🗞️ Halifax Transit's underwhelming budget

Good morning,

Dalhousie University staff and students had a scare yesterday afternoon as the school issued a “shelter in place” order following a “weapons-related complaint.” Staff and students were cautioned to keep clear of the Killam Library as police searched every floor—and eventually determined they couldn’t find any threat.

If that sounds eerily familiar, it’s because it is: Just last week, Halifax West High School cancelled Thursday classes in response to a “potential threat” made against the Clayton Park-area school. There, too, police determined the school was safe after a “thorough investigation.”

So: Are we seeing a copycat scenario? Bored pranksters? Legitimate threats? Or is it pure chance—and poor chance, at that—to have these two back-to-back incidents?

– Martin

🌡️ Traffic & Weather

Today: 🌧️ 8°

Tomorrow: 🌧️ 11°

Next Day: 🌧️ 11°

7-day forecast

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

TRANSPORTATION

Committee questions Halifax Transit’s plans for a ridership decrease

When Halifax’s Budget Committee last met to discuss the future of Halifax Transit, they were offered a glimpse ahead that, frankly, left a lot to be desired. In a time when the HRM wants to see its share of trips by public transit on the upswing, Halifax Transit’s per-capita ridership targets are lower in 2024/25 than they were a year ago. In 2023/24, the committee heard, Halifax Transit was on track to see 49.9 passenger trips per capita. But instead of setting a higher goal for next year, the public transit agency adjusted its per-capita target to 48.5 passenger trips.

Shouldn’t the agency be setting its sights higher in its own budget, councillor Pam Lovelace asked? Halifax Transit director Dave Reage responded that he felt a budget wasn’t the place to be aspirational.

That was the first in a series of dispiriting exchanges about Halifax’s transit future, The Coast’s Matt Stickland reports. But there were one or two silver linings, too.

EDUCATION

How do Israelis and Palestinians reconcile? The Wall Between authors meet with King’s students

How to explain and examine complex feelings many Haligonians—Jewish, Muslim and otherwise—hold surrounding Israel and Palestine? It may be difficult work, but it’s necessary, the co-authors of the book The Wall Between: What Jews and Palestinians Don’t Want to Know About Each Other say.

Authors Raja Khouri and Jeff Wilkinson visited Halifax and met with students at the University of King’s College earlier this month. The former is a Palestinian-Lebanese Canadian and co-founder of the Canadian Arab-Jewish Leadership Dialogue Group, while the latter is a Jewish American who works as a community facilitator on issues relating to trauma.

The two described their Halifax conversations with students as “extremely positive,” involving a “mixture of viewpoints, experiences and backgrounds.”

The Coast spoke with both authors about the importance of their book to crack the door on conversations across divides in times of conflict.

“The hunger of the students for this kind of discussion was obvious,” says Khouri. “They wanted to learn, they wanted to know more and they wanted to talk to people who can help them.”

🗞️ In Other News

🚨 Halifax police arrested a 47-year-old after responding to reports of a disturbance and finding a dead man inside a Dartmouth apartment on Monday.

⚖️ A Nova Scotia judge has declared Halifax crime figure B.J. Marriott a dangerous offender after a history of incidents, including in prison—but Marriott’s lawyer disputes the decision.

📝 A Nova Scotia sexual assault survivor worries the province’s plans to grant the health minister access to people’s medical records—a move proposed for “the purposes of planning and management of the health system”—presents an immediate privacy risk.

🚐 Winter campers are hoping the HRM will change its year-round RV by-laws amid high rents and dwindling housing options.

🪧 A potential rail strike could soon impact Nova Scotians—both in terms of passenger rail and cargo shipments—as workers of both CPKC and CN are set to hold a vote in early April.

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🗓️ Things To Do

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

🗓 Leaving Home: Halifax’s Matchstick Theatre performs one of Canada’s great family dramas in a special run at Breaking Circus until the end of the month | Mar. 27-31 | Times vary | $30

🗓 The Trews at Marquee Ballroom: The Antigonish rockers celebrate the 20th anniversary of House of Ill Fame with a pair of shows this Friday and Saturday | Mar. 29-30 | 9pm | $48-86

🗓 Snowed In Comedy Tour: Stand-up comics Dan Quinn, Paul Myrehaug, Erica Sigurdson and Pete Zedlacher perform at the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium | Mar. 30 | 7:30pm | $39-59

Find more Halifax events in The Coast listings.

⚓️ What’s In The Harbour

🚢 The MSC Nuria container ship is expected to arrive in Halifax from Montreal between 5am and 6:15am. It departs for Sines, Portugal, at 6pm.

🚢 The Oceanex Sanderling ro-ro/cargo ship is expected to arrive from St. John’s, NL, around 6am.

🚢 The ONE Ibis container ship is due to reach Halifax’s South End Container Terminal—a day late—around 7:45am. It arrives from New York City and leaves for Singapore by 6pm.

🚢 The CMA CGM Brazil container ship is slated to arrive in Halifax from Tanger Med, Morocco, around 3:45pm. (It reached Nova Scotia’s waters on Monday, but remained around 40 kms offshore.)

🚢 The Herolds Bay oil tanker is expected to reach Dartmouth’s Imperial Oil Terminal—a day late—around 7:15pm. It arrives from Antwerp, Belgium.

🍴 Where To Eat & Drink

🌮 Ketch Harbour’s Smoke and Smith food truck serves up crispy pulled pork tacos with fries from Wednesday to Monday.

🍺 Cole Harbour’s Hardisty Brewing Co. is premiering its “Revelry” New England IPA with a special tasting session next Wednesday.

🥘 Agricola Street’s Field Guide has a tasty scallop crudo on the menu made with mango and coconut, lime aioli and green chili relish, topped with cilantro.

🍩 Also on Agricola, the newly-opened Bramble is officially open and serving up plant-based baked goodies.

👀 In Case You Missed It

👩‍🚒 Nova Scotia’s volunteer firefighters are prepping for wildfire season after a historically devastating 2023.

💸 A provincial judge has OK’ed the next stage in finding buyers or investors for some or all of SaltWire as the publishing company—which owns the Chronicle-Herald—faces insolvency.

🔎 Two years after Keezondre Kentrez Rayshawn Smith was shot and killed on Hollis Street, police say they’re still looking to solve the 20-year-old’s murder.

🎧 Five years after mayor Mike Savage proclaimed Halifax would become a cycling city, “come hell or high water,” why is the HRM’s bike network so anemic? The Coast’s Matt Stickland and Martin Bauman discuss in the latest Grand Parade podcast episode.

That’s it!

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