Since 1989 child poverty in Nova Scotia decreased by less than one percent. One in four kids lives in poverty, for kids younger than 2 years, that is one in three! Let that sink in. And numbers for African Nova Scotian and Mi’kmaw kids are much higher again.
Christine Saulnier comments on the proposed Bill 213 at Law Amendments, making some great points about its urgency and the importance of climate justice in the new legislation. Christine is the director of the Nova Scotia chapter of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.
Lisa Cameron: In Nova Scotia, your boss can demand proof that you’re sick, even if it’s just a short term illness. Those requests make life miserable for workers and put stress on an already overburdened medical system.
Press release: “If this government moves ahead with the P3 build for this development, we deserve to see accountability and answers on why the government of Nova Scotia is not following its own procurement law by posting the requests for proposals to the procurement website in accordance with legislation. This government is not above the laws it creates and needs to be held accountable,” says Danny Cavanagh, president of the NS Federation of Labour.
A recent CCPA report counts the ways current labour legislation fails to address needs of workers in the province. Provisions pertaining to standard hours of work, overtime pay, vacation, minimum wage, and statutory holidays are especially weak, writes Lisa Cameron.
Non-unionized workers in Nova Scotia not only need to deal with low wages, they are denied many of the protections other Canadian workers enjoy. A new report by the CCPA identifies the shortcomings and recommends how to fix it.
News brief: CCPA NS director Christine Saulnier is is throwing her hat in the ring to become the federal NDP’s candidate for Halifax. And ultimately she hopes to become the next MP for Halifax after the next federal election, later this year. That’s good news for progressives in Halifax.
39% of Early Childhood Educators (ECE) surveyed by the CCPA-NS say they would not be an ECE if they were to choose a career today. A new report, aptly named Unappreciated and Underpaid, explores the workers’ (and employers’) responses and suggests underlying causes and solutions.
Judy Haiven attended a talk by Mi’kmaq lawyer and activist Pam Palmater on the topic of reconciliation. “We are running to do ‘good stuff’ but we haven’t done the hard stuff,” she told the audience.
A new interactive map shows that residents of rural Nova Scotia are having a hard time finding a child care spot. You can zoom in, zoom out, or plug in your postal code.