July First Twenty-Twenty-One, a poem by Chad Norman
“Horror sits comfortably beside me.”One of the NS Advocate’s favourite poets, Chad Norman reflects on Canada Day and the horror of Canada’s residential schools.
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Black history matters! Changing a street name in New Glasgow to celebrate a Black elder
Wayne Desmond on how the Town of New Glasgow changed the name of a street to commemorate his great-great grandfather. “It’s truly an honour to stand on the shoulders of the elders in my family. To think about the hardships that they had to face while growing up, working and raising their families as Black people. It’s a true blessing to be able to preserve the rich history and legacy that my maternal family had started. It is because of their hard work, sacrifices and resilience that I am who I am. “
Lily Barraclough: Why our votes matter this provincial election
Lily Barraclough speaks with fellow activists about the mess we’re in, what Covid taught us about a just recovery and how to leverage the upcoming provincial election. “the pandemic has created an opening for massive systemic change,” she writes.
Rock, a poem by Elizabeth Glenn-Copeland
This month’ excellent poem is Rock, by eco-poet, writer and theater artist Elizabeth Glenn-Copeland. It was written as part of a residency at the Joggins Fossil Institute in Parrsboro.
“If you can’t lend a hand, stay out of the way” – Haligonians rally in support of the crisis shelters
On Sunday about 150 people weathered the afternoon heat to participate in the Rally to Save the Shelters at the vacant old library on Spring Garden Road. Stephen Wentzell was there to tell you all about it.
Re-imagining queer-centred health care: The queer doula toolkit
A new toolkit aims to educate and train doulas in 2SLGBTQ+ birthing people and their families, while also increasing the number of queer-identifying doulas in Nova Scotia. Stephen Wentzell attended the launch and spoke with some of the driving forces behind the project.
Inclusionary zoning a powerful tool to help solve Nova Scotia’s affordable housing crisis
Inclusionary zoning allows a municipality to mandate a certain percentage of affordable housing in new developments. With an affordable housing crisis growing more urgent by the day, why don’t we use this tool in Nova Scotia? Stephen Wentzell investigates.
‘A real misfire’ – The messy return to Nova Scotia’s schools
Nine days after announcing that schools would remain closed until September the government did a sudden 180. Teachers were out of the loop, and it wasn’t a smooth transition. Stephen Wentzell speaks with the minister, the union, and a teacher to find out what went wrong, and how a heatwave made things even worse.
Growing healthy food in Mi’kmaq communities: “In terms of sovereignty, food is just another part of it”
Paul Wartman speaks with Chris GooGoo and Dawn Matheson about an initiative to improve the quality and accessibility of healthy, locally grown foods in Mi’kmaq communities. “We’ve always had agriculture. The public education system and history hasn’t told us that. We’ve always been told that we’ve been under the Indian Act, we’ve been given government handouts throughout history. We know that hasn’t always been the case–we’ve invented agriculture in many ways.”
For parents in rural Nova Scotia respite support is hard to find
There’s so little in terms of support for single parents taking care of children with functional needs. Single mom Jennifer Pratt writes about the obstacles she encountered when she tried to qualify for respite services.