Dear Minister Furey, Re: The Race to Restrict our Human Rights Yesterday, the Nova Scotia Law Amendments Committee heard from seven different presenters about the issues, problems, and limits of the Adult Capacity and Decision-making Act (Bill 16). The new Act is meant to replace the outdated and especially restrictiveRead More

Paying for Information Maybe public information in Nova Scotia is of a slightly better quality than public information elsewhere. Maybe Nova Scotia Land Registry documents are carefully stored and aged and contain undertones of citrus and hints of oak that set them apart from generic land registry documents. Maybe theRead More

After the June 2013 floods that caused an estimated $400 million worth of damage to infrastructure in Calgary, the City: …determined that a broad investigation of flood mitigation issues and responses was required. The City also decided that the investigation should be carried out by an arms-length body of expertsRead More

This past Saturday found me driving along Route 4 listening to commercial radio. (I know what you’re thinking: did last Saturday also find you breathing and blinking at regular intervals? Did it find you wearing shoes? But you have to understand, I haven’t owned a car or listened to commercialRead More

I recently attended an ethics conference which addressed the question of how healthcare organizations and other social institutions should respond to cultural, religious, and sexual diversity in their patients, students and staff. One of the speakers was particularly interesting for me, because her talk was focused on ways in whichRead More

What to do this week Gardening is a year-round pleasure, or obsession, depending on how hard you have fallen. There is always something to do, whether it be preparing for winter, preparing for spring, preparing for summer…you get the picture. This time of year, most gardeners are busy between theRead More

Has anyone else wondered why our political leaders at every level of government give lip service to representing the constituents they seek support from only when they are campaigning for office or forming the political opposition in the legislature? Ritually, leaders of political parties promise and promise and promise someRead More

No Cape Bretoners, please Halifax regional council has created an eight-member committee to consider the commemoration of Edward Cornwallis in the municipality. I can’t tell you who the members are because council has yet to make the names public, but if it heeded the advice of Councilor David Hendsbee ofRead More

This three-story brick building at 90 Esplanade was built to house the Federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) in 1976. The DFO sailed away in 1999 and the building found a new owner, JIJ Holdings, in 2001. It has been tenanted for most of the past 16 years, butRead More

Okay, I’m exaggerating — but only slightly. The projects the federal government turned down for Canada 150 funding were not a mystery to the government, they’re just a mystery to me — and by extension, you — because their details have been redacted from the response to an access toRead More