: Gerry Post thinks there’s a way to fix both these problems with one move: start contracting accessible taxis to take on […]