Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Christine Saulnier (she/her) @csaulnier.bsky.social · 23h

Reading media stories about prefabricated homes. Is that not what Kent homes are? Why aren’t they leading on this? Has not the Maritimes always used these mini-homes as affordable options for decades?

kenthomes.com

kenthomes.com

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Christine Saulnier (she/her) @csaulnier.bsky.social · 1d

New report. Proud to be co-author. To say our labour standards is outdated is an understatement!

CCPA Nova Scotia @ccpanovascotia.bsky.social · 1d

Nova Scotia workers deserve better. Our new report finds outdated labour laws, weak enforcement, and growing gaps for vulnerable workers.

Read more: www.policyalternatives.ca/news-researc...

#nspoli #workersrights #LabourStandards #DecentWorkNS #CanLab

The Foundations of Decent Work: An Evaluation of Nova Scotia Labour Standards - CCPA

Foundations of Decent Work_ An evaluation of Nova Scotia Labour StandardsDownload

www.policyalternatives.ca

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Reposted by Christine Saulnier (she/her)

CCPA — Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives @policyalternatives.ca · 6d

"While the wage increases are welcome, there is still a gap between the new numbers and what it takes to keep food on the table and the lights on," says @csaulnier.bsky.social director of @ccpanovascotia.bsky.social #canlab www.ctvnews.ca/business/art...

Five provinces increase minimum wage, but some worry it may not have the ‘intended effect’

Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia and P.E.I. increased their minimum wage on Oct. 1. What does that mean for employees and the businesses they work for?

www.ctvnews.ca

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Reposted by Christine Saulnier (she/her)

Naomi Klein @naomiaklein.bsky.social · 7d

Israel has just arrested Greta Thunberg and many others.

Statement from the Global Sumud Flotilla:

“People of conscience have been abducted. The flotilla broke no laws. What is illegal is Israel’s genocide, Israel’s illegal blockade of Gaza, and Israel’s use of starvation as a weapon.”
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Naomi Klein @naomiaklein.bsky.social · 7d

Close to 65k watching the livefeed from the Global Sumud Flotilla off the coast of Gaza.

Israel seems to be intercepting right now.

All eyes needed.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEN2...

24/7 LIVESTREAM OF GLOBAL SUMUD FLOTILLA

YouTube video by Global Sumud Flotilla

www.youtube.com

80 3K 5.2K

Reposted by Christine Saulnier (she/her)

CCPA Nova Scotia @ccpanovascotia.bsky.social · 7d

NS’s new min. wage brings NS to the middle of the pack compared to the rest of Canada, but let’s remember that NS has some of the lowest average wages in the country & the gap between the min. & the living wage is growing. Read our 2025 Living Wages Report to learn more: bit.ly/4h0nqBt
#NSpoli

There’s still a big gap between Nova Scotia’s minimum wage and living wage.
Nova Scotia’s new minimum wage brings the province to the middle of the pack compared to the rest of Canada. While this is an improvement, let’s not forget that Nova Scotia has some of the lowest average wages in the country and the gap between the minimum and the living wage continues to grow. Read our 2025 Living Wages Report to learn more.

not everyone is even entitled to minimum wage.
All or certain classifications of the following employees are excluded:
Farm workers
Apprentices
Playground or summer camp staff
Sales and agents
Fishing boat employees
Logging and Forestry workers
Construction workers
Property Maintenance
Domestic workers
Supported employment
Athletes while engaged in activities related to their athletic endeavour
Self-employed and federally-regulated employees

Nova Scotia Living Wage Gap
The new $16.50/hour minimum wage is $11.10/hour short of what workers need to make ends meet.

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Christine Saulnier (she/her) @csaulnier.bsky.social · 12d

Join us! The public investment in child care is one of the largest generational investments ever made. We need to get this right and that takes advocacy and pressure. #nspoli

Child Care Now - Nova Scotia @childcarenow-ns.bsky.social · 13d

Child Care Now NS is hosting our Annual Check-In Event on Oct 2! 💜 Hear from ECEs + advocates, share your voice, and stand together for child care in NS. Hybrid: Keshen Goodman Library + online. 🌟 All welcome! 📅 6:30–8:30 PM 💻 Online: Register here to join via Zoom 👉 us02web.zoom.us/meeting/regi...

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Christine Saulnier (she/her) @csaulnier.bsky.social · 12d

Solidarity with these workers. Atlantic postal workers were out first. I stopped by the line last night on Almon. This is a critical service especially for rural communities. @cupwsttp.bsky.social

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Christine Saulnier (she/her) @csaulnier.bsky.social · 14d

« It's easier to make mistakes and work through them when everyone doesn't know where to find you from one day to the next. » ah democracy.
#nspoli

ANALYSIS | Nova Scotia's 3 main parties all face challenges as MLAs return to Province House | CBC News

Each of the three main parties face challenges of their own as MLAs return to Province House on Tuesday for the fall sitting of the legislature.

www.cbc.ca

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Christine Saulnier (she/her) @csaulnier.bsky.social · 19d

This will make more of a difference than specialty clinics ( which are also needed). The lack of education for all providers on the ‘specialty’ of having a uterus and all associated conditions from endo to menopause is truly astounding.

Maggie Archibald @maggiearchibald.bsky.social · 20d

Health Canada granted CanSAGE nearly $500,000 to train primary-care doctors, emergency physicians, and general gynecologists in endometriosis, including ultrasound and surgical skills.

www.ctvnews.ca/health/artic...

Training for docs coming as women wait years in pain for endometriosis diagnoses

One in 10 girls and women live with endometriosis — often called “endo” — in Canada, but there is an average delay of five years until it’s diagnosed, according to the Canadian Society for the Advance...

www.ctvnews.ca

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Reposted by Christine Saulnier (she/her)

Canadian Media Guild - La Guilde canadienne des médias @cmglaguilde.bsky.social · 20d

Nous recrutons ! La Guilde canadienne des médias cherche un·e conseiller·ère syndical·e dans la région de l’Atlantique (St. John’s ou Halifax de préférence). Date limite : 14 oct. 2025 cmg.ca/news/canadia...

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Christine Saulnier (she/her) @csaulnier.bsky.social · 20d

A battle that should never have been necessary.

How surgery took MAID off the table for this Halifax woman | CBC News

A Nova Scotia woman who applied for medical assistance in dying after years of being denied out-of-province care for lymphedema recently had surgery in New Jersey — paid for by the provincial governme...

www.cbc.ca

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Christine Saulnier (she/her) @csaulnier.bsky.social · 21d

When: Saturday, Sept. 20, 1–4 pm Where: Grand Parade, Barrington St. (in front of City Hall), #Halifax Join us for an afternoon of skills sharing and creative activity, with a fall fair type vibe... followed by a rally #halisky

Climate Emergency Unit @climateunit.bsky.social · 21d

📢 This Saturday, thousands of people in 70+ communities will mobilize in an unprecedented day of action.

21 leaders have signed an open letter demanding that @mark-carney.bsky.social pick a side: injustice, violence & climate destruction, or a just, safe future for us all.

Read the open letter 👇

Draw the Line: Tell the Carney Government to Pick a Side | The Tyee

For people, for peace, for the planet. An invitation to join the Sept. 20 mass day of action.

thetyee.ca

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Christine Saulnier (she/her) @csaulnier.bsky.social · 21d

« The Public Procurement Act is there for fairness, transparency, accountability, and some components of that are missing. » Auditor general raising questions about $8.5 billion for 5,700 new & replacement nursing home beds by 2032. Skirting the tendering process for 85% of them! #nspoli

Auditor general's report finds weaknesses in Nova Scotia's plan for nursing home beds

A report by Nova Scotia's Auditor General found some major cracks in the province's plan to add over 5,000 new nursing home beds

www.saltwire.com

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Reposted by Christine Saulnier (she/her)

Madiha Mughees @mmughees.bsky.social · 22d

"I grew up in Gaza, and for as long as I can remember, my life was marked by war. In 2006, I lost my father when Israeli forces killed him on his farmland."

'Every day is a struggle': A Palestinian-Canadian marching against the Davis Cup tells her story www.halifaxexaminer.ca/world/every-...

'Every day is a struggle': A Palestinian-Canadian marching against the Davis Cup tells her story - Halifax Examiner

Najlaa Alzaanin's family has been facing bombing, displacement, and starvation in Gaza for two years.

www.halifaxexaminer.ca

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Christine Saulnier (she/her) @csaulnier.bsky.social · 22d

It is important that we act on the lessons learned about these firms turning profits, by debt loading & bankrupting. As @armineyalnizyan.bsky.social outlines, it is critical that new laws and regulations be enacted especially when it comes to the care economy. www.thestar.com/business/opi...

Armine Yalnizyan: The new giant in the story of capitalism: Private equity

The same patterns are unfolding across long-term care, hospitals, home care and child care globally: public and non-profit operators struggle while private investors reap growing profits, all fuelled ...

www.thestar.com

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Christine Saulnier (she/her) @csaulnier.bsky.social · 22d

I just listened & you should too—In case you needed something else to be very concerned about. This is happening in Canada. Most newspapers in Atlantic Canada are now owned by Post Media majority-owned by a US hedge fund. And these firms are making in roads in dentists, vets, child care.

Slate @slate.com · 23d

In this episode of Death, Sex & Money, Megan Greenwell explains how a private equity takeover forced her out of her dream job and inspired her six-year investigation into the industry's impact on American workers slate.trib.al/xxyL7pk

Private Equity Blew Up My Life

Can you get rewarded without taking a risk? Sure, if you work in private equity.

slate.trib.al

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Christine Saulnier (she/her) @csaulnier.bsky.social · 27d

❤️ this program. Should be permanent. It gets teens used to riding the bus. It builds their confidence, independence and freedom.

Halifax Regional Municipality @hfxgov.bsky.social · 27d

Students in grades 7 to 12 at HRCE and CSAP schools, and homeschooled students in Halifax, can ride Halifax Transit for free during the 2025/26 school year.

The Student Transit Pass provides unlimited access to buses and ferries from Sept. 4, 2025, to Sept. 11, 2026. halifax.ca/StudentTransitPass

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Christine Saulnier (she/her) @csaulnier.bsky.social · 29d

This is tomorrow in Halifax. A chill in-person event.
You can still rsvp.
Great for faculty @msvufa.bsky.social @smufu.bsky.social

CCPA Nova Scotia @ccpanovascotia.bsky.social · Sep 4

Join us next Wed., Sept. 10th, 4-6pm for an event recognizing the importance of ensuring that the voices of women and gender-diverse people are heard and exert influence.

RSVP to [email protected]

#nspoli

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Christine Saulnier (she/her) @csaulnier.bsky.social · Sep 8

Good luck at the table today @dalfaculty.bsky.social

« The DFA’s calls for fair wages and supportive measures for newer and precariously employed faculty resist right-wing trends experienced throughout the world that seek to limit intellectual freedom. »

Fighting for the right to a public university - CCPA

The Dalhousie Faculty Association (DFA) was locked out by the university three weeks ago (August 20th). The DFA’s calls for fair wages and supportive measures for newer and precariously employed facul...

www.policyalternatives.ca

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Christine Saulnier (she/her) @csaulnier.bsky.social · Sep 5

Solidarity.

Dalhousie Faculty Association @dalfaculty.bsky.social · Sep 5

3rd DFA lockout rally. Happening now. #keepdalstrong

Reposted by Christine Saulnier (she/her)

CCPA Nova Scotia @ccpanovascotia.bsky.social · Sep 4

“We have the mechanisms to help working families and governments just really need to ensure that they use what they have. It all fits together..." @csaulnier.bsky.social tells the Guysborough Journal. Read the article here: bit.ly/3JFFcxs

#NSpoli

Governments have the tools to address the affordability crisis in nova scotia. They just have to use them.
We have the mechanisms to help working families and governments just really need to ensure that they use what they have. It all fits together. It’s both higher wages, higher income supports, more affordable housing, expanding public services, making sure that taxation is fair and progressive.
– Guysborough Journal quoting Christine Saulnier, Director, CCPA-NS

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Christine Saulnier (she/her) @csaulnier.bsky.social · Sep 3

"Beginning in 2026, trucking services for capital highway contracts will follow a market-based procurement model."
Procurement should support local businesses, pay living wages, etc.
(The other way to go is to bring these contracts in-house, save money and create good, secure union jobs.)

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Christine Saulnier (she/her) @csaulnier.bsky.social · Sep 3

As we said, let's be careful about what is being called a trade barrier; any local preference could be a barrier to the so-called free flow of goods and services. We also cautioned that small local businesses would lose out. NS ending policy result will "undermine independent operators." #nspoli

N.S. government looks to end policy that ensures work for independent trucks | CBC News

Public Works Minister Fred Tilley indicated in a letter last month that his government plans to do away with an agreement that ensures a certain number of local trucking contractors are used on road-b...

www.cbc.ca

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Christine Saulnier (she/her) @csaulnier.bsky.social · Aug 26

#LabourDay, Mon.Sept 1,events in #NovaScotia
~Cape Breton 12:00 pm, Open Hearth Park, Sydney
~Halifax – 11:00 am, Labour Board March to Peace and Friendship Park #halisky
~South Shore 11:30 am, Privateer Park, Liverpool
~Annapolis Valley –11:00 am, Memorial Park, Kentville

music, food, & solidarity

Celebrate Labour Day 2025!

Join workers across Canada this Labour Day. Find an event near you.

workerstogether.ca

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Christine Saulnier (she/her) @csaulnier.bsky.social · Aug 26

L’écart entre le revenu moyen et le salaire de subsistance en Atlantique

ici.radio-canada.ca/info/videos/...

L’écart entre le revenu moyen et le salaire de subsistance en Atlantique

Le rapport du CCPA met en lumière l'écart entre le salaire de subsistance et le revenu moyen en Atlantique, soulignant l'impact du coût de la vie sur les familles.

ici.radio-canada.ca