One sure sign of spring in Halifax is the opening of the Public Gardens. While the garden officially opens its doors on May 6th, some people had a chance to get a sneak peak.

After a long and gruelling winter, garden staff have been working hard to make the Public Gardens as beautiful as ever. Paul McAllister took a stroll through the gardens on Tuesday morning. “I wanted to see how the park fared through the winter and how the magnolia trees were coming and basically just to check things out”

Marion Frizzell is visiting Halifax from P.E.I. and has fond memories of the Public Gardens. “My son and his two kids live over here with his wife and last summer we took the kids here and they thought it was just terrific. the ducks, the trails - just the whole works! so today here I am!”

It’s cold out today and it doesn’t appear to be letting up. I know one thing for sure, I don’t want to be out here, but circumstances unfortunately force me to be here. People walk by with their faces contorted and their lips curled up in disgust when they look at me. I didn’t choose to be here, I say with my facial expression in return, mitigating factors is what put me here. In spite of that I stand up straight, hold my head up high, and prepare for another day.

Homelessness is not a disease, it’s not contagious, but it’s an issue that affects all humanity, not just the population living on the street.  

One negative perception of the homeless population is that they choose to live on the street, rather than using resources and avenues to get back on track. 

Jeff Karabanow professor at Dalhousie University says, “I think for some people it is very difficult to see people struggling. For the most part when that happens we tend to look the other way.” 

Karabanow said the misconception that homeless populations are delinquents, criminals, folks that don’t deserve the same type of respect as you or I for example, is completely misfounded. 

Thanks to a GoFundMe campaign, haligonia.ca has embarked on a quest to find the truth hiding in all the rhetoric surrounding the Nova Scotia Film Tax Credit Cut. The Finance Department is saying that the $24M tax Credit returns only $6M to Nova Scotia.