Opinion

By Andrew Macdonald

The recent illegal blockades of the Canadian National Railway, which caused container ships to bypass the Port of Halifax for four weeks, shone a dramatic light on how our Members of Parliament in Metro Halifax responded to what was a dangerous position for the local port.

The port, a $2 billion economic generator, is a lynchpin of the economies of Halifax, Nova Scotia and the Maritimes, so many port users called their Liberal MPs. From my chats with prominent port folk, only one Metro MP was actually returning calls by port stakeholders who were concerned that Halifax’s ability to move cargo was jeopardized.

The rail blockades were affecting the port’s reputation to efficiently and quickly move container boxes, and the port’s main competitor, New York, was benefiting.

Talking to various port stakeholders, many who called their Liberal MPs to express concern, I hear that only Halifax MP Andy Fillmore was actually returning calls.

Opinion

By Alison Strachan

Whether it’s a ‘bad decision’ or full-blown alcoholism, the Nova Scotia political landscape, indeed the Canadian political landscape for as long as I can remember, has never been immune from impaired (or sometimes allegedly impaired) drivers.

In Nova Scotia, some 20-years ago or so, having an impaired driving conviction stood in the way of electability.

Ten-years ago it meant leaving the safety net of your party and sitting as an independent.

Today, we are still stagnating where we were 10 years ago.

It’s time to rethink our strategy.

Editor’s Note: Following Wednesday’s article in The Notebook, entitled The Tale of Two Polls, one which showed Liberal Premier Stephen McNeil leading in Nova Scotia, and in fact gaining popularity, and another poll out of Ontario reporting McNeil is the second least popular premier in Nova Scotia, we received a dispatch from Dan O’Connor.

O’Connor served as chief of staff to NDP’s Alexa McDonough, Robert Chisholm, and served as a senior political aide in the Darrell Dexter government. Here is O’Connor’s opinion on polling results.