PHOTO: Anas Alsharif, courtesy of Atlantic Palestinian Society. Consider the boy in the rubble. There can be no excuse, of course. In the early morning of Saturday, October 6, 2023, well-organized Hamas militants stormed from Gaza into Israel by land, sea and air, indiscriminately murdering more than 1,300 men, women and children, most of them […]
First, the good news. “The province will conduct a comprehensive review of the policing structure in Nova Scotia and potentially recommend changes for how policing services are delivered,” the Houston government announced late last month. The bad news? Wait for it. First, a little history. In December 2020, then-Liberal Justice Minister Mark Furey told reporters […]
“Here is a statement from the Department,” began the statement from the department of community services. It came in response to CBC reporter Taryn Grant’s request for an interview about last week’s newly released national Poverty Report Card by Food Banks Canada. The report gives a letter grade in 13 indicators of poverty for each Canadian […]
Nova Scotia Justice Minister Brad Johns chairs a meeting of the Law Amendments Committee in Halifax on Monday, April 3, 2023. Let me recap. It’s confusing. But perhaps not really. Last year, Justice Minister Brad Johns, under pressure from the opposition and others to bring in legislation to ban the use of non-disclosure agreements — […]
Let’s begin with an instant replay of Tim Bousquet’s revealing Q&As with Tim Houston’s three freshly minted cabinet ministers last week. Well, not yet. First, a little background. On Thursday, September 14, Premier Houston announced what he called “historic changes” to his cabinet, including the appointment of newly elected Preston MLA Twila Grosse as the […]
On November 29, 2019, just five months into his new job, Halifax police chief Dan Kinsella stood before an audience of the city’s Black community at the Halifax Central Library, bemedaled in his dress blues, and offered an historic apology. Far too many times we have failed you. I acknowledge the community’s concerns that the actions […]
The federal government should reassess its policy on international students and consider a cap on a program that has seen “explosive growth,” putting pressure on rental markets and driving up costs, Housing and Infrastructure Minister Sean Fraser said… “The reality is we’ve got temporary immigration programs that were never designed to see such explosive growth […]
Where to begin? Here. Again. CBC requested an interview with HRP to discuss the events of the protest. HRP declined, citing the ongoing external review. In last week’s column, I followed up on the CBC Atlantic Investigation Unit’s year-long struggle to wrest 11 years of internal discipline decisions from the Halifax Regional Police. The CBC […]
When the CBC’s Atlantic Investigative Unit wanted to understand better how police handle complaints from the public for a project called “Police and Public Trust,” it filed freedom-of-information requests asking all provincial police forces for 11 years of internal discipline decisions. Every force complied, except one. Halifax Regional Police declined to release any information at […]
The problem with trying to police truthiness in political debate is where should it begin and where will it end? Let’s begin with the Preston byelection. Voters there went to the polls on Tuesday, August 8. The Houston government had known since January 25, 2023 — when incumbent Liberal MLA Angela Simmonds announced she planned […]
STEPHEN KIMBER, a Professor of Journalism at the University of King's College in Halifax and co-founder of its MFA in Creative Nonfiction Program, is an award-winning writer, editor and broadcaster. He is the author of two novels and eight non-fiction books. Buy his books
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