Month: February 2025

Houston Update

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Today’s editorial from The Coast

It appears premier Tim Houston is about to do something he’s had quite a bit of practice with recently: walk back sweeping changes that his government sought to pass. First, Houston withdrew widely-panned changes to the Auditor General Act that would have given the province the power to fire Nova Scotia’s top watchdog without cause and keep her reports out of the public eye. (The Coast’s Lauren Phillips dove into the story last week—take the time to read her report if you haven’t already.) Yesterday, Houston relented on his government’s plan to limit access to reporters at Province House by scrapping scrums in favour of pre-vetted interviews across the street. After pressure from CBC News, AllNovaScotia and other outlets, the premier will now scrum without a moderator, at the legislature and with opposition members present.
The main thing I’ll be keeping my eye on, though, is a comment Houston made during question period this week. Last week, the governing Tories tabled a massive bill that would, among other things, amend the province’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. The changes would allow departments to refuse access requests from the public that they deemed “trivial, frivolous or vexatious,” and require applicants to include “sufficient particulars” in their requests—changes that Nova Scotia’s outgoing freedom of information commissioner, Tricia Ralph, said “poses risk to access rights to Nova Scotians.” She’s right.
https://newsletter.thecoast.ca/p/black-on-screen?_bhlid=c06439d43308ecc090df5e6e5f68e6d6401a70e3&utm_campaign=black-on-screen&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_source=newsletter.thecoast.ca

So it looks like when we fight back against these authoritarian moves of The Honourable Tim Houston, he caves. That means we need to keep alert to these autocratic decisions, the obfuscation of detail necessary for the public to understand the basis for his decisions, and openly express our opposition to what it is he’s proposing. We need to be loud enough to force a walk-back!

How Autocracy Creeps In

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Last week I wrote the following (I “published” it – you may have received it before I deleted it, I could not get the formatting right!):

For many months I’ve been more and more uncomfortable with the decisions being made by NS Premier Tim Houston. I was not, I am not, a Houston supporter, but I was willing to give him an opportunity to “fix” health care, while believing it was difficult, if not impossible, given the complexity of the problems. There are other aspects of NS life also needing serious government decision-making besides health care – housing, for example, unban development, transportation, the economy, interprovincial trade…. The list goes on and on.

Nova Scotia is no different than other provinces. These are the problems facing every Canadian province and likely every US state! So it’s been interesting watching Houston as he “tackles” these problems. What’s become more and more worrisome is the secrecy, the lack of transparency, that’s becoming the norm over the decisions being made in my province. We’re also seeing executive overreach in some of the moves being made by Houston!

My concerns were confirmed today in an article by Michael MacDonald: ‘Control-mania’: Nova Scotia premier accused of executive overreach with new bill in the Canadian Press.

Attempts by governments to reduce public scrutiny and stifle criticism are becoming increasingly common, said Tom Urbaniak, a political science professor at Cape Breton University. “This populist movement that we’re seeing across the democratic world weakens institutions that can provide objective information in favour of spin and propaganda,” he said in an interview.

“We’re seeing a significant scaling back of the access to information regime in Nova Scotia,” he said. “It will make it much easier for the executive, the cabinet, to decide whether a request is too broad or frivolous or vexatious.”

Last week Houston refused to respond to questions from the press. He’s curtailed full debate of many issues in the legislature.

Slowly, but surely, in many small, often unnoticed ways, the pubic right to accurate information about decisions being made by our provincial government are being limited.

Our auditor general has called out the current Conservative government over a variety of spending decisions and indiscretions. Houston’s latest move has been to include a provision in a new omnibus bill that allows the firing of the auditor general without cause effectively undermining that important oversight should information detrimental or embarrassing to the government be made public!

“The ability to remove the auditor general without cause, combined with the ability to control our public reporting, impacts the independence, integrity and objectivity of the office,” Adair (our current auditor general) told a news conference.

“These changes could mean any report the government doesn’t like wouldn’t be made public.”

Such secrecy ensures the NS public doesn’t learn about what could be a growing number of questionable, perhaps detrimental, decisions this government is planning – we simply won’t know what’s really happening as our government moves forward.

This is how autocracy creeps up on us.

A few days ago pubic response forced Houston to rescind the bill which included unilaterally being able to get rid of the Auditor General without cause!

Today, in The Coast Daily, Julie, the editor echoes what’s been rattling around in my head!

Good morning Halifax,

The PC Party of Nova Scotia’s latest message to its supporters asking for money is bone-chilling—and if you were slightly concerned that this government is trying to uproot democracy, clearly your concerns are valid. 

In a fundraising letter last week, MLA Leah Martin—obviously towing the party line—wrote to supporters:

“Will you pitch in here right now to help us withstand NDP attacks, overpower the special interests and professional protesters, bypass the media when we need to and stay on track with our plan to make it happen for Nova Scotia?” 

Ummm, make what happen for Nova Scotia? Fascism?

This narrative that the media is the enemy is untrue, cowardly and a kick in the teeth to voters. Citizens have a right to know the policies and activities of their government, and the media has the right to ask tough questions about those policies and activities. 

But premier Tim Houston has completely limited the media’s access to elected officials, allowing them to only answer questions during times organized by the government in a room they control across the street from the legislature. It gives big “we’re scared of scrums” energy to me—bitching out of the way politicians in Nova Scotia have answered questions for literally ever.

So, to review: This government was elected based on YOUR votes and now they want YOU to pay for them to ensure YOU don’t know what they’re doing.

I don’t know where Houston is getting his audacity. It can’t be from the confidence people have in him, because most people voted for nobody. It can’t be from feeling powerful, because his trips to meet with Trump’s underlings had zero impact on tariff decisions. It can’t be from feeling popular, because he had to walk back his auditor general bill after being so unanimously publicly criticized. 

Where then? 🕵️

Hope your day makes more sense than all of this!

– Julie

I have no idea what I can do about this personally, except to copy this post and send it along to the premier! He needs to know people are watching and aren’t happy with his attempts to hide what he’s doing. He needs to understand the citizens of NS deserve to be informed about the basis for decisions he’s putting forth.

I sure don’t like how this is beginning to look – small potatoes in comparison to what’s going on in the US, but hints of Autocracy are here, nevertheless!

Feb 27 2025

I sent a note with a copy of this blog entry to The Honourable Tim Houston, last evening. I’ll eventually get a form reply. No guarantee any actual person will read the piece. JMN

“Let’s Get To Work“

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That’s Charlie Angus talking. The MP from Timmons.

His latest is important reading:

https://open.substack.com/pub/charlieangus/p/no-return-to-normal?r=cgren&utm_medium=ios

Time for Canadians of all persuasion to get in the conversation – listen to what each has to say, agree on the best course of action in these chaotic times.

I keep reading some good US thinkers mentioning the 2026 mid-term elections – well there’s a wee homunculus at the back of my mind whispering “Don’t count on it! Remember what trump said before the 2024 election? ‘No more elections!’” I don’t think 2026 is a certainty folks.

Then what?

For us in Canada doesn’t change anything either way. We can’t hang around waiting for the US to decide to come grab the water and minerals. Gotta plan! Gotta look ahead and act together.

What’s happening is real. We need to plan a way forward for ourselves.

“What Should I Make?”

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I just finished reading Barbara Emodi’s piece on Substack: Making Sense. The gist of her thoughts is this:

I read this week of a research study that said the high alert, anxious part of our brains in on the left side of the brain. On the right side is creativity. The researcher said that we need that relief and that when she was anxious, worried or stressed, she didn’t try to manage it, face it, or process it. Instead of asking herself, “what should I do?” she asked herself, “what should I make?”

This advice came at the right time for me. I have been getting some new covers made for a series of little short books I write. I used to think that it was not the best use of my time to write something so light, when I could be struggling to create significant literature. But this is who I am, what I have to give right now. Easy stories about decent people.

And writing them does me more good than maybe it does my readers.

That’s the point. Making something to add to the world is the job now. A jar of sauerkraut, a flower bed, a knitted sock, a voice added to a choir.

The destroyers come and go.

I think she’s right about that – it’s closing in on a month of incredible chaos but I’m finally beginning to spend less time trying to make sense of what is otherwise quite overwhelming. There are more and more people engaging in tracking the atrocities. I’m beginning to limit myself to a few whose writing represents thoughtful analyses of what’s going on.

Here’s a list of sources I’m keeping tabs on:

  • The MidasTouch Network – a quickly growing online news network – I don’t watch the videos, I’m a print person – there are news items to read.
  • Indivisible.org – an activist group also growing by leaps and bounds – they’re one of the official faces of the resistance. They provide lots of good ways of making your voice heard.
  • Andrew Coyne – A writer for The Globe And Mail – I don’t always agree with his arguments, but they’re worth reading. Here’s his latest piece: The democratic world will have to get along without America. Unfortunately you have to be a subscriber to read his writing. The link I’ve provided has been gifted. You should be able to read it.
  • Timothy Snyder – An academic researcher (on fascism) is providing a reasoned running analysis of the consequence of the musk/trump moves. He’s a must read, I think.
  • Charlie Angus – a Canadian MP has interesting arguments from a Canadian Perspective!
  • A Letter From A Maritimer – Elisabeth Rybak has a current series of well written pieces about what’s happening in the political realm of Canada.

I have many more people I follow, but pick one and see where that gets you. It will be hard to stop, I warn you!

As for “What Should I Make?” – This past week I did a class on “Getting To Know Your Serger” with a group of people new to the world of serging. My goal was for each of them to be able to leave class understanding how the machine works, how the four “needles” interact, and knowing how to thread it correctly for a 4-thread overlock stitch. Mission accomplished. Everybody left with smiles!

It wasn’t the first time I’ve done that class so preparing for it took not much time. Coming week I’m doing a new class: Beyond Overlock – What else can you do with your serger? Serger #2 for short! Now that has been a lot of work this weekend. I had to make a batch of samples showing several stitches and techniques:

  • 4-thread overlock
  • 3-thread overlock
  • rolled edge
  • gathering
  • blind hem
  • attaching elastic
  • encasing elastic
  • sewing in the round
  • curves (convex and concave)
  • corners (outer and inner)
  • sewing knits
  • sewing light fabrics (silk, voile, lawn, etc.)
  • coverstitch (maybe…)

The truth is, although I’ve owned a high end Baby Lock Evolution serger for several years, I use exactly two stitches – 4-thread overlock and rolled hem! I gave up the hassle of converting overlock to coverstitch in favour of owning a Janome coverstitch machine! It’s set up beside the serger and immediately available for hemming finished garments.

My advice on buying a serger – buy a basic mechanical serger (I’ve tried a Juki MO-654DE – it’s a good, inexpensive, machine), and if you’re tired of hemming with a twin needle on your regular machine then consider a coverstitch machine. Owning both will have cost you a fraction of a high end computerized serger! The only downside is you need space for the second machine!

The other thing I “made” was a remake of a pair of jeans – making the waistband larger using a technique I found on Pinterest I’ve not tried before:

The image says it all. Worked well.

I still have the fibre art piece sitting on my cutting table waiting to be finished. Maybe I’ll get to it today after I get a second pair of jeans remade!

Tell trump To Stuff It

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Just read this succinct piece by Charlie Angus: “The Power Of The Boycott“.

Here’s what he has to say:

The power of the grassroots Canadian boycott is being felt in a big way across the United States. Just ask the US tourism industry.

Since Trump began his goon squad reign, they have suffered a precipitous plunge in reservations and trip bookings from Canada. Donald Trump says there is nothing America needs from Canada.

Turns out Canadians are by far the biggest spenders of tourism dollars in the United States. We might be polite, but we hate bullies. In homes across this country, Canadians are resisting tyranny by simply changing their tourism plans and shopping lists.

And this is causing the US tourism industry to panic.

Here’s what’s at stake:

  • In Florida, Canadians represent 38% of the tourist dollars coming into the state.
  • In Texas, Canadians spent $403 million last year. Both states have seen significant cancellations, as have other states.
  • If just 10% of Canadians hold firm in the boycott, it would mean the loss of 140,000 jobs.

It is still too early to say just how many Canadians have decided to rip up their tourism plans, but the messages I am getting from across the country paint a picture of a grassroots boycott that has become deeply embedded in the sense of Canadian nationhood.

This past week, I’ve shopped with a careful eye on where products are manufactured or grown – anything from the US got put back on the shelf. I know my local fabric store is a bit uneasy because a good deal of the fabric on hand is produced in the US and customers have been asking about that. The machines are actually made in Asia, the parent company is Swedish, and I do think shipments are direct to Canada without having to go through the US. Yup, if we keep up our boycott the US will feel it.

Angus ends with:

Once the impacts of the bourbon boycott, the grocery store actions and the cancelled travel bookings begin to pile up, you are going to see a lot of American businesses calling out the predator-in-chief.

As for Canada? Keep the boycott going. We will last one day longer and be one day stronger than the creeper in Washington.

I agree. Pay close attention to what’s going on. Read the whole piece – it will encourage you to make the effort!

Up Here In Canada!

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You get the message?

And trump has announced at the superbowl he plans on annexing Canada! This is getting serious now. We’ve got to build our resistance and lock in support! The federal government (and various provincial governments) will respond to the impending tariffs. Then it’ll be up to us to stand with them.

We’ve gotta build a strong “Team Canada” – whatever it costs us – and it will cost us!

Be Prepared!

The Destruction

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This morning in my email there were links from friends, passing on items I hadn’t seen because I don’t do Facebook. Three of them are serious analyses of this past week in the US.

I also found today’s NYT Editorial “Now Is Not The Time To Tune Out“

It’s becoming obvious that people in the US are finally waking up to what is really going on in their country and they’re starting to push back. Too bad they weren’t paying attention before the election! The warnings were there, loud and clear. People needed to see what the real consequences of putting trump in the presidency would be. And they’re not pretty.

It was all predictable. trump wasn’t hiding his plans. Project 2025 laid them out clearly in hundreds of pages of detail! The majority of people disregarded it all. But his agenda has been clear since 2015! And now he (and his oligarchs) are executing the plan!

I could see it coming – I wrote this the day after the election in November:
https://jmn111.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=11973&action=edit&calypsoify=1
Lots of other people could see it coming, too. Now it’s happening.

People are also writing about how citizens can resist – Robert Reich offers a long list of actions individuals can take to push back against the destruction: Robert Reich – What You can Do

I wish I could be sharing my fibre art but I’m not producing much these days (I’m not even getting much knitting done, either). I managed to edge stitch the appliqué circles on that piece I was working on. I began thinking I was making a quilt – this is as far as I could go with the idea. The background is too dark – a reflection of what I’m feeling these days? I need to try another using lighter fabrics. Perhaps that will brighten my outlook!

It still isn’t finished – I’m planning on a very narrow binding using a black fabric with tiny circles. I’m also going to back it with a bit of stiffening so it retains it shape when it’s hung. Another day or so of work to finish it. After that – I have no idea. Likely a couple of garments that are waiting to be made.

My creativity seems to be on hold right now when I definitely need it most!

A Pivotal Moment

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I have three links for you: read this piece by John Pavlovitz – it’s a call to action – follow his admonition! (I love his pieces, they read like sermons – not a surprise since he’s a former Pastor):

It’s Time to Pick a Hill Worth Dying On

This piece from Robert Reich: 

What trump ignores

Enjoy the cartoon, have a giggle, and pass it on widely! (BTW, the cartoonist, Bruce MacKinnon, is Canadian, from Halifax NS where I live!) – It was in Reich’s piece but I thought you should see it on its own, it’s worth a million words!

If you’re looking for a resistance movement that’s growing fast, check out Indivisible – indivisible.org – find yourself a local group and get busy! 

As Pavlovitz says – use your voice now or forget you have one – I believe the window of opportunity is getting smaller…

How Dumb Is This?

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From the Globe and Mail: “Trump says he wants U.S. to redevelop, take ownership of Gaza Strip after Palestinians are resettled elsewhere”

“President Donald Trump on Tuesday (Feb 4 2025) suggested that displaced Palestinians in Gaza be permanently resettled outside the war-torn territory and proposed the U.S. take “ownership” in redeveloping the area.

Trump’s brazen proposal appears certain to roil the next stage of talks meant to extend the tenuous ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and secure the release of the remaining hostages held in Gaza.

The provocative comments came as talks are ramping up this week with the promise of surging humanitarian aid and reconstruction supplies to help the people of Gaza recover after more than 15 months of devastating conflict. Now Trump wants to push roughly 1.8 million people to leave the land they have called home and claim it for the U.S., perhaps with American troops.”…

trump’s serious! He caved when Canadians and Mexicans pushed back! (Well it wasn’t our pushing back that made him cave, it was the stock market fall early in the morning on Monday that did it, and his cronies reaction to what would have turned into a rout, but anyway…). 

He doesn’t, in god’s name, expect the Palestinians to vacate meekly! He’s going to have to slaughter every last one of them! I know that’s what the idiot would really like to do, then give the land to the goddamn Israeli settlers, that’s what he’d really like to do. 

I’m sure every single young Palestinian will fight to the death over this lunacy.

Please someone with sense – listen – it’s time to lock trump up!

trump Caved. Now What?

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A local comentator yesterday made an interesting assertion – she didn’t think anything Trudeau or Sheinbaum had to say to trump made the difference. trump is claiming a win for the US. Yes, both Canada and Mexico agreed to strengthen the borders with increased policing but those were actions already being undertaken, and likely desirable. No, she believes the pushback against the 25% tariffs came from a few significant close trump confidants who screamed loudly when both Canada and Mexico revealed their retaliatory tariffs and some personal businesses (like Tesla and Starlink) were going to be hurt! (The early morning big drop in both US and Canadian stock markets was an indication of what would come if the tariffs were actually levied.)(A good explanation by Matt Stoller.)

OK, so the tariffs have been shelved for the next 30 days. Where does that leave us? Stuck with the same “cat and mouse” game, more musings about the “51 state”, questions about what will happen in a month answered with a cryptic “Watch.” We’re stuck in limbo for a month.

Yesterday Canadians, (Mexicans, too, I’m guessing) began boycotting “produced in US” products. My grocery shopping on Sunday took me 20 minutes longer because I read every label and put back anything connected with the US. I wasn’t shopping yesterday but I know when I go to any local store in the next day or two I’ll find Canadian products marked with shelf labels or small Canadian flag stickers to make my shopping Canadian easier! I must check whether any such labelling will happen online – I have to look for it. I have to make the same effort to buy Canadian when shopping online!

The thing is, we Canadians need to keep that up, not just for a week. Not just for a month. We need to make buying Canadian a priority going forward. Our politicians need to keep this conversation going.

In part that will happen because there’s an election in Ontario shortly, and the Liberal Party of Canada is in the midst of a leadership race where these threats made by trump will continue to be a major issue. When parliament resumes in March, I expect the government to fall to be followed by a national general election where our vulnerability to trump’s whims will be front and centre.

While PP (Poilievre) has managed to take a “tough” stance on Canadian retaliation to the stupid tariffs, he can’t resist lying about our energy exports, he can’t stop himself from belittling anything the Liberal government puts forward. His “Canada First” is tinged with a kind of bombast that reveals the posturing he’s addicted to. I have a very close friend, a staunch Conservative, who keeps telling me PP is “a smart politician”. I can’t see it. Forced into defending Canada, he’s still singing his one song – he can’t bring himself to stand as a leader of a signifiant resistance to a US takeover. He’s certainly not persuading me to vote for him. I wonder how many other Canadians are evaluating the situation similarly.

The next thirty days are important. I have decided to stop worrying about the impending tariffs, not because they’ve been set aside, but because I refused to live with the uncertainty. I do believe as March 3/4 draws nearer the nonsense from south of the border will reappear, with new unmeetable demands and both Canada and Mexico will scramble once more to strategize ways to push back.

In the meantime every Canadian needs to be creative about finding small ways to strengthen our sovereignty! It’s not enough to refuse to buy US today. We need to keep it up going forward and for the foreseeable future! It’s part of the “playing offence” that Jean Chretién was advocating!

In the meantime sign the Pledge For Canada!