‘The rest is for the seagulls’

We may never know all the complex factors that led Lionel Desmond to murder his wife and family, and then kill himself. But we’re learning. It’s complicated. On the evening of Jan. 3, 2017, Lionel Desmond, a 32-year-old former Canadian soldier, murdered his 31-year-old wife, Shanna, their 10-year-old daughter, Aaliyah, and his 52-year-old mother, Brenda, […]

Iain Rankin says he’s listened and learned. Now it’s time to lead

On Tuesday, February 23, Rankin got his first chance as premier to make his first lasting impression on Nova Scotians. What did he say? What should he have said? Compare with my columnist’s suggested first announcements After Nova Scotia Lieutenant-Governor Arthur LeBlanc performs his ceremonial and socially distanced laying on of hands at the Halifax […]

The Wayne Hankey case

When former King’s College professor Wayne Hankey was charged in an historic sexual assault case earlier this month, it raised questions about what happened — and why — after he was accused of similar behaviour 30 years ago. I can still remember where I was when I heard the news: in the Senior Common Room […]

Save our forests? Not now. We’re too busy destroying them

A lawyer for logging contractors says there’s a time and place to discuss concerns about forest harvesting practices. But the courtroom isn’t either. Which begs a few questions. What is the time? Where is the place? A protester in Santa costume at the Nova Scotia forestry blockade. (Facebook) “There is a time and place to […]

Reckoning with racism

Following the death of George Floyd, the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society joined much of the rest of the world in declaring itself against anti-Black racism. But the society now must grapple with its own recent history and what lawyer Laura McCarthy calls the “discrimination dirt still under their rug.” On June 3, 2020, the Nova […]

The more things change, the more nothing changes

How is that real estate developers get to do what they want without real consequences? Oh, right. Nothing new to see here, folks. In mid-April 1999, a Halifax city planner named Gary Porter returned from his vacation to a surprise. He noticed there was now one more storey than the city had approved on an […]

When is $15 million really $10 million, but actually only $5 million?

Welcome to the world of higher education in which “gift” and “gift commitment” can be parsed so billionaires can claim to give what they haven’t, and dictate whatever they want. On this Makeover Monday, let us pretend—because there will be more than a little smoke-and-mirrors pretend in this column—that it is actually the morning of […]

Would you buy a used government from one of these guys?

Don’t worry. You don’t have to choose. Liberal delegates will pick your next premier for you. All you have to do is live with him… for a while. Welcome to 2021! In addition to figuring out the appropriate trash folder into which to dump all of 2020 (along with last week’s plethora of pleading emails […]

Donald Trump, Stephen McNeil and democracy in decline

If you want to know just how quickly a flawed but functioning democracy can descend into anti-democratic demagoguery, may I direct your attention south of our border. If you want to know how close to (or far from) that less than ideal we already are in Nova Scotia, may I direct your attention to the […]

Mark Furey isn’t in a conflict, Donald Trump won by a landslide and other tales from the alternate universe

My question. Is there a problem with the province’s Conflict of Interest Act? Or with Justice Kennedy’s interpretation of it? So, let me see if I have this straight. Nova Scotia Justice Minister Mark Furey, a 32-year veteran of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, had no conflict of interest, real or perceived, while overseeing the […]