None of the provincial political parties is demonstrating the leadership necessary to stop carding in our province. Even the NDP is not endorsing the immediate moratorium on the racist practice that was requested by prominent members of the African Nova Scotian community.
A penny saved is a penny earned, says Community Services, as the department closed its 2016-17 financial books with a $2,4 million surplus in its Employment Support and Income Assistance (ESIA) program. That news may be difficult to stomach for people on welfare who struggled to make ends meet and saw their bus passes taken away or special diet allowances cut back over that same year.
We revisit the story of Mike Foley, the single father pursued by Community Services and the RCMP for fraud charges that advocates consider dubious. After months of inaction Foley received another phone call from the RCMP informing him that the investigation of ‘fraud’ is on again. Meanwhile, a terrified Foley and daughter Ashley continue to get by with very little money and no medications.
Solidarity Halifax is asking Nova Scotians to join members of the Black community who want to see an immediate moratorium on the racist practice of carding in Halifax and all of Nova Scotia. Here is how it works.
The Muskrat Falls development may be far away in Labrador, but it is very much Nova Scotia’s business. That was the message delivered by speakers at a news conference held outside the Emera / Nova Scotia Power offices on Lower Water Street in downtown Halifax this morning. “What we are seeing is massive destruction and genocide for profit. The crown corporation Nalcor is giving itself the legal authority to commit genocide using water as a vehicle for devastation. Once they drown the landscape, methylmercury poisoning is inevitable. We are talking mass genocide to all vegetation, medicines and all living species. Lives will be lost,” said Michelle Paul.
The provincial government’s recent announcement of a new free pre-primary program for children turning four is good news for parents, write Christine Saulnier and Tammy Findlay. But its implementation seems rushed and is occurring without meaningful consultation, and that is dangerous. We need a funded transition plan to a full system for all children in Nova Scotia.
In his introduction to disability arts Alex Kronstein tackled what disability arts is. In this follow up we will take a look at some examples of disability art from Nova Scotia, elsewhere in Canada and the world to provide inspiration for a stronger disability arts scene in Atlantic Canada.
The Muskrat Falls project, future source for so-called green electricity for Nova Scotia, is in fact a man-made environmental disaster that has few equals. Meanwhile journalists who report on protests are muzzled, and land defenders continue to be thrown in jail. Progressive politicians in Nova Scotia prefer to look the other way, as if it isn’t our business.
Dashonn States was only 22 years young when he died this June as the result of a single car crash. Dashonn was merely a passenger, not the driver, but his family says even after his death he continues to face racism and disrespect as the case winds its way through the court system. This morning a rally at the Windsor courthouse demanded justice and respect for Dashonn’s memory.
New contributor Lucy MacDonald knows all about homelessness and living in shelters. Community Services is actually fostering homelessness rather than solving it with is impractical rules and inadequate shelter allowances, she says.