🗞️ A house for lunch

Good morning Halifax,

On Friday I attended a “not-so-silent vigil” to honour the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women. Braving the plummeting temperatures, a group of solemn, angry and determined people walked the streets of downtown Halifax with candles and then laid roses to pay tribute to the 14 women killed in an anti-feminist attack 35 years ago at Montreal's École Polytechnique.

We then moved inside a beautifully candle-lit church hall and listened as advocates and survivors shared their experiences, insight and expertise. 

A silhouette of Paula Gallant stood among roses as her sister Lynn spoke about how she should have been turning 55 last Thursday. Instead, she was killed by her husband over a $700 gambling debt; a plan he had in the works for weeks. 

Carrie Low—who was the victim of a violent sexual assault in 2018—spoke about how the assault was only the beginning of the nightmare; the trauma of being betrayed by the systems meant to protect her usurping the horror of the crime itself.

Jennifer Greaves, who just this fall was released from her NDA with Dalhousie University—allowing her to finally speak about the abuse she experienced within that institution—shared about the trauma of being silenced. 

Liz LeClair told us about being sexually harassed by Clearwater co-founder Colin MacDonald while trying to do her job in fundraising for the IWK Foundation, and how important it is to speak up—and keep speaking.

In addition, advocates working tirelessly to protect women, support survivors and fight for change—including Kristina Fifield, Avalon, THANS and Byrony House—talked about the importance of working together as a united front.

The message that became clear was that we need to envision a new future for Nova Scotia; of what it could be—a safe place for women and girls—rather than what it is—the most dangerous province in the country for them.

The problem is that the message fell on ears that already know it. On the ears of the same people who show up over and over to fight. Not one government official showed up to listen. Not one believed that gender-based violence is a big enough problem to drag themselves out into the cold on a Friday night. Not one felt they should represent the province on a NATIONAL day of remembrance and action. Not. One.

During his campaign, premier Tim Houston said "domestic and gender-based violence is an issue our government takes very seriously.”

Clearly 👀

– Julie

🌡️ Traffic & Weather

Today: 🌤️ 1°

Tomorrow: 🌧️ 1°

Next Day: 🌧️ 10°

7-day forecast

🚗 Driving, biking or busing today? Check out the current traffic conditions and ongoing road closures.

NEWS + OPINION

Police board goes the wrong way on reviewing sexual assault cases

In June 2022, Sunny Marriner from the Improving Institutional Accountability Project posed a question to Halifax's Board of Police Commissioners: Women who've been sexually assaulted aren’t coming forward to the police, and even when they do, there’s very rarely a conviction. Shouldn’t we try to figure out why? 

Marriner suggested that the board start what’s known as a violence against women case review process, or VACR, which is the Accountability Project’s raison d’etre. In the VACR process, closed sexual assault case files are analysed by experts outside the police department with an eye to understanding and, ideally, improving the dismal conviction statistics. The board, via motion from then-commissioner Harry Critchley, decided this was a good idea and voted to direct the Halifax Regional Police to talk to Marriner’s organization and start an external VACR process.

But in a truly perplexing turn of events, instead of using this proven process with external accountability, at last week’s BOPC meeting the board gave Halifax Regional Police the go-ahead use the RCMP’s faulty case review system instead. The Coast’s Matt Stickland has more.

🤔 Need To Know

💜 Friends, family and neighbours of a woman who was killed by her partner earlier this year are calling for more to be done to address intimate partner violence—dozens of people participated in a walk in Enfield, where Brenda Tatlock-Burke was killed by her husband in October.

👀 A man with a history of convictions for violent sexual offences is being released from prison again—just months after the Parole Board of Canada said there was no program that could safely handle him.

⛺ The sudden deaths of two homeless people in Nova Scotia is highlighting the urgent need for action, especially in rural parts of the province—according to advocates who work with unhoused individuals.

📮 A negotiator for the Canadian Union of Postal Workers says the latest offer from Canada Post to end the ongoing strike shows the Crown corporation is moving in the "opposite direction."

SPONSORED BY HALIFAX REGIONAL MUNICIPALITY

HalifACT community update 6

In the sixth HalifACT community update, the municipality is pleased to spotlight some of the ways we've been investing in a future of sustainable growth.

EDUCATION

 Inside the plan to build affordable student housing “for less than the cost of lunch”

The non-profit organization Student Housing Nova Scotia wants to work directly with post-secondary students in the province to create a first-of-its-kind provincial student housing fund. 

The Developing Affordable Student Housing (DASH) Fund initiative, launched last Thursday, is a plan to address the housing crisis students face while living and studying in Nova Scotia. Student Housing NS will ask students to directly contribute to creating new and affordable housing options that meet their unique needs, and to sit at the table when designing and developing projects with their funds.

The Coast’s Lauren Phillips spoke with Mitchell Archibald—executive director of Student Housing Nova Scotia—about why the DASH Fund is an opportunity for students to build a more-affordable future for only $5 per semester.

🗞️ In Other News

🚒 Halifax Professional Fire Fighters joined the Truro Professional Firefighters Association and the family of the late firefighter Skylar Blackie to demand accountability and a leadership overhaul, starting with the resignation of the training school’s executive director.

⚖️ Decades after the Marshall Inquiry recommended steps to increase the representation of Mi'kmaw and Black Nova Scotians working in the justice system, the Nova Scotia Barristers' Society has a new internship program for high school students interested in pursuing a legal career.

🦞 In a once-tranquil Nova Scotia town, intimidation in the lobster industry is the new normal—one resident says violent attacks have become an all-too-familiar reality in the province’s largest fishery.

🏘️ Statistics Canada says investors represented three in 10 residential property buyers in Nova Scotia between 2018 and 2020—the highest volume of such buyers among provinces where data is available.

⚓ A historic 400-kilogram anchor, which was dragged up from the ocean floor from what’s believed to be a century-old shipwreck, now sits propped up against a tree in front of Tyler Stapleton’s house in Halifax—he snapped it up on Facebook Marketplace.

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🗓️ Things To Do

Looking for something to do this week? Check out these Coast picks:

🗓 The Magenta String Quartet—The Music Room Chamber Players Series: The prize-winning Magenta quartet is based in Paris, with its members coming from Switzerland, France and Canada. In 2023, they were finalists in the International Joseph Haydn Chamber Music Competition in Vienna, and now they are on their first Canadian tour with a stop in Halifax on Wednesday. | Dec 11 | 7:30pm | $35

🗓 A Very Dartmouth Christmas Concert: Eastern Front Theatre is taking inspiration from classic Christmas TV specials of days gone by and the Rankin Family-heavy school concerts of the ‘90s. This event is a cozy, banquet-seating evening with all your favourite non-denominational Christmas songs, stories and snacks. | Dec 12 | 7pm | $20

🗓 Merry & Bright Patio: Nestled away on the north end of the Halifax boardwalk, perched above the harbour, is a place where holiday magic comes alive! The Halifax Marriott Harbourfront's annual Merry & Bright Patio is one of the standout attractions on Halifax's Evergreen Festival “Bright” Trail. This enchanting spot is illuminated by thousands of twinkling lights set against the serene backdrop of the ocean.  | Dec 13-15  

Have an event to share? Let us know at [email protected].

⚓️ What’s In The Harbour

➡️ The NYK Romulus container ship leaves Halifax for Port Everglades at 3am.

➡️ The Atlantic Sea container ship leaves Halifax for Liverpool at 3am.

➡️ The CMA CGM Chile container ship leaves Halifax for New York at 4am.

🛳️➡️ The MSC Baltic III container ship arrives in Halifax from Montreal at 5:20am and leaves for Montreal at 11pm.

🛳️➡️ The NYK Daedalus container ship arrives in Halifax from Caucedo at 5:20am and leaves for Southampton at 11:45pm.

🛳️➡️ The CMA CGS Cedrus container ship arrives in Halifax from Colombo at 5:15am and leaves for New York at 11pm.

🛳️➡️ The MSC Pamela container ship arrives in Halifax from Colombo at 6:15am and leaves for New York at 5pm.

🛳️ The Atlantic Sail container ship arrives in Halifax from Liverpool at 8:20am.

➡️ The Tropic Hope container ship leaves Halifax for West Palm Beach at 6pm.

➡️ The Atlantic Sail container ship leaves Halifax for New York at 6pm.

🍴 Where To Eat & Drink

🍲 Snow days call for comfort food. Try the braised short ribs with creamy mashed potatoes at East Coast Dumpling House.

🍾 Have a festive beginning to your evening at Morris East with the Spritz Rose: Drink Sprizzi Rose Limonata, cointreau, bubbly proseco.

👀 In Case You Missed It

💜 On December 27, 2005—still in the warm glow of Christmas and one week from her daughter Anna’s first birthday—36-year-old Paula Gallant was violently murdered. Her lifeless body was put in the trunk of her car and driven to the parking lot of the elementary school where she taught Grade 3. What we know now is that on December 27, 2005, Paula Gallant was murdered by her husband, who eventually admitted to strangling her in an argument over a $700 gambling debt. The Coast’s Julie Lawrence spoke with Lynn Gallant Blackburn—Paula’s oldest sister—about how she’s keeping her sister’s legacy alive and fighting for government action to end gender-based violence.

⛺ Municipal crews moved in to dismantle the remaining tents at an encampment in Halifax’s south end, as at least one resident—38-year-old Andrew Goodsell—vows to stay.

🚍 People relying on Halifax's public transit Saturday nights in December will be happy to learn their ride will be free as a way to promote safe celebrations and reduce impaired driving incidents.

That’s it!

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