News 1. New police chief won’t say “racial bias” Dan Kinsella, the new Halifax police chief was a guest on CBC Radio’s Information Morning today. Host Portia Clark, in her polite and persistent way, pressed him a couple of times on the question of street checks and racial profiling. Asked about street checks, Kinsella replied: […]
A lot of people in Halifax will be hungover at work on Thursday
Morning File, Tuesday, May 21, 2019
News 1. Gold “Here’s the deal,” writes Joan Baxter: On Wednesday, May 14, an Australian gold mining company called St. Barbara Limited, with one gold mine in Australia and a second one in Papua New Guinea, agreed to pay $722 million for Atlantic Gold Corporation, which operates one open pit gold mine in Nova Scotia, […]
“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
“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 […]
New police chief Dan Kinsella holds a degree from WalMart U.
Morning File, Tuesday, May 14, 2019
News 1. Ramadan in jail “Malik is calling from the jail asking for the numbers of any Muslims he can contact just to talk to, maybe hear some Quran from,” writes El Jones: The last time he prayed with community was during Ramadan last year, and since then, his requests for spiritual services have been […]
A squirrelly situation: lessons in urban planning
Morning File, Thursday, May 2, 2019
1. Active transportation “The nine-kilometre long Burnside Connector highway will cost at least $196 million, more than the entire Integrated Mobility Plan for active transportation and transit projects across the city,” reports Examiner transportation columnist Erica Butler. “No one said the highway was too expensive, but councillors cry poverty when it comes to actually addressing […]
1940s writing tips from New York City via Royal Sweets in New Glasgow
Morning File, Thursday, April 18, 2019
News 1. Work-related deaths nearly double in Nova Scotia Yesterday, the Workers’ Compensation Board of Nova Scotia released numbers on work-related injuries or deaths. The big item: the number of people who either died at work or from work-related illnesses nearly doubled last year, from 21 to 40. Some of these deaths are the result […]
Anthony Leblanc rolls into to town and all the public consultation about Shannon Park is thrown out the window
Morning File, Monday, April 1, 2019
News 1. Street checks Saturday, young people in Halifax’s Black community led a conversation at the North Library about Scot Wortley’s report on street checks and the effects of street checks on them. After the conversation, there was a march from the library to the police station (and then on to Province House) demanding an […]
El Jones reads her poem “Stop Street Checks”
Saturday, young people in Halifax’s Black community led a conversation at the North Library about Scot Wortley’s report on street checks and the effects of street checks on them. After the conversation, there was a march from the library to the police station (and then on to Province House) demanding an end to street checks. […]
Street checks are racist and dumb; they should be outlawed
Morning File, Thursday, March 28, 2019
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, […]
The most foul, cruel, and bad-tempered rodent you ever set eyes on: Morning File, Monday, November 20, 2017
Give us all your money! Or, you know, ten bucks a month. I’m no good at this “beg for subscriptions” thing, but I think I’m supposed to tell you that this is about the cost of a latte a week. Or about 33 cents a day — 32 cents on the long months; we’re really […]