In a letter to the editor dated 16 July 2002 I carefully set out some historic evidence on the long-predicted conversion of coal transportation from rail to road on Cape Breton Island. Given the pending government pronouncement on rail abandonment (or wink, wink “preservation”), I thought some factual background mightRead...

Where the hell are our senators during our healthcare, child and senior poverty, unemployment and out-migration crises, to name just a few? Other than Senator Dan Christmas bringing up the hot topic of the separation of Cape Breton Island from the mainland, where are our other senators? Have they forgottenRead More

Dear Editor, For the record, on June 17 the Town of Port Hawkesbury registered an Ottawa-addressed Greg Maceachern as a consultant lobbyist with respect to the Allan J. MacEachen Port Hawkesbury Airport regarding infrastructure and transportation matters concerning regional development. In essence, the mayor of Port Hawkesbury is using localRead More

Richard Uniacke was from a prominent Halifax family which included his brother James, the first Premier of Nova Scotia following the institution of responsible government in 1848. After graduating from law school in 1810, young Richard moved to Cape Breton and in 1814 was appointed Attorney General of the island,Read More

This past Wednesday I was to take a long-awaited flight from Sydney to Toronto. My daughter was getting married. On that particular day, I was flying early (5:45AM) so I could have a full day especially to meet my future son-in-law’s parents from India. My son-in-law has spent much ofRead...

So I am 67 years old and have lived most of my life on Cape Breton Island. I have seen many politicians come and go. I have heard promises of better times ahead many times over the years. I have heard many political parties blame the others for past mistakes.Read More

Whether it is inadequate healthcare services or inadequate equalization funding, the provincial government is sending a not-so-camouflaged message that this part of the province is not in its future development plans. For this discussion, however, I will focus attention to the healthcare issue — as I see it. As ourRead More

I read your review of the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board (NSUARB) Big Pond RV park decision with interest. It is an excellent analysis of the decision, in my opinion. I have been reading Planning decisions from the NSUARB for over 46 years as well as some decisions fromRead...

In a recent article, Mary Campbell raises some concerns regarding the Never Forgotten National Memorial (NFNM). To describe Mother Canada (which is, by permission of the Allward family, modeled after Walter Seymour Allward’s Mother Bereft at Vimy, France) as “some rough beast” is inappropriate — would she apply the sameRead More

In recent published comments, Mayor Cecil Clarke suggested that because the Municipal Government Act (MGA) was ignored in the past it is perfectly acceptable for our current elected representatives to continue thumbing a collective nose at a statutory mandate to follow the rules. What the Mayor and Council repeatedly didRead...