Who’s sorry now? Not the premier, not the justice minister, not the police

No one in authority seems willing to apologize for the decades of “disproportionate and negative” impact street checks have had on Nova Scotia’s black community. Worse, no one seems to committed to finally ending them once and for all. This column originally appeared in the Halifax Examiner April 22, 2019. Our question for today: why is it so […]

Verdict without end

More than 20 years after former Nova Scotia premier Gerald Regan was acquitted of sexually assaulting multiple women, other women are still coming forward with still more stories of what he did to them, still needing finally “to be heard.” ‘Catherine’ is one of them. This column originally appeared in theHalifax ExaminerApril 15, 2019. I shouldn’t be surprised. Not after Me-too. But I am. Still. It happens […]

Wilson-Raybould, Churchill? Evidence our legislative committee systems don’t work

The committees don’t work, of course, because of the people in charge. But the system itself makes that failure possible, even inevitable. This column first appeared in the Halifax Examiner April 8, 2019. Quick now, what does Judy Wilson-Raybould v Justin Trudeau, Gerald Butts, Michael Wernick et al have in common with Zach Churchill v […]

Stunting 101: The games Bay Ferries plays

Bay Ferries says its Yarmouth ferry service’s real problem has nothing to do with the government’s over-subsidization or its own over-pricing. Blame it on the “nasty” opposition. This column first appeared in the Halifax Examiner April 1, 2019. Mark MacDonald knows which donkey to pin the blame on for the fact his Bay Ferries Ltd.’s money-sinking pot of a […]

Back to the drawing board, Bill

Finance Minister Bill Morneau says his budget will provide support for journalism. It won’t. It will only provide demise-delaying bailouts for badly managed media corporations. There are better ways. This column first appeared in the Halifax Examiner March 25, 2019. Start with this from Page 173 of the federal budget Finance Minister Bill Morneau tabled […]

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 […]

What would Andrew do? Jagmeet?

The SNC-Lavalin affair offered a stark choice for our prime minister. We know which door he chose. But what about the opposition leaders. Shouldn’t we know what they would have done with the same choice? This column first appeared in the Halifax Examiner March 11, 2019. There is an unanswered, barely whispered question at the heart-attack centre […]

Bobbleheaded Zach joins the public accounts follies

Education Minister Zach Churchill was just filling in on the public accounts committee last week, filling in Liberal interest spin in the usual please-the-premier way. And so it went. Funny, but… The column originally appeared in the Halifax Examiner March 4, 2019. I’m almost certain Nova Scotia Education Minister Zach Churchill is not really a Bobblehead. He was just […]

Councillor Lindell Smith: Not is proud of… Will be proud of…

As he begins the second half of his first term as a city councilor, Lindell Smith reflects on what’s been accomplished. And what’s still to do before he moves on. He is not, he says again/still, a career politician. This column first appeared in the Halifax Examiner February 25, 2019. What are you most proud […]

Alex Richman: R.I.P.

When Alex Richman’s son “did not survive” the 1991 crash of US Air Flight 1493, his and his wife’s grief turned to frustration, then anger and finally resolve as they set out to make flight safer for all of us. This column first appeared in the Halifax Examiner February 18, 2019 “Alex was laid to rest beside his son David in Shaarey Zedek Cemetery, Winnipeg […]