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...
How a simple vendor disclosure form can combat corruption in government
Morning File, Tuesday, December 11, 2018
News 1. Lord Dalhousie report Last night, the “Scholarly Panel to Examine Lord Dalhousie’s History on Slavery and Race” issued its draft report. I wasn’t there, but you can see what went down in a social media recap of the event. I asked for a copy of the draft report yesterday but couldn’t get it; last night […]
Peter Kelly is back in the news
Morning File, Thursday, October 25, 2018
1. OPOR “This is a story about a potential half-billion-dollar health-care services contract, alleged cozy dinners between bidders and bureaucrats, an unusual legal letter and accusations the government’s tender process was unfair,” writes Chronicle Herald reporter Paul Schneidereit: The planned purchase of a new provincewide electronic health record (EHR) system — expected to cost in the hundreds […]
Great white sharks are killing people and they’re coming to Nova Scotia
Morning File, Wednesday, September 19, 2018
News 1. Deaths in custody Yesterday morning, I reported that an official at the Burnside jail had testified in court that “several” prisoners at the jail have died over the past week. I knew about the death of Joshua Evans, a man with a mental disability who took his own life, but no other deaths […]
The contradiction of being Councillor Cleary
Shawn Cleary is the chief flag-waver for the city's most unpopular high-rise proposal — and its developer. But he refuses to accept campaign donations from developers, and is promoting municipal campaign finance reform. He dismisses the significance of the fact the developer's chief lobbyist is a good friend, yet he is spearheading a proposal for a municipal lobbyist registry. Only in Halifax you say...
“We don’t build buildings because of public opinion. We build them for good planning… And so I think this is a good thing for us… In terms of the design, I think we’ve mitigated most of the concerns…” —Councillor Shawn Cleary June 19, 2018 Shawn Cleary’s suitcase of sophistry requires a little unpacking. Councillor Cleary […]
Another cool thing ruined by someone holding the camera the wrong way: Morning File, Friday, October 20, 2017
News 1. Clayton Miller Back in July, Wagner’s law firm held a press conference to publicize “new evidence” in the Clayton Miller case: the videotaped testimony of Bryan McDonald, a Cape Breton Search & Rescue captain, who said he and his team of 10-15 people searched the area where Clayton’s body was later found, but found nothing. […]