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

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