A ship with a crew of five is stuck in Port Hawkesbury while Karl Risser, an inspector for the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) is trying to resolve issues around unpaid wages, bad working conditions and ship safety. He sees a lot of this kind of thing, Risser explains, and trade agreements like CETA will only make it worse.
Reporter Tim Blades wonders how come single parents on welfare see their child support clawed back in Nova Scotia, yet British Columbia has done away with the practice, and Ontario is soon to follow. And then there are some other policies that make the lives of single parents on welfare and their children particularly difficult, and sometimes even dangerous, Tim reports.
Martin O’Hanlon, president of CWA Canada, the union that is engaged in a defensive strike against the Chronicle Herald, sets the record straight. “The saddest part about this dispute is that it is so unnecessary. As a responsible union, we understand when a company is facing financial challenges and we’re willing to help. That’s why we have agreed to major monetary concessions.”
Nova Scotia definitely has made progress in terms of teaching students about Indian Residential Schools, treaties, and the contributions made by First Nations, Inuit and Métis to Canada. But there is much more work to do, and a petition with 1700 signatures delivered at Province House yesterday serves as a reminder. Teaching the teachers would be a good start, says KAIROS Atlantic.
For this installment of Lives on Welfare we publish a letter by a middle-aged man who is on social assistance and lives with Crohn’s disease. He relates two experiences with Community Services while he was pursuing an education. His first story is about a tutor he didn’t need, the second one is about the computer he did need.
The Chronicle Herald strike is approaching its ten-months mark, but the Herald owners continue to refuse to engage in real bargaining. As the first talks in six months fall apart the union files a Labour Board complaint, and a mean-spirited owner tells the workers it will never compromise.
A bit of a timeline around the NSTU and NSGEU negotiations, originally written for the national audience of Rank and File. It all looked so promising for McNeil a year ago. What happened?
Issues around affordable housing in rural Nova Scotia are not the same as those in Halifax or even Sydney. Rural housing advocates from across Nova Scotia are getting together this month to exchange ideas and hopefully lay the foundation for a more coordinated approach to advocacy in the future.
A new report tells us that in Nova Scotia an awful lot of people are awfully poor. More so than in Canada overall, and more so than most any other province. Cape Breton, Kentville, New Glasgow, and Halifax all are in the top twenty for their respective categories.
Kendall Worth on the important work that the Benefit Reform Action Group does for people on income assistance in Nova Scotia. Organize, don’t agonize!