Good news! The Out of the Cold shelter, which was set to close at the end of April, will be able to stay open until June 30th, thanks to some federal funding and a landlord willing to extend the lease until then. Of course Out of the Cold will face the same problem again come July. We speak with Out of the Cold’s executive director Michelle Mallette about what needs to happen.
Some 60 Mi’kmaq and allies gathered last evening at the Halifax Regional Police HQ on Gottingen Street to remember and honour Eishia Hudson, who was murdered by Winnipeg police one year ago. Eishia was just 16 years old when she died. Last night’s memorial in Halifax, one of four such events Canada-wide, was a sad and moving but also an angry event.
Supporters of Equity Watch rallied outside of the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission to urge the Commission to do its job. You read that right – what the demonstrators demanded was that the Commission do its job. Judy Haiven explains.
The recently tabled 2021-22 Provincial Budget seems to provide substantial and long overdue new funding for Long-Term Care, but it still fails to present a concerted plan of action on the real crisis in LTC in Nova Scotia in the short-term, and certainly, for the longer-term. An op-ed by Ian Johnson and Chris Parsons on behalf of Nova Scotians for Long-term Care Reform.
An open letter to Minister Zach Churchill of Health and Wellness asks that the province remove barriers that may stop migrant workers with temporary status, refugee claimants, and others with precarious legal status from accessing a COVID-19 vaccine. We speak with two of the letter’s authors. They’re not asking for much, but small changes would make a huge difference, they say.
Violet Rosengarten interviewed Jacob Fillmore on the 15th day of his hunger strike. “I think the future could go one of two ways. We could be living in an idyllic world where everyone is provided for or a post-apocalyptic hellscape.”
Coverdale Courtwork Society has announced that it will no longer be able to pay for hotel rooms for criminalized women and trans individuals who are exiting jails or who face homelessness for other reasons. That makes Coverdale yet another NGO which is no longer able to provide this crucial service to the population it serves. Just two days ago we reported that economic realities and a lack of provincial support were forcing Adsum for Women and Children to make a similar decision.
Ray Bates on trash in our environment: Our mission is to participate now and not burden future generations via our lack of actions to resolve the causes and effects of what soils our regions and destroys environments.
Letter to Minister Chuck Porter: “I am Sasha Fillmore, I am 14 years old. My brother Jacob Fillmore has been protesting for almost 4 months. He camped in a tent in the middle of winter. He has had rallies, petitions and he has even gone on a hunger strike for 23 days. If that isn’t enough to get your attention, I’d like to know what would.”
Judy Haiven: It seems people who use wheelchairs or walkers are not as welcome as dogs are on Halifax patios. While dogs are permitted to drink water on the decks, Gerry Post, a wheelchair user and disability rights advocate said, “I’d probably have to restrict myself to one beer because I can’t go to the bathroom.”