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So long, Stephen, we knew you too well

If there has been a singular defining characteristic of Stephen McNeil’s career as premier of Nova Scotia, it is his righteously self-righteous confidence in the rightness of whatever he says is right, damn the consequences, dismiss the naysayers, dump on the media. Sometimes, that has served him — and us — well. Most of the time... not so well.

August 9, 2020 By Stephen Kimber 5 Comments

If there has been a singular defining characteristic of Stephen McNeil’s career as premier of Nova Scotia, it is his righteously self-righteous confidence in the rightness of whatever he says is right, damn the consequences, dismiss the naysayers, dump on the media. Sometimes, that has served him — and us — well. Start, of course, […]

Filed Under: Commentary, Featured, Province House Tagged With: Film Tax Credit, mass shooting inquiry, neoliberal agenda, Northern Pulp extension, Nova Scotia Home for Colored Children, Pharmacare, public sector unions, Stephen McNeil, unions

Stephen McNeil says there’s “lots” of film activity; the facts tell a different story

IATSE Local 849, the union that represents most film technicians in the province, has statistics showing its members worked 40,687 days in 2014, earning $11,120,665 in gross pay and pensions. In 2017, those numbers had tumbled over a cliff: just 13,454 days worked with gross pay and pensions — $3,842,454 — 65 per cent lower than in 2014.

August 19, 2018 By Stephen Kimber

There is something vaguely Trumpian in Premier Stephen McNeil’s continuing, reality-be-damned insistence his government’s 2015 consultation- and logic-free decision to dump a longstanding, working-well film tax credit, then replace it with a more restrictive, less incentivizing “Nova Scotia Film and Television Incentive Fund” is all working out just fine, the way we planned it, thank...

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Filed Under: Commentary, Featured, Province House, Subscribers only Tagged With: film industry, Film Tax Credit, Premier Stephen McNeil

How Canada has failed Abdoul Abdi and other child immigrants: Morning File, Tuesday, January 9, 2018

January 9, 2018 By Tim Bousquet 9 Comments

News 1. Abdoul Abdi Halifax Examiner contributor El Jones has long raised the issue of people brought to Canada as children who then become wards of the state. Bounced between foster homes and group homes, they are not raised in a stable, supportive environment, and so some become involved in the criminal justice system. Then they […]

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: Abdoul Abdi, Angie Zinck, Benjamin Perryman, El Jones, Fatouma Alyaan, Film Tax Credit, Late Night with Dr. Paul, Loblaw bread price-fixing, Paul Edward Beasant charged, Zane Woodford

Epilogue, Maudie: Take 4

May 31, 2017 By Jennifer Henderson 2 Comments

“I think it was a huge missed opportunity for the province,” said Maudie co-producer Mary Young Leckie. “It’s a Nova Scotia story.” She spoke to the Halifax Examiner this week about the decision in the late spring of 2015 to shoot the highly acclaimed feature film about Nova Scotian artist Maud Lewis in Newfoundland. Leckie […]

Filed Under: Featured, Province House Tagged With: Aisling Walsh, Ethan Hawke, Film Tax Credit, Guy Godfree, Mary Sexton, Mary Young Leckie, Maudie correction, Newfoundland and Labrador Film Development Corporation, Sally Hawkins, Sean Bean, Sherry White

Correction: Maudie, take three

May 26, 2017 By Jennifer Henderson 8 Comments

Editor Tim Bousquet’s note: I’m increasingly uncomfortable with this article. It relies on one source — the article by Elissa Barnard in the Local Xpress — and I’m not sure how reliable that is. I’ve been contacted by several people who tell me that the decision to film in Newfoundland was made previous to the […]

Filed Under: Commentary, Featured, News, Province House Tagged With: Film Tax Credit, Maudie, Premier Stephen McNeil

How Halifax city council screws working people: Morning File, Wednesday, December 14, 2016

December 14, 2016 By Tim Bousquet 19 Comments

News How Halifax city council screws working people Two issues of note were discussed by city council yesterday. The first was a plan to award “density bonusing” to developers who include a few units of “affordable housing” in their new buildings. I’ll return to that momentarily, but first I want to speak about the second issue […]

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: affordable housing, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, density bonusing, film money, Film Tax Credit, living wage, Nova Scotia Film and Television Production Incentive Fund, NSFPIF, Parker Donham, Paul Andrew Kimball, rec centres, Recreation Department

Nova Scotia’s film industry just won’t die

After a disastrous season last year, filmmakers have seen uptick in productions this year. But will the work keep coming?

October 19, 2016 By Jennifer Henderson

News of the Nova Scotia film industry’s death may have been exaggerated. When the McNeil government slashed a generous tax credit for TV and film production in the spring of 2014, it triggered a blockbuster of a backlash. It snowballed into a combination of public protests by well-known local figures in the industry and public...

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Filed Under: Featured, News, Province House, Subscribers only Tagged With: ACTRA, David MacLeod, film industry, Film Tax Credit, Gary Vermeir, IATSE, Lisa Barry, McNeil, Mike Amo, Nova Scotia Film and Television Production Incentive Fund, Pure, Richard Hadley, Scott Simpson, Screen Nova Scotia, Stephen King, The Mist

Dissolution of Film and Creative Industries ‘a slap in the face’ for film students

April 22, 2015 By Moira Donovan

Although much of the attention in the aftermath of the provincial budget has been devoted to the reduction in the Film Tax Credit, students of NSCAD and NSCC say they’ll be just as much affected by the elimination of Film and Creative Industries NS. The latter provided resources for students making their final-year thesis films,...

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Filed Under: Education, Featured, Province House, Subscribers only Tagged With: Film and Creative Industries, Film Tax Credit, NSCAD, NSCC

The Tideline, with Tara Thorne

Phyllis Rising — Rebecca Falvey (left) and Meg Hubley. Photo submitted

Episode #19 of The Tideline, with Tara Thorne is published.

Meg Hubley and Rebecca Falvey met as theatre kids at Neptune and have been friends ever since. As Phyllis Rising — that’s right, Mary Tyler Moore hive — they’re making films, plays, and are in production on The Crevice, a three-part sitcom streaming live from the Bus Stop in March. They stop by to talk with Tara about its development, their shared love of classic SNL and 90s sitcoms, and the power of close friendship. Plus: A new song from a new band.

This episode is available today only for premium subscribers; to become a premium subscriber, click here, and join the select group of arts and entertainment supporters for just $5/month. Everyone else will have to wait until tomorrow to listen to it.

Please subscribe to The Tideline.

Uncover: Dead Wrong

In 1995, Brenda Way was brutally murdered behind a Dartmouth apartment building. In 1999, Glen Assoun was found guilty of the murder. He served 17 years in prison, but steadfastly maintained his innocence. In 2019, Glen Assoun was fully exonerated.

Halifax Examiner founder and investigative journalist Tim Bousquet has followed the story of Glen Assoun's wrongful conviction for over five years. Now, Bousquet tells that story as host of Season 7 of the CBC podcast series Uncover: Dead Wrong.

Click here to go to listen to the podcast, or search for CBC Uncover on Apple podcasts, Spotify, or any other podcast aggregator.

About the Halifax Examiner

Examiner folk The Halifax Examiner was founded by investigative reporter Tim Bousquet, and now includes a growing collection of writers, contributors, and staff. Left to right: Joan Baxter, Stephen Kimber, Linda Pannozzo, Erica Butler, Jennifer Henderson, Iris the Amazing, Tim Bousquet, Evelyn C. White, El Jones, Philip Moscovitch More about the Examiner.

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