One evening, years ago, I had had it after a day of argumentative and wailing kids and decided I was heading out as soon as supper was over. The bus arrived and I was aboard before I suddenly thought, “Where will I go?” After a few minutes, it hit me.Read More

Editor’s Note: This column first appeared on 26 April 2017   What to do this week Optimistic beginner gardeners are often tempted to plant after a few days of great weather in May. I think it is important to let you know how to reasonably predict the risk of frost,Read More

Courthouse Dreams We discovered during budget talks on Tuesday that CBRM is considering the possibility  of turning the former Cape Breton County courthouse in Wentworth Park into the new central library. I am trying not to get my hopes up too high as I write this because there are aRead More

CBRM council met on Tuesday to hash out details of its 5%, across-the-board tax cut but before they got into it, District 8 Councilor James Edwards moved that the cut be phased in over three years rather than introduced in one fell swoop. This led to a reprise of muchRead More

Talk of big box retailers benefiting from CBRM’s recently announced 5% tax cut got me to googling and I discovered that these corporations have been getting quite creative in their attempts to reduce their assessments south of the border. I will preface this by saying that my “research” (which I’veRead More

I’m easing back into work after a glorious long weekend by updating a couple of stories I’ve followed previously, which is why I’m talking about One Ocean Expeditions (OOE), the polar cruise operator founded by Westmount native Andrew Prossin. OOE, with debts of $29.6 million and assets worth just northRead More

Editor’s Note: On April 28, The CBC’s Tom Ayers reported that the CBRM will actually pay $3.8 million for the Nickerson property. The $2.5 million budgeted for 2022-23 represents the outstanding balance. The Spectator apologizes for the error.   Did you happen to catch the price tag on the land theRead More

Editor’s Note: This longform piece by Michelle first appeared on 19 April 2017.   There are many reasons I farm. Foremost is the welcome diversity of the work, the many physical and mental challenges – always a new puzzle to take apart and solve. It also involves extended periods ofRead More

CBRM council voted on a 5%, across-the-board — residential and commercial — property tax cut this week. I think this chart, from the province’s Open Data portal, helps provide some perspective on this. It shows average Nova Scotia municipal residential property tax rates from 2009/10 to 2020/21. (It’s interactive, youRead More

When we left off, CBRM District 8 Councilor James Edwards (who, as noted in Part I of this article on the CBRM tax cut, is a former Canada Revenue employee), was agreeing that he too, would like to pay less tax, but arguing that to be “fiscally responsible,” any reductionRead More