Art imitating life In my research for this week’s article on the East Palestine train derailment, I ran across a piece on rail safety post-Lac Mégantic (a good piece, worth reading) that begins like this: An unmanned, half-mile-long train carrying tank cars full of highly flammable petroleum products barrels outRead More
Author’s Note: Back in 2004, I was writing for The Cape Bretoner and one of my first interviews was with Shauna Doolan, who passed away a few days ago, leaving behind a tremendous contribution to the Cape Breton music scene. I am grateful to be able to have parts ofRead More
Student housing The “collective enterprise” UTILE (L’Unité de travail pour l’implantation de logement étudiant) was established in 2013 “with the objective of developing a social economy student housing model specific to Quebec inspired by best practices in non-profit student housing around the world.” In 2016, working with the the ChantierRead More
Editor’s Note: When I realized I would be publishing this year on the 41st anniversary of the sinking of the Ocean Ranger, I decided to reprint this piece from 2022—the preface to Susan Dodd’s 2012 book, The Ocean Ranger: remaking the promise of oil, with permission from Fernwood Books. Read More
Author’s Note: Back in 2004, I was writing for The Cape Bretoner and one of my first interviews was with Shauna Doolan, who passed away a few days ago, leaving behind a tremendous contribution to the Cape Breton music scene. I am grateful to be able to have parts ofRead More
I read recently of the antics of two American billionaires with a kind of horrified fascination. The first was Elon Musk, who seems to be morphing from “a brilliant visionary” (at least in the eyes of some) to a cartoon-like James Bond villain, who fires thousands of people without aRead More
Last Friday’s “emergency” CBRM council meeting has been well covered in the local media, leaving me with one angle—secrecy—that I still feel has not been adequately explored. But first, let’s recap recent affordable housing history: 2020 October 27: The federal government launches the Rapid Housing Initiative (RHI) delivered by theRead...
For-Profit Healthcare I have to admit to not having fully understood how for-profit clinics had succeeded in infiltrating the Canadian healthcare system in the first place, having forgotten that the price of single-payer healthcare is eternal vigilance. My understanding was that the Canada Health Act (CHA), which parliament passed unanimouslyRead...
I read recently of the antics of two American billionaires with a kind of horrified fascination. The first was Elon Musk, who seems to be morphing from “a brilliant visionary” (at least in the eyes of some) to a cartoon-like James Bond villain, who fires thousands of people without aRead More
I was perusing the Nova Scotia tenders portal this morning, as one does, and noticed the CBRM has called for bids for the next stage of the Charlotte Street re-design. Before I focused on the actual details I got distracted imagining a sort of municipal version of Trading Spaces whereRead More
Editor’s Note: Today’s column first appeared on 7 March 2018. What to do this week I’m back after a short break. Thank you all for your patience. I hope your onion seedlings are started! If they are not, you can do them in soil blocks. If you have themRead More
Student housing The “collective enterprise” UTILE (L’Unité de travail pour l’implantation de logement étudiant) was established in 2013 “with the objective of developing a social economy student housing model specific to Quebec inspired by best practices in non-profit student housing around the world.” In 2016, working with the the ChantierRead More
I have a sister just a year younger than me and when we were kids, while we mostly got along, we sometimes, being human beings, fought. When we did it within earshot of our father, he would immediately break into a chorus of the most annoying song ever written. ItRead More
The whole frame of geopolitics…seeks to manage tensions and power struggles among those who rule, while the vast majority of people—as well as plants, animals, land, and water—are controlled, confined, or killed to serve those interests.—Ray Acheson, ‘Abolishing Geopolitics and Building a World Without State Violence,’ Metapolis, September 2022 Read More
My name is Rhonda, and this is the story (so far) of my wonky heart valve. I found out that I had a problem with my mitral valve—one of four valves and that open and close to let blood flow through the heart—when I was in my early 20s. IRead More
Editor’s Note: This is Part III in a series of articles on rail safety even if it doesn’t seem like it. Here are Part I and Part II. On 1 May 2015, Canada and the United States announced “a harmonized set of tank-car regulations” that aimed, as the FinancialRead More
Editor’s Note: This column last appeared on 3 March 2021 What to do this week I really think people shouldn’t have lawns. Lawns are for grazing sheep. So that is my rule of thumb: your lawn should be either big enough to graze sheep, or small enough to cutRead More
Fun with Numbers I was writing today’s date moments ago and realized that my enthusiasm for the occult ran away with me on Wednesday, when I included a note at the top of the newsletter pondering the numerological significance of 22.02.2022, which I had recorded as the day’s date. TheRead More
Editor’s Note: I have discovered a Spotify playlist called “Songs About Trains” which I recommend you listen to while reading this article. Also, Part I of this series is here. In the second part of this brief series on rail safety, we’re going to talk about rail tank cars,Read More
