On the International Day for Persons with a Disability Paul Vienneau takes stock. Some progress, especially in the crafting of Bill 59, and a long way to go, he writes. “It’s as if the government thinks the work is done now. But change doesn’t come from from legislation. The legislation is merely the starting point.”
Raymond Sheppard continues his investigation of an Afrocentric counselling practice, what that entails and why it is urgently needed. “African Nova Scotian history has never been seriously discussed in the therapeutic process and therefore has denied African Nova Scotians an understanding of our identity. Counsellors must be aware that the effects of slavery, racism, hate and marginalization are still a part of who we are as a people.”
Poverty activist and welfare recipient Tim Blades speaks at the recent screening of My Week on Welfare in Lower Sackville. His message is not the one that Community Services would like you to hear, but it’s rooted in lived experience.
On Christmas Eve stores stay open until 6pm, even 8pm, and one retail worker believes that’s way too late, and it’s time for a change.
“Can we just race down the highway? Rob a bank? Steal from a store? Of course not. How then can the government pass legislation that is against our Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms?” Danny Cavanagh on legislating postal workers engaged in rotating strikes back to work.
Nova Scotia landlords openly flout the law and families with children suffer the consequences. And nobody within the provincial bureaucracy seems to give a damn.
Last month New Brunswick election was a rude awakening for those who thought the fight about bilingualism was a thing of the past. There are some important lessons to be learned from that experience for francophone minorities in other provinces, writes Ricky Richard.
Raymond Sheppard on the need for Africentric mental health services: “African Nova Scotians suffer in silence, not being privy to programs and services they can identify with. With differences in heritage, culture and lineage, the time is past due for services and programs that accommodate the unique differences of African Nova Scotians.”
NS Federation of Labour president Danny Cavanagh on the forced ending of the postal workers rotating strikes: “I am shocked that our Liberal government has initiated back to work legislation for the workers at Canada Post. Remember that union members are your constituents.”
Kendall sits down for coffee with Susan Leblanc, MLA for Dartmouth North. They discuss poverty, isolation, the EI clawbacks, and the benefits of a 24/7 drop-in centre.