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Nova Scotia

March-April 2018

Nova Scotia has a problem with child poverty we cannot ignore

Why Canadians have been overlooking the issue for so long

Richard Levangie

Nova Scotians’ bigotry is softer and quieter than its white supremacist cousins in headline-grabbing places like Charlottesville, Virginia—but it’s no less devastating. Late last year, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) released its 2017 Report Card on Child and Family Poverty in Atlantic Canada’s most populated province. In a single table the CCPA manages […] More »
November-December 2017

Forgetting Charles Lawrence

The racist Nova Scotian tried to destroy my family’s Acadian culture. I’m refusing to let his legacy live on

Tyler LeBlanc

I went to church in August. I hadn’t been in 20 years. It was Monday and St. Paul’s Anglican in downtown Halifax was dead quiet. A young woman in burgundy sat at a table near the door. I looped around the pews before asking the question I had come here to ask: “Charles Lawrence is […] More »
July-August 2017

Half a century after the destruction of Africville, Nova Scotia still has a race problem

For many, the reparations do not sufficiently address the devastating effect the loss of Africville has had on Nova Scotia’s Black community

Madi Haslam@madihaslam

This year, Canada celebrates its 150th birthday. Ours is a country of rich history—but not all Canadian stories are told equally. In this special report, This tackles 13 issues—one per province and territory—that have yet to be addressed and resolved by our country in a century and a half Fifty years ago, the city of Halifax destroyed […] More »
November-December 2016

Why Maritimers are rallying against chemical forest sprays

The chemical, glyphosate, is controversial for its propensity to cause cancer

Larkin Schmiedl@LarkinSchmiedl

Protests erupted across Nova Scotia this fall when forestry company Northern Pulp was approved for its latest round of aerial herbicide sprays. The controversial chemical, glyphosate, is banned in parts of Europe and for forestry in Quebec due to questions around its propensity to cause cancer. In the Maritimes, glyphosate’s recent history is troubling. Rod […] More »
May-June 2011

This45: Alana Wilcox on book collective Invisible Publishing

Alana WilcoxWebsite

Even when it’s not faced with an uncertain digital future, the publishing industry occupies a very uncomfortable place at the intersection of art and commerce. “Intersection” may not be the right word; it’s more like art is one end of a teeter totter and money is the other, with publishing in the middle, trying to […] More »
May-June 2011

This45: Sarah Elton on community-supported fishery Off the Hook

Sarah EltonWebsite

It’s hard to find fresh fish to buy in Canada. Even in Halifax, in view of the ocean, it takes at least six days for local fillets to make it from the fishing boats to the supermarket. Now, a group of five fishers are changing the way fish are caught and sold. They’ve founded Off […] More »
January-February 2011

Would-be parents fight for publicly funded fertility treatments

Natalie Gallo

Infertile couples suffer in silence in a baby-crazed culture. Treatments are lightly regulated and cost a fortune. Why public funding could ease the burden and improve care It’s just another September day in Nova Scotia—sun shining, birds chirping, a late summer breeze playing in the treetops. Only one thing is different today for Shawna Young: […] More »
January-February 2010

Midwifery is ready for delivery, but mainstream public health lags

Chris BenjaminWebsite

In March 2009, Nova Scotia became the seventh province to incorporate midwifery into the public health care system. Instead of paying and arranging for the service privately, residents now have it covered and regulated by the provincial government. Midwifery should be seen as the progressive (yet traditional) and cost-effective method of childbirth in Canada. But […] More »
January-February 2010

Review: This American Drive by Mike Holmes

Kim Hart MacneillWebsite

When Mike Holmes passed through Toronto on his reading tour last fall, he warned the audience, “I’m a cartoonist, not an author.” Holmes is, in fact, both. His latest work, This American Drive, is not just a novel with pretty pictures. Weaving traditional storytelling and elements of the graphic novel with unexpected ease, the book […] More »

Wednesday WTF: The Atlantic Provinces are getting old

kim hart macneill

We’ll all get older, and start to slow down. It’s just a fact of life. But in the Atlantic Provinces, the population as a whole is getting older, and that’s going to lead to tough times ahead unless the provincial and federal governments step-in and make some changes. A report released Monday by the C.D. […] More »
September-October 2009

Interview: Nova Scotia Premier Darrell Dexter

Paul McLaughlinWebsite

On June 9, Nova Scotians elected the province’s first ever NDP government, lead by former Navy public-information-officer-turned-journalist-turned-lawyer Darrell Dexter. This caught up with the new 52-year-old premier about a month later, just after he had attended a Paul McCartney concert in Halifax. This: Did you meet McCartney? Dexter: I did. It was quite a highlight. […] More »