Society

A Christmas Message from the Ghost of Labor Past

A Christmas Message from the Ghost of Labor Past

December 14, 2022 at 11:49 am

Editor’s Note: What follows is one of the earliest compositions attributed to the legendary Cape Breton labor leader of a century ago, J.B. McLachlan. Published in December 1906 as a letter to the editor in the Halifax Herald, it was sent along to the Spectator by David Frank, author ofRead More

The Darkest Hour Before Detente?

The Darkest Hour Before Detente?

December 7, 2022 at 1:49 pm

“War is not the only thing that, to occur, must be waged.” —Judith Lipton and David Barash, Strength Through Peace   It now seems like a bygone age, but it was only on December 15 last year that the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs presented a draft Treaty on ‘SecurityRead More

Democracy, Nova Scotian-style

Democracy, Nova Scotian-style

December 7, 2022 at 1:47 pm

Richard Starr had already got me thinking about how centralized power is in Nova Scotia before Auditor General Kim Adair drove the point home for me on Tuesday. Starr has been tracking this province’s anti-democratic tendencies for some time now via his Starr’s Point blog, and back in early November,Read More

Civic Centre, CBRM

And Another Thing…

November 30, 2022 at 11:42 am

There’s a point I’ve been meaning to make regarding CBRM council’s in camera discussions of waterfront development, which Mayor Amanda McDougall defended to the CBC, telling reporter Tom Ayers: Discussions on the potential land deal have been held in camera for months, which is allowed under the Municipal Government Act,Read More

Letter from Oklahoma: Not Entirely Thankful

Letter from Oklahoma: Not Entirely Thankful

November 23, 2022 at 2:19 pm

Editor’s Note: I heard from my old friend Willy Howell out of the blue this week, and realized his message was actually pretty timely, given it’s almost American Thanksgiving and Willy, an enrolled member of the Olgala Sioux Tribe, has not always had reason to be thankful to the UnitedRead More

Embracing Winter: The Cold Club

Embracing Winter: The Cold Club

November 23, 2022 at 2:17 pm

Editor’s Note: I caught myself looking rather bleakly at the snow yesterday and decided I needed a timely reminder about embracing winter, so I re-read Paul MacDougall’s 25 November 2020 piece on coping with the cold and I thought you might like to too.   There is probably as muchRead More

The CFIB and the Disgruntled 2%

The CFIB and the Disgruntled 2%

November 16, 2022 at 12:30 pm

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) has done a survey right here in the little old CBRM. The CBRM Business Environment Survey was conducted between December 2021 and February 2022 and published in April 2022. I missed it but a reader was kind enough to send it along, knowingRead More

Homage to a Peacemonger

Homage to a Peacemonger

November 2, 2022 at 12:17 pm

On September 24, the Canadian anti-war community suffered a grievous loss with the death, at the age of just 71, of Bill Blaikie, New Democrat MP for Winnipeg for nearly 30 years (1979-2008) and devout Christian believer in a peace on Earth secured not through the chimera of military ‘strength’Read More

Defendants Answer ACOA’s Ben Eoin Lawsuit

Defendants Answer ACOA’s Ben Eoin Lawsuit

October 26, 2022 at 1:19 pm

I don’t know enough about golf to begin with an appropriate golf reference, so please insert whatever the golf equivalent of “catch-up football” is here, because that’s what I’m playing—I missed the Notice of Defence filed by the defendants in a lawsuit launched by the Atlantic Canadian Opportunities Agency (ACOA)Read More

Park and Golf?

Park and Golf?

October 26, 2022 at 1:17 pm

This time last year, I was writing multiple articles (see here and here and here) about golf magnate Ben Cowan-Dewar’s controversial new course on the Caribbean island of Saint Lucia. Cowan-Dewar and partner Mike Keiser have not even completed that course (Sports Illustrated says Cabot Saint Lucia is scheduled toRead More