On October 11, the CBC’s Paul Withers reported from “inside the failed fight for federal funding for Port of Halifax.” He’s referring to the Port of Halifax’s application for money from the $2 billion National Trade Corridors Fund (NTCF), established by the feds in July 2017 to “help infrastructure owners andRead...

I have undertaken to erect in the Town of Sydney a building intended for a Convent Boarding School for the county of Cape Breton. The need of such an institution is an acknowledged one. On several occasions during the last fifteen years I have been urged by persons from variousRead...

Last month. I wrote about taxation, and observed that determining what levels of taxation are fair – and deciding who should pay the most taxes and who should pay the least – will always be substantially ethical decisions, and can never be solely economic or practical ones. While voices onRead...

Welcome to this week’s installment of “Where’s Cecil?,” my ongoing effort to keep track of Mayor Cecil Clarke’s campaign appearances to judge just how much time he’s taking from his day job to travel the province in pursuit of the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party of Nova Scotia. AsRead...

What to do this week This is a great week to pot up a few of your herbs, if you have room in the house, or to preserve some of them for great winter soups and stews. Your basil may still be fine in the greenhouse, and parsley doesn’t evenRead...

Down the lazy river Thanks to an eagle-eyed spectator who alerted me to this gem: 🔊 Announcement! The @GlobeandMail is excited to officially announce the launch of the July 2019 #GlobeNormandyCruise with participating journalists @RoyMacG, @RobertFife, @taraobrady, @Beppi_Crosariol, and Margaret Wente. 🛳 ➡ To reserve your cabin: https://t.co/m8Gd4y2EIM pic.twitter.com/8y0AP9k4Ln —Read More

In a “classical” [private-public-partnership or P3], a government typically uses a consortium of private sector firms to finance, design, construct, operate and maintain some new physical public infrastructure. Despite the increasing use of [P3]s, evidence shows that many [P3]s have produced unsatisfactory outcomes, including high transaction costs and project bankruptcy.Read More

You probably just read Part I of this P3 Hospitals article, but in case you then took a juice break, or a yoga break, or a few minutes to breathe deeply or pound a couple of shots of tequila, let me remind you why, according to Premier Stephen McNeil, hisRead More

I‘ve been writing regularly about poverty, especially child poverty and especially in the CBRM, for over a year now — looking at the possibility of a guaranteed annual income (GAI), the grim local statistics and creative solutions to problems like hunger and homelessness that might work here, among other aspectsRead More

Welcome to this week’s installment of “Where’s Cecil?,” my ongoing effort to keep track of Mayor Cecil Clarke’s campaign appearances to judge just how much time he’s taking from his day job to travel the province in pursuit of the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party of Nova Scotia. AsRead More