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We were encouraged again this week by the Mayor and media to write about the centre plan.
I've often written generally on this theme and I'm happy to write more. You should write too... Centre Plan Everything that's happening in Halifax is too big. It's all out of proportion with the scale of our city, the pace of our lives, and the way we curate our culture. It's Monopoly gone mad. Each new thing adds to a cacophonous giant unusable, unfriendly clutter. Rather than creating a city with a message, it all just seems to pose unanswered questions: Why is this important? What is this supposed to be? Who are we? Where are we going with this? Who will live here? How will this be paid for? Progress is not about just racing forward, it means moving toward our goal. If we're going in the wrong direction progress is about turning around, adjusting course, and being clear about where we're going. The future asks very little from us. But it rewards certain things more than others. The future rewards, education, effort, courage, change, clear thinking, big picture thinking, inclusivity, new ideas and careful planning.
We learned all this from The Three Little Pigs and other nursery rhymes we all heard before we were 7. This week Lil MacPherson launched her campaign for Mayor in Halifax. The media was openly doubtful of her chances. Ms. MacPherson had to spend the valuable media access she had at her launch discussing her longshot, against all odds bid rather than how we might all work together to fix a broken city and create a real vision for what the city will look like in the future. Why? Developers are in the business of building. Cities are in the business of being. There's a big tension between the two filled with money, power, influence, and the darker side of life.
When news was revealed after the last municipal that huge portions of the mayor and council's campaign funding came from property developers the new municipal government was quick to do something about it. They said clearly... it wasn't their responsibility and the municipality, as a 'child' of the province, was powerless to make changes on campaign finance reform. With pretty good political sensibilities, timing and speed the provincial Liberal government picked up on that responsibility. Zack Churchill introduced a bill in April 2016 and by the end of May the city had all the power it needed to fix campaign financing before the next municipal election coming up this October. Bill 154 explicitly gave council the power needed to limit developer donations. So with the election now weeks away you'd likely be wondering what changes they made...  On the occasion of my 53rd birthday I've taken an hour out to think of the last year and how I am when I'm at my worst versus when I'm at my best. Careful and clear thinking, especially in positions of responsibility requires a lot of mental work. Being smart and being right aren't the same thing. The only way to be right more often than not is to be able to change your mind - a uniquely learned human skill that does not come easy especially in the emotional language we all use and abuse these days.
What a contradiction. We hate work. For the last 200 years every fibre of our collective intellect has been focused on avoiding and finding ways to NOT work. From the Industrial Revolution of the 1800’s to the household conveniences of the 1950’s to our cars and the paperless office. Everything is all about not working. And yet, work is fundamentally the way in which most of us relate and connect to the world. When we’re not working we’re… well what do you even call it? At leisure?  The Assassination of George Brown The Conservative origins of Labour Day in Canada can be traced back to December 1872 when a parade was staged in support of the Toronto Typographical Union's strike for a 58-hour work-week. The Toronto Trades Assembly (TTA) called its 27 unions to demonstrate in support of the Typographical Union who had been on strike since 25 March.
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John Wesley
Writing about life, citizenship, and Nova Scotia. Archives
June 2020
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