Nova Scotia Politics 1945-2020 From Macdonald to MacNeil
Publisher: Pottersfield Press$21.95Who has held political power in Nova Scotia? How did they get it? And what did they do with it? In his latest book, best-selling author and former cabinet minister Graham Steele takes us on a roller-coaster ride through seventy-five years of Nova Scotia politics from 1945 to 2020.
The story ranges from Angus L. Macdonald, who won a crushing election victory in 1945 after a bitter falling-out with prime minister Mackenzie King, to Stephen McNeil, who provoked the first-ever teachers’ strike yet won the first back-to-back majorities in thirty years. It covers premiers from the calm intellectual Robert Stanfield, to the acerbic outsider Donald Cameron, to the aloof reformer John Savage, and highlights trailblazers like Gladys Porter, Wayne Adams, and Donald Marshall Jr.
Nova Scotia politics has seen an almost unnatural focus on jobs, roads, and corruption. Steele doesn’t shy away from the controversial parts of our political history: the trial of Gerald Regan for sexual crimes; the political pressure that led to the opening of the ill-starred Westray mine; and the environmental racism that pumped effluent into Boat Harbour for fifty years.
This is a book for anyone interested in modern Nova Scotia history or politics. It’s for the avid politics-watcher, of course, but also for the new voter, the newcomer, the new parent, the newly retired—anyone who wants some historical depth by which to understand today’s politics.
Steele pulls together the threads of history, adding original stories and archival research to the existing rich vein of historical writing, and then applies his own political experience to find the through lines that tie together past, present, and future.
Mayann Francis An Honourable Life
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$29.95When Mayann Francis was named Nova Scotia’s first Black lieutenant-governor, she wondered if the community would accept her. Francis was born just three months after businesswoman Viola Desmond was arrested for sitting in a whites-only section of a movie theatre in New Glasgow. Had enough changed? In this candid memoir, Francis describes her journey from humble beginnings in Whitney Pier, the daughter of immigrants, to the vice-regal office. She explains how her religious faith and her family’s belief in education equipped her for life’s challenges, including the loss of much of her vision.
Before Francis was named lieutenant-governor, she had earned a masters degree in New York City and worked in a series of senior positions. But her time in the vice-regal office was not without challenges. Francis was unable to live in Government House for much of her term because the official residence was being renovated. As the renovations dragged on, there were rumours, she writes, that some politicians and bureaucrats did not want her to ever move in. Was it, she asks, because she was Black? Francis poses tough questions in this book, but also offers advice and encouragement to anyone faced with challenges.
Indigenous Business In Canada Principles and Practices
Editor: Keith G. Brown, Mary Beth DoucettePublisher: Nimbus Publishing$34.95Students who study business in university are not likely to hear about or discuss examples of Indigenous business successes from across the country. Rarely would one see references to Aboriginal communities, let alone examples of them growing multi-million dollar businesses and partnering to lead innovative economic development projects that positively impact the national economy. Resources are scarce and inadequate, an oversight that is to our detriment.
Somewhere between a textbook and a book of collected essays, this collection of articles is an effort to build on and share the research of Aboriginal practitioners and scholars working in their respective fields. Where possible we share not only concepts, but also the voices of Aboriginal leaders, officials, Elders and other members of Aboriginal communities.
Indigenous Business in Canada addresses contemporary concerns and issues in the doing of Indigenous business in Canada, reveals some of the challenges and diverse approaches to business in Aboriginal contexts from coast to coast to coast, and demonstrates the direct impact that history and policy, past and present, have on business and business education.
Looking For Bootstraps Economic Development in the Maritimes
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$29.95In 2006, award-winning author Donald Savoie wrote a seminal book on economic development in the Maritimes: Visiting Grandchildren. His plans were “to exit the field with this book.” A decade later, he marks his return to that subject with Looking for Bootstraps. Concerned about the region’s future, he sought to explore and explain the reasons behind its lack of economic development. The result will spark a much-needed debate about the future of the Maritime provinces.
Drawing on his past involvement in regional development (senior policy advisor to former minister of DREE; involvement in establishment of ACOA) and on his earlier work, Savoie brings a fresh perspective to an age-old problem and ask the tough questions: Why has the Maritime region not developed as well as other Canadian regions, and what can we do about it?
Not My Party The rise and fall of Canadian Tories, from Robert Stanfield to Stephen Harper
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$34.95This outspoken, timely book by former Mulroney Cabinet Minister Tom McMillan indicts Stephen Harper for destroying the historic Canadian Conservative Party while prime minister and party leader, accusing him of turning a force for progressive Canadian values into an American Republican style vehicle for right-wing ideologues. Lamenting Harper’s hyperpartisan “cult of personality” politics, McMillan argues the Conservative Party is no longer the enlightened national institution founded by Sir John A. Macdonald and nurtured by successive Tory leaders until the 2003 Reform/Canadian Alliance Party merger.
In a crisp, conversational tone, McMillan contrasts this new brand of Conservatism with Robert Stanfield’s 1960s/70s “politics of thoughtfulness,” assessing the impact of Stanfield’s legacy on successive Conservative leaders. He urges Conservative progressives to reclaim their party from right-wing extremists and revive its commitment to nation building and national unity; to re-brand itself, once again, as Progressive Conservative.
A fascinating political memoir from a longtime Conservative Party insider, Not My Party explores the evolution-or devolution-of Canada’s Conservative Party, how backroom party politics operates, and political leaders succeed or fail.
A Tale of Two Countries
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$22.95With a broad scope deeply anchored in demographics, A Tale of Two Countries focuses on Saillant’s powerful argument: that the “twin forces of economic and demographic gravity” spell trouble for eastern Canada, and for the country as a whole, if we don’t act now. With charts, extensive endnotes, and compelling arguments, A Tale of Two Countries is a must-read for those seeking an accessible, evidence-based policy analysis of Canada’s uncertain future, recommendations for addressing its consequences, and their potential impact on all Canadians.
Duffy Stardom to Senate to Scandal
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$21.95Mike Duffy made his name as a political reporter, and in the process became one of Prince Edward Island’s most famous exports. He cast himself as the ultimate insider, Parliament Hill’s man in the know. It made him a household name and one of the Canada’s bestpaid journalists. But Duffy wanted to get even closer and lobbied his way into the Canadian Senate, with dire results. Veteran journalist Dan Leger tells the story of Duffy’s rise to the top in Canadian media, his entanglement with the Harper Conservatives, and the scandal that made him one of the most controversial figures in contemporary politics. This paperback edition includes a new chapter on the 2015 expenses trial, a foreword by CBC’s Peter Mansbridge, and an 8-page colour photo insert.
For The Record
Publisher: MacIntyre Purcell Publishing Inc.$19.95Former Senator Wilfred Moore has been part of the political and cultural fabric of Nova Scotia and Canada for the best part of 50 years. From Halifax alderman and deputy mayor, chair of the Halifax Metro Centre and of the Bluenose II Preservation Trust Society, to ultimately representing Nova Scotia in the Senate of Canada he has been an important actor on the provincial and national stages. One of his pleasures was placing in the record of Canada the acts of individuals, especially Nova Scotians that contributed to the greater good. For the Record provides a two-decade tribute to these outstanding individuals.
Company Houses, Company Towns: Heritage and Conservation
Editor: Andrew Molloy, Tom UrbaniakPublisher: Cape Breton University Press$27.95Former company houses and towns have meaning. They can inspire attachment and a sense of place. They can be tight-knit but also quintessentially global; their resources and products have served far-off markets while housing a mosaic of newcomers from around the world; they speak to the diversity of Canada and the immigrant experience. Their landscapes, though often threatened with abandonment and decline, are a kind of language that conveys rich and layered stories. They are hands-on classrooms of culture, economics, architecture, politics and sociology.
Taken together, the case studies in this book speak to the heritage and enduring value of these places. Company towns mean a great deal to the people who put down roots there or passed through them. Many of the houses became homes. In Company Houses, Company Towns we also see how some of these places are being commemorated, conserved, regenerated and renewed–not as static museum pieces but as proud living communities aspiring to new economic opportunities and a quality of life.
Governance and Social Leadership
Publisher: Cape Breton University Press$27.95Governance and Social Leadership examines the inadequacies of current theories on leadership in order to help us better understand the process of leadership and to suggest mechanisms for change.
The proliferation of examples of poor political, religious, corporate and even grass roots leadership is troubling, to say the least. Perhaps more troubling is the resulting cynicism—and apathy—on the part of populations who sorely desire, and deserve, better leadership and governance.
There are many and varied sources of theories and practical advice on leadership but, as Robert A. Campbell suggests, too many simply play into our need for quick fixes and novelty and do not reflect what is actually going on in the world. In Governance and Social Leadership, Campbell examines the dynamic nature of organizations and humans systems and our capacity, or incapacity, to act.
Bridging Islands
Editor: Godfrey BaldacchinoPublisher: Acorn Press$29.95An island is a piece of land surrounded by water. But: what happens when bridges, causeways, tunnels- “fixed links”- irrevocably connect islands to mainlands? Is insularity, and its way of life, threatened? Or is it saved by virtue of a stronger integration with the world at large?Bridging Islands is a critical, interdisciplinary scoreboard of the pros and cons of bridging islands to mainlands. Internationally recognized scholars review the assorted socio-cultural, economic and political impacts of fixed links on small island communities. Included are chapters on Prince Edward Island’s Confederation Bridge (celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2007), Cape Breton’s Canso Causeway, islands in Quebec and Newfoundland, the Florida Keys, Ireland, France, Scotland, Sweden, and Singapore.
Still Fighting for Change: Black Social Workers in Canada
Editor: Wanda BernardPublisher: Pottersfield Press$22.95In their own words, the twenty authors create a conversation with the reader about the Black social workers in Canada who have struggled to bring change not for themselves, but for their communities. This volume contains stories of social workers breaking barriers as they fight for changes to improve the system and enhance the lives of those they serve. There are also stories by members of the Association of Black Social Workers speaking frankly about the struggles they have encountered to become who they are.
Deux Pays Le Canada à l’ère du Grand Déséquilibre démographique
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$22.95Ce que l’auteur Richard Saillant appelle le Grand Déséquilibre démographique canadien– « le rythme très inégal auquel vieillit la population des diverses régions du Canada » — est, selon l’expert des politiques publiques Donald J. Savoie, « l’un des défis les plus exigeants du pays pendant les deux prochaines décennies ».
L’ouvrage Deux pays, dont l’orientation générale est profondément ancrée dans la démographie, développe la thèse de Saillant selon laquelle « les forces jumelées de la gravité économique et démographique » causeront de graves difficultés dans l’Est du Canada et l’ensemble du pays si nous n’agissons pas dès maintenant. Nous devons d’abord faire face à la dure réalité : « on observe entre les provinces les mieux et les moins bien nanties un contraste marqué qui est appelé à s’accentuer ». Résultat? Deux Canadas distincts, l’un âgé et peu nanti, l’autre jeune et dynamique. Sans un important changement de cap, affirme Saillant, le Canada sera un pays déchiré.
Deux pays est un incontournable pour ceux qui cherchent une analyse stratégique et basée sur des données probantes de l’avenir incertain du Canada, ainsi que des recommandations visant à remédier aux répercussions du Grand déséquilibre démographique sur toute la population canadienne.
The Effective Citizen How to Make Politicians Work for You
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$29.95Effective citizens–engaged, knowledgeable, and persistent, and united in common cause–are the most powerful force that ever was, or ever will be. I hope this book will help citizens to be more effective.
In his uniquely straightforward and accessible style, Political insider Graham Steele pulls back the curtain on our political system and gives readers a look inside. A lawyer, analyst, former Nova Scotia cabinet minister, and author of the Globe & Mail bestselling memoir What I Learned About Politics, Steele answers the burning questions of Canadians: Who really runs the parties? What does a backbencher do? How does a citizen effectively navigate the system, and achieve change through a politician? What is “truthiness?”
A primer for anyone who wants to become a politician or influence one, The Effective Citizen explains how politicians think and what factors influence that thinking; how to interpret the “non-answer” in political speech; and acknowledges that in politics, “bland is safe.” Ideal for political neophytes and junkees all the same, Steele’s newest book will have the whole country talking.
What I Learned About Politics Inside the Rise-and Collapse-of Nova Scotia’s NDP Government
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$21.95On October 8, 2013, Nova Scotia’s NDP government went down to a devastating election defeat. Premier Darrell Dexter lost his own seat, and the party held the dubious distinction of being the first one-term majority government in over 100 years.
In this new memoir, former NDP finance minister and MLA Graham Steele tries to make sense of the election result and shares what he’s learned from a fifteen-year career in provincial politics. In his trademark candid style, Steele pulls no punches in assessing what’s right—and what’s often wrong—with our current political system. Includes an insert of colour photographs and a foreword from CBC Information Morning host Don Connolly.
Duffy Stardom to Senate to Scandal
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$29.95Mike Duffy made his name as a political reporter, and in the process became one of Prince Edward Island’s most famous exports. He cast himself as the ultimate insider, Parliament Hill’s man in the know. It made him a household name and one of the Canada’s best-paid journalists. But Duffy wanted to get even closer and lobbied his way into the Canadian Senate, with dire results. Veteran journalist Dan Leger tells the story of Duffy’s rise to the top in Canadian media, his entanglement with the Harper Conservatives, and the scandal that made him one of the most controversial figures in contemporary politics. Includes a foreword by CBC’s Peter Mansbridge and an eight-page colour photo insert.
Crossing Troubled Waters Abortion In Ireland, Northern Ireland, and Prince Edward Island
Editor: Colleen MacQuarrie, Shannon StettnerPublisher: Island Studies Press$29.95Accessing abortion services is challenging in many countries around the world; women living on islands face additional challenges caused by geographic isolation. This collection of scholarly papers discusses two islands–Ireland (north and south) and Prince Edward Island, Canada–and considers for each why and how abortion was historically restricted, the impact of those restrictions, the ongoing efforts to improve access, and recent activist successes.
From Black Horses to White Steeds Building Community Resilience
Editor: Laurie Brinklow, Ryan GibsonPublisher: Island Studies Press$29.95This book discusses how small communities can survive and flourish. Edited by Laurie Brinklow and Ryan Gibson, it celebrates and critiques the dynamics of innovation, governance, and culture in place. Case studies from both sides of the North Atlantic illustrate episodes of “turning around”: the evolution, transformation, and visionary strategy that breathe new life into the term “think global, act local.”
The book’s chapters focus on the strength of local initiatives, the impacts of collective power, and re-envisioning local assets. They explore how various “black horses”–including minorities, small towns, peripheries, Aboriginal communities, those with little money, status, voice, or political leverage–can rise to the occasion and chart livable futures.
Indigenous Business in Canada: Principles and Practices
Editor: Janice Esther Tulk, Keith G. BrownPublisher: Cape Breton University Press$27.95Indigenous Business in Canada addresses contemporary concerns and issues in the doing of Indigenous business in Canada, reveals some of the challenges and diverse approaches to business in Aboriginal contexts from coast to coast to coast, and demonstrates the direct impact that history and policy, past and present, have on business and business education.
Cultures of Militarization
Publisher: Cape Breton University Press$39.95Special Edition of TOPIA Canadian Journal of Cultural Studies
Failure of Global Capitalism
Publisher: Cape Breton University Press$19.95What do Cape Breton and Colombia have in common? Coal, for one thing. Coal mining was the backbone of Cape Breton’s industrial economy for more than one hundred years, but the last mine was closed in 2001 when the province’s utility company took advantage of neoliberal globalization by importing coal—from Colombia. There’s more. Colombia and Cape Breton represent the loss of well-paid, unionized industrial jobs as a result of neoliberal globalization—the economic hegemony that allows multinational corporations in the global North—primarily North America and Europe—to exploit the natural resources and cheap labour of the global South—Latin America, Africa and Asia. But the commonalities between Cape Breton and Colombia do not end with coal, there are numerous connections directly related to the capitalist system: militant labour struggles, repression, economic insecurity, population displacement, social inequality and environmental devastation. Activists and scholars Gibbs and Leech use the examples of Cape Breton and Colombia to illustrate the harsh realities suffered by people throughout the global North and the global South under neoliberal globalization, particularly with regard to socio-economic and environmental issues. Ultimately, they expose the failure of industrial capitalism, and look toward more sustainable and egalitarian alternatives.
SpecialLink Book
Publisher: Breton Books$14.95The Mainstream is nothing more than life in the real world. SpeciaLink is devoted to seeing every child wit special needs a full participant in the mainstream. Evidence supports the value of full mainstream childcare for all children, regardless of the challenges. This means that from now on, the work of childcare includes Advocacy –promoting what we already know to be right.
The SpecaiLink Book is the story of the road to the principles of full mainstream childcare, and of the SpeciaLink Symposium which made those principles the national agenda for mainstream advocates. “The Mainstream is the right stream” is the battle cry. Achieving full mainstream childcare for every child is the goal.
The Book Also Includes a Canadian Directory of Mainstream Childcare Advocates, Further Readings, information about joining SpeciaLink, and other forms for the SpecaiLink Newsletter and videos.
A Wholesome Horror Poor Houses in Nova Scotia
Publisher: SSP Publications$15.95Brenda Thompson’s poignant treatise on the treatment of the poor in Nova Scotia and the evolution of private and government-subsidized poor houses. None of these 32 buildings remain. This is a very important book that makes us pause and ask serious questions.
