Racist street checks are a white silence problem
There is nothing in Wortley’s report about police street checks we didn’t know, or could not have known, or should not have known before. Sure makes you wonder…
On Budget Day poverty activists tell Premier to increase income assistance rates for real
It is budget day in Nova Scotia, and a small group of income assistance recipients gathered in front of Province House to remind fellow Nova Scotians that life on income assistance is unlikely to get much easier as a result.
News release: Nova Scotians are going hungry, join our empty plate luncheon at Province House
News release: On Budget Day, Tuesday March 26th at noon, outside of the legislature, members and supporters of the Benefits Reform Action Group will be gathering for an Empty Plate Luncheon. There are 155,000 people in Nova Scotia living below the poverty line (Market Basket Measure). The 250 plates that will be on display will each represent 650 Nova Scotians who cannot afford the basic goods needed to live in this province.
After partial win in human rights case, coalition wants affected people to file human rights complaints
The Disability Rights Coalition is collecting signatures to an open letter to Premier Stephen McNeil, asking his government to stop warehousing people with disabilities and focus on investing in community living options instead. Alternatively, the group is asking people who are institutionalized and/or waiting for a community living space to file an individual human rights complaint.
Headline news: protesters or water protectors?
Most news organizations in Nova Scotia refer to the Alton Gas water protectors as protesters. I suspect many journalists and editors gravitate to the term protesters because it feels like the more neutral term. The problem is, when you take a closer look, you will find it’s not so neutral after all.
Halifax rally calls for migrant justice and justice for all marginalized communities
I went to a timely rally in support of migrant rights and against racism and Islamophobia. The event was organized by a broad coalition of social justice and anti-racism groups, and there is much more to come.
For seven years retiring Halifax police chief Blais denied that racism in the force even existed
Police chief Jean-Michel Blais against all evidence denied that racial profiling and rude cops were ever a problem in the Halifax police department. It’s a good thing he’s retiring.
Penny-pinching income assistance for people with mobility issues
We talk with an older woman on income assistance who, as a result of a cut to her special needs allowance, has lost her ability to go to medical appointments and grocery trips. But we saved the tax payer some $50 a month. This is what austerity looks like in Nova Scotia.
Boat Harbour, the mill, and the truth of environmental racism
A little something about that legislated deadline to the Boat Harbour closure and how politicians and unions better not mess with it.
City ill-prepared to deal with racist attacks on Halifax Transit users, group says
City bureaucrats have no idea how many Halifax Transit users are subjected to racist attacks. People who call 311 to report a racist incident may well end up dealing with an argumentative operator who raises doubts about the veracity of the caller. Just two things that came to light during a panel discussion on the increase of racist attacks on Halifax Transit users.