Category: Academic Avenues

Posted on Posted in Academic Avenues, History

“After the Act of Union 2 in 1840, British opinion mounted for Canada to become responsible for her own defence. At the same time, American pressure on the western territories became severe. The Northern Pacific Railway, chartered by Americans in 1864, had the object of providing transcontinental service. American settlement was pushing ever northward. Without the protection of British troops, American expansionist claims to the west seemed impossible to resist. The scheme of Confederation was principally designed to overcome these problems. It was thought that a larger, strongly centralized political unit would be capable of (a) re-establishing the public credit, …

The Constitutional Distribution of Taxation Powers in Canada More…

Posted on Posted in Academic Avenues, History

“In the early-1860s the increase in the number of carpenters, the building boom with its opportunities in a larger market for specialization, and local labour tension all contributed to formal subdivision among carpenters. Incorporation of the House Joiners’ Union Society of Halifax and of the Shipwrights’ and Caulkers’ Association of Halifax and Dartmouth in 1864 marked a trade consciousness which was demonstrated in a carpenters’ strike for higher wages later that year.” Buggey, S. “Building Halifax 1841-1871”. Acadiensis, vol. 10, no. 1, Sept. 1980, p. p. 90, https://journals.lib.unb.ca/index.php/Acadiensis/article/view/11541.

Posted on Posted in Academic Avenues, History

“That for the reasons aforesaid His Excellency the Governor and Members of his Majesty’s Council for this Province hold and keep a Court of Judicature for said Province annually at the respective times and place here mentioned, viz: at Annapolis royal upon the first Tuesday in May, August, November, and February yearly and in every year from time to time. Which Court to have the same Style and Cognizance of all matters and pleas brought before them and power to give Judgment and award. Execution thereupon, by the same manner and proceedings as the General Court so called of Governor …

Our First Common Law Court More…

Posted on Posted in Academic Avenues, History

“By 1799, only three hospitals continued to function in the city: the hospital for the Maroons at Dartmouth, the naval hospital, and the poor house hospital.” “It appears from the archival records that the manufacturing of coffins proved to be a significant source of revenue for the institution, supplying coffins for the use of the town, the Cholera Hospital, the Richmond and Melville Island Hospitals, Dartmouth Hospital, Waterloo Hospital, the Bank Head Hospital, as well as the City Home. In the account books recorded on October 21, 1827, the sum of £15.s5 was received by the poorhouse for 61 coffins …

The treatment of Halifax’s poor house dead during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries More…

Posted on Posted in Academic Avenues, History, Photo Gallery

“Cobbled thoroughfares, unpaved sidestreets, an overburdened public transportation system, obsolete water supply, inadequate health services, draconian liquor control regulations, and overcrowded restaurants, cafes, and cinemas combined to produce an atmosphere that would have been oppressive even without the damp climate, gasoline and food rationing, or blackout regulations. In many respects the city resembled a military camp more than an urban community, yet authorities refused to declare Halifax a restricted area. Halifax landlords were roundly criticized in the national press for charging exorbitant rents, but in reality the cost of housing rose everywhere, as workers arriving from smaller communities to work …

The Homes Front: The Accommodation Crisis In Halifax, 1941-1951 More…

Posted on Posted in Academic Avenues, History, Local Self Government

“The basic governmental structure, as it exists to-day, was completed in 1923 with the passing of the Village Supply Act and more recently in 1925 when provision was made for communities. While cities, towns and municipalities constitute the basic units of local government, with villages and communities of lesser importance, a wide variety of governmental organizations perform functions in local areas. Some of these are properly described as units of government, others as types of governmental organization. Still others are merely administrative mechanisms controlled and operated by one or more governmental units. At the present time the law provides for …

Development of Local Government in Nova Scotia More…

Posted on Posted in Academic Avenues, History

“DURING THE GREAT DEPRESSION, A NEW vision of shelter for low income families received widespread support from surprisingly varied sectors of the population. Yet, despite the encouragement of labour unions, social workers, planners, architects and important parts of the construction industry, the first public housing project did not actually open until 1949 in Toronto’s Regent Park. The second arose in St. John’s, Newfoundland, immediately after Confederation, and the third, despite the myth of Maritime “conservatism”, was located in Halifax. In fact, Halifax had been one of the first centres of continued agitation for public housing, which began in 1930. The …

From Study to Reality: The Establishment of Public Housing In Halifax, 1930-1953 More…

Posted on Posted in Academic Avenues, Democracy, History, Legislative, Local Self Government

“Prior to 1888 eight towns were incorporated. These were Dartmouth, (1873), Pictou (1874), New Glasgow (1875), Windsor (1878), North Sydney (1885), Sydney (1885), and Kentville (1886), each of which was incorporated by special Act.” “The Towns Incorporation Act of Nova Scotia was passed in 1888, revised in 1895, and embodied in the consolidation of 1900 and the revised statutes of 1954. It requires a majority vote of the ratepayers of the town in support of incorporation before it can be granted. It also requires a certain population within a specified area-in 1954 a population of over 1500 within an area …

Local Government in Nova Scotia More…

Posted on Posted in Academic Avenues, Local Self Government

“…from the historical examination of this subject, it becomes manifest that local self-government of the municipality does not spring from nor exist by virtue of written constitutions; that it is not a mere privilege, conferred by the central authority, but that the people in each municipality exercise their franchises under the protection of the fundamental principles just indicated, which were not questioned or doubted when the state constitutions were adopted, and which in the opinion of Judge Cooley and other eminent American jurists, no power in the state can legally disregard.” “Therefore, it appears clear that in a government in …

The Doctrine of an Inherent Right of Local Self-Government. The Extent of Its Application by American Courts More…

Posted on Posted in Academic Avenues, History

“Thirty years after the Epitome, when the subject had still been up in the air, Murdoch was able to accept “as a rule very generally agreed on, that Acts of the British Parliament passed subsequently to the establishment of our own colony and more especially those enacted since we have had a local representative legislature do not bind us, unless they expressly include the colony in terms.” A better summing-up of Nova Scotia’s first century of reception law jurisprudence could hardly have been given” “Most scholars of constitutional law are aware that the courts played a significant role, but the …

“How far English laws are in force here”: Nova Scotia’s first century of reception law jurisprudence More…