I have to start by quoting myself. This is what I wrote about Chris Skidmore’s RV Park proposal for Big Pond back in February 2018 CBRM planning staff seem really keen on this Big Pond RV Park idea. I don’t know how else to interpret the time and effort planningRead More

What to do this week Looking at some of the better seed catalogs can be a bit confusing for the uninitiated. A well-written catalog is full of useful technical information, but that’s not much use if you don’t know what any of it means. This week, we’ll take a tourRead More

Editor’s Note: It is making the Spectator a bit giddy to announce the return of the weekly gardening column! Don’t let the snow fool you — spring will come, and Michelle and Madeline will make sure you and your garden are ready for it.   What to do this weekRead More

Editor’s Note: It’s that time of year when the Spectator turns off the computer for a bit to focus on decking halls, trimming trees and eating all the best chocolates in the Quality Street tin. To facilitate this, we’re including Fast & Curious with the regular edition of the paperRead More

Slouching toward Green Cove? I happened to visit the Never Forgotten National Memorial website in the course of  researching another story this past week, and was fascinated (and by “fascinated” I mean “terrified”) to discover that Mother Canada is still out there like some rough beast, waiting for its hourRead More

News in the news Federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau’s fall economic statement includes a section labeled, “Support for Canadian Journalism.” I’ve been reading it this morning, but I fear all I really need to know about it is this: Paul Godfrey, the CEO of Postmedia, which publishes the National PostRead More

CBRM Council has declared its support for the Blue Dot movement. Launched in 2014 with the backing of the David Suzuki Foundation, Blue Dot is a “national campaign to advance the legal recognition of every Canadian’s right to a healthy environment.” In passing its resolution of support last night, theRead More

OK, Stop Councilor! After reading Thursday morning’s Cape Breton Post, I have an overwhelming urge to speak directly to District 4 Councilor Steve Gillespie (In fact, I was speaking to him but I don’t think he heard me). I don’t think he’ll read this either, but for the sake ofRead More

Cecil Clarke is not the only anti-carbon tax politician in the current landscape; in fact, he’s arguably just the homegrown version of a familiar figure on the political scene — the “Canadian conservative” who, as Dalhousie economist Lars Osberg puts it, has “successfully framed” the federal government’s carbon-pricing system as aRead More

boondoggle: (noun) an unnecessary and expensive piece of work, especially one that is paid for by the public (Cambridge Dictionary)   I think the Cape Breton Highlands National Park (CBHNP) moose cull meets the definition of a boondoggle. As a Parks Canada undertaking, it is definitely paid for by the public.Read More