Frank Magazine’s weasel-worded apology
On Frank Magazine’s phony apology, and a handy link to the petition.
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Broad coalition of African Nova Scotian organizations wants police street checks stopped now
Recently more than 25 African Nova Scotian organizations in a joint statement asked that the practice of police street checks be stopped immediately. The NS Human Rights Commission meanwhile has claimed African Nova Scotian support for the analysis it is conducting. When asked who these supporters are the Commission essentially tells me that it is none of my business.
Social assistance: Caseworkers from heaven and caseworkers from hell
As the stories of Donna and Leslie show, when you are on social assistance your caseworker makes all the difference. It’s very hard when your caseworker is not there for you, writes long time poverty advocate Brenda Thompson. “Just as caseworkers evaluate their clients on an annual basis, clients also must be permitted to evaluate their caseworkers on a regular basis on criteria such as as their treatment of the clients, their knowledge of resources, and their willingness to be true advocates and go to bat for their client.”
Op-ed: CBC’s Springhill advertorial
The CBC visited the prison in Springhill, NS and checked its journalistic instincts at the gate.
New organization to test rural water quality when government doesn’t
While municipalities reliably test the quality of water delivered through the utilities they manage, rural residents who rely on wells are on their own, reports new contributor Fazeela Jiwa. Now a new organization, Rural Water Watch Association (RWW), will respond to rural community members’ calls to test their water quality, addressing concerns about living close to toxic sites like landfills or incinerators.
Letter from Kendall Worth: Mind your own business!
Kendall Worth’ short letter about people on social assistance being harassed by members of their community who don’t know the realities of lives on welfare from a hole in the ground.
News brief: As of October 1 Nova Scotia has lowest minimum wage in the country
On October 1st Nova Scotia became the province with the lowest minimum wage in Canada. That milestone event caused Christine Saulnier of the Nova Scotia office of the Canadian Centre of Policy Alternatives (CCPA) to pull out the calculator and draw some shocking conclusions. Read the Coles version here, or better yet, check out Christine’s entire article on the CCPA website.
Deja Vu, only worse – the updated NS Budget 2017
Richard Starr takes a closer look at the updated provincial budget released last week. “As long as a balanced budget remains the political holy grail and the economy produces little revenue growth there will be intense pressure on public spending. Unless the Liberals can pull more accounting tricks out of a hat – or there is an unexpected windfall from the federal government – we are in for a very rough ride over the next four years,” Starr writes.
Applying for welfare will cost you
In Nova Scotia, when you apply for social assistance you had better have some money set aside, because this is going to cost you. It’s a logistical nightmare as well. Brenda Thompson takes a close look at all that is required, and she does the math. Remember, people who apply for social assistance tend to be broke. That’s why they are applying….
African Nova Scotian coalition doesn’t want UN report collecting dust on a shelf
A United Nations report critical of Nova Scotia for not acting on longstanding grievances within the African Nova Scotian community has strengthened the resolve of a newly formed coalition of about 20 community groups to keep these issues in the public spotlight, says spokesperson Robert Ffrench. We talk about the importance of the report, reparations, and how many of the issues raised in the report have been documented over and over.