RobertDevet, Author at Nova Scotia Advocate

Weekend video. In defense of our treaties

September 19, 2020 2 Comments

This weekend’s documentary, Martha Stiegman’s In defense of our treaties, looks at the fishers of Bear River First Nation, in Annapolis County, who proudly held on to their treaty rights and insisted on fishing the waters of the Bay of Fundy on their own terms, not on terms imposed by the Department of Fisheries.

We first posted this video in 2016, but with all that’s happening these days in Digby County, not all that far from Bear River, a re-post is warranted.

After 21 years of government inaction Mi’kmaq assert their right to fish

September 18, 2020 2 Comments

What’s playing out in the waters off Digby is complex, but the bottom line is that both non-Indigenous fishermen and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans are trying to stop Mi’kmaq from exercising their treaty rights.

News brief: Opponents of aerial spraying occupy more parcels in Annapolis County

September 14, 2020

People opposed to aerial spraying of glyphosate are occupying three parcels of forested land on South Mountain in Annapolis County.

Consider an approach that doesn’t require the dumping of brine into the Shubenacadie River, feds told Alton Gas in 2017

September 14, 2020

Alton Gas likes to brag about the soundness of its plans and its willingness to share information with stakeholders. However, if it weren’t for Rachael Greenland-Smith and Dale Poulette, two stubborn citizen-researchers, we would never have seen evidence that the federal department of Environment and Climate Change (ECC) point blank refused to approve the project as it is currently proposed.

Halifax Labour Day rally demands 10 paid sick days for all workers, now more than ever

September 7, 2020

Not quite a Labour Day march, but a rally earlier today in support of 10 paid sick days in Nova Scotia drew close to 100 people to downtown Halifax.

Weekend video: Fare-free transit

September 5, 2020

In this weekend’s weekend video the PLANifax people make a good case for free transit in Halifax. Timely too, with municipal elections around the corner.

Shubenacadie Residential School designated a national historic site (video)

September 2, 2020

Yesterday the federal government announced that the site of the Shubenacadie Residential School has been designated a National Historic Site. “When you come here you can feel the spirits here, and feel the energy,” says Dorene Bernard in a moving short video.

To live a dignified life: Report updates living wages for Halifax, Antigonish, Bridgewater, CBRM and Saint John, NB

September 2, 2020 1 Comment

A new report calculates living wages for Halifax, Bridgewater, Antigonish, CBRM and Saint John, NB. To live a dignified life you need a living wage, enough money to live in a safe and decent home, eat healthy food, buy clothes when you need them, and pay for childcare and transportation.

Parent group and teachers union demand a better back-to-school plan

August 27, 2020 2 Comments

A press conference by parents and teachers this morning raised questions around the province’s back-to-school plan that, with just 10 days to go, are becoming increasingly urgent.

Policing Black lives in rural Nova Scotia, an interview with Jessica Bundy

August 25, 2020

In terms of racism and policing much of the focus has been on Halifax’s urban core, but what about rural Nova Scotia?. We talk with Jessica Bundy, a young African Nova Scotian academic who wrote about the policing experiences of Black residents of the Town of Digby and surrounding communities.