he Serious Incident Report Team (SIRT) has found that the killing of a civilian by RCMP police in Eastern Passage last summer was justified, given the circumstances. However, the SIRT summary report, as is so often the case, raises questions that remain unanswered. Meanwhile, media in Nova Scotia typically merely echo the SIRT conclusion.

Catherine Frazee: “There is never a good day to pass a bill this dangerous to disabled people, but doing so today is cruel. We have been fighting this bill non-stop for months. And now, instead of a chance to catch our breath and remember a document that says our lives and rights are important and should be supported and respected, the Canadian government is determined to communicate they aren’t and won’t be.”

In order to co-locate medical services, the Nova Scotia Health Authority is moving mental health and addictions services from three downtown Dartmouth locations to a new location in the Portland Hills subdivision. Dartmouth North MLA Susan Leblanc is worried that this will make in-person access way too difficult for residents of her riding.

In March 2020 many often-overlooked truths abruptly entered into our lives; the one made abundantly clear was that we are in this together. We must support each other as we learn how to improve the conditions conducive to our collective wellbeing.

Local organizations that advocate for migrants are worried that undocumented residents will miss out on vaccination in Nova Scotia. “We have heard that the vaccine roll out is going to be done through MSI. And this would exclude undocumented people, and others who don’t have access to MSI, people who might fall through the cracks as a result of this,” says Stacey Gomez, a spokesperson for No One Is Illegal Halifax / Kjipuktuk.

Wendy Lill on Bill C-7, proposed legislation which removes death as a reasonably foreseeable criterion and includes suffering with a disability as one of the eligible criteria for seeking an end to life. “A worse stereotype could not be institutionalized in law: that disability-related suffering, often caused by inadequate health, poverty, lack of social supports and entrenched inequality, justifies the termination of a person’s life.”