The day-by-day countdown to the closing of Boat Harbour happens on a large painting erected in front of the Pictou Landing First Nation band council office. The painting depicts Boat Harbour as it was before it was dammed (and damned) in 1966, transformed from a healthy tidal estuary to a stinking lagoon for the toxic...
A fascinating (and disturbing) look at North End Dartmouth, circa 1970s
Morning File, Friday, August 30, 2019
News 1. Politicians respond, sort of, to Greg Hiles’ death This item is written by Jennifer Henderson. Premier McNeil, Health Minister Randy Delorey, and Justice Minister Mark Furey all read from the same script after Thursday’s meeting of Cabinet ministers in charge of the province. There will be no consideration given to any sort of […]
A Tree Walk will make us all rich!
Morning File, Thursday, August 22, 2019
News 1. Cod “DFO has issued a stark warning linking the demise of codfish in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence to an exploding seal population,” reports Paul Withers for the CBC: It’s contained in the most recent stock assessment of Atlantic cod in the southern gulf, which was released earlier this month. “At the current abundance […]
Justice Minister Mark Furey: an apology to Glen Assoun is “premature”
It’s two weeks today since a Nova Scotia court unsealed documents that help explain why Glen Assoun spent 17 years behind bars for a murder he did not commit. The documents pertain to both the Halifax Regional Police’s initial Halifax police investigation into the 1995 murder of Brenda Way, and to a later RCMP re-investigation […]
Provincial budget update: increased surplus and debt reduction, but also large bills for cleaning up historic toxic mines and the Yarmouth ferry
“You’re richer than you think” Scotiabank used to say in its marketing campaign to prospective customers. Today we learned the Province is in better financial shape than we were led to believe a year ago. Audited financial statements for the year March 2018–March 2019 show the province had a surplus of $120 million, four times...
The Sackville-Cobequid byelection: seeking meaning in the meaningless
It is way too early to read anything of significance from a single constituency byelection in the muddling middle of any government’s mandate. But let's give it a shot...
“Steve Craig won the byelection for MLA in Sackville-Cobequid… The district has long been solidly NDP, so a PC victory is notable, but I wouldn’t read too much into it.” —Tim Bousquet June 19, 2019 Tim is right, of course. It is way too early to read anything of significance from the political leavings in...
McNeil government: if John Perkins doesn’t like being wrestled to the floor at a public meeting, he can file a complaint
If you aren’t keen on police roughing you up and cuffing you at a pubic meeting, or corporations dialing up the Mounties to act as bouncers, then go file a complaint with one of two watchdogs that investigate actions by RCMP officers. That’s the identical response which Premier Stephen McNeil, Justice Minister Mark Furey, and […]
Health Authority opens the door a crack
For the first time since the McNeil government dismantled nine regional health authorities and created one provincial agency to run hospitals four and a half years ago, the Nova Scotia Health Authority opened a portion of one of its Board meetings to the public. Yesterday’s meeting took place in the town of Liverpool. Doors opened...
Stephen McNeil would never abuse his position, honest
Morning File, Friday, January 11, 2019
News 1. Bar Harbor ferry terminal “The question of Nova Scotia taxpayers footing the bill for the salaries of a handful of U.S. Customs and Border Protection employees in Bar Harbour, Maine was raised by reporters following today’s meeting of Cabinet ministers, the first since the holiday break,” reports Jennifer Henderson: Bay Ferries, which operates the […]
Premier Stephen McNeil denies advocating for province to pay for new sports facility in his riding
Premier Stephen McNeil denies he lobbied or advocated for additional provincial money to be spent on a $3.5-million outdoor track and field facility in his own riding. The eight-lane track next to the new Bridgetown School is being financed through Ottawa’s Small Communities program. Twenty-five projects in the province have been approved through this federal...