In this week’s episode of The Grand Parade podcast, Coast reporters Matt Stickland and Martin Bauman chat with economist Deny Sullivan about Halifax’s HAF blunders and why a labour shortage isn’t to blame for the city’s housing crisis. Plus, they delve into Halifax’s deferred plans to abandon its Strategic Road Safety Framework in favour of a new plan that is worse than the old one.

In this edition of the Grand Parade Matt tells Martin all about his interview with Halifax's CAO Cathie O'Toole and director of the Department of Public Works Brad Anguish. Matt explains why this interview left him feeling a bit like a Philadelphia 76ers fan circa 2013.

After a break, Matt gives each councillor a rating for their performance during Halifax's budget season

In this episode of the Grand Parade the boys take a break from the budget as Matt grapples with learning new information about the city's transportation planning.

In this episode Coast reporters Matt Stickland and Martin Bauman give 110% as they reach into their bag of sports metaphors to talk about municipal politics in a podcast of two halves.

In the first half, Matt gives Martin the lowdown on the civil unrest growing in rural parts of the HRM. Also a look into the frustrating parts of municipal planning.

Not to be all doom and gloom, in the second half, Martin learns about all the genuinely good things taking shape for Halifax's future.

In this episode Matt and Martin talk about public safety: the JustFOOD program and police reform. This show notes are abridged due to budget season.

In this episode of the Grand Parade Matt and Martin talk about stories Matt is working on.

The Macdonald bike connection is moving forward, but there are some issues with the design, and how the design came to be in the first place.

After the ad break, Matt pitches a test for local government to see if they're ready to respond to the climate emergency.

The New Year always comes with the worst hangovers, doesn’t it? When HRM council resumes on Tuesday, Jan. 9, Halifax’s councillors will be confronted once again with a thorny problem: How to dig the region out of a $68.7 million deficit that no-one on council seems to know how to wriggle out from under. (That is, without taking a popularity hit by raising taxes or cutting key services.)

In this week’s episode of The Grand Parade, Coast city hall reporter Matt Stickland presents two paths for council to consider—both of which would add millions back to the city’s coffers, he argues, if only councillors could stomach the blowback they’d face. Coast reporter Martin Bauman wonders if the same issues plaguing Canada’s inability to build high-speed rail are what hinders the HRM from making meaningful—and swift—strides toward its goals.

And what’s a New Year without a sprinkling of hope? The two talk about why the HRM has real reason for optimism—and what platform priorities they’ll be paying attention to in the next municipal election.

In this episode, Coast reporters Matt Stickland and Martin Bauman talk about Halifax's budget crunch, why Trish Purdy wants to cut back on the HRM's annual spending on vehicles and why the region is broke. The police budget looks like it'll resemble last year's—what does that mean? Also: Matt gushes about trains.