Wednesday's smoothly orchestrated cabinet shuffle could not hide the central fact of the event: It is a big loss for the Dexter Government. Graham Steele has been the strongest member of Darrell Dexter's cabinet, turning in a sterling job at Finance while displaying a rare knack for speaking plainly, persuasively, and with conviction. Bill Estabrooks's departure likewise represents a big loss. He was the cabinet minister with the commonest touch, a popular, unpretentious man who did solid work putting systems in place for rational decision-making about road work. The province's roadbuilding oligopoly was apoplectic over Estabrooks's decision to set up a civil service...

30 May, 2012

Halifax's unaccountable parking czar Ken Reashor used his arbitrary powers yesterday to end the Halifax peninsula parking ban 26 days earlier than expected. The ban held sway for 84 days, from December 14 through March 4. I can't find actual snowfall data for that period, but the table below (sources here and here) shows average snow conditions in Halifax (the only data available to officials when they impose the ban). So in an average year, the 84-days period from December 14 through March 4 would include about 16 days with snowfall and about 68 without. Why not target the 16 days when a...

05 March, 2011

Dartmouth Cole Harbour MLA Andrew Younger has pulled off something remarkable: He has outflanked the most populist politician in the province on an issue of populism. Earlier this week, Younger challenged Transportation Minister Bill Estabrooks to use his ministerial powers to lift HRM's hated overnight winter parking ban, implemented last month by fiat of the city's unelected, unaccountable traffic tzar. The response from Estabrooks, normally one of the most adroit and citizen-connected politicans in Nova Scotia, sounded uncharacteristically  stuffy: I'm not going to interfere in the winter parking ban," he said. "I'm going to wait to see what the councillors advise me and...

22 January, 2011
cabinet - 2 - cropped - medium
As Nova Scotia’s new government begins its third week in office, a critical early mistake is coming into focus: Darrell Dexter’s 12-member cabinet is too small for the job at hand. Cabinet selection inevitably requires consideration of gender, ethnicity, and geography: Women must take a prominent place; there must seats for Cape Breton, northern Nova Scotia, the south shore, and the valley; Metro MLAs must not appear to dominate. Legitimate political and cultural considerations of this sort do not necessarily trump such factors as experience and merit, but they compete with them. That leads to problems.
06 July, 2009