![Red currants.(Photo by ojonsson from Göteborg, Sweden [CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)]](https://capebretonspectator.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/red_currants_crop-520x475.png)
Had I read Gordon Pitts’ The Codfathers: Lessons from the Atlantic Business Elite when it first came out in 2005, I think it would have annoyed me — it’s just a collection of fawning portraits of wealthy Atlantic Canadian business types. But in 2021, post-financial crisis, mid-plague, as the worldRead More
Bridging Update In case you’re wondering what’s happening with Bridging Finance Inc (BFI), the private debt firm that lent Membertou First Nation $6.8 million to buy a stake in Albert Barbusci’s Novaporte container terminal project, here’s the latest: David Sharpe, the founder and former CEO of BFI, who was firedRead...
Wrong side of the tracks? I was walking home from the grocery store the other evening and as I passed the site of the former train station on Dodd Street, I remembered a tidbit of information I’d picked up during CBRM council’s special meeting on March 31, the one heldRead More
“You have driven my husband wild with your book!” This is how Jane Crosbie welcomed me on my first visit to Government House in Saint John’s, Newfoundland in 2012. When my book The Ocean Ranger: Remaking the Promise of Oil came out, the then-Lieutenant Governor of Newfoundland and Labrador roaredRead More
The Catholic Church long ago joined the ranks of the mighty who have fallen, given its obvious knowledge and cover-up of the sexual abuse scandal that has caused so many former Catholics to abandon the pews they’d occupied weekly for the greater part of their lives. But a series ofRead More
Author’s Note: In this series of columns (see the first one here and the second here) I am using various works of science fiction and fantasy to consider some of the ethical issues generated by our current situation. As I write this, the weather is warming and the pandemicRead More
Editor’s Note: Sydney’s casino turns 25 this summer and to mark its quarter-century, Rob Csernyik has been taking an in-depth look at the promises — and realities — of casino gambling in Cape Breton. In Part III, he focuses on the question of addiction. (Read Part I here and Part IIRead More
Election Fever? As I write, I am in the process of missing a Cape Breton appearance by NDP leader Gary Burrill, who is in Glace Bay this (Monday) morning. This past weekend, I pulled into a parking lot in St. Peter’s next to Tim Houston’s campaign bus and rather thanRead...
I don’t really know the situation today, but in the 1950s, working for the church especially as a secretary, I got to know those who were referred to as “stemmers.” They were the dedicated few who every so often rang the glebe house doorbell in search of a dollar orRead More
Two things. First, I have been so busy these past two weeks I forgot to tell you that Rob Csernyik’s Casino series, in addition to winning the Excellence in Digital Journalism: Enterprise/Longform Atlantic Journalism gold award won a Digital Publishing gold award for Best News Coverage (Community Publication). ThisRead More
CBRM council met this morning to discuss the results of its March 2021 closed-door, strategy-setting “workshops” at the Lakes Golf Club and Resort in Ben Eoin. Apparently, during the sessions, council articulated our vision: (I can’t wait until Tim Bousquet sees that — “vibrant” and “innovation” are two of hisRead More
The Catholic Church long ago joined the ranks of the mighty who have fallen, given its obvious knowledge and cover-up of the sexual abuse scandal that has caused so many former Catholics to abandon the pews they’d occupied weekly for the greater part of their lives. But a series ofRead More
I’m going to start this week’s article on the financialization of housing by reproducing a graphic from the recent report from the Nova Scotia Affordable Housing Commission — a graphic I just can’t get enough of because it really does say it all: The man on the right sideRead More
![Decorative watering can. (Photo by By Simon Q from United Kingdom (Decorative Watering CanUploaded by tm) [CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons, cropped)](https://capebretonspectator.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/watering_can_square-200x150.png)
Editor’s Note: The Spectator is reaching into Michelle Smith’s gardening column archive for some weekly advice that is as relevant now as when it was first written. What to do this week Now that the cold, rainy weather seems done with (for the moment at least), it is time to talk aboutRead More
Tax Sales If the list of 104 properties — including 38 buildings — up for tax sale in the CBRM has you wondering why CBRM doesn’t look into sourcing government funding for affordable housing and refurbishing some of them, you are not alone. I have long wondered about this too.Read More
Membertou Chief Terry Paul, whose band borrowed $6.8 million from Toronto-based private lender Bridging Finance Inc to finance an investment in a proposed Sydney container terminal, says he is not concerned about the arrangement despite Bridging having been placed in receivership on April 30 amid allegations of fraud and misappropriationRead More
Last week I wrote about the Nova Scotia Affordable Housing Commission’s report, “Charting a new course for affordable housing in Nova Scotia,” sounding an alarm about its tendency to look to the private sector for solutions to the housing crisis. Days later, the federal government announced a $115.5-million, low-cost loanRead More
When it comes to social (or “public” or “subsidized”) housing, Vienna really seems to have its act together. I am tempted to present this information as though I’ve long been an admirer of the social housing of Vienna, but the truth is, I hadn’t realized it was a claim toRead More
Editor’s Note: The Spectator is reaching into Michelle Smith’s gardening column archive for some weekly advice that is as relevant now as when it was first written. This column was first published on 26 June 2019. What to do this week By now, the bulk of the spring planting should be accomplished,Read More
![Red currants.(Photo by ojonsson from Göteborg, Sweden [CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)]](https://capebretonspectator.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/red_currants_crop-75x50.png)