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Photos of Trudeau in Blackface don’t surprise Black people; we live this racist reality

When the furor over Trudeau's Blackface photos dies down, to be referred to as an "embarrassing incident" or "controversial," Black people like Abdilahi Elmi will still be facing deportation. Muslim Canadians will still be on the no-fly list. White nationalist editorials will still be commissioned by major newspapers under the guise of "debate." And immigration will still be referred to as a "crisis."

September 20, 2019 By El Jones 5 Comments

The closest I’ve been to Justin Trudeau was in January, 2017, when I stood beside former Somali child refugee Abdoul Abdi’s sister Fatouma as she asked the Prime Minister if he would deport his own children. Fatouma was seven months pregnant, and was supposed to be on bed rest. When she heard Trudeau would be at […]

Filed Under: Commentary, Featured Tagged With: Abdilahi Elmi, Abdoul Abdi, anti-Black racism, anti-Blackness, blackface, Fatouma Alyaan, Greg Marquis, Lynn Jones, Peter MacKinnon, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Yusra Khogali

The Donner Prize is part of a larger effort to reimagine Canada as a right-wing American Libertarian fantasy

Morning File, Monday, April 8, 2019

April 8, 2019 By Tim Bousquet 3 Comments

1. Donner Prize “Peter MacKinnon’s book, University Commons Divided: Exploring Debate and Dissent on Campus, has been shortlisted for the Donner Prize,” writes El Jones: In an article I wrote for the Halifax Examiner about MacKinnon’s defense of blackface, I identified how MacKinnon’s arguments lack a scholarly basis. He frequently does not quote or misleadingly quotes […]

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: Alan Lomax, Allan Gotliev, Association for Cultural Equity, Backstory NS, blackface, Bob Bancroft, Canadian Constitution Foundation, clearcutting, Costas Halavrezos, designated smoking receptacles, designated smoking zones, Donner Canadian Foundation, Donner Prize, El Jones, Fraser Institute, Greg MacVicar, Hillsdale College, Ken Whyte, Patrick Luciani, Peter MacKinnon, R. Emmett Tyrell Jr., sidewalk clearing, Thomas Walkom, Vera Hall, William H. Donner Foundation, William Henry Donner, Woman Hailing a Cab

All-white Donner Prize jury shortlists book by white man defending blackface

April 7, 2019 By El Jones 3 Comments

Peter MacKinnon’s book, University Commons Divided: Exploring Debate and Dissent on Campus, has been shortlisted for the Donner Prize. The selection criteria for the prize identifies three areas of scrutiny: The importance of the subject; The soundness and originality of the analysis in terms of identifying and defining the issues in question and presenting authoritative analysis […]

Filed Under: Commentary, Featured Tagged With: Black Liberation Collective, blackface, Cheryl Thompson, Dalhousie University, David A. Dodge, Desmond Cole, Donner Canadian Foundation, Donner Prize, Eric Lott, George Elliott Clarke, Helen McClean, Henry Parada, Jean-Marie Dufour, Ken Whyte, Lawrence Stordy, Peter MacKinnon, Peter Nicholson, Rinaldo Walcott, Sherry Naylor, white supremacist improv

Here’s the stadium lie: it will pay for itself

Morning File, Wednesday, February 6, 2019

February 6, 2019 By Tim Bousquet 11 Comments

News 1. Here’s the stadium lie: it will pay for itself There’s a big long Canadian Press article written by reporter Dan Ralph that quotes Anthony Leblanc at length about all things Atlantic Schooners, but mostly about his plans to play in Moncton while he strong-arms Halifax into building him a stadium. Then Ralph gets […]

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: Amanda Jess, Anthony Leblanc, Atlantic Schooners, blackface, Blake Jackson trial, Brett Bundale, CFL stadium, Charles Vinick, Dalhousie Faculty Association, Dan Ralph, El Jones, Justice Christa Brothers, Lawrence Story, Lori Marino, Peter MacKinnon, Ralph Northam, Sean McCarroll, sexual assault, stadium financing, Tax Increment Financing (TIF), Thomas Singleton, Valor SR, Whale Sanctuary Project

Dal Interim President Peter MacKinnon responds

Morning File, Tuesday, January 29, 2019

January 29, 2019 By Tim Bousquet and Jennifer Henderson 4 Comments

News 1. “Near miss” offshore This item is written by Jennifer Henderson. For the second time in three months, there’s been a potentially fatal incident involving a dropped object aboard the rig plugging 22 abandoned wells near Sable Island. Fortunately, no one was injured in this incident, which happened Thursday January 24 aboard the Noble Regina […]

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: Arrows Ball Park, Barbara Darby and cowboys, Bell's Let's Talk campaign, Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board, David Jones, Department of National Defence (DND), El Jones, ExxonMobil, gaslighting, Innocence Canada, John Ware, Kalapa Council, Little Brooklyn, mental health, Mipham Mukpo, Murray Brewster, Peter MacKinnon, Philip Moscovitch, Shambhala, Thebaud production platform, Tom Sophonow, Vice-Admiral Mark Norman

“Racist, Full Stop.”

In his book, Interim Dalhousie President Peter MacKinnon downplays and excuses the wearing of blackface while mischaracterizing and sidelining those who object to it. But MacKinnon ignores the vast scholarship on blackface, so let's hear from the scholars.

January 26, 2019 By El Jones 2 Comments

INTRODUCTION On Monday afternoon, Dalhousie students protested the welcoming reception for incoming president Peter MacKinnon. As Tim noted on Tuesday, “The students are particularly riled over MacKinnon’s book, University Commons Divided: Exploring Debate & Dissent on Campus.” One of the serious issues students identified in their press release is MacKinnon’s declaration in the book that blackface […]

Filed Under: Commentary, Education, Featured Tagged With: Anthony Morgan, anti-Black racism, blackface, Brock University, Cheryl Thompson, Dalhousie University racism, Denise Balkissoon, Eric Lott, George Elliott Clarke, Jack Lightstone, Larry Stordy, McGill University, Peter MacKinnon, Philip S.S. Howard, Queen's University, Rachel Decoste, racist costumes, Rinaldo Walcott, Stephen Johnson, University of Toronto

Students say new Dalhousie Interim President Peter MacKinnon should resign

Morning File, Tuesday, January 22, 2019

January 22, 2019 By Tim Bousquet 14 Comments

This is a somewhat abbreviated Morning File as I’m tied up with another project; I hope to finish that project soon, maybe even today. News 1. Peter MacKinnon Yesterday, there was a welcoming reception for new interim Dalhousie President Peter MacKinnon at the Dal Arts Centre. A group of students dressed in black and carrying signs […]

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: Abdoul Abdi, Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaq Chiefs (ANSMC), Chief Morley Googoo, citizenship, Cornwallis Task Force, Costas Halavrezos, Dalhousie students silent action, Dartmouth Sportsplex, death and journalism, Divest Dal, George V, Joseph Zatzman, Michael Zatzman, naming rights, Nova Scotia Department of Community Services, Peter MacKinnon, Racism, Shaina Luck, Zane Woodford, Zatzman Sportsplex

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

A young white woman with dark hair and a purple shirt lies on a large rock at dusk, looking up at the sky and playing her banjolele.

Episode 85 of The Tideline, with Tara Thorne, is published.

Logan Robins (writer/director/composer) and Katherine Norris (star/composer) of the Unnatural Disaster Theatre Company are on the show this week ahead of their provincial tour of HIPPOPOSTUMOUS, Robins’ musical exploration of invasive species, colonization, environmentalism, and history. Hear how Pablo Escobar’s personal hippos have invaded and are ruining a section of Colombia, why Robins was intrigued to make a show about it, and all the places you can catch it this July. Plus Norris cracks out the banjolele to perform one of the show’s songs. And the new jam from Beauts!

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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