🗞️ Tariffying times

Happy Monday Halifax,

It was a whirlwind of a weekend as we anxiously anticipated whether American predator in chief Donald Trump would follow through on his tariff threats and then, when he did, how we as a province and country would respond.

Premier Tim Houston was quick off the draw, declaring that the toll on the Cobequid Pass would double for American commercial vehicles, the government will “try” to do less business with the states and the NSLC will quickly remove all US bottles from its shelves. Which—okay, sure. The most troubling part to me, however, was the opening of Houston’s post which stated that the United States is our “best friend.”

On behalf of all the Nova Scotian women I know and love, I want to state clearly that the United States is no friend of ours. I’m not surprised that Houston would consider them a “best friend” considering how much they have in common, especially with regards to how little they care about protecting women.

The United States is a country of people—not all, but an overwhelming majority according to the 2024 election results—who are fine with having a known sexual predator sit in its highest office; a man who simultaneously is a rapist and won’t support a woman’s right to an abortion if she is raped.

The only thing that the majority of Americans, apparently, hate more than a rapist is a woman. They showed it in 2016 and cemented it in 2024. When Trump wins twice against two different women and loses to a man, it shows me that it’s not about the candidate.

So, no, I do not now—nor have I ever—considered the United States to be even a social acquaintance, much less a “best friend.” This feels like a misguided, pre-teen way for Houston to suck up… maybe? But let’s be real, other than some people in Boston who receive our Christmas tree every year, most of America can’t even identify Nova Scotia on a map. Especially the ones who voted Trump into office. Twice.

So in conclusion, Tim Houston says our “best friend” is a nation of woman-hating bullies who don’t even know who the hell we are? Loop me out of that group text please.

Have a great day out there,

– Julie

📷 @editorjulesl

🌡️ Traffic & Weather

Today: 🌨️ -1°

Tomorrow: 🌧️ 1°

Next Day: 🌤️ -8°

7-day forecast

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

NEWS

Learn how to change the NDA culture

“It’s the culture that determines if non-disclosure agreements are allowed to be used,” says Kristina Fifield, a trauma therapist in Nova Scotia who is leading an NDA-informed training session on Thursday, Feb 4, from 11am-12pm. It’s organized by the advocacy group Can’t Buy My Silence.

NDAs are “gag order” agreements that are frequently used in workplace settlement or grievance cases. The problem is that they “impose silence,” CBMS writes, thus “deepening trauma through institutional betrayal and secondary wounding” to survivors of harassment, discrimination and misconduct.

The Coast’s Lauren Phillips has more on the training session and how you can get involved in helping to change the culture of gender-based violence in Nova Scotia.

🤔 Need To Know

🇨🇦 Canada will impose 25% retaliatory tariffs on American goods worth $30 billion starting Tuesday—prime minister Justin Trudeau said an additional $125 billion in duties on American products will follow in 21 days.

🎶 Celebrate Black History Month with a captivating performance by Juno-nominated artist Julian Taylor. Don't miss this unforgettable night of music presented by Joy Bullen.*

👀 Nova Scotia’s police watchdog has laid assault charges against an RCMP officer in Bridgewater—the Serious Incident Response Team says it has “reasonable and probable grounds to believe that an off-duty RCMP Officer committed a criminal offence in relation to an incident involving a female known to him.”

🥀 The young woman who died Monday after she was hit by a vehicle in Halifax is being remembered for her compassion, fierce advocacy for social justice and dedication to helping others—Alexandria Wortman, 21, studied at the University of King’s College before transferring to Dalhousie’s faculty of arts and social sciences.

🎭 Five extraordinary shows coming up at Neptune Theatre: Josephine: A Musical Cabaret, The New Canadian Curling Club, Crypthand, Casey & Diana and Little Shop of Horrors. SAVE with Pick 3 or Pick 5 package.*

🐹 Shubenacadie Sam poked her nose out at a wildlife park north of Halifax on Sunday morning, stepped out into the bright sun and -18C cold, saw her shadow and immediately turned around and went back inside—meaning six more weeks of winter.

💃🏽 Live Art Dance presents Omote (面), a co-creation between Vancouver dance artist Shion Skye Carter, and Halifax mask maker Miya Turnbull at the Bus Stop Theatre. February 28, 8pm-March 1, 2pm and 8pm.*

🚙 Halifax police are reminding people not to leave valuables in parked vehicles as vehicle break-ins remain frequent—many residents have taken to social media, cautioning neighbours of people lurking in the streets, snooping around vehicles.

*Sponsored Post

SPONSORED BY BLUENOSE HEALTH PRIMARY CARE CLINIC

New gender affirming and sexual health clinic

Open to the public, this clinic offers STI testing and treatments, Prep, Dox PEP, Gardasil vaccine, letters for surgical readiness, injectable HRT, counsellor referral and all aspects of 2SLGBTQIA+ medicine and therapies. Appointments available in January and February. Please call 902-707-5404 or email [email protected] for more information and booking.

CITY HALL

What’s with Andy? Frustrated Fillmore turns to Facebook after losing Windsor Exchange vote

One thing has become rather clear in the three months since Andy Fillmore was sworn in as Halifax’s latest mayor: The man does not like to lose. Can’t accept it, it seems.

Since taking over from Mike Savage on November 6, 2024, riding a campaign where the former Ottawa backbencher claimed 42% of the mayoral vote—and after winning election three times as a Liberal MP during the party’s turn in government—it might be reasonable to conclude that Fillmore has forgotten the feeling entirely, like a New Year’s Resolutioner on their first January jog in 10 years. Because twice in (almost) as many weeks now, Fillmore has had to sit with things not going his way. 

And as The Coast’s Martin Bauman writes, the latest instance bodes ill for how Fillmore plans to lead HRM council in the years to come.

🗞️ In Other News

🩺 A national student nursing conference in Halifax this week is aiming to help future nurses make their care and their workplaces more inclusive and equitable.

💰 Nova Scotia MP Jaime Battiste says his decision to drop out of the federal Liberal leadership race was partly motivated by a lack of money—the Indigenous politician from Cape Breton said raising the $350K deposit required by the party just to join the race would have been a huge challenge.

🏥 A former patient at the QEII Halifax Infirmary is speaking out about safety concerns—alleging she witnessed firsthand the kind of violence health-care workers experience.

⚖️ A Halifax-area youth has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the death last year of a 16-year-old high school student who was stabbed in a parking garage.

💜 More than four out of five participants in an Annapolis Valley survey say they know a victim of gender-based violence—81% of the 265 respondents to the survey say they know a victim of gender-based violence, and twenty-four respondents said they were victims themselves. 

🧘 A Halifax business is helping Canadian employees build healthy habits at work—Bright Breaks is a company that develops wellness programs for the modern workplace.

🗓️ Things To Do

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

🗓 Dine Around Halifax: Dine Around is coming back for the month of February. Savour special menus from your favourite Halifax restaurants, priced at $10, $20, $30, $40, $50 or $60. | Feb 1-28

🗓 Halifax International Boat Show: Life is better on the water! Explore everything from entry level to luxury boats, plus a full range of services and accessories. Talk to the experts, climb aboard new models and get excited for the 2025 season. Find all you need and more to make a splash this summer. | Feb 6-9 | $12

🗓 2024-25 Rivalry Series: Come cheer on Team Canada’s women’s hockey team as they take on their cross-border rivals in the first Canadian stop of this five-game series. | Feb 6 | 7pm | $42.50

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

⚓️ What’s In The Harbour

🚢➡️ The Atlantic Sky container ship arrives in Halifax from Liverpool at 5:20am and leaves for New York at 5pm.

🚢➡️ The Tropic Hope container ship arrives in Halifax from Philipsburg, St. Marteen at 6:15am and leaves for West Palm Beach at 9:30pm.

🚢➡️ The MSC Kim container ship arrives in Halifax from Montreal at 6:15am and leaves for Gioia Tauro, Italy at 5pm.

🚢➡️ The EF Ava container ship arrives in Halifax from Portland, Maine at 7:15am and leaves for Argentia at 4pm.

🚢➡️ The Zim Iberia container ship arrives in Halifax from Valencia, Spain at 3:20pm and leaves for New York at 6pm.

➡️ The One Owl container ship arrives in Halifax from Charleston, SC at 3:45pm.

🍴 Where To Eat & Drink

🍛 Warm up on these cold winter days with the Sweet Potato Gnocchi Massaman Curry at Studio East: handmade sweet potato gnocchi, grilled coconut chicken, caramelized onion, celeriac, green beans, chili lime roasted peanuts, parmesan, chives.

🍓 Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and the White Chocolate Strawberry Supreme from Pane e Circo is a delicious way to show you care.

👀 In Case You Missed It

🎧 Jesse Marsch dreams big. Since stepping in as head coach of the Canadian men’s national soccer team last May, as Canada prepares to co-host soccer’s largest tournament, the World Cup, next summer, Marsch has another dream: To bring the national team to cities across the country. The Coast’s Martin Bauman digs into Marsch’s recent visit to Halifax—including comments about the national team having a training camp in Halifax and his conversation with Wanderers head coach Patrice Gheisar—in the latest episode of The Wanderer Grounds podcast.

🏛️ On Tuesday, city council dealt with some major issues. While the cancellation of the Windsor Street Exchange redesign was well covered by media including The Coast, you won’t find much other reporting on what was arguably more important at the meeting: the update on council’s strategic priorities asked for at the last meeting by councillor Tony Mancini. The Coast’s Matt Stickland has the full report from Tuesday’s council meeting.

🎤 As the calendar turns from January to February, there’s a brand-new lineup of shows coming to Halifax. And from weekend jams packed with surprise guests to some of the best in Canadian theatre, there’s plenty on offer that’s worth venturing out into the cold for. The Coast’s Martin Bauman has you covered with all the February shows you need to know about.

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