There I was, looking for signs of shipbreaking on Sydney harbor and I forgot to mention North Sydney. Apologies to all my North Sydney readers, who must have been left scratching their heads. How did I forget about that time the Cape Breton Regional Municipality (CBRM) sold Archibald’s Wharf, aRead...

Municipal Affairs Says… I couldn’t help noticing the Cape Breton Post picked up my story about port marketer Albert Barbusci and his reports to CBRM council. The Post‘s take is very much “nothing to see here folks” — the article makes the point, not once but twice (first in a statement,Read More

A plan, apparently 12 years in the making, to bring the shipbreaking firm Marine Recycling Corporation to the Sydport Marine Industrial Park in Point Edward seems to be becoming a reality. I have a reader to thank for the tip: a Cape Bretoner working out West who pointed me to a pairRead More

Remember when Harbor Port Development Partners (HPDP) changed its name to Sydney Harbour Investment Partners (SHIP) and pressured CBRM council into extending its contract with the municipality for five years? It was last December, seven months ago, when the port file was so hot, what with terminal operator Ports AmericaRead More

Extra! Extra!  I’m pleased to announce a new joint-venture with Tim Bousquet’s Halifax Examiner. As of July 1, you will be able to subscribe to both The Examiner and The Cape Breton Spectator for $15 a month — a $5 savings off the regular price. (And yes, you may upgradeRead More

I think I made the Annual Report of the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner (OIPC) of Nova Scotia for 2016-2017. I can’t say for sure, but one of the cases described by the commissioner, Catherine Tully, sounds like an entry from my 2016 diary: I think the publicRead More

Bullying: noun bul·ly·ing \ˈbu̇-lē-iŋ, ˈbə-\ Definition of bullying: abuse and mistreatment of someone vulnerable by someone stronger, more powerful, etc. — Merriam-Webster dictionary   So, what can be said about bullying that has not been said before? We are aware as a society that it is pervasive and not likelyRead More

I really didn’t think I’d be able to FOIPOP Business Cape Breton (BCB). Although the organization runs entirely on public money, I’d already been told by the office of the Privacy Commissioner that it doesn’t fit the definition of a public body under Nova Scotia’s Freedom of Information/Protection of PrivacyRead More

I write today as one of the 8,800 residents of Sydney — Nova Scotia’s third-largest city, urban heart of a rich coal-mining region, industrial hub of Atlantic Canada — to ask Holland America Line (HAL): WAT IS ER MIS MET JOU? (That’s Dutch for “What is wrong with you?” AtRead More

Lasso of Truth The box office success of Wonder Woman reminded me of the connection between her creator, William Marston, and the lie detector which reminded me that I’ve never received an answer from the Cape Breton Regional Police as to what sort of work their two “polygraph technicians” perform. ByRead More