“The government doesn’t want to be here. This is the place where opposition parties, where media, where Nova Scotians can hold the government to account on their record, and they don’t want to be here. This is a government that doesn’t like to be held accountable.” Welcome to today’s Political Pop Quiz. Which of our […]
- 04/21/2023
- StephenKimber
- No Comments
It was an unsettling, uncomfortable week in the Nova Scotia legislature, and Premier Tim Houston was clearly eager to “move forward.” Move forward from what seemed clear enough. To what was less obvious. Houston’s very bad week actually began the week before, on March 29, when now-independent MLA Elizabeth Smith-McCrossin rose in the legislature to […]
- 04/14/2023
- StephenKimber
- 3 Comments
For me, it was the silence that spoke most loudly last week. On Thursday, the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board “approved significant rate increases for customers of the province’s monopoly power company, in apparent defiance of the provincial government,” as Globe and Mail reporter Matthew McClearn put it. Defiance… You will remember — how […]
- 02/10/2023
- StephenKimber
- No Comments
I have no doubt that Tim Houston genuinely wants to “fix” health care. He ran a provincial election campaign fixated on that singular if inexact goal. He has staked his political future, even his ultimate place in Nova Scotia political history on the claim that he alone can make health care healthy again. So why […]
- 02/03/2023
- StephenKimber
- No Comments
… and accusing your opponents of “playing politics” won’t solve it So, Liberal leader, Zach Churchill wants Premier Tim Houston to recall the legislature to deal with the suddenly front-and-centre issue of why people are dying while they wait for care in our provincial emergency departments. And NDP leader Claudia Chender wants a public investigation […]
- 01/20/2023
- StephenKimber
- No Comments
Nova Scotia’s healthcare system is hurtling past hell in a runaway, overcrowded, broken-down gurney. Some recent dispatches from its front lines: Consider this opening from a Canadian Press story last week. Nova Scotia’s health unions say long-standing staffing shortages in emergency rooms are a key reason two hospital managers last week warned that some patients […]
- 12/22/2022
- StephenKimber
- No Comments
When Tim Houston was first elected premier, says our columnist, his willingness to acknowledge mistakes was refreshing. Today, it’s, ‘Who me? I don’t make mistakes.’ Absolute power may — or may not — corrupt absolutely, but it sure works its dark magic swiftly. Exhibit A for the prosecution: Timothy Jerome Houston. Almost exactly a year ago, […]
- 10/21/2022
- StephenKimber
- No Comments
Don’t hold your breath. The telcos only care about profit, the CRTC only cares about the telcos and Ottawa only cares about sounding like it cares. “TV Providers Ask Regulator to Raise Basic Cable Cost by 12%” September 28, 2022 It was not a good public relations moment for Canada’s telecommunications companies. It was Wednesday, […]
- 10/08/2022
- StephenKimber
- No Comments
The question is what will he do with his — and our — disappointment? I certainly am absolutely disappointed with the numbers. Nova Scotians have invested a significant amount in an operation over the last number of years and I think every Nova Scotian should be disappointed with the uptake on the service… I think […]
- 09/18/2022
- StephenKimber
- No Comments
On the one hand, I’m not sure what to make of Tim Houston’s full-frontal face plant last week. On the other hand, I know exactly what to make of it. Same old, same old. Still. Again. Always. On the one hand, I’m not sure what to make of Tim Houston’s full-frontal face plant last week. […]
- 05/14/2022
- StephenKimber
- 1 Comment
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