In December 1984, Ward Five Alderman Frank Starzomski put forth a motion calling for Sydney’s City Council to be reduced from 12 members to six. Trimming city council had long been advocated by Sydney’s Shadow Council, a group of citizens—many of them women—who monitored the actual council, although, as theRead More

Editor’s Note: This is Part III of a series that will continue until I find some answers or give up, whichever comes first. You’ll find Part I here and Part II here.   I had a some assistance with my research this week and was able to plow through twoRead More

Editor’s Note: This is Part II of a series that will continue until I find some answers or give up, whichever comes first. You’ll find Part I here and Part III here.)   When last we met, it was August 1984, and Zutphen Brothers of Port Hood was sitting onRead More

Right-sizing? I missed Monday’s public meeting regarding CBRM electoral district boundaries and council size but was interested to read that, according to John Heseltine, the Stantec consultant hired by the municipality to make recommendations, 21.4% of the 400 people who responded to an online survey think CBRM should have six,Read More

Dear Editor, You know what’s wrong with Cape Breton Island? It’s not the seniors, who have been accused of not wanting economic development and jobs here. It’s not the unions, who have been accused of wanting their unions on every construction development. It’s not the high residential taxes or highRead More

CBRM council voted last night to hire a consultant to conduct a Utility and Review Board (UARB)-mandated district boundary review and make recommendations about district and council size. Planning and Development Director Michael Ruus had been asked, during a special council meeting on January 25, to prepare an Issue PaperRead More

Tuesday’s special session of CBRM council included a rather cryptic Issue Paper from regional solicitor Demetri Kachafanas under the title: “Qualifications to Run for Municipal Elections.” Kachafanis says qualifications to serve on council are — like everything else involving Nova Scotian municipalities — governed by the Municipal Government Act (MGA).Read More

My summer coverage focused on the August provincial election, although I also found time to read Barry Sheehy’s thoughts on ports and Martin Chernin’s case for extending his waterfront development contract (not exactly beach reading, but not entirely devoid of entertainment value either). September found me looking into the problemRead More

The Known World how can something known become unknown in so little time Mi’kmaw poet Shalan Joudry   Which is in worse shape, the form or content of Canadian federal democracy? The shape it takes is doubly deformed, for while all ‘first-past-the-post’ systems are unfair, guaranteed to deliver only disproportionateRead More

Board blessings A reader sent along an interesting piece of correspondence received from the Sydney Downtown Development Association (SDDA) just prior to the provincial election. Signed by board chair Jennifer Griffin, it concerns the executive director of the association, Michelle Wilson, and her foray into provincial politics. Griffin writes: DueRead More