News 1. John Risley’s South African Adventure Out from behind the paywall: Tim’s epic piece on how Nova Scotia billionaire John Risley wound up in bed with an arms dealer suing the South African government over an apartheid-era contract. The short version: After his racing career, Portuguese Formula 1 driver Jorge Pinhol became an arms […]
Taxi drivers should be demanding stepped-up regulation and inspection
Morning File, Thursday, January 10, 2019
News 1. Spring Garden Road Examiner transportation columnist Erica Butler walks us through the three options presented for the reconstruction of Spring Garden Road. Click here to read “Making room for pedestrians on Spring Garden Road.” This article is for subscribers. Click here to subscribe. Butler suspects merchants along the street will push back against the […]
Halifax CFL team: the Richard Butts connection
Morning File, Friday, November 2, 2018
November subscription drive Today, I could write a long thing telling you about how important your subscription is, or you could read what I wrote yesterday and today I’ll just post a picture of a cute dog: Your dog can also wear a Halifax Examiner T-shirt, but only if your dog buys an annual subscription. […]
Halifax council passes stupid and overreaching cannabis restrictions
Morning File, Wednesday, July 18, 2018
News 1. Government drops effort to deport Abdoul Abdi The news was announced by Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale via a tweet at 9pm last night: The Government of Canada respects the decision filed on July 13 by the Federal Court concerning Abdoul Abdi. The Government will not pursue deportation for Mr. Abdi. — Ralph Goodale […]
Robie Street is about to become a construction nightmare
Morning File, Monday, July 9, 2018
News 1. The border Writes Stephen Kimber: In the past month, U.S. Customs and Border Protection stopped 21 vessels in the Gulf of Maine “looking for illegal immigrants.” Illegal immigrants? From Canada? Or should that be to Canada? Click here to read “Donald Trump and the border: He stands on guard for he.” This article […]
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 […]
Looks like we’re getting a stadium, whether we want it or not
Morning File, Wednesday, June 20, 2018
News 1. Stadium Yesterday, I went to Halifax City Hall expecting to hear councillors discuss cannabis legalization; I was preparing for a hilarious debate about the evils of smoking the ganja. But before that conversation could get going, the Maritime Football Ltd. people showed up and council kicked the public out of chambers so they […]
The people lobbying the province for a stadium aren’t registered as lobbyists
Morning File, Friday, June 15, 2018
News 1. Stadium lobbyists aren’t registered as lobbyists Canadian Press reporter Judy Owen caught up with CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie at the Winnipeg–Edmonton game last night (Edmonton prevailed, 33-30), and Ambrosie went on about the possibility of a Halifax team: “The conversations between ourselves and the Maritime Football group continue,” Ambrosie said. “We’re doing work on their business […]
We’re watching Mark Lever destroy journalism in Nova Scotia
Morning File, Thursday, May 31, 2018
News 1. Fool’s Gold, Part 3 We’ve published the third instalment of Joan Baxter’s “Fool’s Gold” series. Part 3 looks at the provincial Department of Natural Resource’s efforts to open the Cobequid Hills up to gold production, and the effect prospecting and potential mining would have on the French River, which is the source of […]
Which crazy religion is Halifax Mayor Mike Savage promoting this week?
Morning File, Monday, May 7, 2018
News 1. The offshore will make everyone rich Writes Stephen Kimber: “Many international companies believe we have resources off our coast that we have not tapped into,” says Premier Stephen McNeil, “and we want the ability to do so.” Forget the reality. And damn the consequences. Click here to read “Politicians’ snake oil hopes and dreams […]