In 2012, the provincial electoral boundaries commission took 79% of Cape Breton Nova and 59% of Cape Breton South and created Sydney-Whitney Pier. The 2019 commission lopped off the Pier and added some Sydney River-Mira-Louisbourg territory and — voila! — Sydney-Membertou was born. I’m going to do some electoral genealogyRead More

Victoria-The Lakes was created in 1867 (you better not be lying to me, Wikipedia) as simply “Victoria” and comprised all of Victoria County. It apparently remained like this until 1993, when it “gained the area north of the southern border of the Cape Breton Highlands National Park.” In  2003, it Read More

Headhunters hired to solve our physician shortage? Give me a break! In 2019, The Canadian Journal of Rural Medicine published a ” systematic review of recruitment and retention of healthcare professionals in rural Canada.” The review explored “a pertinent issue for healthcare professionals and recruiters alike: which factors are mostRead More

Election Fever? As I write, I am in the process of missing a Cape Breton appearance by NDP leader Gary Burrill, who is in Glace Bay this (Monday) morning. This past weekend, I pulled into a parking lot in St. Peter’s next to Tim Houston’s campaign bus and rather thanRead More

Last week I wrote about the Nova Scotia Affordable Housing Commission’s report, “Charting a new course for affordable housing in Nova Scotia,” sounding an alarm about its tendency to look to the private sector for solutions to the housing crisis. Days later, the federal government announced a $115.5-million, low-cost loanRead More

When it comes to social (or “public” or “subsidized”) housing, Vienna really seems to have its act together. I am tempted to present this information as though I’ve long been an admirer of the social housing of Vienna, but the truth is, I hadn’t realized it was a claim toRead More

“Charting a new course for affordable housing in Nova Scotia,” the report dropped by the Nova Scotia Affordable Housing Commission this spring, is one of the most annoying things I’ve read this year — and I read The Codfathers. The pointless graphics, large photos and needless repetition (particularly with regardRead More

I hope many of you tuned into Wendy Bergfeldt’s afternoon show (CBC Mainstreet Cape Breton) last Thursday and were just as surprised as I was to hear that the CBRM is seriously considering a sports complex add-on to Centre 200 rather than a new central library. I admit that itRead More

Editor’s Note: I’m doing a deep dive into the CBRM’s 2021-22 budget and dragging you with me. Last week, I covered water, roads and facilities. This week, I pick up where I left off, starting with that generator for the police HQ.    As the afternoon session of the AprilRead More

Editor’s Note: I am doing a deep dive into the CBRM’s 2021-22 budget this week and dragging you with me. This is Part 2 of 3. You’ll find Part 1 here and Part 3 here.   The CBRM Engineering and Public Works Department has budgeted $17.5 million for roads and underground infrastructureRead...