Thinking Out Loud with Sheldon MacLeod

This week, Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston tabled the final report to the Legislature from the Reflection and Action Task Group. This documented the continued work of the Nova Scotia Home for Colored Children Restorative Inquiry that was started by the former Liberal Government under Stephen McNeil. Tony Smith is a survivor of the former Home for Colored Children and he's been a key part of the pr...

The Nova Scotia Government has paid off the bonds, setting the stage for tolls to be removed from the Cobequid Pass. It's an issue that Independent MLA Elizabeth Smith-McCrossin has been discussing for years. In fact, it was a protest over that stretch of road that led to the removal of Smith-McCrossin from the Progressive Conservative caucus by Tim Houston. In this conversation, she shares her th...

On October 31st 1996, Dan Conlin started writing down the number of kids who showed up on his West End Halifax doorstep and the kind of costumes they were wearing. And for the past 25 years, the Historian and lecturer has been sharing that information with his neighbours and anyone else who was interested. He currently is employed as a Curator at the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 in Ha...

He's released 18 studio albums, has four platinum singles and three gold singles and is one of the premier hip hop artists in Canada. His recording and stage name is Classified, but to his friends and family in his home community of Enfield, he is Luke Boyd. His first book, Classified: Off the Beat'n Path is on shelves now. In it, the Juno-award winning artist discusses the path that brought him a...

Victoria Levack is a self-described blogger as well as a disability and sexuality educator. She also volunteers to help the homeless in Meagher Park on Chebucto Road, which has been dubbed the People's Park. Vicky has issued a plea to Premier Tim Houston for him to do more to help the people experiencing homelessness in HRM. She says with the weather turning colder, people can't wait. And she says...

The 44th Canadian Parliament will be convening for the first time on Monday, November 22nd. This week, Justin Trudeau named the 39 cabinet ministers who will be joining the Government side of the House of Commons. Women make up half of the Liberal front bench and Atlantic Canada is represented with cabinet members from Newfoundland and Labrador, PEI, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Dr. Jeffery Coll...

Two Nova Scotia women have been speaking up for the voiceless others who have been victims of physical and sexualized violence. Their own personal stories and experiences as nurses brought them together almost three decades ago. It's a journey that has helped them form a group called Persons Against Non-State Torture. They have discussed their work around the world through panel discussions throug...

Christopher Enns has been known as a medical cannabis activist in the Halifax area prior to legalization. And now he's been successful acting as his own counsel in a case that speaks to The Charter of Rights and Freedoms . Enns argued his rights were violated when police searched two of his storefronts and seized products in 2019. Enns argued his Garofoli Application in front of Judge Elizabeth Bu...

The leading cause of disability is Canada is mental illness, affecting one in five. And by the age of 40, about 50 percent of the population will have or have had a mental illness. And since the start of the pandemic, professionals have been working to adapt to new ways of reaching their clients to provide programming and services. It's also affected the ability for these groups to raise money. Th...

The past 19 months have been difficult for many small businesses in Nova Scotia and across the country. The Canadian Federation of Independent Business suggests as many as one in six businesses may end up closing over the next two years. People are discussing how some entrepreneurs are dealing with the extreme challenges and others with the potential opportunities as the world recovers from the pa...

Since the start of the pandemic, there's been a lot of conversation about physical and mental wellness. And for a Bridgewater man, it's been a journey of self discovery and self healing. And he came to this after setting out on foot from British Columbia 15-months ago when he started walking back to his home province of Nova Scotia. Jeff Fillmore shares his story with me, after I noticed him walki...

This week's Speech from the Throne outlined the Progressive Conservative Government's plans and visions for the Legislative Session. But as the opposition parties have pointed out, there's a glaring omission: the housing crisis. It's lead NDP Leader Gary Burrill to call for immediate action and permanent rent control. And he's hoping to get the province to move in that direction and recognize hous...

Medicinal cannabis has been available in Canada for years. But unlike herbal supplements and vitamins, there's very little chemical analysis being provided to consumers. Dr. Sean Myles is an Associate Professor with the Faculty of Agriculture at Dalhousie University. They teamed up with another research facility in the Netherlands to look into the issue. As they note, unlike other commercial crops...

It was the second Speech from the Throne for Nova Scotians in the past year. This March, it was a road map for the Liberal Government under Iain Rankin. And this time, it was the vision for Premier Tim Houston and his Progressive Conservatives. For his reaction to the document and what was lacking or missing, we speak with the Leader of the Opposition. Iain Rankin discusses health, housing and hop...

Cannabis legalization was almost three years ago. And while we are seeing some impact on the illicit market, there's an ongoing conversation about harm reduction and other drugs. In fact, there's been an increase in the distribution and sale of cocaine in recent years. And there's also the ongoing epidemic of opioid related overdoses. Stephen Schneider is a Criminology Professor at Saint Mary's Un...

New Brunswick has implemented new COVID restrictions as a circuit breaker because of a recent spike in new cases of the Delta Variant. Residents in that Maritime Province have been required to show proof of vaccine for certain events and locations since September 21st. PEI and Nova Scotia implemented their vaccine policies this week. And according to a recent poll by Halifax-based Narrative Resear...

There are two dozen people going through the court system right now because they showed up to support the homeless in Halifax. Doctor Jeff Karabanow of Dalhousie's School of Social Work has been involved in the field for thirty years. And he says the ongoing pandemic created significant challenges. But it hit the homeless particularly hard. He and four other researchers have just released a report...

Last week, Nova Scotia Health announced a temporary hold on referrals for Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID). They say there was a significant backlog caused by an increase demand for the service. They also announced a goal of shortening wait times and resuming referrals as soon as possible. They also are planning to full time Nurse Practitioner to help. Dr. Gord Gubitz is the Clinical Lead for MA...

This is a special Saturday podcast only edition of Thinking Out Loud this week. Dalhousie research shows that children are concerned with fairness, but they may favour their in-group peers over others who may have more need when it comes to sharing. This was a research project that was conducted in Halifax, Nova Scotia and in Tehran, Iran. Dr. Chris Moore is a professor in Dalhousie's Department o...

October 1st, 2021 marks the 35th Treaty Day observed in Nova Scotia. It also is the start of Mi'kmaq History Month. And while we reflected on the impact of the Indian Residential Schools for Truth and Reconciliation, there is a renewed urgency to educate ourselves on what it means to be Treaty People. Lisa Lachance is the NDP MLA for Halifax Citadel - Sable Island. She's also the caucus spokespers...

Canadians are being urged to reflect and educate themselves on our collective history during the inaugural National Day of Truth and Reconciliation. The Mi'kmaw Native Friendship Centre (MNFC) has the support of Develop Nova Scotia to bring three days of activity to the Sands at Salter location along the Halifax Waterfront. Pam Glode Desrochers is the Executive Director of MNFC and she speaks to t...

He's been working towards being Premier of Nova Scotia for years. And now that he's been on the job for a month and a half, what are his thoughts? In this conversation, we discuss the challenges of fixing the ailing health care system and bringing us out of a pandemic. But also we discuss mandatory vaccines for people caring for the most vulnerable Nova Scotians and the decision to appoint a white...

They started posting the COVID notifications in schools before realizing Public Health officials had decided not to. And when more parents started sharing official exposure notices, their numbers started to grow in both notifications and members. Stacey Rudderham is one of the founders of Nova Scotia Parents for Public Education. She says their growth speaks to the need for more openness and trans...

A policy banning alcohol from the Dalhousie University campus is being given as one of the reasons hundreds of students were partying in the streets of south end of Halifax over the weekend. And for the Student Union President, there are concerns over harm reduction and the effects that will come from any academic sanctions or suspensions that may result. Madeleine Stinson speaks to those concerns...

A Nova Scotia health care worker showed compassion and empathy after losing her pet in an accident this week. Elizabeth Osmond says her 17-year old dog Emily was starting to show her age and they had been worried about her health. And when the dog was hit by a vehicle, as bad as she felt, she couldn't let the people who were in the vehicle carry that burden. A social media post about her apology t...