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Ben MacLeod 馬志斌

@benmacleod.bsky.social

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Hong Kong / Halifax, urban & transportation things

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Ben MacLeod 馬志斌 @benmacleod.bsky.social · Feb 26

this morning, I spoke to Halifax regional council on workplace safety, diversity, and inclusion (again)

A screenshot of a letter that reads: Good morning. Thank you council and staff for the opportunity to speak. My name is Ben MacLeod and I live in Halifax.

As you all know, the Strategic Priorities Plan set out the municipality’s priorities and values. It was drafted in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic and it outlines how some of council’s priorities translate to action against the pandemic. For instance, the plan states that Corporate Safety will “play a key role in responding to COVID-19” by helping business units develop “effective workplace safety plans [and] safe work practices”.

I spoke on the same topic during last year’s meeting.

I stated that COVID-19 remains a workplace safety issue that the municipality is failing to mitigate, contrary to the commitments to safety outlined in the Strategic Priorities Plan as well as the municipality’s obligations under the Occupational Health and Safety Act. I also stated that the municipality, in failing to provide safe and healthy work environments, also fails fundamentally to deliver on its commitment to diversity and inclusion.

Since then, Human Resources has told me that the municipality still does not have any COVID-19 mitigation in place. In other words, nothing has improved, so I make my plea again today.

According to the Strategic Priorities Plan, evidence-based decision making is one of the municipality’s key values. What is the evidence driving the municipality’s policies on COVID?

The World Health Organization stresses that the pandemic has not ended. COVID-19 continues to widely circulate, kill, and disable.

COVID is not benign. It has been linked to a host of ailments affecting practically all human organ systems. Even mild cases can have long-term consequences. Repeated infections do cumulative damage. With each infection, you roll the dice. There is no cure for Long COVID.

The vaccines available to us offer only modest protection against COVID infection and Long COVID. Vaccines are a valuable tool, but they are not the silver bullet we all hoped for.

So if evidence hasn’t guided the municipality’s decision-making on COVID-19 since it ended pandemic mitigation in March 2022, what has?

I’m sure that many of you cringed when you realised I came to talk about the pandemic. After all, most people speak of it in the past tense. It’s a source of mass psychological trauma. It’s a stressor, and stress can provoke psychological defence mechanisms, such as denial or minimization of COVID-19’s continuing harm.

Psychologists refer to coping strategies that do more harm than good as “maladaptive”. In denying the simple reality of the pandemic situation after March 2022, in referring to the pandemic in the past tense, we fail to adapt. This failure is evident in municipal workplaces.

The good news is that even though we don’t yet have a cure for COVID-19, we know how to protect workers.

Human Resources has stated that the municipality follows provincial health guidance, but it’s clear that the province is not acting in alignment with municipal policy, nor its own legislation. We can do better.

If the province isn’t providing evidence-based guidance, look elsewhere. The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety, a federal agency, advocates “multiple workplace control measures in a layered approach, starting from the most effective, to reduce the risk of COVID-19 exposure”.

We know how the disease is transmitted. The virus lingers in the air like smoke. We know transmission is curbed through enhanced ventilation, air purification, and high-quality masks. We must also remove the source of the virus from workplaces by promoting remote work and by providing workers adequate, paid sick leave.

If this pandemic has a silver lining, it’s that we have learned so much about how to make work safer, healthier, more inclusive, and more accessible. However, these insights are hardly reflected in municipal work today.

No one would deny that COVID-19 is a greater risk for certain groups of people. In neglecting to implement any of the proven, affordable mitigation tools at our disposal, the municipality sends a message: certain classes of people are disposable. The unmitigated spread of COVID-19 makes workplaces less diverse, less inclusive, and less safe for all.

Please implement evidence-based disease mitigation in municipal workplaces, in accordance with your policies, values, and strategic priorities. Please make public service work safe and inclusive.

Thank you.

Submitted by:
Ben MacLeod
Chartered Planner
Halifax

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Ben MacLeod 馬志斌 @benmacleod.bsky.social · 6h

Oco Mart on Quinpool Road is closing

A storefront along Quinpool Road in Halifax. The sign says "Oco Mart Korean Grocery and Food".

A handwritten sign in the window of OCO Mart that says: "Thank you for supporting OcoMart until now. We will be operating the store only until October 27, 2025. Thank you."

Interior of OCO Mart with shelved of various imported Korean grocery products

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Ben MacLeod 馬志斌 @benmacleod.bsky.social · 6h

1993: municipal amalgamation a bargain for taxpayers

An article from the August 6, 1993 edition of the Halifax Daily News titled "Amalgamation savings pegged at $20 million". The article describes some of the recommendations of Bill Hayward, appointed by the province in 1992 to make recommendations on municipal government reform. Hayward recommended consolidating municipal governments to save money.

An interview in the Halifax Daily News with Bill Hayward dated August 8, 1993 about his newly released proposal to amalgamate Halifax, Dartmouth, Bedford, and Halifax County.

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Ben MacLeod 馬志斌 @benmacleod.bsky.social · 6h

Any day spent at the archives is a good one

Several old reports lying on a desk at the Nova Scotia Archives: "City of Halifax Industrial Park Analysis" (1969), Town of Bedfood Industrial Park Development (1981), and Land-use Programs in Canada.

Desks and shelving in the public research area of the third floor at the Nova Scotia Archives building in Halifax

Selfie of Ben wearing a Nova Scotia Archives researcher card

An Aranet4 carbon dioxide monitor showing a reading of 458 CO2 ppm in the Nova Scotia Archives building

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Ben MacLeod 馬志斌 @benmacleod.bsky.social · 8h

Thank you Detta! ❤️

Reposted by Ben MacLeod 馬志斌

Sarah Faber @sciencebanshee.bsky.social · 12h

I really gave this the business, and so can you!

A lot of the questions are VERY "hey, person who *loves* AI, how can we, a government who *loves* AI, make sure companies who *also love* AI come to Canada to do trickledown economics?"

Nico Mara-McKay 🦇 (they/iel) @nicomaramckay.com · 2d

Canadians: The federal government is seeking public input on how AI should be developed and used in business, research, and the military.

If this scares the shit out of you, please let them know:

Help define the next chapter of Canada's AI leadership

Current status: Open from October 1 to October 31, 2025 Canada helped invent modern AI. To stay a leader—and protect our digital sovereignty—we're running a 30-day national sprint to shape a renewed...

ised-isde.canada.ca

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Ben MacLeod 馬志斌 @benmacleod.bsky.social · 19h

the affordability gaps, graphed:

A series of graphs from an October 2, 2025 report titled "House Price Assessment – Update" published by the Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer.

The figure has 12 panels each showing affordable and average house prices at a monthly frequency from January 2015 to August 2025 in CMAs and in Canada (national level). In each panel, the y-axis represents house prices and the x-axis represents the month.

From 2015 to 2020, affordable house prices remain relatively flat or rise gradually in all jurisdictions. Affordable prices then fall sharply in 2022 but begin to recover steadily in 2024 and 2025.

Trends in average house prices diverge across different CMAs:
In Edmonton and Winnipeg, house prices remain relatively close to affordable levels from 2015 to 2025.

In Calgary, Halifax, Montréal and Québec, average prices rise above affordable levels between 2020 and 2022 and remain persistently higher afterwards.

In Hamilton, Ottawa, Toronto, Vancouver, Victoria and Canada (national), average prices follow an increasing trend and rise above affordable prices. Average prices peak in early 2022 before falling slightly but stabilizing above affordable prices.

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Ben MacLeod 馬志斌 @benmacleod.bsky.social · 19h

"Out of the 11 Canadian cities studied by the report, Halifax has the widest gap between house prices and what the typical household could afford."

Halifax house prices much higher on average than what households can afford: report | CBC News

A recent report found that house prices in Halifax are, on average, 74 per cent higher than what the typical household can afford.

www.cbc.ca

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Ben MacLeod 馬志斌 @benmacleod.bsky.social · 1d

Thank you Reg, I'm hopeful that I will be back at some point!

Reposted by Ben MacLeod 馬志斌

Terri @terriclarke.bsky.social · 1d

Why is our CMOH rejecting scientific consensus?

PoP Nova Scotia @popns.bsky.social · 2d

So, this replicates some of the information on the province's website. Dr. Strang is a droplet devotee who has (so far) refused to acknowledge the airborne transmission of Covid. One of our members was recently told by a NS healthcare worker that OH&S and public health said it was not airborne 😭

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Reposted by Ben MacLeod 馬志斌

AnnaHalifax @annahalifax.bsky.social · 2d

NS Health's AI apparently programmed with incorrect information. Covid's primary route of transmission is aerosol (airborne), not droplets/surfaces.

NB COVID info @nbcovidinfo.bsky.social · 2d

Asking NS’s official health AI about airborne transmission, aerosols, etc #NSPoli

Screenshot of asking NS health AI if Covid is airborne. Is Covid airborne?
Wednesday, 10:02 a.m.
0 COPY
• Nova
Wednesday, 10:02 a.m.
The primary method of COVID-19 transmission is through droplets, which quickly settle on surfaces within two meters. However, airborne precautions are used during aerosol-generating medical procedures (AGMPs) to minimize the risk of transmission. More information on AGMPs can be found here.

Screenshot of asking NS health AI about aerosol transmission. Tell me about aerosol transmission
Nova
Wednesday, 10:02 a.m.
Airborne transmission occurs when airborne particles remain suspended in the air, travel on air currents, and are inhaled by others nearby or some distance away from the source. Control of airborne transmission requires control of airflow through special ventilation systems and the use of respiratory protection.
An aerosol-generating medical procedure (AGMP)
is any procedy
production of
+ Go to bottom
aerosols of va
roplet nuclei.
Examples of AGMPs include bronchoscopy

Screenshot of asking NS health AI if breathing generates aerosols You
Wednesday, 10:03 a.m.
Does breathing generate aerosols?
•Nova
Wednesday, 10:03 a.m.
While normal breathing does produce some droplets, activities like talking, screaming, coughing, or sneezing produce larger droplets.
Labour and delivery are also not considered aerosolized events. Aerosol Generating Medical Procedures (AGMPs) are specific medical procedures that generate aerosols.

The AI claimed that breathing generates fewer aerosols than AGMPs so I tried asking for more info. How many aerosols are generated by breathing compared to an AGMP?
0 coPY
Nova
Wednesday, 10:04 a.m.
To best answer your question, could you clarify what context you're interested in? For example, are you concerned about a specific medical setting or a particular activity? #NSPoli

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Ben MacLeod 馬志斌 @benmacleod.bsky.social · 2d

Likewise... I will try to time visits to coincide with M4M events!

Ben MacLeod 馬志斌 @benmacleod.bsky.social · 2d

Yes! Thank you Ysa.

Ben MacLeod 馬志斌 @benmacleod.bsky.social · 2d

Thank you Martyn and Sara!

Ben MacLeod 馬志斌 @benmacleod.bsky.social · 2d

It sucks. Good luck to you too. After miserably mistiming my homebuying attempts in 2022, I made concrete plans to move back to Hong Kong (which fell through for various reasons) so Toronto doesn't seem far in comparison!

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Ben MacLeod 馬志斌 @benmacleod.bsky.social · 2d

Just thought I'd try Toronto now that the cost of living there is essentially the same as in Halifax 😭 I'll be back if home prices ever come down

Is it cheaper to live in Halifax or Toronto? This data says the relative costs are comparable | CBC News

In Halifax, the median proportion of household income spent on housing and transportation costs in 2024 was comparable to cities like Toronto, according to recent data from Statistics Canada. The typi...

www.cbc.ca

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Ben MacLeod 馬志斌 @benmacleod.bsky.social · 2d

Thanks Jillian!

Ben MacLeod 馬志斌 @benmacleod.bsky.social · 2d

If anyone in Toronto is renting out or subletting an apartment that meets my peculiar requirements, please message me! Not having much luck on Facebook. Budget is negotiable.

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Reposted by Ben MacLeod 馬志斌

Yuen Chan @yuenchan.bsky.social · 4d

Happy Mid-Autumn festival to everyone celebrating 🌕🥮
但願人長久，千里共嬋娟

A small, round baked pastry (moon cake) on a china dish featuring a pair of painted rabbits.

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Reposted by Ben MacLeod 馬志斌

NSJosi @nsjosi.bsky.social · 6d

October beach day with @benmacleod.bsky.social

A stretch of sand with the sea on the left, clouds above and blue sky in the horizon, with some sun rays peaking through

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Reposted by Ben MacLeod 馬志斌

Sam Austin @samaustind5.bsky.social · 8d

My October E-News. Some bike stats, water conservation, some transportation news (closed bus lane, cancelled roundabout), splash pad, cherry trees, Dartmouth Cove public hearing, and more. Read about it here samaustin.ca/e-news-octob...

E-News October 2025 - Sam Austin

News Bike Lane UsageBike lanes have been a hot topic over the last several months, first with the Mayor’s motion to pause building cycling infrastructure, then with the debate over Morris Street, and ...

samaustin.ca

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Ben MacLeod 馬志斌 @benmacleod.bsky.social · 9d

he won Morris Street, truly a feather in his cap (jk we will outwait him)

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Ben MacLeod 馬志斌 @benmacleod.bsky.social · 9d

Yes! From the new bike lane on Cogswell Street to the multi-use path through Sexton Campus.

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Ben MacLeod 馬志斌 @benmacleod.bsky.social · 9d

I like that idea. Every time we (PoPNS) do giveaways on that corner I am distracted by the constant pedestrian-vehicle conflict.

Ben MacLeod 馬志斌 @benmacleod.bsky.social · 9d

I wrote "more precast curbs" implying there are currently precast curbs but actually I don't think there are... just flexposts right?

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Ben MacLeod 馬志斌 @benmacleod.bsky.social · 9d

They are giving the bike lane a Hollis Street-style treatment, adding more precast curbs, planters, and raised bus stop platforms. Some of the old brick sidewalks will be replaced with concrete. Here are the tender drawings: drive.google.com/file/d/1D5ko...

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