The CBRM has published its latest travel expense data for council and senior staff and, as you might expect, given the pandemic, people weren’t traveling much. Council had begun meeting by video/teleconference in March 2020, the Atlantic Bubble was instituted on 3 July and popped on 26 November 2020, andRead More

I read with interest this past weekend Craig Boudreau’s “thoughts” — shared via Facebook but probably coming soon to an op-ed page near you — about the proposed new CBRM central library. Boudreau, who is vice chair of the Cape Breton Regional Chamber of Commerce, owns multiple office buildings andRead More

Editor’s Note: This week, we are re-running the third in a series of three columns from 2017. They are perfect for this time of year, and will help you get ready for spring while Michelle deals with a few things that have her tied up right now.   What toRead More

Rousing endorsement I am amazed that, beyond the pages of SaltWire publications like the Cape Breton Post and the Halifax Chronicle Herald, a significant development in the Sydney container terminal project has failed to generate much buzz. The Atlantic Chamber of Commerce — THE ATLANTIC CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, PEOPLE —Read More

If you’ve been missing the Cecil Clarke-style of government — characterized by council being asked to make big decisions on short notice with little time to digest background information — then you no doubt enjoyed District 5 Councilor Eldon MacDonald’s last-minute attempt to slip approval of the waterfront location forRead More

Having listened to Mayor Amanda McDougall’s interview with the CBC’s Wendy Bergfeldt, I’ve come to the same conclusion I reached last week: those meetings in Ben Eoin should have been open to the public. But at a bare minimum, they should have been ANNOUNCED to the public. Former Municipal AffairsRead More

A spectator (you know who you are) recently referenced my June 2019 article about the Royal Cape Breton Yacht Club (RCBYC), the 113-year-old building that graced the Sydney waterfront until 3 May 2013, when it was destroyed by fire. This reminded me that I had never properly followed up onRead More

As I write this month’s column, Ontario, where I live, is still in the grip of the COVID pandemic. The government issued a stay-at-home order on Boxing Day, which closed restaurants for in-person dining, university classes remain virtual, and we have been told that we should only leave the houseRead More

Editor’s Note: This week, we are re-running the third in a series of three columns from 2017. They are perfect for this time of year, and will help you get ready for spring while Michelle deals with a few things that have her tied up right now.   What to doRead...

Low-rent Davos Last week found me feeling hopeful about our municipal government, reporting on CBU Prof. Tom Urbaniak’s suggestions for streamlining agendas and shortening meetings and involving the community on committees. And then, this happened: The Cape Breton Regional Municipality is readying a new strategic plan for the next fourRead More