Doubled the readership, published 400 stories, found 50 new writers, received one threatening letter by a lawyer, many more sustainers, and $6,000 in the pockets of freelance journalists. Not a bad year at all. Also, our top-ten stories for the year. All thanks to you, dear readers and sustainers, thank you so very much, and may the new year bring you nothing but joy and victories!
A review of the Mill, the by now quite famous book by Joan Baxter on Northern Pulp and its predecessors. It’s really good, and you should buy it. Meanwhile, activists need to figure out how to heal the split between community and mill workers which only helps the company.
Poverty advocate Kendall Worth relates the happy story of how one one woman escaped social isolation through online dating. However, “online dating is not always safe. It’s not something I would personally want to pursue,” he writes.
The same people who gave you the Deepwater Horizon disaster now want to drill along the Nova Scotia South Shore. The Campaign to Protect Offshore Nova Scotia (CPONS) released its response to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency (CEAA) draft report on BP’s proposed offshore drilling program. “You would be hard-pressed to find more than a handful of people along the South Shore who know anything about BP’s plans and their potential impact, let alone that a federal agency has been conducting a study of BP’s environmental assessment over the past year or so.”
Excellent documentary about a bunch of North Preston kids making a music video about their love for the community.
Cafeteria workers at Nova Scotia Community College (NSCC) campuses in Dartmouth and Halifax voted overwhelmingly to join the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 2. Underpaid, overworked and working under unsafe conditions, convincing the workers wasn’t very difficult, says organizer Darius Mirshahi.
This wonderful story by Catherine Banks (and equally wonderful illustration by Kate Phillips) is our thank you to all our readers and friends who struggle to make ends meet but refuse to let poverty define them. Next year we’ll fight for a living wage and decent income assistance benefits even harder, but for now, have a great holidays!
Play some Christmas music, heat up the apple cider, and gather round the kitchen table with this Snakes and Ladders-inspired board game to learn whether or not you’ll get extra pay for working during the holidays.
The Community Agenda for Social Assistance Adequacy and Reform was developed by a network of first voice, social justice workers and allies who have demanded an overhaul of the social assistance program here in NS. The group wants the rates raised immediately and it lists a nine-point blueprint to reform the system. They’ve given the government until Jan. 15 to respond, but the initiative needs as many voices and supporters for this action. If you are interested in learning more and becoming an ally to this progressive change please contact the people listed at the bottom of the document.
Have a holly, jolly Xmas – but if you expect to be paid for the holidays, the Grinch may have something to say about it. Judy Haiven explains in detail what all you are entitled to and what your rights are.