🗞️ Government for dummies

Morning Halifax,

This story made me smile, but not for the reasons you think.

My favourite cousin was a man named Gord—we called him Gordo—and he was a literal ray of light. He loved Madonna and Alexander Keith’s in equal measure and he was always the life of the party. Tragically, Gordo was diagnosed with brain cancer and we lost him 10 years ago in February.

When I was at university at Carleton studying soccer and night clubs, I used to spend weekends at Gordo’s house where I would babysit their kids and work on last-minute assignments. When I would inevitably receive a less than stellar grade, Gordo used to always smile and say “Hey! D for Degree, baby!”

And it’s in that vein that I report that The C.D. Howe Institute—a national think tank—gave Halifax a D grade in a national ranking of fiscal accountability among Canadian municipalities. The report assessed the timeliness and clarity of city budgets—including whether municipalities conformed to public sector accounting standards. 

Researchers say Halifax restated budget projections in its financial statements without explaining variances from its original budget plan. The city also approved its budget after the start of the fiscal year and did not provide sufficient evidence of compliance with public sector accounting standards.

To the members of city council I say: Keep those chins up, D for Degree, babies! 

Have a wonderful day!

– Julie

📷 @editorjulesl

🌡️ Traffic & Weather

Today: 🌤️ 9°

Tomorrow: ☀️ 11°

Next Day: 🌧️ 12°

7-day forecast

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

NEWS

Government 101: How does Canada's federal government work?

The further you get from your last social studies course, the more likely you are to vote. And let’s face it, it’s been a long time since many of us were given a breakdown of how exactly the Canadian government worked.

Or maybe you have that awkward feeling where you don’t fully understand how each branch of government works and now you’re too old and embarrassed to ask anyone…

Well, fear not! You are in a very safe space and with a federal election coming up in less than two weeks, it’s worth spending a little time to refresh our memories on what, exactly, Canada’s federal government can—and can’t—do.

So let’s get into it—here is an overview of everything you forgot you knew about federal elections, jurisdiction and law-making—and what exactly we’re voting for on April 28.

🤔 Need To Know

💜 The last several months has shown that violence against women is a critical issue in Nova Scotia, yet a new Dalhousie University study found that many health care professionals have inadequate knowledge to address the epidemic.

🚒 There are calls to improve tenant safety in Halifax after firefighters responded to two carbon monoxide leaks in apartment buildings over the past few days—the leaks were only revealed after a tenant went to the emergency room with symptoms of poisoning and later tested positive for high levels of carbon monoxide.

🌁 Halifax Harbour Bridges will soon begin the process of removing seven decades of paint from the Angus L. Macdonald Bridge's two towers as part of a two-year project to safeguard its steel infrastructure.

🎭 Live Art Dance presents, Kira Arts, Altération. Choreographed by Aly Keita. Altération, depicts a humanity that oscillates, between stability and uncertainty, change and resistance, renewal and repetition. Breaking Circus, May 3 and 4.*

🎉 Join us for Open City on Saturday, May 10! Businesses across Halifax peninsula and downtown Dartmouth are invited to register for this annual celebration of local businesses.*

*Sponsored Post

SPONSORED BY HALIFAX TRANSIT

Student Transit Pass Program

We want to hear from you! What do you think about the Student Transit Pass Program?  

Share your thoughts. Complete the Student Transit Pass survey by Apr. 30, 2025. 

🗞️ In Other News

🖋️ Nova Scotia and New Brunswick’s premiers were in Toronto yesterday to sign a memorandum of understanding with Ontario to encourage more free trade and labour mobility between the provinces.

⛵The international sailing competition known as SailGP will return to Halifax in June 2026, two years after the event made its Canadian debut in the city and attracted thousands of spectators who watched the high-speed racing from both sides of the harbour.

⚖️ The Crown is no longer pursuing a second-degree murder charge against one of the teens involved in the stabbing death last year of a 16-year-old—the Crown is instead seeking a manslaughter conviction for the teenager who allegedly organized the fight near a Halifax mall that resulted in the death of Ahmad Al Marrach.

🚨 A New Glasgow Regional Police officer has been charged with sexual assault—Cpl. Kyle Lesko, 38, was initially arrested in January after allegedly assaulting a female youth during an event at a private home. 

🏥 A Nova Scotia woman recovering from a lung transplant says she had to take tens of thousands of dollars from her retirement fund in order to undergo the life-saving procedure because provincial medical allowances fall far short of her expenses.

🗓️ Things To Do

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

🗓 Tim Forbes re/collection Recent Paintings & Sculpture: Bridging the abstract and minimalist, Forbes’ artistic vocabulary leverages a unique visual language in a bold, modern dialogue, often wrestling with contemporary issues that ground his work in the present. Influenced over time by mid-century aesthetics, he embraces its tenets—a selective monochromatic palette, enlarged mass, repetition, and pattern recognition—all contributing to a pared-down formality. | April 10-27 |

🗓 15th Annual Emerging Lens Film Festival Opening Night Screening: When a young couple learns they’re about to become parents, they decide to celebrate with a quiet weekend in the country. But when they need help with the property, their overly accommodating landlord shows up to lend a hand—and lingers far longer than welcome. | April 16 | 6:30pm | Free |

🗓 Rose Cousins Live: Rose’s new album, Conditions of Love—Vol 1, dropped March 14. Come celebrate her new music, which seeks truth, in all its imperfection, in the depths of humans’ most complicated emotion: love. | April 17 | 8pm | $47.75 |

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

⚓️ What’s In The Harbour

➡️ The MSC Ingrid container ship leaves Halifax for Le Havre, Quebec at 1:15am.

🚢➡️ The Yellowbill bulk carrier arrives in Halifax from Lianyungang, China at 5:10am and leaves for Quebec at 10:30am.

🚢➡️ The Zim Atlantic container ship arrives in Halifax from Valencia, Spain at 5:20am and leaves for New York at 6pm.

🚢➡️ The Atlantic Sky container ship arrives in Halifax from Liverpool at 5:50am and leaves for New York at 5pm.

🚢➡️ The Vivienne Sheri D container ship arrives in Halifax from Portland, ME at 8:15am and leaves for Argentia at 3pm.

🚢➡️ The Nolhan Ava container ship arrives in Halifax from St. Pierre at 8:15am and leaves for Argentia at 6pm.

🍴 Where To Eat & Drink

🦆 Take your dinner to the next level with the Brome Lake Duck at Water Polo: crispy skinned duck, foie gras, port-drizzle.

🍸 Sip on something truly original at Bar Kismet with the Pod Bay Doors, armagnac and wasabi pea, blood orange and red clay, rose vermut, fernet.

👀 In Case You Missed It

🎷 For the first time in more than a decade, Grammy Award-winning musician St. Vincent will be performing at the Halifax Jazz Festival on July 20—the full festival lineup was unveiled on Tuesday.

👀 Nova Scotia’s top watchdog has given the government top marks on its implementation of past audit recommendations, in her office’s latest follow-up report released April 15, but notes important changes are still needed. The Coast has more on the report—which includes mixed-commentary.

That’s it!

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