The Spectator’s Ethicist, Rachel Haliburton, provides convincing — and sometimes counter-intuitive — arguments as to why making the rich pay their fair share of taxes benefits us all.(Read Reason #1) In my last column, I began exploring some arguments that might be given in support of the claim that itRead More

Editor’s Note: Mayor Cecil Clarke’s contention that discussing council remuneration in camera (and treating elected officials as “personnel”) is a longstanding CBRM practice sent me scuttling to the “CBRM Mayor and Council” clippings file at the McConnell library, to research some of the remuneration (and related) issues council has dealt withRead More

CBRM Council met for 18 hours last night (okay, not 18 hours, but it felt like 18 hours, I don’t know how they do it). Here are some quick hits from the agenda:   Library Once again, I was left wondering what exactly is the relationship between businessman Martin Chernin’sRead More

Dissecting a decision Three things struck me about a recent decision by Nova Scotia Privacy Commissioner Catherine Tully. The decision involved what was then called Nova Scotia Waterfront Development Corporation Limited (WDCL), a provincial crown corporation originally responsible for land development, primarily around Halifax Harbour. In late 2015, the WDCLRead More

Mayor Cecil Clarke’s contention that discussing council remuneration in camera (and treating elected officials as “personnel”) is a longstanding CBRM practice sent me scuttling to the “CBRM Mayor and Council” clippings file at the McConnell library this past week, where the first thing I discovered was that controversy over theRead More

If only they’d rung their solicitor. CBRM regional solicitor Demetri Kachafanas confirmed for the Cape Breton Spectator on Tuesday what a political scientist and a provincial municipal affairs spokesman have both already said: the CBRM council cannot go in camera to discuss its own pay. In an emailed response sentRead More

More than 250 bishops from around the world came together at the Vatican from October 3-28 for the XV Ordinary Synod of Bishops on Young People, the Faith and Vocational Discernment. Also invited to participate were 30 young people, chosen (one assumes) for their engagement with the faith, representatives of bothRead More

I’ve been wondering what’s going on down on the boardwalk and yesterday I finally got off my duff and went down for a closer look. It’s rather startling:     I emailed CBRM spokesperson Jillian Moore on Tuesday to find out what exactly is being built and she sent thisRead More

In recent published comments, Mayor Cecil Clarke suggested that because the Municipal Government Act (MGA) was ignored in the past it is perfectly acceptable for our current elected representatives to continue thumbing a collective nose at a statutory mandate to follow the rules. What the Mayor and Council repeatedly didRead...

In camera The CBC’s Tom Ayers doesn’t seem to like closed doors any more than I do and this week he kicked one open (figuratively, not literally) at the Cape Breton Regional Municipality. Ayers reported on Thursday that the CBRM Council has discussed its own compensation in secret four timesRead More