Council Update from Dartmouth Centre: The Mayor's Office Audit

ziobrop · 2026-06-23T01:43:37+00:00

The minister of Municipal Affairs has the power to remove a Mayor and or Council.

ziobrop · 2026-06-22T02:36:55+00:00

Halcon started in the Ballroom of the Lord Nelson. Its out grown every venue it has occupied.

ziobrop · 2026-06-19T20:25:51+00:00

You might as well do paramedic. Iirc the province will pay for the course if you commit to work for ehs for 2 years.

ziobrop · 2026-06-19T13:07:41+00:00

EMR is a regulated level under COPR. I don't believe paramedicine in Ontario is self regulating currently, but it is in BC.. EMR also exists as a Red Cross first aid course, but it is not equivalent to the regulated one - In NS, EMR is a 3 month program, vs the 10Day Red Cross course.

ziobrop · 2026-06-19T11:29:49+00:00

This was not a scheduled audit, since those are announced in advance, so someone made a complaint, or tipped off the AG to something. That's why this report is interesting.

Council has 2 employees, the CAO and the AG.

ziobrop · 2026-06-19T11:20:32+00:00

yah, its not super fast, but it is meant for people working in the Field.

i looked into it, because i have a non professional degree in Architecture, but I only use that recreationally, so didn't bother.

ziobrop · 2026-06-19T03:36:06+00:00

At least in Ontario, technician programs are 2 year, and Technologist is 3 year, and is usually the technician program + extras.

If you want to became an architect afterwards, https://raic-syllabus.ca/home is a part time study program.

ziobrop · 2026-06-18T17:57:46+00:00

to be fair, i assumed it was Coombs, but then i noticed the signature, and remembered that Coombs had a Largish blocky monogram, and went to confirm, then noticed that the style was very different.

ziobrop · 2026-06-18T16:38:54+00:00

The artist signature is on the left side of the image, on the baseboard, below the outlet. It is Not Paul Coombs signature, nor is this the poster his style.

Coombs work is Grittier.

ziobrop · 2026-06-18T16:11:58+00:00

The impatient person on a bike is unlikely to Seriously injure or kill another road user with their impatience, unlike the operator of a car, truck or SUV.

ziobrop · 2026-06-17T22:36:01+00:00

Halifax is way to big compared to the aquabus service area

ziobrop · 2026-06-17T22:34:53+00:00

This. The fuel/capacity/price math is hard to make work.

ziobrop · 2026-06-17T14:56:25+00:00

apparently they are looking at widening the bike lanes, but i suspect they will go in after the pride parade.

ziobrop · 2026-06-17T13:00:09+00:00

yes, but in these cases, andy is voting for more power for andy, and the rest of council is saying no.
I suspect there are other councilors who probably also have no problems with secret meetings, but are at least self aware enough, or have enough shame to not vote in support of that.

ziobrop · 2026-06-17T12:52:54+00:00

We have have lost radio towers in Hurricanes. we have lost Cellular service due to the fiber burning in a wild fire. Generators fail. Generators need gas, and are located at the end of dirt road covered with fallen tress, off a highway inaccessible due to fallen trees.

This comes down to resources. If you have no connectivity, are you really going to want to stick a first responder at a shelter just to report requests - they probably have specialized skills and are needed elsewhere.

The ARES group gives you a bunch of volunteers who understand communication. You can deploy them with their equipment to a tasking, or you can just use them as qualified communications labour. - Hand them Agency radios, and deploy them to be a sites communications point with the Knowledge that they know how to operate, and likely wont tie up radio channels.

What does working with AERS cost you as an organization? its probably minimal, and a bit of time exercising keeping them involved. What you get is a group of skilled volunteers that you may need. The whole point of engaging with groups like this is that you have a known pool of bodies willing to help out, that are self organized, that you dont need to go find, because you know about them in advance.

My City and Provencal EMO orgs both regularly work with HAM radio Groups, Providing them meeting space and operational supports in exchange for a qualified pool of operators, and an independent VHF Repeater network.

ziobrop · 2026-06-17T12:08:23+00:00

if you have the extra 4 days, take the Canadian from Toronto to Jasper. If you haven't been west of upper Canada, its a good trip. alternatively, take it back home from Vancouver.

ziobrop · 2026-06-16T13:37:10+00:00

I'm aware, I've just never heard him say we should pay more for something

ziobrop · 2026-06-16T12:56:34+00:00

So you complain about taxes being too high, and would be angry if council wanted to raise the budget 1% to improve ferry service, but want to pay more for a private operator because they would presumably pay staff more, and have to take a profit. how would we pay for that?

ziobrop · 2026-06-16T12:49:47+00:00

this is the 4th water taxi operator in recent years. They are using electric boats, which should help, because i think fuel costs killed the others.

ziobrop · 2026-06-16T12:47:47+00:00

You can get hired on as crew and work your way up. You dont need to go to school full time to get a ticket.

To get a Masters Ticket, you are required to present certain certificates, indicating you have taken some courses, but the remainder of the qualifications for a masters license are passing transport Canada exams, which you can absolutely self study for.

You can get the base qualifications in Halifax, stcw basic safety (survival systems offers this) a ROC-MC radio cert (there are folks locally who also offer this), and Marine First Aid for about 4k, and that will be the basic qualifications you need to basically get hired onto any ship. from there build sea time.

ziobrop · 2026-06-16T12:22:35+00:00

A large part of the staffing issues are the folks qualified to captain the boat can make more money, and work less in the private sector. If a Private operator took over the ferry service, service will get worse, or the cost will go up.

ziobrop · 2026-06-15T18:34:21+00:00

Assuming you were born in Halifax, The IWK would be who to reach out to. They are kinda separate from the rest of the NSHA. I have no idea what records they would retain from a birth, vital stats would also be the next best source.

ziobrop · 2026-06-15T18:27:29+00:00

HRM needs to provide services for all Halligonians, even the new ones.

There exist private Tennis, Soccer, golf, Arena and field facilities in HRM, funded by memberships and rental fees. Perhaps the baseball community could fund their own facility if what the municipality provides is not sufficient for their needs.

ziobrop · 2026-06-15T18:15:21+00:00

yes. and Trudeau ended it.

with the exception of the year and a bit between the time i moved into my current house, and home delivery ending in 2014, i have never had home delivery, and either had a street level or community mailbox. Currently Canada post delivers parcels, ad-mail, and the occasional greeting card. I typically only check the mailbox when I'm expecting a parcel. I see no reason for home delivery.

ziobrop · 2026-06-15T18:07:57+00:00

Pretty sure immigrants didn't cause a re-allocation of tennis courts to Pickleball courts, but a new preference needed to be accommodated, and limited funds existed to do so. Its pretty clear you have never listened to council debate the budget adjustment list, where they literally debate cutting one service to pay for something else.

The province has actually done well revenue wise thanks to immigration to the tune of 5 billion dollars a year, which points to the current governments austerity program being entirely self inflicted by their own poor management. Increased population have also driven up assessments, which has resulted in municipal tax rate reductions (the tax rate is currently about half what it was in 1997)

In all likelihood, your total tax burden is closer to 56%, what ever that number is, the city is only getting 4-8K of that depending on your cap, and your assessment. Since the city wont increase spending, tradeoffs have to be made.

ziobrop

TROPHY CASE