New contributor Bryn Jones-Vaillancourt wonders how ready we are for climate change. As weather intensifies we must stop clearcutting our forests and get serious about shoring up our shores, he says.
The provincial government is only halfheartedly supporting Black History Month in PEI, says a resident. The Black community on the Island could really use the help. ““The white islanders here need to hear that this is a community that is important and vibrant.”
The government is slowly killing public libraries in rural Nova Scotia, just so it can save a tiny little bit of money. We talk with four chief librarians and the future looks awfully grim.
Kendall Worth, who is on social assistance, continues his review of the welfare changes that Community Services is working on. People on welfare will be pigeonholed according to their skills and ability to work, and that’s a scary idea, he writes.
Lives on Welfare gave a voice to John before, and last week he contacted us because he wanted to talk about the lack of support for people who deal with mental health issues, their own and those of relatives. “All I can do is wait for another suicide attempt,” he says.
Excellent reporting by the Globe and Mail reveals that police dismissal rates of sexual assault allegations are high and vary widely across the country. Nova Scotia is no exception. What’s going on?
A government survey shows Community Services workers are mostly unhappy about their job, and that 1 in 5 workers experienced some form of bullying over the preceding year. Most also don’t think senior management particularly cares.
Laura MacNutt, who has a Masters degree in Architecture, did work for Acadia University that she feels she still owns. Acadia doesn’t think so. Now she is fighting the university in court, and she stands to lose tens of thousands of dollars if she doesn’t win her appeal. She can’t afford a lawyer so she represents herself. Maybe the stakes are too high.
Kendall Worth, who knows all too well what it is like to be on social assistance, is puzzled about the results of the so-called First Voice consultation conducted by Community Services. “Clients I personally talk to tell me that they got depressed and gave up.”
A quick update on the shameful practice of carding in Halifax. The Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission is looking into it, but it is early day.