FOIPOP Update It’s been over two months — 71 days, to be exact — since Nova Scotia’s Information and Privacy Commissioner Tricia Ralph recommended the CBRM release 890 pages of documents to me in response to a 2015, port-related, access to information request. Of those pages, 28 had been previouslyRead More

If writing about poverty, homelessness, food banks and the need for a guaranteed annual income (GAI) could solve any of the problems associated with such matters, I would surely have solved a few over lo! these many years I’ve been contributing to the Spectator. The battle cry at the momentRead More

I Swear I discovered the CBRM was planning an in-person swearing-in ceremony for mayor and council not from CBRM communications but from a reporter for another news outlet I happened to bump into in front of Sobeys on Tuesday night. Honestly, as a form of communication, it’s not ineffective. TheRead More

Editor’s Note: A story unfolding as rapidly as the COVID-19 pandemic doesn’t lend itself to weekly coverage so the Spectator is going to experiment with a daily COVID-19 update. This content will not be paywalled, so if you find it useful, feel free to share it. I intend to continueRead More

A 6 September 1989 headline in the Cape Breton Post reading ‘Home care program finally reaches C.B.’ announced the arrival of home care in Cape Breton, with 10 designated agencies across the Island and provincial funding being provided for the first time. Colleen Chisholm, regional coordinator of the home careRead More

You may have noticed that some American billionaires are actually anxious to give away some of those billions to help those who fall, well, billions short of having a half-decent chance at something even close to the good life. Are the guys with the big bucks “bucking for the finals”Read More

During its regular monthly meeting on Tuesday night, CBRM Council was briefed on a program to provide a new transportation option for people trying to get from their homes in one CBRM community to work or school in another. By “new transportation option” I do not, alas, mean a StarRead More

The signs of Christmas are everywhere and I’m not referring to the lights, the decorations or the concerts. No, actually, I’m thinking more along the lines of the Salvation Army Christmas Kettle Campaign, the CBC’s Light Up A Life Campaign for Feed Nova Scotia, the Christmas Daddies Telethon — thoseRead More

I’ve been trying to think of an analogy for Nova Scotia’s Employment Support and Income Assistance (ESIA) program and so far this is the best I’ve come up with: The government decides that while 13 years of public school is optimal for Nova Scotian students, it is only going toRead More

Sydney-Victoria figured in a Canadian Top-10 list this week but it’s nothing to celebrate: we’re one of the 10 federal ridings with the highest levels of child poverty in the country. The list is found in the latest report from Campaign 2000, a Canadian anti-poverty group that takes its nameRead More