Editor’s Note: This is the second in a series of essays by Susan Dodd on Nova Scotia’s history of blaming coal mining accidents on the miners themselves — a history that finally changed in the wake of the Westray disaster. You can read the first essay here.   hat weRead...

I wrote last week that dealing with international waste (IW) at the Sydney Marine Terminal will involve more than simply getting in a stash of orange garbage bags. You can read the details here, but the gist is that international waste coming off vessels must be segregated from domestic wasteRead More

Having established that property taxes are the domain of municipalities in Nova Scotia, I now have to admit that they are also, in some instances, the domain of the province. I know, right? Just when you think you’ve got a nice, black and white distinction going, someone has to comeRead...

Doing Well By Doing Good “Activist and fundraiser” Dan Pallotta will speak during the Community Impact Summit, an anti-poverty gathering to be held in Sydney next Wednesday and Thursday. The summit will bring together “business, government and non-profit sector leaders [emphasis theirs]” to “commit to specific, positive actions to helpRead More

The Nova Scotia New Democratic Party made a freedom of information application to the Nova Scotia government last December requesting: All communication (including emails, letter and other electronic messages) briefing notes and other documents related to An Act Respecting a Teacher’s [sic] Professional Agreement. The request referred to legislation that Education MinisterRead More

[dropcap]I[/dropcap] have something to confess. For someone in my position it is, well, more than a little embarrassing. An affront, if you will, to my public persona. I have spent money I could ill afford pursuing this, this interest, to the chagrin of my long-suffering children. To this strange compulsionRead More

Before writing a word about the workplace conditions of Nova Scotia teachers, there is something I need to say: everything I know about the Nova Scotia school system is based on having passed through it as a student in the 1970s. In other words, I know bupkis (to borrow a termRead More

Is there a link between poverty and public health? “Definitely,” says Monika Dutt, a family doctor and medical officer of health with the Nova Scotia Health Authority in the CBRM. “It’s always been there, but I think now there’s more and more evidence to really show there is a clearRead More

The Cape Breton Regional Municipality has been doing a much better job of submitting audited financial statements to the province on deadline each year. I know this because CBRM CFO Marie Walsh answered my queries — as did the spokesperson for the Nova Scotia department of municipal affairs — andRead More