Thinking Out Loud with Sheldon MacLeod

SaltWire is blessed to feature the work of two very talented editorial cartoonists. Whether it's reflecting the sadness of the Residential School legacy or the fight for political change, these two are ready to speak truth to power. Bruce MacKinnon and then Michael deAdder on their role in shaping opinion and holding up a mirror to our society.

Professional hockey is obviously a physical game and injuries are a part of it. But sometimes the level of violence transcends what would be expected, even in a Stanley Cup playoff series. SaltWire Sports Reporter Willy Palov discusses the hit on Jake Evans of the Montreal Canadiens and the way the NHL is dealing with Winnipeg's Mark Scheifele.

The National Advisory Committee on Immunizations has changed its guidelines on mixing and matching the different types of vaccine available to Canadians. Researchers at Dalhousie University have done a pilot study on the efficacy of using an mRNA vaccine for people who first had the viral vector vaccine, AstraZeneca. Doctor Chris Robinson describes how jellyfish helped in their study and why mixin...

A committee that was struck last November has presented its recommendations to government to address the housing crisis in Nova Scotia. Ren Thomas is the Co-chair of the Nova Scotia Affordable Housing Commission. And she shares her thoughts on how the 17 recommendations can address the challenges in both the short and long term.

Troubled but well-meaning people are changing their social media profile pictures as government buildings are lowering their flag to half mast out of respect for the 215 young lives lost. What is the impact on First Nations communities to the recent discovery of the remains of 215 children at a former Residential School? Patricia Doyle-Bedwell is a Mi’kmaq woman, lawyer and writer. Derek Lewis is...

The pandemic has impacted many people in community and has put a strain on resources. LakeCity Works, a Dartmouth-based social enterprise has received a total of $90,000 in grants from Co-operators Community Funds (CCF) over the last three years. The money has been able to help enhance the employability and well-being of people living with mental illness in the community. I spoke with Liam O'Rourk...

A Psychology Professor from Dalhousie University says mandatory homeschooling is doing more harm than good. Dr. Simon Sherry says the policy in Nova Scotia is corroding parents’ and children’s mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic and is impacting their relationships negatively. We discuss the issues of increased substance use and abuse by parents and his advice going forward.

It's a detailed plan called Keys to a Housing Secure Future for all Nova Scotians. It outlines 95 recommendations for the province to ensure all Nova Scotian's have access to safe, affordable housing. Cape Breton University Associate Professor Catherine Leviten-Reid was the academic lead for the Housing for All Working group. We discuss some of the objectives and objections to help make this ambit...

An apology and a financial compensation is being offered to a Halifax man who was the victim of racial discrimination at the hands of two Halifax Police officers. Gyasi Symonds took his case to the Human Rights Board of Inquiry to bring to light the profiling and anti-black racism in policing. Robert Wright is a social worker and advocate who is also involved in a new training program for police c...

One in five Canadians will experience some kind of mental health problem or illness in any given year. And by the time we hit the age of forty, half of us will have, or will have already had a mental illness. Schizophrenia affects about one per cent of the Canadian population. Lesley McCuaig from Hubbards is someone who is living a life post diagnosis and is trying to let others know there is a pa...

Author, musician and entertainer Alan Doyle has been waiting for the pandemic to end just like the rest of us. And in the last fourteen months he's found time to take the first summer off in his adult life and record a new folk record. We talk about mental wellness, creativity and his love of the Montreal Canadiens.

The latest provincial lock-down is impacting many Nova Scotians who are still going to work everyday. A Halifax woman has started an online fundraising campaign to randomly give $500 to front line workers across HRM. Eventually Sarah Dobson and the others behind HaliFunds want to reach out and give to others across Nova Scotia.

May 21 is Endangered Species Day and May 22 is International Day for Biodiversity. Both of these give people a day to focus communications and actions on these subjects. And that's something we discuss with Karen McKendry, Wilderness Outreach Coordinator with the Ecology Action Centre.

More and more young people are misusing prescription over the last decade, resulting in addictions and in some cases lethal consequences. Of any age group, 15 to 25-year-olds are the most likely to misuse prescription drugs but there hasn't been a lot of research on who is most at risk. A new study at Dalhousie University looked at personality types and whether they could indicate who is most at r...

The Nova Scotia Supreme Court has issued an injunction to give powers of arrest for police ahead of a planned public protest on Citadel Hill on the weekend. And even though police say it was needed to help enforce public health guidelines, a group of people in support of Palestine were ticketed for protesting inside their vehicles at Inglis and Tower Road. Internet and Privacy expert David Fraser...

A so-called Freedom Rally for Citadel Hill this weekend has been cancelled. Organizers are in part blaming the on-line harassment and other threats for their decision to cancel it under duress. This happened before the province announced it had been granted an injunction by the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia stopping anti-vaccine and anti-public health order protests, effective immediately. We spoke...

Earlier this week the Nova Scotia Teacher's Union warned of cuts to teaching positions in HRM High Schools. I was able to speak with one of the teachers who was told she is "surplus" at the end of this term. I also sat down with Journalist Stuart Peddle to discuss the story that was published on SaltWire.com.

A radio station in Truro has stirred up a friendly competition between businesses using their signs. We chat with Mitch and Lauren from Big Dog about why they think it took off so quickly. And Music Columnist Eric Alper joins the conversation about the Rock & Roll of Fame's Class of 2021.

Nova Scotia found a way to resume jury trials and protect the participants in a time of a pandemic. But it's still illegal for people to discuss the deliberations of a jury, even if it's with a mental health professional. And that's one of the things the Canadian Juries Commission is looking to have changed.

It's the second year in a row that National Nursing week is happening in the midst of a global pandemic. And with spiking numbers of cases in our third wave in Nova Scotia, Nursing Union President Janet Hazelton discusses PPE, pandemic fatigue and resiliance and mental health.

NACI (The National Advisory Committee on Immunization) and Nova Scotia's Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Strang are sending mixed messages about "preferred vaccines" and the risks of waiting for "the right one". That and the topic of herd immunity are subjects we take up with Doctor Rod Russell, a viral immunologist at Memorial University in Newfoundland and Labrador.

SaltWire journalist Chris Lambie is reporting on a story looking at the Mass Casualty Commission and the business card from RCMP Chief Superintendent John Robin. He showed up at the door of a witness to the Onslow-Belmont Firehall shooting on April 19th of 2020. What is written on that card suggests he is working with the Independent review in the mass killing in Portapique is now raising some tro...

After months of debate and deliberation, Halifax Regional Municipality has passed its 1-Billion-dollar budget. What does Mayor Mike Savage have to say about the second pandemic spending plan, the money collected on behalf of the province, and who he would most like to have on his own podcast, Mike Drop?

Earlier this year, Ottawa labelled a Canadian Western Chauvinist Organization a terrorist entity. This week the Proud Boys, as they were known, announced they were officially dissolving. But that doesn't mean its members won't be disavowing their far right leanings. Dr. Ajay Parasram is an Assistant Professor in the Department of International Development Studies at Dalhousie University.

In mid-February we learned of of Bass River resident April George who died waiting for medical assistance. Medical First Responders were not called because of on-going COVID-19 protocols. In the weeks following, Nova Scotians were told the 26-hundred Firefighters were were trained as MFR's would be given safety equipment and a COVID-19 Vaccine as they were brought back into service. Daniel Gaudet...