While writing this week’s admittedly not very cheerful story about how Kameron Coal has co-opted our governments as its communications department, I ran across a 2017 Forbes article about the late Chris Cline’s decision to buy the Donkin Mine and realized just what we’re missing when our coal barons won’tRead More
Really, we should have seen it coming. Former Glace Bay MLA Geoff MacLellan has never disguised his feelings for the Donkin Mine. When the Cline Group, which had bought a 75% stake in the mine from Glencore Xstrata the previous December, announced in 2015 that it had begun hiring, then-MinisterRead More
Johnny ‘No Comment’ During the 2021 provincial election, when he was running as the (ultimately successful) Progressive Conservative candidate in the riding of Glace Bay, John White (aka Johnny White aka Johnny Bubba) declined to answer the Spectator‘s questions. I had forgotten that until yesterday, when I read about WhiteRead More
Operating on the “better late than never” principle, I thought I’d discuss the Nova Scotia government’s decision to continue subsidizing the disused Cape Breton portion of the Cape Breton and Central Nova Scotia (CBNS) short-line railway. In case you’ve just tuned in to this soap opera, the province has beenRead More
Can you believe 2019 is almost over? I can’t — and do you know who else probably can’t? Martin Chernin of Harbour Royale Development Limited (HRDL) and Albert Barbusci of Sydney Harbour Investment Partners (SHIP). Why is that, you ask? Well, because each of them faces a big deadline forRead More
“December will likely be the decision month about the future of a subsidy preserving Cape Breton’s rail line,” Cape Breton Post, 19 September 2019 Do you get the feeling we’re being allowed to listen in on a private conversation between Nova Scotia Business Minister (and Glace Bay MLA) Geoff MacLellan,Read More
Emera The Cape Breton Post is reporting changes to Nova Scotia legislation that will lift restrictions preventing foreign investors from holding more than 25% of voting shares in Emera, the parent company of Nova Scotia Power Inc (NSPI). The other change “reinforces Emera’s existing commitment to maintain its head officeRead More
In 2016, consultant CPCS completed a 70-page, $80,000 report for the Province of Nova Scotia and the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) entitled The Nova Scotia Transportation Sector: Global Challenges and Opportunities in which it weighed the relative merits of Nova Scotia’s existing and proposed container terminals and concluded that:Read More
Eyking (and Clarke!) in China As reported in last week’s Fast & Curious, I requested a copy of Sydney-Victoria MP Mark Eyking’s itinerary from his recent trip to China. I received a response from his office which I am pleased to share with you today. Eyking’s assistant Elizabeth Arsenault sentRead More
When governments and public bodies are proud of the deals they’ve brokered or the progress they’ve made on sticky issues or the money they’re allocating for studies and reports, they climb onto the roof of the tallest building they can find and sing their triumphs to an admiring world. WhenRead More
