Thinking Out Loud with Sheldon MacLeod

Researchers with Dalhousie University's School of Social Work has been looking at the homelessness issue for years. And with the arrival of the global pandemic, they wanted to find out how that impacted those people who were already in a vulnerable situation. A paper on the subject looking into the issue affecting people in Halifax and Cape Breton Municipality was released last fall. And this week...

The group representing truck drivers has been clear it wants the public health mandates to end. And they say their convoy will stay in Ottawa until their demands are met. Another group of Canadians has also put forward their case to have the public health measures ended. Or at least challenged. A prominent Nova Scotia lawyer says the government needs to prove the State of Emergency should be kept...

A recent survey commissioned by the Canadian Cancer Society (CCS) reveals 77% of Atlantic Canadians who consume alcohol say reducing their risk of developing cancer is an important health benefit. But the challenge is that only one in three Canadians are aware of the link between alcohol and cancer. That's a pretty good reason to consider going "dry" and to abstain from alcohol this February. Kell...

For 19-year old Logan Prosper of We'koqma'q First Nation, it was a gift that had special meaning for several reasons. The Saint Mary's University student was behind the Red Tape Movement. That was a way of shining a light on descrimination in hockey by wrapping sticks in red tape to encourage players to take personal responsibility to end it. And the program made it all the way to the NHL's Brad M...

Some of the supporters of the Freedom Convoy are using language that is very similar to the patriots fighting for freedom in Washington DC in January 2021. Many in the group appear to be distrustful of the media and of government, let alone the public health guidelines put in place because of the pandemic. And when the goal is to have all health mandates lifted, is there any chance of success? Wha...

The Nova Scotia Government has accepted a recommendation to increase the provincial wage to $13.35 per hour starting April 1st. And the Minimum Wage Committee has also recommended a push to have that reach a $15 minimum wage by 2024. And some groups are advocating for a living wage, around $20 per hour in Nova Scotia. A group formerly known as Fight for 15 has taken on a new goal. And a new name....

If you are a property owner in Nova Scotia, you should have received your 2022 Property Assessment Notice in the mail by now. And there's also a pretty good chance, that number is higher than it was a year ago. On average, housing prices were up 10.3 percent last year. And assessments are up an average of 10.8 percent. There are a lot of factors that go into coming up with that number and in 2021,...

A group of people fed up with pandemic restrictions were part of a slow moving protest on the highway between New Brunswick and Nova Scotia over the weekend. It coincided with another group leaving British Columbia on their way to Ottawa to show their displeasure with Canadian and American officials mandating drivers who cross the border to be fully vaccinated. The Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA)...

It was an issue that dogged Iain Rankin in the last general election in Nova Scotia. Since then, we have a new premier, a new government and a new minister of Natural Resources. Also, the developers behind the potential golf resort at Owls Head have withdrawn their offer of purchase of the 285-hectare package of uninhabited Crown property and the Nova Scotia government recently announced Owls Head...

For someone who has performed around the world, being grounded by the pandemic could be seen as more than just an inconvenience. For Canadian Soprano Measha Brueggergosman Lee, it has been a grounding of a different kind. While supporting her new series of virtual concerts, she reflects on how we wouldn't have chosen what has happened over the last two years, but she also wouldn't have changed it....

The full name of the 218 page report is Defunding the Police - Defining the Way Forward for HRP. And one of the many authors of this document calls it his love letter to Halifax Regional Municipality. Tari Ajadi is a PhD candidate in Political Science at Dalhousie University, an activist & a public scholar. His dissertation research compares how Black activists in mid-sized cities in Nova Scotia a...

Some shoppers are reporting bare shelves at grocery stores across Nova Scotia. And with the winter storms and road conditions over the past week, it's an issue at other grocery stores across the region. But some people are suggesting this is because of a vaccine mandate that went into effect Saturday for truck drivers crossing the Canada-US border. Sylvain Charlebois says it's not that simple. The...

Littering and illegal dumping are still huge issues in Nova Scotia. Halifax Regional Municipality is stepping up enforcement and have more teams in place to track down the people responsible. Fines can range from $500-$10-thousand for illegal dumping and $200-$10-thousand for litter violations. Recently, HRM introduced a campaign to educate people about the issue with a call to action of "Be respo...

It's been close to five months since Tim Houston and his Progressive Conservatives formed government in Nova Scotia. And most of his time, like the two premiers before him, has been dealing with the effects of a global pandemic. In this conversation, he discusses the decision to return to in class learning on Monday and what plans are in place to deal with potential outbreaks of COVID-19. He's als...

One of the housing crisis solutions adopted by Halifax Regional Municipality was to allow secondary and backyard suites. And for a Dartmouth-based social enterprise, there's an opportunity to help on several levels. LakeCity Works has been supporting clients living with mental illness by giving them jobs to create skills and income. And their micro-home project is still moving through the approval...

The leader of one of the main health care unions in Nova Scotia were repeating her call for help in addressing the challenges in Long Term Care this week. Nan McFadgen is the president of CUPE-NS. And she is worried about the impact the impact of low wages and staffing levels are having on workers and the people they care for. McFadgen admits she was frustrated in her appearance in front of the St...

As the long-awaited modular units for the people experiencing homelessness on Alderney Drive, a Dartmouth councilor is sharing his thoughts. District 5 representative Sam Austin admits they made mistakes when they tore down the temporary shelters in HRM last summer. And the Dartmouth Centre councilor says they over-promised and under-delivered on their plan. But he says in spite of that, they are...

For most of the pandemic, Nova Scotians have fared quite well with relatively few people contracting COVID 19. But since the end of 2021 and over the past few weeks, we've seen thousands of cases of the Omicron variant. And while it would have been unlikely to know someone personally who had a positive case in the past, all bets are off. Many workplaces are dealing with staff shortages because of...

It's a small victory for parents and educators who were looking for added protection in Nova Scotia schools. And the delay in reopening after the Christmas break has also made some people happy. But not all. Stacey Rudderham is one of the founders of Nova Scotia Parents for Better Education. She had to post a message to admonish some of the 21-thousand members of their Facebook group because of th...

The Nova Scotia Teacher's Union was pleased to see the province delay the reopening of schools for another week. And there's some optimism that ventilation issues will also be addressed. But today, the New Democrats are urging the province to act on another request. That is, to prioritize teachers and staff for boosters ahead of the start up of in-class learning. Suzy Hansen is a former school boa...

He spent a short six months as Premier after winning the leadership of the Nova Scotia Liberals in 2021. Since then, he's been serving as the leader of the official opposition. Today, Iain Rankin announced he was stepping aside to let someone else take over the party. He says it was the quiet reflection over the holidays with his wife and new daughter that brought him to this decision. And in this...

Students in Nova Scotia have gotten an extended holiday break because of the latest COVID variant. It started a week early with staffing challenges because of mandatory quarantining and positive cases. And they decided to push ahead the start date to next Monday, January 10th. But the Nova Scotia Teacher's Union is hoping government will rethink that. President Paul Wozney says they would like to...

Nova Scotia announced funds to help those Nova Scotians affected by the devastating flooding in late November. And there was also significant damage for parts of Newfoundland and Labrador from the same storm system. A Halifax musician and promoter who had friends affected by flooding earlier in the year in British Columbia prompted him to organize an online concert as a fundraiser. It will be stre...

More than 82-thousand Nova Scotians are waiting for a primary care provider. And the provincial government has been looking to provide alternate ways to get patients in front of doctors and nurse practitioners. One way is through VirtualCareNS. It is a way to give people free access to online services like prescription renewals, tests and referrals for specialized care. And now the service is bein...

It's not always the most wonderful time of the year for everyone. And with the holidays approaching, there are a few things you can do to reduce some of the pressures and stresses according to Doctor Simon Sherry. He is a professor in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience at Dalhousie University and a clinical psychologist at CRUX Psychology. And as he points out, a lot of the pressure com...