Hi, I’m Joan Baxter, a Nova Scotian journalist and author. Some of my books are actually quite upbeat, proving that I’m not always a bearer of bad news. News 1. Abandoned tidal turbine Jennifer Henderson updates the situation of the abandoned tidal turbine in the Minas Basin in this article for the Examiner. After a […]
Ships, Conservatives, turbines, gold, and forests
Morning File, Thursday, August 23, 2018
Hello, I’m Joan Baxter, Nova Scotian journalist and author, wondering how on earth Tim does this every morning. News 1. Ships start here, but when? Jennifer Henderson investigates the six-month (and counting) delay in the completion of the first ship in the multi-billion dollar Halifax Shipyard contract in a new article for the Examiner: The […]
McNeil government refuses to release VG replacement report
The McNeil government continues to keep the advice it receives on its biggest and most expensive decisions carefully out of public sight. Yesterday the Minister of Transportation, Infrastructure and Renewal (TIR) refused to release a preliminary cost estimate to replace the crumbling Victoria General (VG) Hospital the government has promised to demolish in 2022. That’s...
Fool’s gold
Nova Scotia's Myopic Pursuit of Metals & Minerals (Part 2)
A Halifax Examiner / Cape Breton Spectator investigation. This is the second in a series of articles on the push for mines and quarries in Nova Scotia. You can find Part I here. Going for gold The CEO and chairman of Vancouver-based Atlantic Gold Corporation, Steven Dean, a man with a history of international coal and […]
Dirty Dealing
Part 4: Message Control and the Northern Pulp Mill’s Cancer-Causing Air Emissions
Nova Scotia Lands, a provincial crown corporation charged with cleaning up Boat Harbour, played a role in silencing two Dalhousie University researchers whose work studied air pollution coming from the Northern Pulp mill, the Halifax Examiner has learned. In Part 3 of the Dirty Dealing series, I reported on the researchers’ 2017 ambient air study, which revealed […]
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 […]
The VG replacement report is finished, but you can’t see it
The consultant's report includes a preliminary cost estimate, timeline, and master plan to replace services delivered out of the crumbling Victoria General (VG) hospital and Centennial building, but government agencies refuse to release it.
On Friday, December 29, the final work day of 2017, the province received a consultant’s report containing some highly anticipated information. The report included a preliminary cost estimate, timeline, and master plan to replace services delivered out of the crumbling Victoria General (VG) hospital and Centennial building. Kasian Architecture of Ontario had been awarded a...
Universal health coverage at risk: Canadian Health Coalition
Could Canadians lose universal access to health services over the next decade? That’s what the Canadian Health Coalition fears if the Trudeau government doesn’t honour an election promise to negotiate a National Health Accord with the provinces and territories. Adrienne Silnicki, coordinator of the national coalition, which includes the Nova Scotia Health Coalition, says its...
Cutting off your nose to spite your face: Morning File, Tuesday, October 11, 2016
News Views Noticed Government On campus In the harbour Footnotes News 1. Glyphosate and the Politics of Safety A few weeks ago, I asked Linda Pannozzo if she could turn her attention to the glyphosate issue. On Friday, she returned with an astoundingly thorough piece of research. There’s much information in her article, but I think it’s […]
The Grafton Street Glory Hole and other obscenities: Morning File, Wednesday, October 5, 2016
News Views Noticed Government On campus In the harbour Footnotes News 1. Convention centre opening delayed… again The Halifax Convention Centre will not open as scheduled on April 1. A new opening date has not yet been established, but Trade Centre Limited is rescheduling conventions booked through the end of June; seven national and international conventions […]