Nova Scotia’s Workplace Innovation and Productivity Skills Incentive (WIPSI) program (which could also be called the “Let a Thousand Consultancies Bloom” program) has existed since 2010 and since 2014 has been “an initiative of the Canada-Nova Scotia Job Grant.” The program gives Nova Scotia “[b]usinesses, social enterprises and revenue-generating non-for-profitRead More

Welcome to the Cape Breton Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia’s second largest municipality with a population of 98,722 and home to the Port of Sydney. The Port of Sydney is the first port-of-call on mainland North America for vessels transiting the Suez Canal and acts as a gateway to the GreatRead More

Dean Beeby is a former Canadian Press (CP) reporter who now works for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). I have never met him — in fact, the photos that now accompany his CBC articles are the first I’ve ever seen of him — but I’ve long admired his work: heRead...

On May 22, Ambassador Elayne White of Costa Rica, president of a UN disarmament panel, released a ‘Draft Convention on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.’ The draft treaty, while certain to be subject to scrutiny and revision, faithfully reflects the determination of the 130 states attending the panel’s March sessionRead More

Scratch any problem in almost any municipality in Nova Scotia and you will likely uncover the same root cause: the province’s underfunded equalization program. I see you over there, covering your ears and singing. And you, pretending you’re engrossed in that hardware store flyer you just fished out of aRead More

Inspiration Village Great news, guys! Sydney is finally going to ship a sea container to Central Canada! Okay, strictly speaking, we’re not “shipping” it. According to its press release, Destination Cape Breton Association will “transform” a sea container “into a life-size depiction of the many unforgettable experiences Cape Breton Island has toRead More

In my never-ending quest to discover just what $25 million buys the Cape Breton Regional Municipality in terms of police protection, I recently visited the police force web site, which features this little collage of photos in its header: Yes, our CBRM cops, calling in expired plates (left), patrolling wooded areasRead More

This week, in our ongoing exploration of property taxes in Nova Scotia generally (and the CBRM in particular), we’re going to look at exempt properties, payments in lieu of taxes (or PILs) and  stuff I forgot to tell you last week, not necessarily in that order. We’re doing this becauseRead More

Like two ships that pass in the ice The port [of Sydney] has a series of natural advantages that distinguish it from other East Coast harbours. For example, it is the first port of call in North America for vessels transshipping from the Suez Canal. In addition it is aRead More

On 9 April 2007, after a $20 million, two-year restoration project, the Vimy Monument, the centerpiece of the Canadian National Vimy Memorial in France, was reopened to the public. In an elaborate ceremony also marking the 90th anniversary of the assault on Vimy Ridge, Prime Minister Stephen Harper told aRead More