Bait and Switch? How it started: Excitement is building for what’s expected to be a multi-million dollar development along the Cabot Trail by a private firm with European connections. Just two days after the sale of a beleaguered Ingonish ski hill, the facility’s new owners are hosting a public meeting.Read More

As you know, I spent last week dealing with tech and admin issues and so didn’t cover CBRM’s budget deliberations. This turned out to have been a brilliant strategical move because, in a most unexpected plot twist, council suspended talks on its operating budget on Thursday in hopes the provincialRead More

I think the first thing that struck me about this ad—brought to my attention by reader Elly Heim whose letter on the subject you must also read this week—is the stress on the word “free,” as in “Free Caddie Information Sessions.”   Is this actually the come-on? Did would-be caddiesRead More

For-Profit Healthcare I have to admit to not having fully understood how for-profit clinics had succeeded in infiltrating the Canadian healthcare system in the first place, having forgotten that the price of single-payer healthcare is eternal vigilance. My understanding was that the Canada Health Act (CHA), which parliament passed unanimouslyRead More

Last Friday’s “emergency” CBRM council meeting has been well covered in the local media, leaving me with one angle—secrecy—that I still feel has not been adequately explored. But first, let’s recap recent affordable housing history: 2020 October 27: The federal government launches the Rapid Housing Initiative (RHI) delivered by theRead More

It was very disappointing to hear CBRM placing blame rather than taking accountability for their flawed actions, only to reverse course due to public pressure—Acting Municipal Affairs Minister Colton LeBlanc   While I don’t support Tory politics, Minister LeBlanc’s comments summarize my view on the five-million-dollar CBRM affordable housing debacle.Read More

Editor’s Note: When I realized I would be publishing this year on the 41st anniversary of the sinking of the Ocean Ranger, I decided to reprint this piece from 2022—the preface to Susan Dodd’s 2012 book, The Ocean Ranger: remaking the promise of oil, with permission from Fernwood Books.  Read More

Dear Premier Houston: We would like to bring your attention to the West Mabou Beach Provincial Park controversy and our concerns in that regard. West Mabou Beach is an ecologically sensitive area that forms part of the mere 5% of Nova Scotian coastline that is legally protected. We are adamantlyRead More

Working from home I wasn’t sure what I was going to write about this week and then I discovered that Craig Boudreau, head of  J. Francis Investments, vice chair of the Cape Breton Regional Chamber of Commerce, Sage of Charlotte Street, had once again taken pen in hand to shareRead More

Last week,  in Part I of my article on Canada’s healthcare system, I cited the Canadian Encyclopedia entry on “health policy” written by the late Toronto Star medical reporter Marilyn E. Dunlop. In my initial draft, I noted that the Canadian Encyclopedia is kind of wacky (see the “David Dingwall”Read More