David Trueman

In Amsterdam at night, woman in cream-coloured jacket over black dress poses with her bicycle, the basket filled with three unfinished bottles of wine and a bridal bouquet.

I’m in Amsterdam right now. What a wonderful diversion from Halifax winter and the never-ending battles for decent cycling infrastructure in #bikehfx

Here, a photo of a new friend, at the end of a wedding night, bike basket filled with three unfinished bottles of wine and the bridal bouquet.

The best thing about Halifax is its people.
This thread of folks speaking at budget committee this week is a beautiful demonstration of people who care for each other and this city.

Kathryn Morse on facebook BUDGET UPDATE; FUTURE OF HALIFAX FORUM; PROVINCE DRIVING HIGHER TAXES FOR HRM?; DUTCH VILLAGE ROAD; YOUTH SERVICES SURVEY HRM BUDGET: TEN NEW BUSES AND BETTER ROAD SAFETY The HRM budget is almost done. As we do every year, Council listened to residents before making budget decisions. We heard many residents are struggling to pay their bills right now and many residents asked us not to raise property taxes. On the opposite side of the equation, many residents asked us not to cut tax-funded municipal services that make life more affordable, such as transit. Slowly, carefully and transparently, Council has worked through the budget, cutting spending in some departments and increasing spending in others, trying to find a balance for our growing municipality. HRM has a $1.3 billion annual operating budget. Most of that budget pays for essential services such as policing, fire protection, transit service, garbage collection, snow clearing, and road maintenance. In terms of new spending there is very little this year, but here are a few highlights: -there will be new spending to improve road safety (fast-tracking improvements for problematic intersections; more coordination around enforcement; increasing crosswalk upgrades); -there will be $14.5 million in new spending for 10 articulated (extra long) buses to improve key transit routes; -and there will be new spending to add firefighters in Sackville.

To help offset these and other costs, parking fees will be going up and drivers will have to pay for on-street parking downtown on Saturdays. Transit fares will also be going up by 25 cents, likely sometime in the fall. Property taxes are still to be finalized but they will also go up, however not by the 10-11% initially proposed. Here are some of the items that were suggested for budget cuts that Council did NOT approve: -we did not eliminate Sunday and holiday transit service -we did not cancel transit service after 10 pm -we did not reduce ferry service -we did not lower bus stop snow clearing standards -we did not lower sidewalk snow clearing standards -we did not eliminate curbside collection of larger items -we did not cut the library collection by $300,000 (HRM residents use their libraries more than the national average) -we did not raise property taxes on non-profit organizations -we did not cut arts, affordable housing, heritage, and low income grants by 10% Council received more emails about the 2026/27 budget than we usually do, many prompted by a social media campaign spearheaded by HRM's largest rental property owners. The rental landlords were demanding Council cut municipal jobs and services to reduce taxes. However there were residents who argued they would rather pay slightly more this year for the services that keep the city liveable and affordable. As one resident put it to Council: "Please just bite the Bullet of Unpopularity and increase taxes to the level required. We must all pay for a healthy, functioning community." The budget numbers will be finalized next week.

HALIFAX FORUM DECISION There is one more step in the budget process before Council can confirm the amount of the upcoming tax increase. On Tuesday, Council will consider the capital budget which includes major projects like the Windsor Street Exchange, the Mill Cove Ferry and the Halifax Forum. It's expected that Council will decide the future of the Halifax Forum as part of the capital budget. The Forum is almost 100 years old. Councillors had a tour of the building a few months ago and saw firsthand how the bricks are crumbling. The Forum doesn't meet modern standards and the building is in such poor condition it has to be closed temporarily when the snow load on the roof gets too heavy. Mayor Fillmore has stated his wish to see the Forum torn down and the site sold to a private developer for higrise housing. Others on Regional Council believe the Forum should be rebuilt and modernized on its historic site, a plan approved by the previous Council. Whether you play hockey there, attend graduations there, go to craft shows there, or remember Kiss concerts there, the Halifax Forum is an important landmark and a valuable public space in the city's North End. I don't think the Forum should be seen as just another piece of real estate that could be developed. If we start selling our municipally-owned public spaces and heritage sites, what will be left of Halifax? Public buildings and common land should be safeguarded for the common good.

NEW PROVINCIAL POWERS MAY DRIVE HRM TAXES HIGHER The Houston government introduced legislation last week that will give provincial ministers new powers over HRM. Some of these new powers may increase property taxes for all HRM residents in future years. The powers in the bill (Bill 212 - An Act Respecting Administrative Measures for Housing) will allow the Province to expand HRM's service boundary and dictate where new suburban housing development will happen. This will force HRM to set up new water, sewer and other services outside the existing municipal service boundary. Here's the downside of Bill 212 for HRM residents: by cherry-picking the locations of new housing developments and ordering HRM to expand suburban sprawl, the provincial government will create a situation where HRM property taxes will have to go up to pay for the infrastructure. By green lighting development on the edges of the city the Province will force HRM to raise taxes higher than if the housing had been built inside the municipal service boundary. Sprawl costs us all, as the saying goes. Here's why: it's expensive for HRM to build new infrastructure like water and sewer pipes to serve low density housing in more remote areas. These new subdivisions will also require additional municipal services such as police, fire, transit, garbage collection, and snow removal. Typically it is much more cost-effective to add new and denser housing inside the service boundary, where municipal infrastructure already exists.

Councillor Kathryn Morse doesn’t post on here, and I know some of you aren’t on facebook, so I’m sharing this informative post from her.

Thanks for the post @danp.net. I managed to say what I wanted to with 2 seconds to spare. (I trimmed out one paragraph.)

This booing is fucking delicious.

Thank you, Terri, for this amazing public service of live blogging!

My loyal subjects have arrived! Welcome! Listen to those cheers! #nspoli

Thanks!

I would happily pay one more percentage point on the HST, for bridge tolls, and for parking to help fund grants, museums, bus passes for students, and more #taxmedaddy.

He needs to hear this in every city, town and village, at every gathering. We are all under attack. Solidarity.

Halifax Cycling Coalition asks HRM to prioritize bike projects amid rising cyclist injuries David Trueman's message as co-chair of the Halifax Cycling Coalition was simple and largely ignored on Thursday.

New: With over 100 cyclists injuries last year, not to mention 67 vehicle-cyclist collisions between 2024-2025, the Halifax Cycling Coalition addressed the city's transportation standing committee this week.

They were met with silence.

My latest for @thechronicleherald.bsky.social.

This is a truly embarrassing performance by the minster who is responsible for devastating so much of what we value in Nova Scotia. It’s not long because he doesn’t have much to say.

N.S. culture minister faces questions about cuts to tourism, arts On Wednesday, Communities, Culture, Tourism and Heritage Minister Dave Ritcey deferred to staff when asked if stakeholders would be given a reason why certain programs were chosen for funding cuts.

Perhaps little known is that all the provincial grant support for Active Transportation I.e. walking and cycling was moved into Community, Culture, Tourism and Heritage. So, these programs were most eliminated along with arts, tourism, etc. Watch the responsible minister: www.cbc.ca/player/play/...

Huge protest happening next week in #Halifax #NovaScotia against the Houston Conservative government - March 3, 2026 #NovaScotiaLegislature

Be there if you can!!!

#RespectTheTreaties #DemocraticRights #MakeYourVoiceHeard

Halifax Cycling Coalition asks HRM to prioritize bike projects amid rising cyclist injuries David Trueman's message as co-chair of the Halifax Cycling Coalition was simple and largely ignored on Thursday.

Yesterday, I addressed (on behalf of HCC) the Transportation Standing Committee on prioritization of cycling infrastructure. Covered in the Chronicle Herald by Josh Healey: www.saltwire.com/nova-scotia/...

And yes, that is black ice this morning in the Almon St bike lanes #bikehfx

If there's one rally that I go to it's going to be this one and I hope to see you all there.
#BikeHFX

Shoulder to Shoulder rally will be held March 3 in Halifax at N.S. Legislature » The Laker News HALIFAX: On Tuesday, March 3 at 12 p.m., a coalition of more than 60 Mi’kmaw and settler groups from communities throughout Nova Scotia are gathering at the

Yep I did a story

thelaker.ca/shoulder-to-...

Thanks!

It really does seem that we're in a moment where there is a concerted effort to unwind any gains that were made in the postwar world. This is Nova Scotia, but it could be B.C., Canada as a whole, the UK, NZ, Australia, and, of course the U.S.

Tim Bousquet captures the destruction well:

Houston has to know the depth and breadth of opposition to his destructive policies. We must be united and rise up in protest through rallies and letter writing and phone calls. Target the premier, ministers and your MLA if they are PC.

Yet another move by Houston that will increase congestion. Along with removing bridge tolls, free parking, attacks on bike lanes.

Today Houston cut funding for the only Education PHD program in the province, a unique collaboration across 3 universities working together to provide access to higher education locally. check @halifaxexaminer.ca for a full list of cuts.
Link to cuts s3.documentcloud.org/documents/27...

Here’s the full list of Houston’s cuts Have a look at show your friends. There are pages and pages, everything from R&I for the Brain Repair Centre and Acute and Primary Health Care to Hope Blooms, the Domestic Violence Court, and the NS Apprenticeship Agency Program.

Finally!

It is worth looking at the full list of cuts here. If it has anything to do with environment, climate, arts, education, culture or active living it is cut deeply or eliminated. We need solidarity across the board to protest this devastation. #bikehfx most grants supporting cycling are eliminated.

Please share this widely. There is likely another rally on Wednesday for the Arts.

Poster advertising the rally: Shoulder to Shoulder, We are all Treaty People. The rally is Tuesday, March 3rd at noon, meeting on Granville, behind the N.S. Legislature.

Join HCC in solidarity with many other groups to protest Tim Houston selling out everything we stand for in NS. The environment, the climate, the arts, cycling, active living, treaty rights, and our democratic rights are all under attack. Tue, March 3rd at noon on Granville behind Province House.

Just diabolical… tax EV and hybrid owners and penalize people cycling, all trying to do the right thing, meanwhile doubling down on highway construction to the tune of $465 million, rewarding environmental destruction.

I think this is a key point we need to keep repeating - our council is spending extraordinary amounts of time to constantly relitigate an expense that's less than 0.05% of the capital budget. That is not time well spent by any measure.