🗞️ Want a house? Just save for a decade.

Morning Halifax,

Last night I went to an event called Silence is Violence: Why NS Needs to Ban the Abusive Use of NDAs, and it stoked an already crackling fire under my butt.

Non-disclosure agreements go by several aliases—think “gag order”—and were originally designed to protect trade secrets, which totally makes sense. But when they are used to protect bad people rather than good ideas, they cause immense and immeasurable damage.

You might be thinking that NDAs are a complicated legal thing that doesn’t affect you, but that is not true. There is nothing complex about an NDA, and 1 in 3 Canadians will be asked to sign one in their lifetime—and women are four times more likely to be asked to sign than men.

Organizations love to defend NDAs by saying that without them, women will just make shit up. That ol’ chestnut. The lore that women are just running around making stories up to get money or ruin men is so tired, it needs a dirt nap. According to police, less than 5% of reports of sexual assault wind up being false.

NDAs have become the default solution for organizations to settle cases of sexual misconduct, racism, pregnancy discrimination and other human rights violations. They are a tool used to perpetuate gender-based violence by silencing, dominating and controlling women. 

That silence eats away at victims and survivors—emotionally and physically—and also allows dangerous men to go on to hurt other women. Bill 144 is on the legislative books right now and could end the use of abusive NDAs, but premier Tim Houston won’t pass it. 

He is gaslighting you and me by saying that the decision is “trauma-informed,” meaning that he has spoken with victims who say they wanted to sign an NDA, which—if true—is awesome; women should totally have the choice. But what it actually reveals is that Houston has not even read Bill 144—because that’s exactly what it says.

To be clear for the folks in the nose bleeds: Nobody is saying that you can’t have NDAs. You want to protect your patent or make sure your product launch doesn’t leak to your competitor? Go nuts! But what Bill 144 says is you cannot use them to cover up incidents of sexual harassment or discrimination.

We need everyone’s voices now more than ever! Tell people about this, write letters, post about it on social media. For more information on how you can help, check out Can’t Buy My Silence. 

To fully understand the impact of NDAs on victims and survivors, please take a few minutes to listen to these testimonials:

As a community, we need to put pressure on policy-makers to give women their voices back. 

Have a beautiful day out there!

– Julie

🌡️ Traffic & Weather

Today: 🌦️ 19°

Tomorrow: ☁️ 17°

Next Day: 🌧️ 17°

7-day forecast

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

💨 Here is Halifax’s Air Quality Index and the smoke report.

NEWS + OPINION

Young Halifax renters may have to save for over a decade to buy their first home

A new study from Point2Homes suggests young renters in Halifax will have to save money for over a decade to purchase a starter home at the current average price.

The generational study uses data from Statistics Canada’s 2021 Census on Canada’s 20 largest cities, as well as real estate data from the Canadian Real Estate Association, comparing that with local listings in each city. A survey was also conducted with responses from over 890 renters nationwide.

In Halifax’s case, the results of the study are clear: For young, potential home buyers looking to make a 20% down payment on a starter home, it would take them over 10 years of saving, based on their average individual income. Median incomes for age groups were sourced from Statistics Canada and were compared with responses from renters about what percentage of their monthly income they save for a down payment.

The Coast’s Brendyn Creamer breaks down the study and what it says about renters who are saving to purchase a home.

🤔 Need To Know

⛺ Mayoral candidate Andy Fillmore says the city’s approach to homeless encampments has encouraged unhoused people from across the country to move to the city to live in tents—housing advocates and a city councillor say that claim is untrue.

📚 Tickets are now on sale for the sixth annual AfterWords Literary Festival. See Heather O’Neill, Tanya Talaga, MG Vassanji, Joshua Whitehead and more, November 2-10.*

🏫 The Nova Scotia government has revealed the locations of four highly anticipated new schools for the Halifax area—Timberlea, Middle Sackville, Port Wallace, Bedford and Clayton Park.

🪂 Experience Nocturne's low-sensory project, Quilted Canopies by Shayla Bond and Anne Kobayashi, on October 20th, 12-4pm at the Halifax Public Gardens.*

🗳️ With election day in Halifax coming up quickly, residents should be on the lookout for voter information letters in their mailboxes soon—HRM says those letters will be sent out early next month and will feature everything people will need to know to vote in the upcoming election, including voting options and locations.

*Sponsored Post

SPONSORED BY LIVE ART DANCE

Kaha:wi Dance Theatre, "Homelands"

Kaha:wi Dance Theatre is a Rotinonhsyón:ni led company renowned for exquisitely produced and viscerally impactful performances, embodying stories which cultivate space for transformation, dialogue and connection to Indigenous knowledge and experience.

Founded by Ohswé:ken / Six Nations of the Grand River based Artistic Director Santee Smith, Kaha:wi (Ga-HA-Wee) means “to carry” in Kanyen’kéha. Sharing new Indigenous performance, embodied and multidisciplinary storytelling, Santee Smith’s work is focused on Indigenous methodology, interdisciplinary and intergenerational work.

"Homelands" is a dance honouring our kinship connection to the natural world, its patterns, energies, and life forces. A multimedia dreamscape creates the landscape: water, textures with three women dancers embody the elemental.

Don't miss out! Get your tickets today!

EDUCATION

Dal Legal Aid coming to a library near you

Renters in Nova Scotia will soon have a new opportunity to seek help for their housing concerns. Starting Oct. 1, the Dalhousie Legal Aid Services team will be hosting drop-in clinics every Wednesday across a rotation of four HRM libraries.

Each drop-in session will have two or three members from DLAS responding to people’s concerns, with Dal law students on hand to help with intake. Sydnee Blum from DLAS says people should plan to be there for half an hour, and the sessions are designed to provide legal aid, referrals, information and help with form filling for any housing concerns, particularly public housing and issues with the Residential Tenancies Act.

Common issues people need help with include preventing evictions, options for ending leases, standards of maintenance and repair issues as well as understanding fixed-term leases.

The Coast’s Lauren Phillips finds out more about these new housing information clinics, why they’re needed and how they’ll work.

🗞️ In Other News

⛪ The first female pastor to serve at a nearly 200-year-old Halifax church is retiring after 17 years at the helm.

💰 Keith Irving—the Liberal MLA for Kings South—is not running in the next provincial election, but he thinks those who win their seats deserve a raise, an increase in their housing allowance and more money for their office budgets. 

🚆 The CEO of Via Rail told a Halifax business audience that although the Crown corporation has big plans to modernize its passenger service to the Maritimes, it needs to ensure its trains run on time.

💉 Many Maritime aesthetic clinics are seeing increasing demand for Botox and fillers, and changes in their clientele—they’re getting younger.

⛺ HRM says people sleeping rough at the green space on University Ave. will have to find other places to shelter come November due to safety concerns related to winter snow clearing.

🦪 Public health officials in PEI are investigating an outbreak of gastrointestinal illness reported among 50 people who attended a shellfish festival over the weekend.

🗓️ Things To Do

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

🗓Graeme Patterson—Strange Birds: The sculptures in this innovative show are also the settings for both a projected animation and a virtual reality environment. | Sep 6-Nov 10

🗓The Looking Glass Ensemble—The Music Room Chamber Players Series: Formed in Newfoundland, this performance collective will expand your concert experience with a fresh and engaging show bringing together music and dance. | Sep 25 |  7:30pm | $35

🗓Matt Minglewood—Live at the Shore Club: Minglewood is now backed by a new young band that has been able to keep up with his high-energy stage performance. Expect to hear tunes from his new album Fly Like Desperados, as well as Minglewood’s anthems that shaped the Nova Scotia music scene in the ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s. | Sep 27 |  9:30pm | $45

🗓 Still Tho—Aesthetic Survival in Hip Hop’s Visual Art: An ode to the visual artists in Canada who shaped hip hop culture and its visual aesthetics. In this group exhibition featuring artists from across Canada, an array of mixed-media works explores the growth, influence and importance of graffiti art and its aesthetic legacies. | Sep 21-Nov 23

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

⚓️ What’s In The Harbour

🛳️➡️ The Zim Virginia container ship arrives in Halifax from Valencia at 4:20am and leaves for New York at 1:30pm.

🛳️➡️ The EM KEA container ship arrives in Halifax from Montreal at 6:15am and leaves for Antwerp at 5pm.

🛳️➡️ The Atlantic Sea container ship arrives in Halifax from Norfolk at 12:20am and leaves for Liverpool at 5pm.

🛳️➡️ The Queen Mary 2 cruise ship arrives in Halifax at 9:00am and leaves for Canadian seas at 7:00pm.

🛳️➡️ The Le Lyrial cruise ship arrives in Halifax at 1pm and leaves for Canadian seas at 8pm.

🛳️➡️ The One Falcon container ship arrives in Halifax from Colombo at 5:45am and leaves for New York at 11:30pm.

🛳️ The Contship Art arrives in Halifax from New York at 3:20pm.

🍴 Where To Eat & Drink

🥪 Fall is here and so is the Tuna Melt at The Canteen: tuna salad, melted cheddar, dill pickles and pickled red onions on a toasted pullman loaf.

🍛 The special this week at Tart and Soul is the Wendell and Wild Rice Bowl: farro, wild rice, greens, cabbage, pickled red onions, pumpkin seeds, roasted brussels sprouts, sweet potato and raisins, with a lemon tahini vinaigrette.

👀 In Case You Missed It

🔍 CBC’s Murdoch Mysteries is as beloved as it is extensive. As the show ramps up for its 18th season, it will also be gracing fans in Halifax with a special evening celebrating the show’s legacy. Murdoch Mysteries in Concert is being held at the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium on Friday and Saturday Sep. 27 and 28, starting at 7pm. The Coast’s Brendyn Creamer speaks with Carli and Thomas Craig—who plays Inspector Brackenreid on the show—about the upcoming concert.

🤫 The university pledge is simple enough: “(W)e [our vice-chancellor and higher education provider] commit to not using non-disclosure agreements to silence people who come forward to raise complaints of sexual harassment, discrimination, abuse or misconduct, or other forms of harassment and bullying.” However, only four schools in Canada have signed thus far. The Coast’s Lauren Phillips has a preview of Thursday’s event where Can’t Buy My Silence co-founder, presidents of three NS schools and two women released from NDAs will speak in Halifax.

☀️ Canadians are installing heat pumps and solar panels in their homes to combat climate change, but home insurance companies are proving to be an unexpected obstacle in the transition to cleaner types of energy.

That’s it!

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