People all over HRM would be able to sell their own homegrown produce if councillors approve a proposed set of bylaw amendments. At its meeting on Tuesday, Halifax regional council voted to direct staff to develop amendments to legalize so-called market gardens — where food is “grown or prepared to be sold or shared with...
Surplus properties for affordable housing, cooling centres, construction noise, and more from Halifax regional council
Halifax is selling off more than a dozen unused properties, and setting aside six of them for affordable housing. At its meeting on Tuesday, Halifax regional council voted to declare the properties “surplus,” and classify them as either “remnant,” “extraordinary,” or affordable housing. Under the municipality’s administrative order governing surplus properties, those classified affordable housing […]
Fast-tracking Port Wallace development threatens Lake Charles and health of future residents
An unelected housing panel has approved ‘early tree removal’ and ‘mass work’ in the special Port Wallace development area, as if the arsenic-laden historic mine tailings in the area pose no threat.
The cryptic notice appeared on the bottom left corner of page A7 in Saturday’s Chronicle Herald. It informed anyone who happened to be reading the newspaper in the middle of the first long weekend of summer that on June 16, Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister John Lohr had: … approved amendments to the Regional Municipal […]
Auditor general finds Halifax isn’t doing enough to foster a respectful workplace
Halifax’s auditor general says the city is failing to create a respectful workplace culture, and the chief administrative officer suggests the release of her report could make it worse. Auditor General Evangeline Colman-Sadd tabled her office’s Management of Respectful Workplaces Audit at a meeting of council’s Audit and Finance Standing Committee on Wednesday. The audit […]
Royal flush: the monarchy’s role in reconciliation and Canada today
Morning File, Thursday, May 19, 2022
News 1. Halifax CAO Jacques Dubé to resign Halifax’s highest paid employee will be stepping down at year’s end. As Zane Woodford reports, Jacques Dubé, Halifax Regional Municipality’s chief administrative officer for nearly six years, will resign at the end of 2022. The news was shared in a release from the HRM. “Since September 2016, […]
Halifax auditor general concerned about city’s risk assessment for big projects
Halifax’s auditor general is concerned the municipality isn’t doing enough to plan for big projects after management failed to implement some of her recommendations from 2019. Evangeline Colman-Sadd presented a follow-up report to a virtual meeting of Halifax regional council’s Audit and Finance Standing Committee on Wednesday looking at the municipality’s progress in implementing 11...
Halifax councillors pass 4.6% increase to average property tax bill, including 3% for climate action
Halifax regional councillors have finalized the municipal budget with a 4.6% increase to the average property tax bill, including 3% for climate action. During their virtual budget committee meeting on Tuesday, councillors voted 14-3 in favour of the 2022-2023 budget. Councillors David Hendsbee, Trish Purdy, and Paul Russell voted no. Councillors all but finalized the […]
‘Anti-democratic’ bill cutting Halifax planning committees moves ahead
A bill described by Halifax’s deputy mayor as “anti-democratic” is moving ahead without changes after a meeting of the legislature’s Law Amendments Committee on Monday. Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister John Lohr introduced Bill 137 last Wednesday, and it passed second reading at Province House on Thursday. As the Halifax Examiner reported last week, the bill […]
Researchers explore homelessness in Nova Scotia during early months of COVID-19
Authors of a new report highlighting the “ongoing systemic disaster” of homelessness in Nova Scotia during the pandemic’s early months hope their work will inform future disaster responses. The report, Homelessness during a pandemic, Learning lessons for disaster preparedness in Nova Scotia, summarizes a collaborative study between researchers at Dalhousie University, Cape Breton University and […]
Even when things are going well, the “nice” Canadian society is a myth
Morning File, Wednesday, February 16, 2022
News 1. Mass murder inquiry This item is written by Tim Bousquet. Yesterday, the families of the victims of the mass murders of April 18/19, 2020 issued a statement through their lawyers, objecting to how the Mass Casualty Commission is proceeding next week. You can read the statement here. The families make an important point: […]