Kimber’s Nova Scotia What’s that I smell? Last spring, in the lead-up to the election, then freshly-minted wind-up-doll premier Rodney MacDonald gleefully played handout hopscotch, announcing a multitude of multi-million-dollar projects, expansions, upgrades, grants and good times from Yarmouth to Sydney. This spring in the follow-up to his less-than-spectacular budget, our no-longer new but still […]
Kimber’s Nova Scotia Judging letters by the numbers The South Shore Regional Library is facing an “immediate funding problem [and] a gloomy future,” thanks to a combination of provincial funding formulas and the results of the 2006 census. Statistics Canada’s latest head count shows the population of Queens and Lunenburg counties has dropped by 3,500 […]
Workers counting on union to deflate Michelin Emplyoees put out call for CAW after company decides to slash pay for new workers by $3 an hour STEPHEN KIMBER The Daily News Editor’s note: Beginning today, veteran journalist, author and King’s College professor Stephen Kimber gives his unique perspective on news events from around the province […]
An Open Letter to Capital Health To Chris Power, CEO, Capital District Health Authority Dear Ms Power: As you may be aware, the Capital District Health Authority turned down my recent freedom-of-information request for the names of all private law firms providing advice to the authority in the Gabrielle Horne case “and the amounts billed […]
Polls are for dogs “With a provincial election call possibly a week away,” the Montreal Gazette breathlessly reported on Feb. 13, “the Liberals have pulled farther ahead of the Parti Quebecois while the Action democratique du Quebec party’s support may be slipping… The survey, conducted between Feb. 7 and 10 by Leger Marketing and made […]
Revisiting the (non) review committee If my email inbox is any indication, there are plenty of Nova Scotians who have serious concerns with this province’s Children’s and Family Services Act. Back in 2004, there was a dramatic three-day standoff between a Halifax police swat team and parents Carline VandenElsen and Larry Finck over the Children’s […]
Let the recriminations begin The cell phone rang. The cell phone never rings, unless it is one of the children wanting to know when Sunday dinner is being served — and it was now Monday morning — or unless I’m out of range of local cell phone service and I’ve forgotten to add “roaming minutes” […]
When is a legal bill legal advice? When the Capital District Health Authority doesn’t want to disclose how many of your tax dollars it’s spent fighting a losing cause My question was straightforward enough. I simply wanted to know how much the Capital District Healthy Authority had spent hiring outside legal firms to fight the […]
Inside the square Although the housing project was supposed to perform social miracles, it’s become both stigma and scapegoat. But people who live in Uniacke Square are determined to let others see their neighbourhood—the good, the bad, the surprisingly ordinary—as they do. by Stephen Kimber "Some?" he says, extending a small hand in my direction. […]
Questioning the answers I support Halifax’s 2014 Commonwealth Games bid if … If I know how much they’re going to cost. And if that cost seems to be reasonable, given all the other priorities I’d like my governments to focus their attention — and spend my money — on. Those “ifs” are critical to my […]
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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