Estragon: I can’t go on like this. Vladimir: That’s what you think. Samuel Beckett, Waiting for Godot   Part II: Four Ways to Change the Local World   Proposal #1: A CBRM Citizens’ Assembly on COVID-19 & Post-Pandemic Recovery “Watershed periods in history,” Mikhail Gorbachev declared in 1992, “mayRead More

TV News I decided to write something about Eastlink dropping 34 channels owned by Corus Entertainment because, although I do not have cable TV myself, I know someone who does—and who probably watches HGTV and Food Network, both slated to go as of June 27, more than anything other thanRead...

Water/Wastewater Commission Greg Campbell (no relation, a point I feel obliged to underline regularly for his sake), manager of technical services for the CBRM’s Water Utility, appeared before CBRM council last night and I realized that I had dropped the ball in my coverage of his issue, which is theRead More

On 28 March 2023, the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board (UARB) approved a request from the CBRM (on behalf of its Water Utility) for a rate hike, the municipality’s first since 2019. The increase, for residential customers, will look like this:   The Board also approved a plan toRead More

…revolution is, in fact, always unimaginable. R.F. Kuang, Babel   Part I: We Can’t Go On Like This!   In March 1985, a 54-year-old Mikhail Gorbachev realized he was likely to become the next general secretary of the Communist Party of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), and thusRead More

I think there must be something in the air this week. First, the Spectator‘s Sean Howard, in Part I of what will be a two-part series, discussed ways to “change our local world” with a focus on exercises in “direct, participatory, deliberative citizen engagement” like Citizens’ Assemblies. Then CBU professorRead More

Wildfires Working on CBRM council stories for the Wednesday edition as wildfires raged on the mainland—and not just on the mainland but in the provincial capital—was a strange experience. I knew I had nothing to add to the coverage of the fires, that’s not the kind of coverage I doRead...

First things first, I think municipalities in Canada have a raw deal and I put the blame squarely on the British North America Act of 1867 which declared them to be nothing more than “creatures of the provinces” with no real power of their own. It’s a subject I exploredRead More

In today’s third and final installment of our waterfront development series, we’ll look at the winning proposal submitted by Bedford-based Doucet Developments, founded by Westmount native Doug Doucet. Council selected Doucet’s proposal during in camera meetings and the first the public heard about it was during the 8 November 2022Read More

CBRM council met on May 10 for a “Strategic Vision” workshop that, despite it’s rather vague title, actually had a clear—and important—purpose: councilors met to discuss quality of life, family recreation, public transit and affordable housing and homelessness. I’m going to focus on the latter because I think ensuring accessRead More