On today’s CHMA local news:
- a strike today for a public inquiry of the Nova Scotia mass shooting;
- a new segment of the Check In with the Ralph Pickard Bell Library;
- Nova Scotia is free of all known active COVID-19 cases;
- and a recap of Mount Allison’s town hall meeting.
But first, the COVID numbers update:
New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and PEI all reported no new cases of COVID-19 yesterday.
There are three remaining active cases in New Brunswick, one in the South East zone and two in the central zone.
There are two active cases of COVID-19 in PEI, and Nova Scotia is now free of known active cases.
Mount Allison talks campus changes and pandemic deficit
Mount Allison community members were invited to a town hall meeting on Friday, July 24th with the intent to clarify the current plan for the upcoming school year.
Students living on campus can expect significant changes compared to last year.
Residence rooms will only host one student, and there will be a staggered move-in procedure.
Students arriving from outside of the Atlantic Bubble will have to self-isolate for fourteen days upon their arrival.
As for academics, Mount Allison is planning 46 percent of all classes to be on campus.
Over 50 percent will be on campus when including thesis courses.
Maritime and Ontario students have normal enrollment numbers, while both international and Western Canadian student enrollment has significantly lowered.
Mount Allison has spent roughly 1.5 million dollars on precautionary health and safety measures since the pandemic.
For the upcoming school year, they project a 4.6 million dollar deficit.
Mount Allison expects a deficit of 18 million dollars in the next four years due to the circumstances.
These numbers brought to question the recent layoffs of over 50 staff members, both unionized and non-unionized.
Eleven of those 50 staff members still have not received an official return date.
Attendees pointed out that the employees’ income only equated to $140,000, which was far from compensating for the multi-million dollar deficit.
Many also disagree with the way some things have been communicated to the community, such as the tuition increase.
The Board of Regents say they would be happy to host more community gatherings like the town hall to continue the line of communication in the future.
The university will be releasing more information on its plans for the upcoming year on July 31st.
Any additional or unanswered questions from this meeting will be addressed at the next town hall meeting on Thursday, August 6th.
22 reasons to strike for Nova Scotia mass murder inquiry
Women’s Wellness Within, an organization in Halifax, is co-organizing a strike to demand a public inquiry of the Nova Scotia mass shooting.
Federal and provincial governments announced a three-person review panel on July 23rd, which includes a former police chief.
Organizers and some of the victims’ family members insist that a review is not enough.
Today, Monday July 27th at noon, organizers are calling for a 22 minute-strike to demand a public inquiry instead of a review.
Women’s Wellness Within has published a list of 22 reasons for an inquiry to represent each of the 22 lives lost during the shooting.
The reasons are listed as follows:
- Because 22 people, including a pregnant woman, were murdered in less than 24 hours, and each of these murders was preventable.
- Because the victims’ families asked for a public inquiry and were denied.
- Because the murders are rooted in gender-based violence and misogyny.
- Because a woman or girl is killed every 2.5 days.
- Because most murdered women and girls are killed by men known to them.
- Because kids deserve to grow up safe from misogyny and gun violence.
- Because every year there are 1,300 firearm deaths.
- Because rural women face a higher risk of domestic violence.
- Because living in a rural area increases the risk of being murdered with a firearm.
- Because 100 people were killed by police in Canada from 2017-2020.
- Because police dismiss 1 in 5 sexual assault claims as baseless.
- Because without compelling testimony, the truth will not to be told.
- Because the calls for a public inquiry come from all sectors of society.
- Because this tragedy must drive systemic and structural change.
- Because only recommendations from a public inquiry can be enforced.
- Because this is the largest mass shooting in Canada in our lifetimes.
- Because criminalized communities, sex workers, people who use drugs, trans, Black, Indigenous and racialized people have taught us that policing has never been about our safety.
- Because (ex)police should not investigate police.
- Because the police and government are accountable to the people.
- Because we’ve lost trust in leaders and institutions and their closed-door decisions.
- Because we deserve to understand what happened.
- Because we demand accountability, transparency and justice
Participants can join the strike in person or online.
More information can be found on the Facebook event “General Strike: Demand a Public Inquiry.”
The Check-In: Ralph Pickard Bell Library
Concluding today’s local news, we have a new segment of the Check-In from CHMA reporter Meg Cunningham.
In this installment, Meg checks in with Diane Keeping, the Mount Allison University Librarian, to find out how the library has changed its operation during COVID-19.
CHMA Local News is hosted Mahalia Thompson-Onichino and James Anderson, and produced by Erica Butler, with contributions from Bruce Wark, Meg Cunningham, Aura-Lynn Groomes, Geoff de Gannes, and James Anderson.
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