Happy New Year, spectators!
I have entered this year in possession of a wood stove and a drinks table, so you know things are looking up.
Not that all I see is shiny and new—CBRM council, for instance, stuck with tradition and held its first meeting of 2023 in camera. Reason for secrecy: Section 22(2)(c) of the Municipal Government Act (personnel matters). Subject of meeting? Your guess is as good as mine.
One of these years they’ll realize that it is entirely possible to tell the public not just what section of the Municipal Government Act is allowing you to meet behind closed doors but what you will be discussing behind those doors without causing the Civic Centre to collapse in on itself.
Things I will be keeping on eye on this month include the municipality’s request for expressions of interest in CBRM’s Rapid Housing Initiative (the deadline for submissions is January 26), the results of a meeting happening today between Imperial Oil and CBRM Emergency Services to discuss the July gas leak in Sydney’s North End and all matters related to the plight of international students here, a subject I’ve written about elsewhere in this week’s edition.
I am starting the year with some excellent content not actually written by me—a thoughtful letter to the editor by Gary Burrows and an excellent interview by Sean Howard—and I am hoping this bodes well for the rest of 2023.
But enough talk, I have to shovel. I did not enter the new year in possession of a snowblower.
Cheers,
The Editor
