In this article, Part 1 of a two-part series about the state of the public’s “right to know” in Nova Scotia, the focus is on what happened when the Halifax Examiner submitted a Freedom of Information (FOIPOP) request to the province about whether it would agree to protect the French River watershed — the water […]
Who benefits from Atlantic Gold’s Nova Scotia operations?
Firm with gold mines on the Eastern Shore pays no taxes and low wages to its employees while it gets large government subsidies and maximizes profits. Oh, and it will leave toxic mine tailings that will be with us forever.
In mid-May, Laird Brownlie, head of external affairs for Australia’s St Barbara Ltd that acquired Atlantic Gold and its mining operations in Nova Scotia in 2019 for $722 million, sent out an email — a “special bulletin” — about the company’s proposed modifications at its Touquoy open pit gold mine in Moose River. Brownlie’s message […]
Enhancing the tourist experience by putting parking on protected land
Morning File, Tuesday, December 24, 2019
It’s Christmas Eve and I have no idea if anybody is reading or not. If you’re here, enjoy the Morning File. I usually work only minimally between Christmas and New Year’s, and I hope you get some time off too. News 1. Christmas in prison A prisoner we are calling JC offers a moving piece […]
Representation matters. Architectural renderings of the Dalhousie Arts Centre that depict only white people send a message to people of colour: you don’t belong
Morning File, Monday, December 23, 2019
News 1. Northern Pulp Friday, three Examiner reporters covered the breaking Northern Pulp story. I was at One Government Place for Premier Stephen McNeil’s announcement, then darted over to a nearby hotel for Northern Pulp’s press conference. Joan Baxter spoke with members of Pictou Landing First Nation and PLFN legal council to get their reaction.* […]
Halifax is making modest improvements in transit; so why are we preparing to pull the rug out from under transit with Uber?
Morning File, Friday, December 13, 2019
News 1. Cabinet Jennifer Henderson went to yesterday’s post-cabinet scrum. Click here to see what the cabinet ministers had to say. This article is for subscribers. Click here to subscribe. Henderson thinks the decision on the environmental assessment of Northern Pulp Mill’s proposed effluent treatment system and pipe into the Northumberland Strait could come as […]
Saltwire finds one scientist who thinks Northern Pulp’s effluent isn’t toxic
Morning File, Monday, December 9, 2019
News 1. Stadium David Fleming is an economist who has worked with the Greater Halifax Partnership and the North End Business Association, and is now working on PEI. He reviewed the case for public financing of a stadium, and found it wanting. Click here to read “There’s not a good financial case for a publicly […]
Drink lead, kid
Morning File, Thursday, November 7, 2019
November subscription drive Stephen Kimber has been around the Examiner for so long, it’s easy to take his weekly columns for granted. Monday morning: Kimber’s got a new column. I got to know Kimber while doing my MFA at King’s over the last couple of years. He was the cohort leader for my class and […]
Maritime Launch Services and its private/public servants
One government bureaucrat sent a nasty email to a CBC reporter. Others had rude things to say about the Halifax Examiner. And Stephen McNeil met with MLS and it Ukrainian "partners" even though they aren't registered as lobbyists.
It’s not the first time I’ve waded through many hundreds of pages of correspondence released by a government under a FOIPOP (Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy) request, but it is the first time that reading the correspondence made me feel slightly queasy, like a voyeur witnessing unhealthy relationships developing between uncritical and subservient […]
Dealing with Dalhousie’s past
Morning File, Friday, September 6, 2019
News 1. Dalhousie report on its racist past released The Dalhousie panel appointed to look into the attitudes and actions of the school’s founder has published its report, writes Frances Willick for the CBC. In an opening note, the report’s lead author and panel chair Dr. Afua Cooper ties the historical findings to current day […]
Saving the stuff that matters
Morning File, Thursday, August 29, 2019
News 1.What is going on at the East Coast Forensic Hospital? El Jones looks into concerns about treatment at the East Coast Forensic Hospital after the death of Greg Hiles last week. Women’s Wellness Within has requested a meeting with Health Minister Randy Delorey and has called for an inquiry into Hiles’ death at the […]