Before we look at Tourism Nova Scotia’s “influencer” program—which involves paying social media personalities to visit and write about us—I thought I’d have a look at some tourism statistics and, as it happens, Tourism Nova Scotia provides stats going back to 2010 on its website. I focused on just threeRead...

Sometimes, in the midst of researching a mind-boggling dull subject, you dig up pure, unadulterated comedic gold. That’s what happened to me this week while I was trying to find out who was on the board of the Cape Breton Partnership (I still haven’t found out — I was toldRead More

Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil is on yet another pilgrimage to China as I write, “engaging” with the Chinese rather than isolating them because, according to what he told reporters just prior to his departure, that’s how you show non-democracies “what democracies have to offer.” At first I thought heRead More

Last month, I considered the surprising popularity of the KonMari method of organizing our homes, and argued that the attractiveness of this approach to decluttering results, at least in part, from our recognition of our disordered relationship with our stuff, and that this disordered relationship negatively affects our lives. WhatRead More

As part of my coverage of the ructions in Ben Eoin, I submitted an access to information request to the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) for a copy of the contract between Enterprise Cape Breton Corporation (ECBC) and Ben Eoin Golf Club Limited. I also asked for any correspondence concerningRead More

Better than a poke in the eye Does anyone else find it funny that our globe-trotting, international port promoter may be, even as we speak, sitting in a tree in Florida? I’ve been following Albert Barbusci’s progress in taking over a bankrupt extreme adventure course in Hernando County, Florida, and thisRead More

What better way to begin 2019 than by looking back at 2018 with CBRM Mayor Cecil Clarke? Clarke appeared on CBC radio’s Information Morning Cape Breton on January 3 to reflect on the year just passed and the Spectator listened with interest. In particular, it listened to the discussion ofRead More

ServiCom, as most readers surely know by now, did not just operate the call center in Sydney. The company also had a call center in Rockford, Illinois (175 Executive Parkway) and two in the nearby town of Machesney Park, Illinois (10100 Forest Hills Road and 9942 N. Alpine Road). OnRead More

Dissecting a decision Three things struck me about a recent decision by Nova Scotia Privacy Commissioner Catherine Tully. The decision involved what was then called Nova Scotia Waterfront Development Corporation Limited (WDCL), a provincial crown corporation originally responsible for land development, primarily around Halifax Harbour. In late 2015, the WDCLRead More

Whatever else our port promoters Sydney Harbour Investment Partners (SHIP) have been up to these past few months, they’ve finally cleaned up their internet presence. These quotes, for example, have been removed from their revamped web page: They’ve also changed their logo. From this: To this: I could say moreRead More