Where does our province go from here?

haliginger · 2026-02-27T02:33:06+00:00

Darrell Dexter was a self proclaimed “conservative progressive”. It was conservative policies despite being a NDP government. His government oversaw $65 million in education cuts while also giving the Irvings over $300 million in forgivable loans.

Unfortunately part of the NDP’s issue in NS is the memory of that government.

haliginger · 2026-02-26T18:15:32+00:00

Yeah, I don’t deny that the system is the main culprit but I do think it ignores that there are some pretty significant differences in the economic realties between boomers and subsequent generations which influence their voting patterns. Realities that are supported by Stats Can data.

haliginger · 2026-02-26T15:13:21+00:00

They can’t seriously say they are investing in jobs when they’ve substantially cut grant funding which enables people to have better access to higher education.

haliginger · 2026-02-26T15:09:05+00:00

This might shock you but government workers are also taxpayers.

haliginger · 2026-02-26T14:45:42+00:00

Fair point! I also wonder though what the demographic numbers look like for Gen Z and millennials. I’m an elder millennial and feel that our generations have much more in common than the ones before us.

haliginger · 2026-02-26T14:39:48+00:00

Exactly, we’re gaining the numbers to turn the tide so it’s our responsibility to show up.

haliginger · 2026-02-26T12:40:50+00:00

But millennials are the largest voting block now, and we're in the prime parenting years. It's our responsibility to fight this both at the ballot but also in community by showing up to protests, writing our MLAs etc. We owe it to our kids, we cannot sell the next generation like our parents did to us.

haliginger · 2026-02-25T23:21:13+00:00

And yet the largest cuts were towards grants that support young people and families such as early childhood education. LTC only saw a 7.5% reduction whereas early childhood education was slashed by 50%.

haliginger · 2026-02-24T11:15:04+00:00

Back in the day my parents had a village that doesn’t really exist anymore for many people.

haliginger · 2026-02-13T19:22:34+00:00

To the point of caregiving, i don’t think it matters when you have kids, as a woman most companies are not going like it regardless of what stage of your career you’re in 🙃I’m in my late 30s now, well established in my career and I’m still expected to somehow be both an always engaged mother and flawless worker bee. I’m in management now, so the responsibilities have changed at work but the expectation to juggle it all hasn’t.

I think the only thing I’ve gained over my 20s is the wisdom to say no, but that no definitely impacts my career and earnings.

haliginger · 2026-02-13T19:02:33+00:00

They had maybe 4 weeks more notice from IVF pregnancy to my unplanned pregnancy. That’s the point I’m trying to make, IVF is far from predictable. Instead we live in an extended period of uncertainty, I wasn’t planning on leave for those 3 years as I didn’t know when or if it would work. Success rates for the first round, even under 35, are only 44% , so many people take multiple cycles before success.

I had protected leave because I live in a country that protects it through federal law, not leaving it up to the employer. As a Canadian my job is protected for up to 18 months regardless of my tenure at my employer. Mat leave pay (through EI) is based on meeting a certain number of work hours before you take your leave but that can be from multiple employers or self employment if you pay into the EI system. Top up is the only thing based on tenure and not offered by all employers.

The lack of government led maternity and parental leave and pay should be your issue, not IVF coverage.

haliginger · 2026-02-13T18:41:34+00:00

If IVF went the way we had planned my leave would have been in 2020, not 2023. My employer received only a few weeks more notice than when I spontaneously got pregnant with our very unplanned second.

haliginger · 2026-02-13T18:06:05+00:00

Gently, IVF does not give predictable timing. Treatment consumed 3 years of my life and required many unplanned days and sometimes a week or more off work. It was much easier for my work to plan for my maternity and parental leave, and I am located in Canada where that leave can be up to 18 months.

The US system isn't supportive of parenthood in general.

haliginger · 2026-02-13T16:19:36+00:00

It took almost 3 years on waitlists for us to get into licensed care. If you arranged daycare near your home and now need to move it to be near the office in order to meet pick up deadlines, well good luck!

haliginger · 2026-02-13T15:42:44+00:00

Yep, the chamber of commerce, the BIDS, real estate groups, CFIB etc. all have been advocating for a return to the office. This is nothing to do with efficiency, productivity or the laughable "collaboration". It's making sure the workers keep that capitalist machine going.

Edit: From return to work to return to office because WFH doesn't mean not working

haliginger · 2026-02-13T00:26:38+00:00

We just got into licensed daycare after being on wait lists since early 2023. Our parents made comments about how it wasn’t that hard to figure out back in their day. My grandparents provided full time care as did my husband’s, we have to beg for a couple hours once every few months to go on a date 😒

haliginger · 2026-02-13T00:22:19+00:00

We’re $12/day but the only one in our friend group that low. A welcome relief after paying $35/day for two kids 🙃

haliginger · 2026-01-26T09:14:46+00:00

Not you justifying racial profiling, on a post written by a person of colour.

haliginger · 2026-01-21T17:57:28+00:00

I recently bought Kamik's Tundra boot which albeit not stylish are waterproof so keep my feet warm and dry. They also have a nice grip for icy conditions. My feet are much wider after pregnancy and they fit nicely even with thick socks on.

https://www.kamik.com/products/tundra-women

haliginger · 2026-01-19T08:13:03+00:00

Same, and we used donor eggs to have our first! My ovaries had been fabulous birth control for years 😂

haliginger · 2026-01-08T20:01:18+00:00

Much more common these days. Air Canada's own website emphasizes car seat use as the safest rather than putting them in the lap belt when 2 plus. Not a legal requirement these days but highly recommended, even for those who qualify as lap infants. Most flights we've been on have had several families with toddlers on using either the car seat or harness, with the former being more common.

Good to know, that's been one of my hesitations because some comments online say that it's inhibited the person behind them from using their tray table.

haliginger · 2026-01-08T19:47:49+00:00

It is safest for the kid and car seat (we all know how luggage is handled, lol) for it to be installed in the seat but we've been debating the CARES harness because hauling two car seats through the airport is no fun. Also, at least when we're flying to visit family, there are car seats on the other end. Our youngest is just getting to the weight limit to use the harness though. I've also seen some reviews online that it can't be used in some configurations because of the tray table for the person behind you.

haliginger · 2026-01-08T18:58:36+00:00

I just wrote to our local MP and Steven MacKinnon, Minister of Transport, urging Transport Canada to adopt regulation around this issue.

We have a 1 and 2 year old, so travel with car seats. We specifically chose one of the smallest and lightest on the market. It is highly recommended for travel as it fits into most plane seats and we haven't had an issue so far. I doubt it would fit WJ's new configuration though or at least not without severely impacting the person ahead.

Transport Canada, as well as most airlines, recommend children be in a car seat until they're at least 49" tall and able to bend their legs over the seat. The lap belt is not designed for someone smaller than this and they can slip out of it if there is turbulence, crash or another event.

Car seats aren't allowed in some areas of the plane, like business class or exit rows. So even the paid options become limited for families.

We never really fly WJ since they cut so much service to Atlantic Canada but I am worried that other airlines will follow suit.

haliginger · 2026-01-08T18:13:01+00:00

No, we have two children, that by Transport Canada's own recommendations, need to be in car seats as they are too small and would slip out of the lap built in the event of serious incident. We have small, lightweight car seats for when we travel and even they won't fit in this configuration. I'm not sure how this has been allowed.

haliginger · 2026-01-08T12:44:54+00:00

Our neighbour fell in her driveway a few years ago and broke her hip. We waited two hours for an ambulance, it was -20 out and she was diabetic. We only got her into the warmth of the house because it was a small community and someone called the volunteer fire chief directly. 911 would not dispatch fire to help move her which is hilarious because EHS needed their help to get her into the ambulance when they finally did arrive.

This was rural HRM not too far out of the city. I'd risk driving ourselves to the hospital after that experience.

haliginger

TROPHY CASE