The City of Halifax is not following up on a recommendation around criminal record checks that would remove obstacles to hiring Black and Indigenous workers in its Municipal Operations Programs (MOPS) division. The policy hasn’t really changed, and the City’s employment website is as uninviting to people with even a trivial criminal record as it has always been..
Danny Cavanagh, the president of the NS Federation of Labour, offers a short and powerful statement against fascist violence, white supremacy, racism, Islamophobia, and anti-Semitism. “Sisters and brothers, we cannot stay silent in the face of such hatred and we know that the future of our society and children are at stake if we don’t intensify our fight against discrimination, hatred and violence.”
It is terribly important that we support the few people in Nova Scotia who are on welfare and/or live in public housing who speak out publicly about the conditions they face, not only for what they have to tell us, but also for the simple act of saying it. They are examples and inspirations, what they do is crucial. Jodi Brown is one of these people, and this Weekend’s Video is about her unexpected encounter with both welfare and public housing. One day you have a job, then you get sick, next thing you have $56 grocery money for an entire month.
Nova Scotia is one of Canada’s most emissions-intensive provinces. Peggy Cameron wrote an open letter to Stephen McNeil pleading to change that. “You need to say “no” to highways and pipelines that increase our use of fossil fuels. Then you need to tackle this short list: increase renewables for Nova Scotian use, not export; shut down coal-fired generating plants; incentivize regenerative agricultural practices; stop clear-cutting and pesticide-spraying; promote afforestation and value-added production; establish a province wide integrated transportation network; and create a net-zero-carbon building programme.”
Frequent contributor Lara Lewis sits down with talented actress Michelle Raine, to talk about It’s A Girl , a play she developed for the Halifax Fringe Festival, how she would like to take her work into the schools, and all kinds of other matters.
A letter written by Joanne Light to federal Fisheries minister Dominic Leblanc. She pleads for a radical rethink of the proposed twinned Avon River causeway in Windsor. Endangered salmon cannot enter the Avon River to spawn, and that should be fixed. Leblanc knows what to do, after all, a couple of years ago he helped fix a similar problem in the Peticodiac River, in his own riding.
People manage their depression and anxiety in all kinds of different ways. Your cultural background plays a role in that, and whether you are poor or rich also matters. A study hopes to learn more about the different ways we deal with mental health issues, so that healthcare can become more accommodating. If you live in HRM you can help.
I went to last night’s rally in solidarity with the people who battled fascism in Charlottesville. It was a wonderful event.
The National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls has encountered lots of obstacles, some of them self-inflicted. Here Delilah Saunders, sister of Loretta, explains why she continues to support the initiative. “My family and I will be in Halifax this coming October to testify and if it is delayed, then we’ll have to wait. I welcome delays and hiccups in the process if it means the Inquiry is done right and honours the Indigenous women, girls, two-spirit and transgender loved ones we’ve lost.”
Rally this Tuesday at the Cornwallis statue in support with the people of Charlottesville and against our own Halifax white supremacist scum. The location is appropriate.