Iain Rankin scores unforced error after own goal after…

I’m guessing — hoping, for their sakes — the premier’s inner circle wasn’t responsible for “strategically leaking” news about Rankin’s youthful DUIs last week. But they, and Rankin himself, are certainly culpable for what happened after that. Watching Premier Iain Rankin score one own goal after another — and then, oh god, no, yet another — […]

Border crossed

Iain Rankin closed a border, Elizabeth Smith-McCrossin courted the crazed and Tim Houston made his Hobson’s choice between principle and power. After which he dumped Smith-McCrossin. Oh, and then Rankin reopened the border after all. Welcome to another week in pre-election Nova Scotia. Tim Houston did the right thing, and it may cost him a […]

Child protection: Catch-22 all over again. Again and again… Part 2

The case of the “Minister of Community Services v J.C,” says Emma Halpern of the Elizabeth Fry Society, “shows all the gaps in our child protection supports and services.” There are a lot of them. Read Part 1 of this article here. PART 2 As of September 8th, I have had two one-hour supervised visits […]

Child protection: Catch-22 all over again. Again and again… Part 1

J.C. spent most of her growing up years “in the care of the minister.” They weren’t easy years, and she barely survived. She wanted better for her son, and she did everything authorities asked of her, and more. So why did Nova Scotia’s child welfare decide to take her child anyway? And what does what […]

Promises to make… Promises to keep?

Iain Rankin billed himself as the candidate of generational change. But as a premier in pre-election pretend mode, he seems more like the unwelcome but familiar ghost of politicians past On June 14, 2021, Health Minister Zach Churchill announced the “Rankin government” — as it demands to be known — will invest one million dollars […]

So… Nova Scotian

The still-unfolding story behind last year’s firing of new NSCAD President Aoife Mac Namara fits all too neatly into the ongoing story of business as usual in Nova Scotia. Pity. It all seems, well, so … Nova Scotian. Let’s begin way back in the late 1960s and early seventies when a local developer named Ben […]

Free speech and ‘really good conversation’… Opportunities to teach and to learn

I used to think of myself as a free speech absolutist. I still do… mostly. But I’m now a little less absolute in my absolutism. Let’s take a look at two recent close-to-home cases. I used to think of myself as a free speech absolutist. I still do… mostly. But I’m now a little less […]

Planning for a re-opening and hoping for a re-election

Premier Iain Rankin needs a do-over after a gaffe-prone first few months in office. His government’s gradual re-opening gives him another chance to make a better impression. On Friday afternoon, Premier Iain Rankin announced what he describes as a five-phase plan to allow too-long shuttered, increasingly restless, can’t-wait Nova Scotians to resume something approximating normal […]

What’s the ‘reasonable’ limit on protest in a public health emergency?

How do you distinguish between anti-maskers intending to flout health restrictions in the name of their “freedom” to infect themselves and others and organizers of a COVID-safe car rally intended to protest violence against Palestinians? You don’t, say police. But should they? On the morning of Friday, May 14, 2021, Nova Scotia government lawyers — […]

The ‘quiet’ turmoil inside the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society

The society claims it wants to “eliminate or mitigate systemic discrimination” in its organization. But will it really come to terms with its Lyle Howe legacy? “There’s something happening here,” Stephen Stills once wrote. “What it is ain’t exactly clear.” Here in this case is inside the traditionally somnambulant corridors of the Nova Scotia Barristers’ […]