CHARLOTTETOWN - Collaborating with local artists from the film and music community, small town sessions have and will continue to be recorded in alternative venues around Charlottetown, including but not limited to abandoned buildings, churches and living rooms. On January 25th the project began, by documenting initial footage with artist John Connolly at the abandoned Kays Borthers Whole Sale building in downtown Charlottetown. “Small Town Sessions is a project aimed to celebrate the incredible artistic energy that is fostered by a small place, like Charlottetown. It isn’t ...

Charlottetown, PEI Photo by island kimbit, member of Spacing Atlantic's flickr pool.

Charlottetown, PEI photo by John Morris, member of the Spacing Atlantic flickr pool

Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island photo by John Morris, member of the Spacing Atlantic flickr pool

CHARLOTTETOWN - When voters in Charlottetown head to the polls on November 1st they will be casting a vote for not just for a mayor and council to represent them, but will declare their preference for election reform through a plebiscite. While the plebiscite is non-binding, the newly elected council will use the results of this vote to determine if and how the current electoral process should change. Election reform offers little of the glitz and glamour of a heated political race.  In a race where incumbant candidates were asked by the City to not publicly declare their preference on this plebescite so as to not influence the voting public, the importance of this historic vote has been further devalued. Without candidates taking positions, and in spite of public information campaign, the plebescite issue has received little attention by most media organizations and even less among the voting populace. Consider the state of the electoral process in the provincial capital — the birthplace of Confederation. In 2006, incumbant councilors where challenged in 9 of the 10 wards. Jump forward 4 years, and only 7 of 10 wards have challengers this year, and only 1 of 10 wards has more than a single challenger to the incumbant. That means that roughly 30% of Charlottetown's residents will not have an opportunity to exercise their right to vote for council representation. That is a travesty and has only contributed to the disconnection of voters from the plebiscite process.

CHARLOTTETOWN - If political participation in Charlottetown, the capital of PEI, is any indicator of the malaise of the general population, then we are in significant trouble indeed. Charlottetown's 32,000 citizens are represented by ten councilors elected in a ward system and, while candidate nominations closed Oct 8th at 4PM, only 7 of the 10 wards have challengers to the incumbent. The tragedy is not only that the electoral process is being circumvented, or that without multiple candidates voter turnout for the electoral reform plebescite will be crippled, but that we are willingly surrendering our hard-earned right to participate in an election for our civic representatives. Some might suggest that politics is a thankless job, where the only feedback from the electorate is negative. Others decry the demands on both family and work as civil service often forces concessions on both fronts. Both arguements are likely right. Politics is a thankless job, one that few are willing to take on in an era that is still reeling from the hyperconsumption, hyperselfishness of the 80s and 90s. Aside from a few exceptions, most of the current councilors fit neatly into the 40+ demographic, have the backing of either influential family members, influential political party members, or both. It is those luxuries that soften the blow of family and work interruptions, while only the thick skin of experience or disconnection can mitigate the thanklessness. Though not all of the announced council candidates are commonly known, it is hard to believe that we have fostered an environment where we can expect anything other than more of the same for this year's choices.

CHARLOTTETOWN - Toronto-based firm Urban Strategies has teamed up with the Charlottetown Area Development Corporation and the City of Charlottetown to develop a master plan for the Eastern Gateway waterfront area. At this Wednesday's open house, the group plans to share preliminary thoughts and gain community input into the evolving vision for the study area. The vast area encompasses a slew of important facilities and features, including the Joe Ghiz Park; the vacant Imperial Oil Lands; the D.P. Murphy properties; the Provincial ...

An abridged version of this article appeared in Spacing Magazine's 18th issue, 'Oh, The Spectacle'. HALIFAX - The relationship between farm and city has been an ongoing dialogue among market-goers in Halifax — a city whose geographic and psychogeographic proximity to agricultural vitality provides ample opportunity for food politics to rise to the fore. Every Saturday morning, in grand tradition, this dialogue meanders its way through the labyrinth-like, historic Alexander Keith’s brewery, the site of Halifax’s beloved farmers’ market. But, as of this Saturday, this dialogue (along with many local producers, chefs, artists and crafters) will move to the long awaited Seaport Farmers’ Market — a state-of-the-art, environmentally focused waterfront facility widely heralded as a groundbreaking new model in the realm of green building and local ingenuity.