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Getting coffee while black

What does a recent human rights case — and HRM's lack of response to it — say about the state of race relations in Halifax in 2021?

May 9, 2021 By Stephen Kimber 1 Comment

On the morning of Jan. 24, 2017, Gyasi Symonds, a provincial Department of Community Services caseworker, did what many of us routinely did in pre-pandemic times. He went for a coffee. What happened during and immediately after his coffee break that day will seem anything but routine to many of us. If you’re among my […]

Filed Under: Featured, News Tagged With: Gyasi Symonds, Hlaifax Regional Police, Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission

Black man ticketed for jaywalking challenges Halifax police at human rights board of inquiry

November 7, 2020 By Zane Woodford 11 Comments

A Nova Scotia Human Rights board of inquiry has heard conflicting testimony about the events leading up to a 2017 interaction described by one witness as “disturbing” and characterized by the man at the centre of the inquiry as racial discrimination. Gyasi Symonds, a Black man, is arguing police discriminated against him based on his […]

Filed Under: Featured, News Tagged With: Carolyn Brodie, Const. Pierre Paul Cadieux, Const. Steve Logan, crossing street while Black, Gyasi Symonds, jaywalking, Kendrick Douglas, Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission, racial discrimination, Tracy Embrett

For some people, wearing a mask is “a unique kind of claustrophobia”

Is it discrimination to refuse entry to people who won't wear a mask for medical reasons?

June 4, 2020 By Philip Moscovitch 1 Comment

The Halifax Examiner is providing all COVID-19 coverage for free. When Vel Oakes goes out, she doesn’t wear a mask. She said she’s gotten “some odd looks” if she’s standing in line waiting to get into a store — and she worries that as mask-wearing becomes more normalized, that’s going to get worse. Oakes described […]

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: Biscuit General, coronavirus, Costco, COVID-19, Craig Jelinek, Department of Health and Wellness (DHW), Dr. Theresa Tam, Ferdinand Ballesteros, Heather Fairbairn, Ikebana Shop, Jeff Overmars, Marketa Stastna, masks, Miyako Ballesteros, Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission, Pan-Canadian Public Health Network, pandemic, Shawna Henderson, Vel Oakes

Representation matters. Architectural renderings of the Dalhousie Arts Centre that depict only white people send a message to people of colour: you don’t belong

Morning File, Monday, December 23, 2019

December 23, 2019 By Tim Bousquet 3 Comments

News 1. Northern Pulp Friday, three Examiner reporters covered the breaking Northern Pulp story. I was at One Government Place for Premier Stephen McNeil’s announcement, then darted over to a nearby hotel for Northern Pulp’s press conference. Joan Baxter spoke with members of Pictou Landing First Nation and PLFN legal council to get their reaction.* […]

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: architectural drawings, Dalhousie Arts Centre, Deborah Page, Frances Willick, institutional biases, Julia Wright, Margaret Ravenscroft, Noble Regina Allen, Northern Pulp, Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission, Paul Vienneau, Peggy's Cove, Rana Zaman, representation, Rob Nickel, Robert Devet, Roger Crooks, Suncor Energy, Terra Nova

A non-existent service is Nova Scotia’s top attraction

Morning File, Wednesday, December 4, 2019

December 4, 2019 By Philip Moscovitch 9 Comments

News 1. Cassidy Bernard’s ex-boyfriend arrested for her murder Yesterday, RCMP announced second-degree murder charges against 20-year-old Austin Isadore. He is accused of killing Bernard last year. Isadore was her ex-boyfriend and is the father of Bernard’s twin daughters. An unbylined CBC story says: Janey Michael, who is president of the We’koqma’q Native Women’s Association, said she’s […]

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: Andrew Rankin, Austin Isadore, bicycle tourism, Cassidy Bernard, Cat ferry service, Chris Surette, Christopher Garnier appeal, cycling tourism, development, Elizabeth McSheffrey, Erynn Ahern, fishermen's strike, helen Craig, Homer Stevens, Janey Michael, Jim Haggerty, Judy Saunders, land-use regulations, Mark Scott, Mayann Francis, Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission, Patsy MacKay, Robert Devet, Roger Burrill, Sea King Drive development, Sharon Davis-Murdoch, Silver Donald Cameron, The Education of Everett Richardson: The story of the Nova Scotia fishermen's strike 1970-71, unionism, William Craig, Yarmouth ferry, zoning laws

The stadium proposal hijacks the real need for recreation and sports facilities

Morning File, Monday, September 30, 2019

September 30, 2019 By Tim Bousquet 16 Comments

News 1. Stadium Writes Stephen Kimber: [L]et me ask a simple question. Where would you rather your governments spend $5–6-million (almost certainly more) of your tax dollars every year for the next 30 years (and likely the next forever after that)? Would you prefer they spend that $180 million (interest included, over-runs not included) on […]

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: accessibility, Alterrain Contracting Inc., CFL stadium proposal, Christine Hanson, crane incident, gas leak Bloomfield Street, Gus Reed, Halifax Town Clock, Heritage Gas, Jamie Ferguson, Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission, pedestrian struck Pinehill Drive, Sport Nova Scotia, sports facilities, stadium, Walls Brook, WestFor

“Do right by me”: by not addressing the systematic racism of street checks, the white power structure is doubling down on Nova Scotia’s well-earned reputation for ignorance, stigma, and stench

May 21, 2019 By Evelyn C. White 4 Comments

“Until you do right by me, everything you think about is gonna crumble.” Voiced by Whoopi Goldberg in her role as Celie in the film adaptation of The Color Purple, the line has recently wafted, repeatedly, through my mind. To be sure, the thought has been prompted by the magnificent production of The Color Purple […]

Filed Under: City Hall, Commentary, Featured, Province House Tagged With: African Nova Scotians, Afua Cooper, Ban the Box, Birchtown, Black Loyalists, Christine Saulnier, Devah Pager, Ellen Page, Environmental Racism, Halifax Police, inclusive education program, Ingrid Waldron, Justice Minister Mark Furey, Nova Scotia Department of Education, Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission, Racism, Scot Wortley, street checks, Underground Railroad, white power structure

The authoritarian state starts with oppression of minorities today

Morning File, Thursday, May 16, 2019

May 16, 2019 By Tim Bousquet 13 Comments

News 1. Racism costs City Hall $600,000 The Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission issued this press release yesterday: The chair of an independent human rights board of inquiry into the matter of Y.Z. v. Halifax Regional Municipality issued her decision on remedy today, May 15. Lynn Connors found discrimination had occurred and issued her decision […]

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: Boer War monument, Cape Breton Regional Municipality (CBRM), Cape Breton Spectator, City Hall, civil rights, Clarke Ellis, Croatia, Daniela Rogulj, Emera, Freedom of Information, governance by surveillance, HMCS Toronto, John Phelan, Julia-Simone Rutgers, Kent Bailey, Lynn Connors, Mark Bettens, Mary Campbell, Mayor Cecil Clarke's trip to China, Memorial Cup, Michael Karanicolas, Minority Report, Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission, Racism, racism at Metro Transit, Sierra Club

Street checks are racist and dumb; they should be outlawed

Morning File, Thursday, March 28, 2019

March 28, 2019 By Tim Bousquet 8 Comments

News 1. Street checks I’ve asked El Jones to write an article about Scot Wortley’s street checks report that was released by the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission yesterday. Jones has been quite busy and hasn’t been able to sit down and write; she tells me she’ll write an article this afternoon; in the meanwhile, […]

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: El Jones, Halifax Regional Police Service (HRP), HMCS Toronto, Jody Wilson-Raybold’s delay on Glen Assoun file, Keith Doucette, Kirk Johnson, Larry Harrison, Michael Gorman, MLA Allan MacMaster, MLA Keith Colwell, MLA Percy Paris, Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission, Scot Wortley, street checks, Tim Houston, Tony Ince, traffic stop study, Zach Churchill

The Dog Days of Summer

Morning File, Wednesday, July 4, 2018

July 4, 2018 By Tim Bousquet 13 Comments

News 1. Vision Nothing Much “There are on average 1,400 personal injuries and 14 fatalities per year due to vehicle collisions in HRM, according to the new Strategic Road Safety Plan (SRSP), recently approved by city council’s transportation committee and now on its way to full council for debate and approval,” reports Erica Butler: If […]

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: accessible washrooms, Alex Cooke, Atlantic Lottery at Nova Centre, Ben Marston, Canis Major, Department of Environment, immigration public opinion survey, Jeremy MacDonald, Kelly McKenna, Mary Campbell, Molly Cormier, Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission, Paul Vienneau, restaurant patios, Sirius, Warren (Gus) Reed

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PRICED OUT

A collage of various housing options in HRM, including co-ops, apartment buildings, shelters, and tents
PRICED OUT is the Examiner’s investigative reporting project focused on the housing crisis.

You can learn about the project, including how we’re asking readers to direct our reporting, our published articles, and what we’re working on, on the PRICED OUT homepage.

2020 mass murders

Nine images illustrating the locations, maps, and memorials of the mass shootings

All of the Halifax Examiner’s reporting on the mass murders of April 18/19, 2020, and recent articles on the Mass Casualty Commission and newly-released documents.

Updated regularly.

Uncover: Dead Wrong

In 1995, Brenda Way was brutally murdered behind a Dartmouth apartment building. In 1999, Glen Assoun was found guilty of the murder. He served 17 years in prison, but steadfastly maintained his innocence. In 2019, Glen Assoun was fully exonerated.

Halifax Examiner founder and investigative journalist Tim Bousquet has followed the story of Glen Assoun's wrongful conviction for over five years. Now, Bousquet tells that story as host of Season 7 of the CBC podcast series Uncover: Dead Wrong.

Click here to go to listen to the podcast, or search for CBC Uncover on Apple podcasts, Spotify, or any other podcast aggregator.

The Tideline, with Tara Thorne

Two young white women, one with dark hair and one blonde, smile at the camera on a sunny spring day.

Episode 79 of The Tideline, with Tara Thorne, is published.

Grace McNutt and Linnea Swinimer are the Minute Women, two Haligonians who host a podcast of the same name about Canadian history as seen through a lens of Heritage Minutes (minutewomenpodcast.ca). In a lively celebration of the show’s second birthday, they stop by to reveal how curling brought them together in podcast — and now BFF — form, their favourite Minutes, that time they thought Jean Chretien was dead, and the impact their show has had. Plus music from brand-new ECMA winners Hillsburn and Zamani.

Listen to the episode here.

Check out some of the past episodes here.

Subscribe to the podcast to get episodes automatically downloaded to your device — there’s a great instructional article here. Email Suzanne for help.

You can reach Tara here.

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Recent posts

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  • National study to assess pandemic’s health impacts, potential long-term effects of COVID-19 May 19, 2022
  • NSTU president concerned about conflict as province announces end to mask mandate in schools May 19, 2022
  • Royal flush: the monarchy’s role in reconciliation and Canada today May 19, 2022
  • Dartmouth man charged with wilful promotion of hatred May 19, 2022

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