Ben MacLeod 馬志斌
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benmacleod.bsky.social
Ben MacLeod 馬志斌
@benmacleod.bsky.social
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Hong Kong / Halifax, urban & transportation things
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Ben MacLeod 馬志斌 @benmacleod.bsky.social · Feb 26
this morning, I spoke to Halifax regional council on workplace safety, diversity, and inclusion (again)
A screenshot of a letter that reads: Good morning. Thank you council and staff for the opportunity to speak. My name is Ben MacLeod and I live in Halifax. As you all know, the Strategic Priorities Plan set out the municipality’s priorities and values. It was drafted in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic and it outlines how some of council’s priorities translate to action against the pandemic. For instance, the plan states that Corporate Safety will “play a key role in responding to COVID-19” by helping business units develop “effective workplace safety plans [and] safe work practices”. I spoke on the same topic during last year’s meeting. I stated that COVID-19 remains a workplace safety issue that the municipality is failing to mitigate, contrary to the commitments to safety outlined in the Strategic Priorities Plan as well as the municipality’s obligations under the Occupational Health and Safety Act. I also stated that the municipality, in failing to provide safe and healthy work environments, also fails fundamentally to deliver on its commitment to diversity and inclusion. Since then, Human Resources has told me that the municipality still does not have any COVID-19 mitigation in place. In other words, nothing has improved, so I make my plea again today. According to the Strategic Priorities Plan, evidence-based decision making is one of the municipality’s key values. What is the evidence driving the municipality’s policies on COVID? The World Health Organization stresses that the pandemic has not ended. COVID-19 continues to widely circulate, kill, and disable. COVID is not benign. It has been linked to a host of ailments affecting practically all human organ systems. Even mild cases can have long-term consequences. Repeated infections do cumulative damage. With each infection, you roll the dice. There is no cure for Long COVID. The vaccines available to us offer only modest protection against COVID infection and Long COVID. Vaccines are a valuable tool, but they are not the silver bullet we all hoped for. So if evidence hasn’t guided the municipality’s decision-making on COVID-19 since it ended pandemic mitigation in March 2022, what has? I’m sure that many of you cringed when you realised I came to talk about the pandemic. After all, most people speak of it in the past tense. It’s a source of mass psychological trauma. It’s a stressor, and stress can provoke psychological defence mechanisms, such as denial or minimization of COVID-19’s continuing harm. Psychologists refer to coping strategies that do more harm than good as “maladaptive”. In denying the simple reality of the pandemic situation after March 2022, in referring to the pandemic in the past tense, we fail to adapt. This failure is evident in municipal workplaces. The good news is that even though we don’t yet have a cure for COVID-19, we know how to protect workers. Human Resources has stated that the municipality follows provincial health guidance, but it’s clear that the province is not acting in alignment with municipal policy, nor its own legislation. We can do better. If the province isn’t providing evidence-based guidance, look elsewhere. The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety, a federal agency, advocates “multiple workplace control measures in a layered approach, starting from the most effective, to reduce the risk of COVID-19 exposure”. We know how the disease is transmitted. The virus lingers in the air like smoke. We know transmission is curbed through enhanced ventilation, air purification, and high-quality masks. We must also remove the source of the virus from workplaces by promoting remote work and by providing workers adequate, paid sick leave. If this pandemic has a silver lining, it’s that we have learned so much about how to make work safer, healthier, more inclusive, and more accessible. However, these insights are hardly reflected in municipal work today. No one would deny that COVID-19 is a greater risk for certain groups of people. In neglecting to implement any of the proven, affordable mitigation tools at our disposal, the municipality sends a message: certain classes of people are disposable. The unmitigated spread of COVID-19 makes workplaces less diverse, less inclusive, and less safe for all. Please implement evidence-based disease mitigation in municipal workplaces, in accordance with your policies, values, and strategic priorities. Please make public service work safe and inclusive. Thank you. Submitted by: Ben MacLeod Chartered Planner Halifax
benmacleod.bsky.social
The NDP leadership debate just started and is being livestreamed below.
skyenott.bsky.social Skye @skyenott.bsky.social · 17h
Starting in 20 minutes at 4m PST
www.youtube.com/live/CECKshz...
November 28, 2025 at 12:10 AM
Reposted by Ben MacLeod 馬志斌
chadgalucas.bsky.social
Aside from the obvious car-brained garbage take here, this is a microcosm of the constant disrespect that Lucasville faces. It’s a historic African Nova Scotian community and people treat it as a drive-through with zero thought for the residents who live there.
benmacleod.bsky.social Ben MacLeod 馬志斌 @benmacleod.bsky.social · 23h
"People should be forced to drive to the grocery store. Damn why is traffic getting so bad"
A screenshot of two Facebook comments. The first one asks, "Will there be a sidewalk ever put on Lucasville Rd? How about bus service? I think both of these are long overdue for the residents of this community." In reply, someone commented: "Absolutely no need for a side walk. People won’t walk 300ft to a grocery store, we don’t need the expense and maintenance for side walks. The farm shop, church & playland all have their own parking lots. It would make a lot more sense, to twin the entire road to handle the extra traffic. Remove the ridiculous 50 kph speed limit. It’s a main road, and needs to be built to handle as much." Both of the commenters' names are blacked out.
November 27, 2025 at 7:15 PM
benmacleod.bsky.social
"People should be forced to drive to the grocery store. Damn why is traffic getting so bad"
A screenshot of two Facebook comments. The first one asks, "Will there be a sidewalk ever put on Lucasville Rd? How about bus service? I think both of these are long overdue for the residents of this community." In reply, someone commented: "Absolutely no need for a side walk. People won’t walk 300ft to a grocery store, we don’t need the expense and maintenance for side walks. The farm shop, church & playland all have their own parking lots. It would make a lot more sense, to twin the entire road to handle the extra traffic. Remove the ridiculous 50 kph speed limit. It’s a main road, and needs to be built to handle as much." Both of the commenters' names are blacked out.
November 27, 2025 at 5:41 PM
Reposted by Ben MacLeod 馬志斌
razvenhk.bsky.social
A walk around the patio level of Kwong Fuk Estate. Supply and aid stations have been set up to help those affected by the Tai Po fire. Hot food and water, snacks and clothing are plentiful.
November 27, 2025 at 1:27 PM
benmacleod.bsky.social
A plausible explanation for the diagonal diverter's removal that doesn't involve Premier Houston meddling in municipal affairs again. I hope it's just this. #BikeHfx
hfxshippingnews.bsky.social Halifax Shipping News @hfxshippingnews.bsky.social · 2d
the folks who put up cones around road work fall under Temporary workplace traffic control regulations. There is a whole certification program, and a Manual which covers what they are permitted to do. deviations would be a workplace safety issue, hence the DOL.
November 26, 2025 at 5:30 PM
Reposted by Ben MacLeod 馬志斌
derekbellemore.bsky.social
For the record, the traffic diverter would have improved safety not only for cycling, but for pedestrians and drivers as well. The area has speeding issues on Harvard which would be prevented with this diverter. Safety, traffic easing, enhancing other forms of transportation. These are the benefits.
benmacleod.bsky.social Ben MacLeod 馬志斌 @benmacleod.bsky.social · 2d
Well, Halifax's newest modal filter – an essential part of the Allan/Oak local street bikeway – lasted less than 24h before being torn out. #BikeHfx
November 26, 2025 at 4:42 PM
benmacleod.bsky.social
Well, Halifax's newest modal filter – an essential part of the Allan/Oak local street bikeway – lasted less than 24h before being torn out. #BikeHfx
November 26, 2025 at 4:16 PM
Reposted by Ben MacLeod 馬志斌
atfruitbat.myatproto.social
GOOD. It's such a relief to hear someone simply say things like that - the kind of things a decent person would say, but which have somehow become shocking to hear spoken by a politiican, because of the climate of unrelenting bigotry the Tories, Reform and Labour have plunged us into
chadbourn.bsky.social Mark Chadbourn @chadbourn.bsky.social · 2d
Interviewer: “What do you say to trans kids who are starting their transition?”

Zohran Mamdani: "We're gonna make this a city that doesn't just protect trans kids, but also celebrates and cherishes them."
November 26, 2025 at 3:07 PM
Reposted by Ben MacLeod 馬志斌
sujo.bsky.social
Let this short thread radicalize you.
broadwaybabyto.bsky.social Kelly @broadwaybabyto.bsky.social · 2d
Normand Meunier is a Canadian man with quadriplegia who accessed MAiD (Medical Assistance in Dying) after being left for 96 hours on a stretcher in the ER.

His requests for a specialized mattress were denied.

He wasn't turned regularly.

He developed bed sores so bad, he opted to end his life.
November 25, 2025 at 10:34 PM
Reposted by Ben MacLeod 馬志斌
craigmccormick.bsky.social
This is great! I'm sure it will eventually discourage the rat-run drivers that illegally cross Oxford one block away.
benmacleod.bsky.social Ben MacLeod 馬志斌 @benmacleod.bsky.social · 2d
With Chebucto and Quinpool both clogged with cars tonight, a steady stream of drivers are encountering the diverter for the first time.
November 26, 2025 at 12:10 AM
benmacleod.bsky.social
"Halifax remains among the areas where Killam's rents have the most opportunity to grow. According to its earnings call slideshow, the company estimates its rents are on average 21 per cent below market rates in Halifax."
A 2025 conference call Powerpoint slide by Killam Apartment REIT, a Canadian real estate investment trust. Titled "Rent Growth Opportunity", it has two graphs showing the company's "mark to market" rent growth opportunity, or the difference between the average rents they currently charge versus market rents. Of all cities shown, Halifax has the highest "rent growth opportunity" with Killam's rents 21 per cent below market rents, followed by the Kitchener-Waterloo-Toronto area at 19 per cent below market rents, then Saint John at 17 per cent.
November 23, 2025 at 2:18 PM
benmacleod.bsky.social
Rainy Halifax looks rather nice on the Cogswell webcam tonight
A bird's eye view of a portion of downtown Halifax at night, including Upper Water Street, Granville Park, and the Scotia Square bus terminal along Barrington Street. The sun has just set, and the sky and harbour are coloured a soft, saturated blue. It is raining and all the city lights are reflected on the wet asphalt. There is a long line of cars in both directions on Barrington Street.
November 22, 2025 at 9:39 PM
benmacleod.bsky.social
Construction of the Harvard/Allan diagonal diverter (modal filter) is supposed to begin next Monday and be completed by December 8, according to notices delivered to residents today #BikeHfx
The intersection of Allan and Harvard streets in a residential neighbourhood of Halifax. A cycling is passing through the intersection on Allan St.
November 21, 2025 at 8:46 PM
Reposted by Ben MacLeod 馬志斌
yuenchan.bsky.social
And is now doing nothing to mitigate a mass disabling event while mandating presenteeism in schools and workplaces.
November 20, 2025 at 5:21 PM
Reposted by Ben MacLeod 馬志斌
scottedgar.bsky.social
It's important for everyone to know that Elon Musk's LLM is engaging in Holocaust denial.

I'll also add that all of the arguments here (about architectural plans and gas residue left in materials on site) were refuted decisively in the 1990s. There is *nothing* here but 30 year old falsehoods.
ldh.fr LDH France @ldh.fr · 9d
La #LDH porte plainte contre la publication de #Grok, l’intelligence artificielle du réseau social X, pour contestation de crimes contre l’humanité.
November 20, 2025 at 12:03 PM
Reposted by Ben MacLeod 馬志斌
emmettmacfarlane.com
Your daily reminder that federal government and all our universities are all leaning heavily into this broken, corrupt technological bubble, and they're gonna take us all over the cliff.
November 19, 2025 at 7:29 PM
benmacleod.bsky.social
Handling the homelessness emergency the same way we deal with the COVID emergency: out of sight, out of mind
November 19, 2025 at 1:38 PM
Reposted by Ben MacLeod 馬志斌
kwilsonhfx.bsky.social
Resolving emergency response ✅️

Resolving emergency ❌️
November 19, 2025 at 1:11 PM
Reposted by Ben MacLeod 馬志斌
cailin.dev
I don't normally write to my MP but I just wrote to my MP about this holy moly
snarkysteff.bsky.social Steffani Cameron 🇨🇦 @snarkysteff.bsky.social · 9d
canadians should read this.

"At the end of September the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), to which all working Canadians outside Quebec are subscribed, held $8 billion of Nvidia stock as its largest single equity holding. In fact, its eight largest stock holdings were all AI stocks."
breachmedia.ca The Breach @breachmedia.ca · 9d
While Canadian politicians are still caught up in their AI love affair, panic is rippling through the industry.

Tech expert @scanthehorizon.bsky.social writes that the AI bubble may be about to burst, with massively damaging consequences for Canadians.

breachmedia.ca/ai-bubble-ma...
November 18, 2025 at 8:47 PM
benmacleod.bsky.social
For anyone lacking access to generational wealth, Canada is a land of limited opportunity with deeply entrenched systems engineered to funnel wealth from renters, immigrants, and young people to the most established classes – the real Canadians, the "part owners", the ones who matter.
mikepmoffatt.bsky.social Dr. Mike P. Moffatt @mikepmoffatt.bsky.social · 10d
Spoiler for an upcoming piece. On average, the income of men aged 65+ in Canada is higher than that of their 25-34-year-old counterparts.
November 18, 2025 at 5:52 PM
Reposted by Ben MacLeod 馬志斌
broadwaybabyto.bsky.social
The New York Times obit for Alice Wong doesn’t mention Covid or Gaza

It ignores two of her biggest causes because of political bias

Alice fought tirelessly for Covid mitigations

She fought for the people of Gaza

She rightfully reminded us that the genocide in Gaza is a disability justice issue
November 17, 2025 at 11:31 AM
benmacleod.bsky.social
I did a comparable map for the Halifax peninsula out of curiosity
A map of the Halifax peninsula titled "Change in population density, Halifax peninsula, 1971 to 2021". The peninsula is broken down into 17 census tracts, geographic areas used by Statistics Canada in the collection of census data. The three census tracts around downtown Halifax increased in density between 1971 and 2021, with one recording an increase of 46 people per hectare. The other 14 census tracts were relatively stable in population density or declined.
November 16, 2025 at 1:29 AM
Reposted by Ben MacLeod 馬志斌
fernkhahn.com
i'm still masking. indoor air is still unclean and people are constantly getting sick all sorts of ways. no thank you!

the woke part, of course, is recognizing that each covid infection has the potential to do lasting and even lethal damage, especially to immunocompromised people around me
taliabhatt.itch.io Talia "Estro Junkies" Bhatt ♀︎♀︎ @taliabhatt.itch.io · 14d
"my least woke opinion is---"

That's enough. We've had enough people indulging in the "thrill of a little conservatism", as a treat. Of considering reactionary thought to be a salacious and taboo in a world descending into reactionary mania.

Give me your MOST woke opinions. We're bringing it back.
November 14, 2025 at 4:26 PM
Reposted by Ben MacLeod 馬志斌
thebase16.bsky.social
Metro Transit bus with sunglasses and bass guitar, save me

save me metro Transit bus with sunglasses and bass guitar
benmacleod.bsky.social Ben MacLeod 馬志斌 @benmacleod.bsky.social · 14d
Here's a couple more (1993)
A 1993 Metro Transit ad with an illustration of a bus playing an electric guitar while wearing sunglasses next to the words "GoTime Go". It says: "Fast. Easy. Convenient. Places to go, people to see, things to do – but don't know when the next bus comes? Call GoTime and go! Just dial 465 and the red four-digit number on your bus stop. Like the one near your house, outside school, near work or even grandma's house. And hear the latest from our lady computer at the other end. Regardless of traffic jams or even the weather, you'll get up-to-the-minute bus stops for all routes that stop at your stop. So why waste your time waiting? Call GoTime and go. For more details, call customer service at 421-6600." Two pages of a Metro Transit riders guide. The page on the left has a drawing of a Metro Transit bus and several paragraphs of text about how buses are a more environmentally friendly mode of transportation than cars. The page on the right is a Nova Scotia Department of Health ad about HIV/AIDS awareness.
November 14, 2025 at 2:57 PM
Reposted by Ben MacLeod 馬志斌
terriclarke.bsky.social
I would like to challenge this assertion by an Eastern Passage resident, she said: “It’s not rocket science: you don’t put high-density units in between single-family dwellings. That’s not good city planning.”

I would argue that it is, and a mix of densities is good for cities & their residents.
Eastern Passage housing developments a mistake in more ways than one, say neighbours
HRM looking at exceptions for waterfront developments after unintentional bylaw changes
www.saltwire.com
November 14, 2025 at 12:56 PM