Among the many unknowns about life under Nova Scotia’s new majority Progressive Conservative government is the fate of our access to information system. While it seems unlikely things could get any worse, there is no guarantee they will get better. But even as I write, the CBC’s Michael Gorman isRead More

Once more to the polls! I have yet to decide how to cover this fall’s municipal elections in the CBRM. Back in 2016 — the year I launched the Spectator  — I chose to focus on the women running for office in part because I am one person and couldRead More

During last night’s regular monthly meeting of the Cape Breton Regional Council, District 5 Councilor Eldon MacDonald moved that the week of September 23 to 29 be declared “Right to Know” Week in the CBRM. I laughed. I cried. And I thought of all the things I would like toRead More

Free the information CBRM Municipal Clerk Deborah Campbell Ryan got back to me Tuesday night about another FOIPOP I submitted back in April looking for information about a matter before council. Her original estimate of the fee I would be required to pay for this (public) information was $215 andRead More

Acting on a tip from a reader, who seemed to think that CBRM Mayor Cecil Clarke, his executive assistant Mark Bettens and (the now former) economic development manager John Phelan were doing an unusual amount of traveling on the public dime last fall, I sent a request under Section XXRead More

While writing last week about the CBRM Regional Enterprise Network or CBRM REN it suddenly struck me that I didn’t know what I was talking about. I didn’t really know what a Regional Enterprise Network was, so I decided I’d better educate myself. I began by looking up the existing CapeRead More