Editor’s Note: This column last appeared on 20 May 2020, and it’s interesting that Michelle was talking about frost because apparently we’re in for some tonight!   What to do this week This week is the perfect time to plant squash seeds, and hopefully you will consider starting them inRead More

Editor’s Note: This column last appeared on 13 May 2020.   What to do this week This is the time for tending to bushes and shrubs, or perhaps dividing them, so let’s talk about that. If you have lilac, or elderberry, currants of course, rose bushes very often (especially theRead More

Media coverage of the weekend fire at the Donkin Mine may not have answered all the pertinent questions about the incident, but it revealed an interesting truth about the way Kameron Coal operates. According to the Cape Breton Post, the province was alerted to the fire around 7:00 PM onRead More

While writing this week’s admittedly not very cheerful story about how Kameron Coal has co-opted our governments as its communications department, I ran across a 2017 Forbes article about the late Chris Cline’s decision to buy the Donkin Mine and realized just what we’re missing when our coal barons won’tRead More

Part 2: Rojava The world of the 21st century faces the ruins of past and present. War has become a normal state, poverty and hunger marginal news that no longer merit headlines. Many people have lost the meaning and significance of being human, and the word ‘society’ means only isolatedRead More

Optimism I was taken to task on Twitter for being old and pessimistic for my skeptical take on the CBRM delegation to Wind Europe 2023. The tweeter was responding to my headline without actually having read my story but I am always alive to the danger of becoming old andRead...

During the first era of Albert Barbusci’s “Novaporte” scheme, one I have come to think of as the “Sino” era, China was going to be key to everything: China was going to finance, build and operate a deep-water terminal for ultra-large container vessels (ULCVs) in Sydney Harbour. This gave certainRead More

Editor’s Note: The Spectator is reaching into Michelle Smith’s gardening column archive for some weekly advice that is as relevant now as when it was first written in May 2017.   What to do this week Okay, up off the couch! It’s time to plant trees. What’s that? It’s cold and rainyRead More

I promised to deal with the volunteer awards that were presented during last week’s CBRM council meeting and, on the one hand, I can do that rather easily by telling you that the following awards were presented to the following people/groups: Gary MacDonald Memorial Award: Sukhmani Sahib Society, Sydney AnneRead More

Editor’s Note: The Spectator is reaching into Michelle Smith’s gardening column archive for some weekly advice that is as relevant now as when it was first written. This column last appeared on 22 April 2020.   What to do this week This is a great time of year to talk about soilRead...