🗞️ No confidence in SMU prez, faculty says

Good morning!

Today’s issue—involving labour disputes in Halifax’s higher-ed halls—is exactly why The Coast set out to add an education reporter. In Lauren Phillips’ story, you’ll read about the Saint Mary’s University faculty union’s non-confidence vote in the university’s president and board chair, along with concerns about alleged “financial mismanagement.” It’s the kind of breaking-news reporting and source-building that can only come from investing in a beat and learning its ins and outs.

Lauren joined the Coast as a Local Journalism Initiative (LJI) reporter: A federally-funded program that allows small newsrooms like ours to invest in civic-issues journalism that, oftentimes, gets overlooked in the 24/7 race-to-the-finish-line news environment. She hit the ground running, reporting on frustration within Nova Scotia’s French-language school system over a service gap.

But here’s the catch: Federally-funded LJI postings are finite. And for The Coast to invest in the kind of long-term coverage we want to provide—and we think you deserve—we need your help. Which, conveniently, is where our Coast Insider membership comes in.

If you’re already a paying member, thank you! If you’re not yet an Insider, please consider it.

– Martin

🌡️ Traffic & Weather

Today: ☀️ 9°

Tomorrow: 🌤️ 8°

Next Day: 🌧️ 12°

7-day forecast

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

EDUCATION

DEVELOPING: “No confidence” in SMU president and board chair, faculty union says

Saint Mary’s University’s full-time faculty members and librarians issued a strongly-worded message on Tuesday: They want a change of leadership. The SMU Faculty Union (SMUFU), which represents 292 full-time faculty at the Halifax university, says 91% of its members voted “no confidence” in SMU’s president, Robert Summerby-Murray, and board chair Alan Abraham.

In a Tuesday press release, the SMUFU claim that 10 years of “financial mismanagement” under Summerby-Murray’s watch has resulted in “debt, budget cuts, the suspension of the university’s student employment program and reductions in scholarships.” The union also claims to have “exhausted internal channels” for a resolution with SMU’s board of governors. (The university’s administration did not respond to The Coast’s request for comment before our newsletter deadline.)

As The Coast’s Lauren Phillips reports, an external audit of the university’s finances—paid for by SMUFU—found the university incurred a $6.9-million loss in their general fund for the fiscal year ending Mar. 31, 2023. And the union says its members are ready to “take it to the community.”

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🍔 Halifax Burger Bash April 11 - 20, 2024 🍔

The Coast’s 12th annual Halifax Burger Bash, presented with Garrison Brewing, is when doing good tastes great, with restaurants serving special burgers supporting Feed Nova Scotia.

Head over to burgerbash.ca and check out the drool worthy burger listings!

CITY HALL

Here’s what happened at HRM council this week

Tuesday’s HRM council meeting was supposed to be a short one, with only five things on the public agenda. But—as is often the case—council got derailed by a debate. (More on that later this week.) Here’s a look at what happened, courtesy of Coast reporter Matt Stickland:

• The BANC group wants to put a whopping 5,867 residential units on what is currently Exhibition Park. Coun. Patty Cuttell wanted this deferred, because there were a lot of unanswered questions. This sparked a lengthy discussion, where HRM staff explained that starting this planning process is how to get those answers. As a result, Cuttell’s motion to defer was defeated—and eventually, the initial motion was passed to start the planning process;

• Council is standing up a working group to create an action plan to combat Islamophobia;

• Councillor Pam Lovelace wants Hammonds Plains Road to be removed from a bylaw making it a controlled-access street. This would allow subdivisions in her district to have a secondary exit in times of emergency. But this was deferred, as the city needs to wait for some information from the province.

• People are using Bay Lookout Park like it has always been used. This is an issue, because when the city took over the park from the federal government, the city changed the rules. Lovelace wants to know if bylaws and signs and stuff should be updated to try and get people to use the park according to the new rules. This’ll get a report.

🗞️ In Other News

🏘️ The province says a tiny-home village planned for Lower Sackville won’t be ready for summer move-ins, as previously anticipated.

⚖️ The Nova Scotia Liberals’ former president has filed a complaint against the province’s auditor general, Kim Adair, calling her report into the party’s past misuse of public funds defamatory and incomplete—but Adair says she stands behind her work.

🏥 Halifax Infirmary staff have been cautioned to limit the use of toasters and space heaters as the hospital’s fire sprinkler system is still running on lower capacity after last week’s water-main break.

🏠 Some Halifax renters are renewing calls for fixed-term lease reform amid a province-wide housing crisis.

🎬 The TV series From took over part of downtown Dartmouth for filming yesterday.

🌡️ March marked the 10th straight month that Earth set a new monthly record for global heat.

🐟 A Mi’kmaw fisheries manager is set to join an international agency that sets commercial quotas on Atlantic tuna and swordfish.

💰 A Halifax drug-discovery company has agreed to a $16.8M buyout by a Virginia-based biotech company.

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🗓️ Things To Do

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

🗓 Imbibe: Head to the Light House Arts Centre tonight, where you’ll find more than 20 of Nova Scotia’s top bartenders crafting their best cocktails with live music and snacks. | Apr. 10 | 7-9pm | $72.61

🗓 Burger Bash: Halifax’s favourite city-wide burger love affair—hosted by yours truly—returns tomorrow, with an all-new lineup of tasty burgs in support of Feed Nova Scotia. | Apr. 11-20 | All day | Prices vary

🗓 Maximum Overdrive: A collective of “some of Halifax’s best-known musicians” returns to The Carleton for a night of ’80s covers ranging from Duran Duran to Madonna. | Apr. 12 | 8-11pm | $25

🗓 Halifax Art Book Fair: Head to the All Nations Church this Saturday for a day of poetry readings, art book presentations and panel discussions. | Apr. 13 | 10am-8pm | Free

🗓 Dwayne Gretzky: Billed as “Canada’s reigning champs of nostalgia,” the 10-piece cover band brings all the ’90s hits back to life in a show at the Marquee Ballroom. | Apr. 12 | 9pm | $21.85

Find more Halifax events in The Coast listings.

⚓️ What’s In The Harbour

🚢 The 63,410-tonne MSC Leigh container ship is set to arrive at the South End Container Terminal around 6:15am. It’s inbound from Montreal and departs for Sines, Portugal, at 5pm.

🛳️ The 380-passenger Viking Polaris cruise ship arrives at the Halifax Seaport around 9am. It’s inbound from New York City and departs for Louisbourg, NS, at 6pm.

➡️ The 161-metre-long Eagle II container ship leaves Halifax for Villagarcia, Spain, at noon.

➡️ The Fairwind Legion general cargo ship leaves Halifax for Portsmouth, UK, at 1pm.

🚢 The 66,171-tonne NYK Rumina container ship is slated to arrive from Saint John, NB, around 3:20pm.

🛍️ Shop Talk

🍺 Saltbox Brewing Co. is opening a taproom in St. Margaret’s Bay next month, and local bakery/eatery Cavicchi’s is opening a satellite shop next door.

👀 In Case You Missed It

📚 Halifax author Elliott Gish made her literary debut this week, and The Coast caught up with her to talk about psychological horror and women’s diaries.

⚡ ️Thousands of Haligonians were without power Monday night and yesterday morning after a crash near the Armdale Roundabout downed power lines.

📈 As the Bank of Canada issues its interest rate decision today, analysts say the potential of a busy spring housing market could affect the central bank’s position.

🌎 A recent court ruling could set a powerful precedent for human rights in the fight against climate inaction.

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