News 1. Davie v Irving In recent days, Unifor Marine Workers Federation Local 1, which represents Irving Shipyard workers, has been conducting a “Ships Stay Here” campaign that included getting Halifax council to support its efforts. The union fears that some of the shipbuilding work contracted to Irving will be shifted to Davie Shipyard in […]
It’s the People’s Arena: we paid for it, we own it
Morning File, Thursday, October 11, 2018
News 1. P3s explained Does the McNeil government’s announcement that the QEII New Generation project will be financed by a P3 (public-private partnership) arrangement leave you scratching your head in confusion? It should. So many arguments are tossed out to justify the decision, but none of those are explained in detail or backed up by hard […]
Trying to get straight answers from the provincial government is an exercise in frustration and futility
Morning File, Thursday, October 4, 2018
Joan Baxter here again, filling in for Tim who is in Toronto for Wrongful Conviction Day, and being recognized by Innocence Canada, a non-profit organization dedicated to identifying, advocating for, and exonerating individuals convicted of a crime that they did not commit. He is being awarded the the Tracey Tyler Award for his reporting on the […]
The allegations of sexual violence against Shambhala leader
Morning File, Tuesday, July 3, 2018
News 1. Shambhala The Shambhala community is embroiled in a sexual abuse scandal, but no one seems to want to talk about it. On Tuesday, I asked Erica Butler to link to the Project Sunshine report, “a 3-month Initiative To Bring Healing Light To Sexualized Violence At The Core Of The Shambhala Buddhist Community,” hoping […]
Longest day of the year blues
Morning File, Thursday, June 21, 2018
News 1. Offshore research Yesterday, the province announced $11.8-million in spending over four years for the second phase of its Offshore Growth Strategy. According to a press release, the money will go towards: • collecting core samples and high-resolution mapping information of the ocean bottom and sub bottom • working with Morocco to reconstruct seismic […]
The “breach of privacy” arrest looks like an exercise in misdirection
Morning File, Thursday, April 12, 2018
News 1. “Breach of privacy” Yesterday, the province announced that the Freedom of Information site had been “breached”: Government is working with Halifax Regional Police to investigate a breach of information on the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy (FOIPOP) website. Of the documents that were inappropriately accessed, less than four per cent, about […]
Bureaucratic oversight and other misdemeanours
Morning File, Tuesday, April 10, 2018
I’m Erica Butler, your Examiner transportation columnist, sitting in on Morning File today. News 1. Randy Riley case “Last Tuesday, there was dramatic moment in Supreme Court, worthy of its own Law & Order episode,” reported Tim yesterday: In the course of its prosecution of Randy Riley for the 2010 murder of Chad Smith, the […]
City council, the developer, and the deal that isn’t quite
APL promises 10 affordable housing units in exchange for being allowed to add five storeys to its Willow Tree project. Who benefits? Hint: not the city...
Halifax City Council can be — even at its best of times — confusing, contradictory, confounding. Last week, council was not, even by its own modest standards, at its best. Councillors were considering again/still/always a proposal from APL, an Armoyan development company, to erect a commercial-residential tower at the corner of Robie Street and Quinpool...
The untold story of sexual harassment in the restaurant industry
Morning File, Thursday, March 15, 2018
News 1. Sutton Place Yesterday morning, the gossip mill (meaning my email) was buzzing with news that a hotel operator for the Nova Centre hotel will be announced today — Sutton Place, I was told, a chain with five hotels out west, will brand the hotel. Alas, I was busy, and Roger Taylor at the […]
Teachers won’t strike: Morning File, Friday, March 2, 2018
News 1. Teachers The government tabled its Education Reform Act (Bill 72) yesterday. You can read the text of the bill here, and the government’s press release about it here. The Nova Scotia Teachers Union then issued the following release: NSTU suspends job action Following numerous compromises by the McNeil government, the NSTU will not […]