🗞️ Black on screen

Good morning!

It appears premier Tim Houston is about to do something he’s had quite a bit of practice with recently: walk back sweeping changes that his government sought to pass. First, Houston withdrew widely-panned changes to the Auditor General Act that would have given the province the power to fire Nova Scotia’s top watchdog without cause and keep her reports out of the public eye. (The Coast’s Lauren Phillips dove into the story last week—take the time to read her report if you haven’t already.) Yesterday, Houston relented on his government’s plan to limit access to reporters at Province House by scrapping scrums in favour of pre-vetted interviews across the street. After pressure from CBC News, AllNovaScotia and other outlets, the premier will now scrum without a moderator, at the legislature and with opposition members present.

The main thing I’ll be keeping my eye on, though, is a comment Houston made during question period this week. Last week, the governing Tories tabled a massive bill that would, among other things, amend the province’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. The changes would allow departments to refuse access requests from the public that they deemed “trivial, frivolous or vexatious,” and require applicants to include “sufficient particulars” in their requests—changes that Nova Scotia’s outgoing freedom of information commissioner, Tricia Ralph, said “poses risk to access rights to Nova Scotians.” She’s right.

Our access-to-information system is already skewed against us. Ask any reporter who has filed a FOIPOP request—one of the strongest tools we have to seek out records you ought to know about—and I can almost guarantee they’ll have a story for you about requests that have been delayed indefinitely by the department responsible, or records that are so heavily redacted they are virtually useless. I am still waiting for the Halifax Regional Police to provide records I requested last May. Giving a public body the power to decide what’s “trivial” and what isn’t erodes our ability to hold our institutions to account.

Houston said on Wednesday that, after speaking to Ralph, he’s “sure” that his government will be making further changes to its bill to address some of her concerns. “That’s the way the process works… we have the courage to listen to Nova Scotians,” he said in his remarks.

Credit to Houston for listening to Nova Scotians. Not all premiers in the same situation would. But if the premier is indeed listening, how about closing the fixed-term lease loophole that’s worsening the province’s housing crisis? Or limiting Non-Disclosure Agreements in cases involving harassment or sexual misconduct? Or admitting it’s a bad look that one of your MLAs emailed supporters asking for help to “bypass the media?”

Now that would take courage.

– Martin

🌡️ Traffic & Weather

Today: 🌧️ 7°

Tomorrow: 🌨️ 2°

Next Day: ☁️ -1°

7-day forecast

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

ARTS & CULTURE

“Stories to tell”: Halifax Black Film Festival shines light on local filmmakers

There is a moment in Preston-based filmmaker Andre Anderson’s latest documentary, Under Pressure—a look into the “unique struggles of African Nova Scotian men”—where the film’s central figure, social worker Dennis Adams Jr., explains that life as a Black man in Nova Scotia “can either crush you or make you into a diamond.”

Anderson (pictured above at centre, with Adams left) could relate. As a Black actor and filmmaker, he tells The Coast, “you don’t have a lot of people to call up and say, ‘Hey, what do I do in this situation?’ Or ‘how do I handle the releases?’ Or ‘how do I really get the right person for my story?’”

Under Pressure screens this weekend at the Halifax Black Film Festival, a five-day showcase of features by Black filmmakers from Nova Scotia and beyond. Anderson is one of three Halifax-area filmmakers featured in this year’s festival, alongside Habiba Diallo (pictured at right, her film is Black in School) and Temitayo Sodunke (Relentless Hurdles, Resilient Hearts).

The Coast’s Martin Bauman catches up with Anderson to chat about his short documentary and representation on-screen.

🤔 Need To Know

☔ A rainfall warning for Halifax is expected to lift this morning. Environment Canada has cautioned that the frozen ground—which limits the soil’s ability to absorb rainfall—could lead to flooding in low-lying places.

👋🏽 Ciao Halifax! Let The Italian Market cater your next event! Explore their catering menu for all of your business gatherings and party needs!*

🏛️ Tim Houston’s PC government is using its supermajority to limit and, with notice, end debates in the Legislature—a move Nova Scotia’s opposition leaders say makes it “much more difficult” to hold the government to account. 

🎫 Enjoy FREE admission at the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 from March 8 to 16. With daily food workshops, scavenger hunts and much more from March 10 to 14. Registration opens February 26.*

🏫 Halifax councillors voted unanimously this week to explore options to address the “unsatisfactory situation” at the former Bloomfield School that has sat vacant since 2014 and recently caught fire. The Coast has been following the Bloomfield saga for years as it’s been kicked between the HRM, the province and private developers—catch up on the backstory here. 

🩺 The recent stabbing of a 6-year-old downtown is symptomatic of Nova Scotia’s broken mental-health system, a legal expert tells CTV News. The 19-year-old accused’s mother posted on social media this week that her daughter was “severely unwell” and that she’d tried “desperately” to find help for her daughter before, but found little support.

🍻 The Pint on Argyle Street is a proper Halifax pub where everyone is welcome! With amazing food, a kids menu, sports on 40 HDTVs, and a basement arcade and pool table—see you there!*

📝 In yesterday’s Coast Daily, readers got an early glance at today’s feature story—the Halifax Black Film Festival and its spotlight on local filmmakers—when its cover art ran in place of the artwork for our feature on Halifax’s underground dance music scene and the DJ who’s preserving its history. Find the story—and its proper artwork—below.

*Sponsored Post

SPONSORED BY QUINPOOL ROAD MAINSTREET DISTRICT ASSOCATION

Oodles of Noodles on Quinpool

Oodles of Noodles, the only celebration of noodles in the city, is back for another year of noodle fun!

From March 5-11 everyone is invited to discover the tasty noodle dishes that the chefs on Quinpool have created. It’s a fun foodie event for the whole family! Learn more here.

MUSIC

See all the nominees for the 2025 East Coast Music Awards

The full list of nominees for the 2025 East Coast Music Awards is out, and Halifax is well-represented. Sixty-seven ECMA nominations—the annual awards celebrating the best of East Coast music—went to Halifax-based artists, engineers, managers and venues this year.

That includes nine ECMA shortlist nods for Enfield rapper Classified, whose album Luke’s View earned him consideration for Album of the Year, Producer of the Year and Songwriter of the Year, among a slew of other honours. It’s a good year for Halifax’s Maggie Andrew and Jah’Mila, too, who each earned five nods following their respective albums DAY JOB and Woman of the Sun.

This year’s ECMAs are set for May 7-11 in St. John’s, NL.

The Coast has you covered with the full list of nominees, including all the ones with Halifax connections.

🗞️ In Other News

🏥 Visitors to the Halifax Infirmary’s emergency department will now require a security pass, Nova Scotia Health says. The changes come after three healthcare workers were attacked last month.

🚗 A Nova Scotia woman says she’s lucky to be unscathed after a “roof-sized piece of ice” flew off the car in front of her on Highway 102 and hit her windshield, shattering the glass.

🤝 Canada is looking to boost trade with Germany and other European partners as Donald Trump dangles tariff threats amid his continued—and supremely asshole-ish—pressure for Canada to join the US.

🏒 With packed crowds at the recent Canada-US Rivalry Series in Halifax, CBC News asks, could our city become home to a Pro Women’s Hockey League team one day?

🗓️ Things To Do

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

🗓 The New Canadian Curling Club: In Neptune Theatre’s latest production, a small town organizes a learn-to-curl class to welcome new Canadians—but the champion curler who steps in to coach has prejudices to work through. | Until Mar 23 |  From $33

🗓 2025 AUS Basketball Championships: The best womens and mens hoops teams in the Atlantic University Sport conference battle it out at Scotiabank Centre for a trip to the Canadian championships. | Feb 28-Mar 2 | $40.75

🗓 Halifax Live Comedy Club Presents—Dan Duvall: His standup draws from his real-life experiences in getting clean and sober, as well as his ridiculous family. A dynamic storyteller loaded with punchlines, his easygoing, conversational style will leave you feeling like you’re old pals. | Feb 28-Mar 1 | 7pm | $26.25

🗓 Dine Around Halifax: Today’s your last chance to enjoy special menus from your favourite Halifax restaurants. Dine Around—with limited-time dishes priced from $10-60—ends tonight. | Until Feb 28 | Prices vary

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

👀 In Case You Missed It

🚦 The Windsor Street Exchange redesign project is back from the dead. Weeks after HRM councillors voted against the maligned WSX project and its $54M price tag—a move that caused mayor Andy Fillmore to film a rant in his car—staff went back to the drawing board and presented council with another design. The Coast’s Matt Stickland has all the details in his latest story.

💰 Mi’kmaw speakers say a recent $7.1M boost from the feds is timely—and sorely needed—as the province has just one Mi’kmaw language immersion school and communities are “losing language speakers at a steady rate.”

⛏️ A researcher looking into the history of Black miners in Nova Scotia says there are “striking” similarities between the conditions they faced and the discourse around immigrant workers today.

🐟 Hurricane Fiona’s aftermath has cost Ottawa more than $500M—and that’s only the start of budget worries for Fisheries and Oceans Canada, National Observer reports.

That’s it!

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