Tuesday, 3 December 2024

Month: November 2017

Op-ed: Child poverty is felt in our province and it’s time for change

Recent changes to the Child and Family Service Act have made the fight against child poverty even more difficult, writes Alec Stratford, executive director of the NS College of Social Workers. Shortened judicial timelines, the expansion of the definition of neglect and the overall lack of resources have amounted to greater penalization of families struggling to afford the cost of housing, food, childcare, clothing and transportation.

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Time for a new social contract to eradicate child and family poverty in Nova Scotia

In Nova Scotia over one in five children under the age of 18 live in poverty. For children under the age of six it’s more like one in three. Dr. Lesley Frank and Dr. Christine Saulnier, authors of this year’s Report Card on Child and Family Poverty in Nova Scotia reflect on some of the reports disturbing findings, and offer their thoughts on what should be done.

News brief: Where the shitty rental units are

Lots of rented homes and apartments in Nova Scotia need major repairs. That’s what occupants of these homes told Statistics Canada. We have the numbers and we have the maps.

Media Release: Muskrat Falls inquiry doesn’t go far enough, say Nova Scotia allies

In this news release Sierra Club Atlantic and the Council of Canadians respond to the Muskrat Falls inquiry announced earlier this week. “There are real concerns with the safety of this dam, and the threat of methylmercury poisoning for all generations to come. The Methylmercury Agreement from last fall by the Premier and leaders of the three Indigenous communities must be honoured, but the project must be put on hold in order for that to happen.”

My name is… A video on the state of healthcare in Shelburne

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Both shocking and shockingly normal, My name is…, a short six-minute video gives voice to Shelburne residents worried about the state of healthcare in their neck of the woods. ER closures, lack of doctors, it’s scary to live in rural Nova Scotia these days if you need medical support.

Op-ed: It’s called governing

It’s high time that the racist practice of carding be stopped in Nova Scotia. Good for the NS NDP for thinking it through and reaching that conclusion. Shame on all the municipal and provincial politicians who continue to look the other way.

Choppers and good cheer: Saving the Margaree watershed from Port Hawkesbury Paper and its allies

Unusual flooding, erosion, something has changed about the Margaree River in Cape Breton, writes Sam Ainsworth. When local residents start pointing it clear cutting of the Margaree watershed by Port Hawkesbury Paper, the company fights back. An expert report, the local salmon fishers association, politicians all get mobilized to argue that things in fact are just fine. Not so fast, writes Ainsworth, ” The Margaree could be a beacon of light in a very dark history for salmon in this province but the clearcutting must be drastically reduced.”

Weekend video: In the shadow of the dam

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This weekend we feature In the shadow of the dam, APTN’s brand new and excellent documentary on the indigenous resistance to the Muskrat Falls project in Labrador. You can’t condemn environmental racism and violation of Indigenous rights in Nova Scotia, and remain silent on what’s happening in Labrador right now. It’s that simple.

Op ed: Meet the new minister, same as the old minister

Why people on income assistance who were punished for something they didn’t do should get their money back, and why it won’t happen. Austerity and secrecy continue to set the agenda at Community Services.