First Nations

Port Meets Council: Harbor Bottom Blues

Port Meets Council: Harbor Bottom Blues

June 9, 2021 at 3:06 pm

As I have explained elsewhere, I watched that two-hour, June 3 meeting between the CBRM council Port of Sydney staff and board members and need to write something about it to justify having lost that small chunk of my life, so have decided to try to provide some context forRead More

Short Takes — Wednesday Edition

Short Takes — Wednesday Edition

June 2, 2021 at 1:23 pm

I spent so much time on The Codfathers this week, I didn’t really have much left over to cover other issues but there are a few things I’d like to touch on, however briefly:   Affordable Housing I heard Catherine Leviten-Reid on CBC Information Morning Cape Breton today discussing aRead More

Albert Barbusci Goes Nuclear

Albert Barbusci Goes Nuclear

April 7, 2021 at 12:23 pm

EnquĂȘte, Radio-Canada’s investigative news show — think, Fifth Estate in French — on Friday dedicated part of its last episode of the season to a story involving a familiar face: It seems “Montreal businessman” Albert Barbusci, in addition to working tirelessly to promote the Port of Sydney (and his FloridaRead More

On the Waterfront? Not So Fast…

On the Waterfront? Not So Fast…

March 31, 2021 at 2:24 pm

Here are the important takeaways from this morning’s CBRM special council meeting on the proposed new CBRM Central Library:   Aurevoir, HRDL? Council took a major step toward ending the agreement that has given a private developer, Martin Chernin’s Harbour Royale Development Limited, control over the proposed new library. AtRead More

Forward, CBRM!

Forward, CBRM!

March 31, 2021 at 2:21 pm

I lost track of how many times participants in Tuesday’s “CBRM Forward” discussion used the words “excited” or “exciting.” Literally everyone who spoke was either excited to be there or excited at the prospect of overhauling the municipality’s planning strategy and land-use by-law or excited to be drafting an economicRead More

The Chief, PTSD and the Future of the CBRPS

The Chief, PTSD and the Future of the CBRPS

March 3, 2021 at 12:25 pm

Peter McIsaac, chief of the Cape Breton Regional Police Service (CBRPS), revealed this week that he is leaving his post after a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). McIsaac , who has been on medical leave since July 2019, told the CBC’s Tom Ayers that he’s come to understand he’sRead More

Aerial view of Canso Causeway, 2007. (Photo by Swampfoot at English Wikipedia, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons)

Rethinking the Causeway

February 17, 2021 at 1:49 pm

For thousands of years, the diverse marine life in the southern part of the Gulf of St. Lawrence prospered as the waters of the Atlantic Ocean mixed with those of the Gulf. The ebb and flow of huge volumes of salt water brought food and myriad whales, fish, lobster, crabRead More

Sydney’s Casino at 25: Membertou at the Table

Sydney’s Casino at 25: Membertou at the Table

November 18, 2020 at 2:36 pm

Editor’s Note: Sydney’s casino turned 25 this summer and to mark its quarter-century, Rob Csernyik has been taking an in-depth look at the promises — and realities — of casino gambling in Cape Breton. In this fourth and final piece, he contrasts the CBRM with a community (within its ownRead More

Indigenous lobster harvest, Saulnierville, NS, 2020.19.09. (Still from YouTube video by Bell Boys on Hawaii  https://youtu.be/k6Q5nCWNmLs)Indigenous lobster harvest, Saulnierville, NS, 2020.19.09. (Still from YouTube video by Bell Boys on Hawaii  https://youtu.be/k6Q5nCWNmLs)

Philosophies of Resources

November 4, 2020 at 10:17 am

Europeans and others who arrived in North America adopted the idea of taking as much of the natural resources (lumber, minerals, fish, etc.) as they possibly could. They have continued to do exactly that for hundreds of years, thanks to individuals and corporations and the forces industrialization and capitalism. WhatRead More

Membertou Votes

Membertou Votes

October 21, 2020 at 12:25 pm

Membertou First Nation goes to the polls to elect a new chief and council on Thursday, October 22. There are only two candidates for chief — incumbent, Terrance Paul, who has held the office for 36 consecutive years, and challenger Edwin LaPorte — but there are 66 candidates vying forRead More