Damn confederate flag! Couple of years ago it was Truro, Nova Scotia, now it’s PEI. Meanwhile you see smaller provocations, things like flag decals on cars, tee shirts and stuff like that, all the time. Let’s ban the flag and all other white supremacist symbols.
In this final part of our series on on the social determinants of health Alex Kronstein argues that a strong social safety net promotes health, but Canada, like so many other countries, has fallen victim to a neoliberal approach that’s all about “the financialization of everything.” Nonetheless, various Nova Scotia organizations continue to address the social determinants of health.
Now that the North End Community Health Centre has moved to new quarters on Gottingen Street, the Johanna B Oosterveld Centre, often referred to as the JBO, is lost to the community. Many local groups used that space for meetings, press conferences, panels and other activities. Nancy Hunter. who used to teach a yoga class there, believes it’s part of a trend and wonders what we can do to stop it.
Frequent contributor Kendall Worth relates the story of a young man who desperately needs support from Community Services, but can’t get it for a bunch of seemingly bureaucratic reasons.
First voice welfare activists in Nova Scotia are trying very hard to raise awareness about the incredibly difficult living conditions they have to deal with on a daily basis. At times it seems like nobody is listening. And nobody is helping them. Lately there have been modest signals that Nova Scotia’s labour movement at least is hearing them. There is a long way to go, but it’s something to build upon.
Delilah Saunders, sister of Loretta, talks to this year’s two recipients of the Loretta Saunders Community Scholarship Fund about the obstacles young indigenous women face in the pursuit of academic studies. “My goal is to reach for the sky and hope that the generation after me sees my life as a stepping stone. Then they’ll reach further for the stars.”
Chronicle Herald’s CEO Mark Lever would be laughing all the way to the bank if a recent proposal to subsidize Canadian print media gets traction. There is something seriously wrong with that.
Fisherman and activist Darren Porter is unhappy about the CBC reporting on the recent Gasperau RIver fish kills. “Too often the CBC’s stories simply echo Nova Scotia Power’s spin rather than identify its upstream turbine and flawed protective systems as the real culprit,” he writes.
We talked to newly elected Dartmouth North MLA Susan Leblanc about her experiences going door to door in low-income neighborhoods.
After the defeat of Joanne Bernard we now have a new minister of Community Services in Kelly Regan. Kendall Worth, frequent contributor and chair of the Benefits Reform Action Group, wrote this open letter to tell her what’s wrong with the department in terms of income assistance, and how to fix it.