What we could do for the price of John Risley’s yacht

Quick now. How many Nova Scotians — earning Canada’s average industrial wage of $58,800 a year — could be hired for one full year for the reported asking price of John Risley’s one new, never-even sailed US$350-million luxury yacht? Don’t even bother with the currency conversion. If you guessed 5,992 with a little left over […]

John Risley: the hypocrisy of the super well-done-by

Billionaire John Risley wants the government to get on with the job of twinning the highway to his mansion. Just don’t tax him to do it. I was scrolling/strolling/trolling through my weekend news feed recently when I stumbled upon this item from the Macdonald Notebook , a business-friendly news site run by former allnovascotia journalist […]

Clearwater wins. Again. Still. Always. And forever

What began as an act of reconciliation with Canada’s indigenous peoples will likely end up as yet another “landmark” in the continuing process of corporate co-opting and colonialism. This column first appeared in the Halifax Examiner March 18, 2019. Last week, Clearwater Seafoods Inc. released a triumphant joint statement, announcing a 50-year partnership agreement with […]

University, government, CEOs: let the students pay

So this is embarrassing. For whom? Well, it should be shame-making for everyone involved. Back in April, Dalhousie University’s Board of Governors approved a three per cent across-the-board tuition fee hike — even higher for students in engineering, pharmacy and agriculture — and squeezed faculty budgets to achieve its goal of a balanced budget. At […]