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Stephen McNeil’s “right direction” and his Chamber of Commerce cheerleaders…

While MLAs debated the government's it-will-pass-anyway legislation imposing its will on teachers in the House of Assembly, more than 500 business types and government officials gathered just a few blocks away to celebrate Premier Stephen McNeil’s bold assertion that “no one can deny the fact this province is moving in the right direction.”

February 21, 2017 By Stephen Kimber

If you missed it, I’m sure you weren’t alone. Let us first recall The Week that now, thankfully, was. First, of course, there was the emergency session of the legislature scheduled for last Monday night, but which was delayed a day by Snowmageddon #1. Our premier apparently needed not only a weatherman, but also the entire...

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Filed Under: Education, Featured, Journalism, Province House, Subscribers only Tagged With: Neoliberalsm, Stephen McNeil, teachers strike

An Injury to All

What the teachers' strike shows us about reparations, and what the reparations movement teaches us about educational justice.

February 18, 2017 By El Jones 6 Comments

On Friday, teachers in Nova Scotia walked out in a historic strike. Locally, the teachers’ resistance is a blow against the Liberal Government’s “war on labour.” As Larry Haiven writes: Eager to balance the provincial budget by the end of its first term, the Liberal government has declared war on labour. It introduced a spate of […]

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: Dr. Afua Cooper, education, educational justice, fight for reparations, neoliberalism, Robin D.G. Kelley, Robin Kelley, Stephanie Dean-Moore, Sylvia Hamilton, Ta-Nehisi Coates, teachers strike

The finger thing means the taxes! Morning File, Thursday, February 16, 2017

February 16, 2017 By Tim Bousquet 13 Comments

News 1. Weather There’s more weather. 2. Teachers strike The Nova Scotia Teachers Union has called a one-day strike for Friday, issuing the following statement yesterday morning: The complete lack of respect displayed by Stephen McNeil and his government towards teachers, students and their families has left NSTU members with no choice but to initiate a […]

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: An 18th Century Moment, Bill 75, Calabash Nebula, Colman O’Hare, Graham Steele, house silhouette, Stephen Archibald, Stephen McNeil, teachers strike

Happy Teacher Appreciation Week! Morning File, Wednesday, February 15, 2017

February 15, 2017 By Tim Bousquet 14 Comments

News 1. Teacher Appreciation Week This is National Teacher Appreciation Week. What better time to force a contract on teachers, eh? It will no doubt be a week of theatrics, true drama, protests, and unexpected twists at Province House. Strike? “The president of the Nova Scotia Teachers Union would not rule out a full strike […]

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: Dr. Trevor Arnason, interview with Steve Murphy, Measles and vaccination, Michael Gorman, snow removal, Stephen McNeil, teachers strike

Apocalypse Now: Morning File, Monday, February 13, 2017

February 13, 2017 By Tim Bousquet 6 Comments

News 1. Monster Lizard Everything is cancelled, including transit, schools, universities, malls, liquor stores, etc… everything except Province House. 2. Teachers On Saturday, Premier Stephen McNeil called the legislature into session for 8pm tonight in order to introduce legislation forcing a contract on teachers. His press release: This week, the third deal recommended by the Nova Scotia Teachers’ […]

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: blizzard, George Mihalka, Jordan Bonaparte, Mumford Transit Terminal, My Bloody Valentine, Oroville Dam, Paul Kelman, Request for Proposal, Stephen McNeil, teachers strike

Another Monday in Chaos

It’s Monday. So it must be time for the latest zig in the zig-zaggy, twisty-turny, tortured tale of Stephen McNeil and the Nova Scotia Teachers Union.

January 30, 2017 By Stephen Kimber

It’s Monday. So it must be time for the latest zig in the zig-zaggy, twisty-turny, tortured tale of Stephen McNeil and the Nova Scotia Teachers Union. On Friday afternoon, the union announced its 9,300 members would resume their work-to-rule job action today because — in the words of union president Liette Doucet — “we don’t...

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Filed Under: Commentary, Education, Featured, Province House, Subscribers only Tagged With: NSTU, Stephen McNeil, teachers strike

Perplexed by Wanda’s strange disappearance: Morning File, Wednesday, January 25, 2017

January 25, 2017 By Tim Bousquet 19 Comments

News 1. Teachers “Nova Scotia’s 9,300 public school teachers got their first look at the latest contract offer from the province Tuesday with union leaders telling them it was ‘the best deal that was available,’” reports Michael Gorman for the CBC: The four-year deal is worth an extra $60 million, but it was given a lukewarm reception, at […]

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: Catherine Coady, Lindell Smith, liquor regulation change, Meredith Annett, Michael Gorman, Old Armoury renovations, Parker Donham, residential development Coburg Road, Sandra Rashed, Teachers and inclusion, teachers strike, Yvette d'Entremont, Zane Woodford

The playground where hope goes to die: Morning File, Monday, January 16, 2017

January 16, 2017 By Tim Bousquet 18 Comments

News 1. Teachers “Officials with the provincial government and the Nova Scotia Teachers Union will resume contract talks on Monday,” reports Michael Gorman for the CBC: A day after the two sides reached an impasse, which cancelled talks that were scheduled for Sunday, the union announced in a news release they would meet with a conciliation officer again beginning […]

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: Ardath Whynacht, Chris Cochrane, Derek Martin, El Jones, job loss, Michael Gorman, Phlis McGregor, playgrounds, Richard Starr, stadium, Stephen Kimber, teachers strike, Trump's doctor, Yvonne Kennedy

Teachers: light at the end of the tunnel? What tunnel?

In my role as a university professor, I occasionally visit classrooms to talk with students. Those brief forays into the P-12 school system have given me some modest appreciation for the incredible work the best of our teachers do, and the increasingly difficult circumstances in which they do it.

December 12, 2016 By Stephen Kimber

It’s been a full week since the Liberal caucus revolt Stephen McNeil insists never happened; since Education Minister Karen Casey’s 180-degree, we-must-close-all-the-schools-right-now-to-protect-student-safety/no-we-will-reopen-all-the-schools-tomorrow-to-protect-our-government’s future; since the government called its special session of the House of Assembly to pass legislation to impose a rejected contract on the province’s 9,300 teachers, then sent the MLAs home with nothing...

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Filed Under: Commentary, Education, Featured, Province House, Subscribers only Tagged With: teachers strike

How the government chose to build two new schools in the “right” place in the right pre-election time

Perhaps they wrote the names of the two schools on sheets of paper and put them in a hat, picking them out one by one. “Oh, look, Karen, you won,” says the premier. “My turn! My turn!”

December 5, 2016 By Stephen Kimber

The very suggestion the Nova Scotia government would cherry-pick new school building projects from the bottom of the priority pile simply because said schools would be built in constituencies held by Education Minister Karen Casey and Premier Stephen McNeil, is — cue the harrumphs — “a ridiculous comment to make.” So says the minister herself....

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Filed Under: Commentary, Education, Featured, Province House, Subscribers only Tagged With: Auditor General, education, Karen Casey, P3, Stephen McNeil, teachers strike

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The Tideline, with Tara Thorne

Brian Borcherdt. Photo: Anna Edwards-Borcherdt

Brian Borcherdt came of age in Yarmouth in the 1990s. When he arrived in Halifax, the city’s famous music scene was already waning, and worse, the music he made was rejected by the cool kids anyway. After decades away from Nova Scotia, he and his young family have settled in the Annapolis Valley, where he’ll zoom in to chat with Tara about his band Holy Fuck’s endlessly delayed tour, creating the Dependent Music collective, and the freedom and excitement of the improvised music he’s making now. Plus: Bringing events back in 2021.

The Tideline is advertising-free and subscriber-supported. It’s also a very good deal at just $5 a month. Click here to support The Tideline.

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.

About the Halifax Examiner

Examiner folk The Halifax Examiner was founded by investigative reporter Tim Bousquet, and now includes a growing collection of writers, contributors, and staff. Left to right: Joan Baxter, Stephen Kimber, Linda Pannozzo, Erica Butler, Jennifer Henderson, Iris the Amazing, Tim Bousquet, Evelyn C. White, El Jones, Philip Moscovitch More about the Examiner.

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