Off Script: Atlantic Canada Politics

The Pulp and Paper Mill at Abercrombie Point at the tip of Boat Harbour in Pictou County is the subject of a new book by Joan Baxter. The book is called ‘The Mill: Fifty Years of Pulp and Protest’. And it is her book that is at the centre a now-national media story.

A signing for her book at a local bookstore was cancelled due to pressure the store was under from what a Chapters/Indigo spokesperson described as concerns that customers' "joyful and safe experience" might be compromised.

So today on the Off Script podcast, I’m chatting with Joan Baxter about her new Book ‘The Mill’, the 50 years of community activism protesting the pulp industry’s practise in Pictou County and the politics surrounding it all.

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Follow along on Twitter: @SpringtideCo | @MarkCoffin | @Joan_Baxter

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Joan's Book: The Mill: 50 Years of Pulp and Protest

Joan's Book: Seven Grains of Paradise: A Culinary Journey in Africa

John Demont's Column: Journalist, miners shabbily treated by big business 

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This is the final episode in our journey through the experiences of former MLAs. In this episode, we share what we heard when we asked former Nova Scotia MLAs to share the advice they would offer to a future political candidate. This episode is just that, the advice they would give to those who aspire to and have recently won elected office in Nova Scotia.

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In this episode, we unpack how a meeting of the Nova Scotia Cabinet works. We explore the tension between Cabinet and the Premier's Office, and how the Premier's offices has grown to wield more and more power from the days of John Savage and John Hamm to those of Darrell Dexter and Stephen McNeil.

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Support the podcast with a contribution of as little as $3/month.

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This week, we’ll unpack how a minister’s office works, and dig into:

- how people who held that office who we spoke to approached making decisions, and the kind of decisions they had to make.

- how they did (or did not) involve caucus in their decision making, and

- how the rest of Cabinet and the Premier’s office would be involved in decisions.

Share this episode using the shortlink: http://springtide.ngo/os16

Go to HelloFresh.ca/OnTheRecord and get 50% off your meal-kit box from this episode's sponsor, Hello Fresh. Or use promo-code RECORD50 at checkout.

Support the podcast with a contribution of as little as $3/month.

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Just how exactly does an MLA get anything done at Province House? In this, and the next few episodes of the Off Script podcast, we’re going to explore the nitty gritty of who has what kind of power to make things happen within the governmental structures at, and around, province house in Nova Scotia. We begin by exploring how an MLA on either side of the house can get something done. 

Share this episode using the shortlink: http://springtide.ngo/os15

Go to HelloFresh.ca/OnTheRecord and get 50% off your meal-kit box from this episode's sponsor, Hello Fresh.

Support the podcast with a contribution of as little as $3/month.

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On this episode, we’re sharing talks from two members of the Canadian Senate: Senators Grant Mitchell (Alberta) and Wanda Thomas-Bernard (Nova Scotia). 

Both talks are an excerpt from a larger event called “Independent or Partisan? The Future of the Canadian Senate” held by the MacEachen Institute for Public Policy and Governance at Dalhousie, as a part of their Policy Matters speaker series. 

Watch the full event on YouTube here: http://bit.ly/2kXVbuN

Learn more about the Policy Matters speaker series: http://bit.ly/2yaEQsi

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On this specioal episode of the Off Script podcast, we’re sharing two diverse perspectives on the Ivany report, drawn from a discussion held by the MacEachen Institute for Public Policy at Dalhousie. The discussion was called “All for One Nova Scotia? Perspectives on the Ivany Report”.

The first speaker is Karen Foster. Karen is a professor in the department of Sociology and Social Anthropology at Dalhousie University, and the author of Productivity and Prosperity: An Historical Sociology of Productivist Thought.

The second speaker you’ll hear is Danny Graham, who regular listeners to this podcast will know from his time as an MLA and former Liberal Party leader, and now CEO at Engage Nova Scotia.

Watch the full discussion on YouTube: http://bit.ly/2yaEtxU

More on the Policy Matters Speaker Series: http://bit.ly/2yaEQsi

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This week: we explore the dynamics of the Nova Scotia Legislature

People always seem to draw comparisons between politicians and school children when they visit the House of Assembly. We have a couple of stories that relate to that:

• the story of an MLA who refused to give school children tours of the House of Assembly while his colleagues were present;
• a story from a former school teacher who tried her classroom management strategies on her colleagues;

We'll also hear from:

• two people who held down the Speaker's chair; and
• a story form a Cabinet Minister who admired fellow ministers who dodged questions, but tried his best to answer the ones that came his way.

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