Tim Bousquet

@timbousquet

A broken man on a Halifax pier. Founder of HalifaxExaminer.ca. Opinions are my own, and not necessarily shared by my colleagues.

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Tim Bousquet@timbousquet· 6d

Dr. Fucking Phil

An American oil company connected to Donald Trump is preparing to sink wells in remote Greenland despite not having received permission from the local authorities.

Greenland Energy has retained Phil McGraw, better known as Dr Phil, a prominent rightwing former chatshow host who served on Trump’s religious freedom commission, to make a documentary series that will “capture the mission of these modern-day wildcatters”

Tim Bousquet@timbousquet· 6d

This was the plot of an episode of 9-1-1

Chaos erupts at dispatch, when a new AI software goes rogue, almost killing a man. Athena gets upset at Chimney for firing Hen, and recommends they talk things through. Emergencies include a stolen Maserati and a PTSD outburst in a grocery store. The 118 decides to visit Hen in the hospital and find out she has dermatomyositis, which is incurable.

Tim Bousquet@timbousquet· 17d

Fowlacide:

RCMP investigating break-in that resulted in death of thousands of chickens

July 28, 2026, Pine Grove, Nova Scotia… Lunenburg District RCMP is investigating a break and enter at a poultry barn that left thousands of chickens dead.

On July 25, at approximately 9:50 a.m., RCMP officers responded to a report of a break and enter at a facility on Naugler Rd. in Pine Grove. Officers learned that approximately 10,000 chickens had died after the barn was broken into and the building’s ventilation fans had been turned off.

Investigators believe the incident occurred at approximately 9:45 p.m. on July 24.

Tim Bousquet@timbousquet· 25d

The RCMP has laid charges against a 19-year-old man related to the Wolfville protest against Tim Houston.

Update: One person charged as Kings District RCMP investigate protest in Wolfville
July 20, 2026, Wolfville, Nova Scotia… Kings District RCMP has charged a man as the investigation into crimes against persons and property crimes related to a protest in Wolfville continues.
On July 15, Kings District RCMP responded to a report of concerns for safety at Acadia University after protesters blocked the Nova Scotia premier from leaving campus after a speaking engagement. While the premier and staff were inside their vehicle, an individual climbed onto it and the windshield was smashed.
On July 17, officers safely arrested Jacob Victor Stephen Smith, 19, of Kentville, at the Kings District RCMP detachment in New Minas. He is charged with Intimidation of a Justice System Participant, Intimidation (two counts), and Mischief Under $5,000.
Smith had a first court appearance on July 20 at Kentville Provincial Court and remains in custody pending a future court appearance.
The investigation is ongoing.
The person charged is not the same individual who was arrested and released without charge on July 15.

Tim Bousquet@timbousquet· 25d

Police have issued details on the death of Nouman Ali, which I wrote about this morning. He was doored while riding his bicycle. www.halifaxexaminer.ca/morning-file...

Police investigate fatal collision involving cyclist

Police are investigating a collision between a vehicle and a cyclist that occurred in Halifax last week.

On July 17 at approximately 1:15 p.m., Halifax Regional Police and Emergency Health Services responded to a collision in the 3600 block of Strawberry Hill Street. It was reported that the driver of a pickup truck opened the vehicle’s door into the path a cyclist travelling on Strawberry Hill Street.

The cyclist, a 71-year-old man, was treated on scene by Emergency Health Services, and was transported to the hospital with life-threatening injuries. While in hospital, the man succumbed to his injuries.

The driver of the vehicle was issued a summary offence ticket.

Tim Bousquet@timbousquet· 26d

Here's the NYT anthropologizing AI. AI does not think. This sort of writing amounts to AI boosterism, and is unhinged from the facts. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/19/u...

Candidates have long had to worry about their reputations among voters. Now, they have to worry about what A.I. thinks about them, too.

Tim Bousquet@timbousquet· 29d

She’s just helping women

In 2017 I began working toward my Master of Divinity from Acadia Divinity College. My goal was to equip myself to help women who have survived difficult marriages. I have continued to take courses during my term as Councillor and I am pleased to say that after 8 years of hard but rewarding work, I will graduate with my MDiv in the spring of 2025.

Tim Bousquet@timbousquet· Jul 10

Reader Mark Rushton: "Talk about value for your money — this Morning File alone is worth the price of an annual subscription. Great coverage, great digging, and knowledgeable commentary. Kudos!"

Talk about value for your money — this Morning File alone is worth the price of an annual subscription. Great coverage, great digging, and knowledgeable commentary. Kudos!

Tim Bousquet@timbousquet· Jul 10

I think I'm wrong abut this — HIPAA does cover dead people... UNLESS someone suggests to the cops the guy was murdered.

During the 50-year period of protection, the Privacy Rule generally protects a decedent’s health information to the same extent the Rule protects the health information of living individuals but does include a number of special disclosure provisions relevant to deceased individuals. These include provisions that permit a covered entity to disclose a decedent’s health information: (1) to alert law enforcement to the death of the individual, when there is a suspicion that death resulted from criminal conduct

Tim Bousquet@timbousquet· Jul 9

2/2 My request this morning:

Tim Bousquet@timbousquet· Jul 9

1/2 Becky Druhan just released a letter to Houston that replicates the questions I asked of the government this morning. Druhan:

The Office of the Auditor General recently identified serious weaknesses in the oversight of
more than $3.7 billion in alternative procurements. Those findings should have reinforced the
importance of transparency and accountability in any new healthcare initiative. Instead, your
government has announced Accelerate Nova Scotia without clearly explaining its purpose,
governance structure, accountability framework, or procurement safeguards. The appointment
of Karen Oldfield also raises important questions. Ms. Oldfield is the same leader who was at
the helm of Nova Scotia Health during the time the Auditor General identified these concerns.
Nova Scotians deserve to understand why this appointment should give them any confidence
those shortcomings will not be repeated.

Tim Bousquet@timbousquet· Jun 30

They've appointed a new CEO of Nova Scotia Health, but the real news is this: news.novascotia.ca/en/2026/06/3...

Ms. Oldfield will become the CEO of Accelerate Nova Scotia, a new agency with a mandate to transform Nova Scotia’s world-class health innovation into economic growth. The agency will lead the commercialization and global expansion of healthcare technologies, products, services and research developed in Nova Scotia. It aims to secure strategic partnerships, attract investment, and create new markets, establishing the province as a national and international leader in health innovation.

Tim Bousquet@timbousquet· Jun 22

Ahem.

As a general rule, though, it turns out that ordering people back to the office full time is a power and status move. It’s a signature strategy of leaders who exhibit narcissistic qualities.

Tim Bousquet@timbousquet· Jun 21

Here's Madiha and I at the awards ceremony.

A woman and man standing side by side. The woman holds a plaque that reads "Atlantic Journalism Awards."

Tim Bousquet@timbousquet· Jun 8

Someone slammed into traffic stopped for construction on the 103, killing someone else

June 8, 2026, Clearland, Nova Scotia… Lunenburg County District RCMP is investigating a fatal collision that occurred in Clearland.

On June 6, at approximately 3:30 p.m., Lunenburg County District RCMP, fire services, and EHS responded to a report of a multi-vehicle collision on Hwy. 103. Upon arrival, officers learned that a Dodge Ram travelling westbound entered a construction zone where traffic was stopped due to single-lane access controlled by temporary traffic lights.
The Ram then collided with a Toyota RAV4 before striking a Jeep Cherokee. A fourth vehicle sustained minor damage.

The driver of the Toyota RAV4, a 65-year-old Ottawa man, was pronounced deceased at the scene. The passenger, a 64-year-old Ottawa woman, was transported to hospital by EHS LifeFlight with life-threatening injuries.

No other serious injuries were reported.

An RCMP collision reconstructionist attended the location of the collision. The investigation remains ongoing and is being assisted by the Nova Scotia Medical Examiner Service.

Hwy. 103 was closed for several hours but has since reopened.

Officers thank the bystanders who offered assistance at the scene.

Tim Bousquet@timbousquet· Jun 2

I asked the HRM comms people about this, and this was their response. I had to reenter my email and password (and of course I had no idea what my password was so I had to renew that) AND my credit card info. Did this happen to anyone else?

The vendor (Masabi) is responsible for all app development and updates.

On May 26, 2026, the app was upgraded to a new version with a more modern, simplified design and improved accessibility. Some of the key improvements include a ticket wallet on the home screen for quicker access to active tickets, new notifications page so riders don't miss important updates and automated balance reloads.

Of note, a few staff said they did not encounter the same issue of having to re-enter information, so we suspect this issue was not common to all users. Staff can ask the vendor to determine if it was a common problem and, if so, what could be done next time an app update is required to avoid a similar issue.

Let me know if you would like any further follow up on this.

Tim Bousquet@timbousquet· May 27

"How I used AI so I didn't have to think" is a weird flex. www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/r...

Every year, thousands of people in the Twin Cities hunt for a medallion that’s been hidden in the snow somewhere in a public park.

And every night, the Pioneer Press, a local newspaper, publishes a cryptic clue, leading hunters closer and closer to the medallion’s exact location. Staying up late to digest each day’s new clue is a tradition in my household, and we dream of what we’d do with the thousands of dollars in winnings.

Usually that brainstorming carries into the next day. My husband and I text each other about whatever harebrained rabbit hole we’ve fallen into as we try to find the medallion. But this year, I used AI — specifically, an AI-powered web browser — to help me solve the mystery.

AI browsers put an AI chatbot right in your browser window; you don’t need to switch to another tab. When you start chatting, AI scans the browser window for context.

It sounds simple, yet it has fundamentally changed how I interact with AI.

For this task, instead of peppering my husband with theories, I queried a web browser with built-in AI. I asked it to make lists of parks with certain features, to find records related to the history of the county, and to poke holes in my wildest theories. And, of course, I asked it to give me its own theories on where the medallion might be hidden.

In the process, I found that AI was often better at treasure hunting, and I also found that having the chatbot right there helped me engage with the internet in a deeper way. The AI browsers often pulled from sources that I wouldn’t have thought to search, and they tailored their answers to my questions in a way that a source on Google might not. There was also no need to get distracted in other tabs and wander into distant corners of the internet.

Tim Bousquet@timbousquet· May 26

Damn. We have a very famous goose crossing here, where the geese actually use the crosswalk. Everyone stops for them.

A bunch of white geese using a crosswalk.

Tim Bousquet@timbousquet· May 23

omg

Tim Bousquet@timbousquet· May 22

I did it!

Tim Bousquet@timbousquet· May 22

The CBC knows this, because it's IN THE REPORT of the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission, which specifically acknowledges that the Halifax Examiner brought this issue to light. www.crcc-ccetp.gc.ca/en/decisions... 3/

Ms. Butlin's longtime friend, S. D., had contacted the media to make Ms. Butlin's story known, and had expressed her anger towards the RCMP for allegedly disregarding Ms. Butlin's repeated calls for help and reports detailing the threats she received from her neighbour.Footnote 1 A subsequent media article discussed victim impact statements from Mr. Duggan's prosecution and quoted S. D.'s statement:

1. This was reported in an article from the Halifax Examiner, dated June 18, 2020.
2. This article from the Halifax Examiner was dated June 24, 2020.

Tim Bousquet@timbousquet· May 22

It's true that "Butlin’s friend Suzanne Davis spoke out about her case" but Davis didn't just speak out into the void. Rather, she spoke specifically to Joan Baxter, who tracked down her story and convinced Davis to go on the record. 2/

The CRCC announced its investigation in July 2022, after Butlin’s friend Suzanne Davis spoke out about her case in the aftermath of Nova Scotia’s mass shooting in April 2020. She has said she felt the RCMP in Bible Hill ignored red flags around the gunman for years, just as they had ignored Butlin.

Tim Bousquet@timbousquet· May 12

Doing construction on my house, opening a wall, we discovered a 1940 can of British anti-dimming cream, part of a military gas mask kit. The cream was put on the eye piece so it wouldn't fog up.

A green canister reads "Outfit anti-dimming can. Patt. Mk. I."

Tim Bousquet@timbousquet· May 7

Repost without dumb spelling error Two Planks and a Passion has somehow saved its season

For Immediate Release
May 7, 2026
Canning, N.S. - Artistic Director Ken Schwartz and Executive Director Chris O’Neill announced Two Planks and a Passion Theatre’s 35th Season at the Ross Creek Centre for the Arts in Canning today. The theatre’s 20th at the Ross Creek Centre.
“There were moments, only weeks ago, when we were unsure we would be able to celebrate our 35th season at all,” said Schwartz from his office at Ross Creek. “In late February, our provincial government ripped up our multi-year operating agreements and threw our immediate future into deep uncertainty. Our entire sector was destabilized. With only weeks to go before our season began, we needed to somehow replace $47 000 of funding in a matter of only days in order to proceed with our summer productions. Otherwise, 15 jobs would be lost immediately”
Chris O’Neill added that the response to an urgent appeal sent to supporters was inspiring to everyone in the organization. “In ten days, we managed, with the help of dozens of supporters, to raise enough money to safely proceed with this very special season. We’re still feeling energized by this encouragement and overwhelmed by this generosity” said O’Neill. “Our advocacy work to ensure that our provincial government’s actions are aligned with our community’s values is ongoing. Our regular fundraising continues. Many, many challenges await. But through the support of so many people, we can continue to contribute to the well- being of our community through our art, our education programs and our advocacy.”

Tim Bousquet@timbousquet· May 7

I generally don't go to journalism conferences because I know I'll just cause trouble.

Announcing CAJ26 keynote Arlyn Gajilan!
The CAJ is pleased to announce that Arlyn Gajilan will be one of the keynote speakers at CAJ26! Gajilan is the Global Editor, AI Development and Integration for Reuters. She helps oversee the implementation of AI in Reuters’ international newsrooms and its app. She’ll be discussing AI and emerging tech in a global news landscape in Ottawa on Saturday, June 13!

CAJ26 will also have also have sessions on:
AI & Emerging Tech
Audience & Platforms
Business of Journalism
Coaching & Mentoring
Data Journalism
Global & Political Reporting
Investigative Journalism
Journalism & the Law
Journalists' Safety & Well-being
Local & Community News

Tim Bousquet@timbousquet· May 1

Chatham owns 63% of Postmedia. Has "Content Scaling Agent" been forced upon Canadian newspapers?

McClatchy’s new tool, which it developed internally and calls the Content Scaling Agent, is being used to some extent in all of McClatchy’s newsrooms, according to a person briefed on the rollout. McClatchy, which was sold to the hedge fund Chatham Asset Management in 2020 after it declared bankruptcy, operates 30 newspapers in 14 states.

Tim Bousquet@timbousquet· Apr 29

I had an editor's note. These "economic impact" claims drive me nuts. We should have the Metro Centre so people can watch sportsball and go to concerts, both perfectly good reasons to have an arena. We don't have to make up bullshit economic claims for it.

Editor’s note:

“Economic impact” is calculated by multiplying the amount of money the average event attendee spends by the number of total attendees, then multiplying again by a “multiplier” provided by Statistics Canada.

This can be a valuable tool, especially when considering tourists or other people coming to HRM specifically for that event, as they would not have been spending that money in HRM otherwise.

However, local people spending money at the events muddies the calculation, as were they not going to the event, they’d likely be spending the same amount of money elsewhere in the community, creating a different economic impact.

Consider a couple spending $200 on tickets and overpriced beer while attending a concert at the Metro Centre, versus the same couple instead spending $200 on dinner and drinks at the Wooden Monkey before a show at the Neptune Theatre. The money would be spent locally regardless, so the Metro Centre event provides no additional economic impact.

As Fougere provided no breakdown of how many event attendees were visitors and how many were local, the economic impact numbers she provided are close to meaningless.

Tim Bousquet@timbousquet· Apr 27

Monday morning. Downtown and the north end are without power

The power outage map shows a big pink splotch over downtown Halifax and the north end of Halifax.

Tim Bousquet@timbousquet· Apr 18

I made a Venn diagram

A green circle. Beneath it is a blue box with the words "Crypto Promoters" on it and a yellow box with the words "AI Promoters" on it.

Tim Bousquet@timbousquet· Apr 18

New sign on bike path leading to the Macdonald Bridge misspells Macdonald.