CBRM council met on May 10 for a “Strategic Vision” workshop that, despite it’s rather vague title, actually had a clear—and important—purpose: councilors met to discuss quality of life, family recreation, public transit and affordable housing and homelessness. I’m going to focus on the latter because I think ensuring accessRead...
Growth Back in 2021, the CBRM went looking for a consultant to: …complete a new Municipal Planning Strategy (MPS), Economic Development Strategy, Land Use By-law (LUB), and other related enabling by-laws including the Subdivision By-law. The contract, worth $217,391.30, was awarded to Dillon Consulting which subcontracted two additional consultants—David Campbell ofRead...
My problem this week, as I got back to my regular publication schedule, was that my story ideas were all too big to turn around in time for this week’s edition. I don’t like scratching the surface of things, but while I dust off my shovel and get ready toRead More
This week I had a chance to visit Glace Bay’s Town House to find out what they’ve been up to lately. I was intrigued by the organization but not well informed — I was aware of the clothing depot, but not much else. But in a wide-ranging conversation with ExecutiveRead More
I assumed my first 2022 contribution to the Spectator would be pretty upbeat, especially since New Year’s Eve was spent in a hilarious re-watching of various episodes of Father Ted that included a few I hadn’t seen before. And thanks to YouTube documentary introducing the actors, I got to seeRead More
Pet sounds Episode 12 of Annette Verschuren’s Bet On Me podcast (“Prioritizing Purpose with Profits: Getting to know Ikdeep Singh, Regional President of Mars Pet Nutrition“) would have put me to sleep entirely had it not, at times, managed to annoy me so deeply. Her guest’s connection to Cape BretonRead More
Like so many during this long COVID period, I have found refuge in HGTV shows where older homes, often unfit for occupation, are snapped up, made over and sold for not-too-shabby profits. (I’m convinced that on many of these shows — and there are new ones sprouting seemingly daily —Read More
If writing about poverty, homelessness, food banks and the need for a guaranteed annual income (GAI) could solve any of the problems associated with such matters, I would surely have solved a few over lo! these many years I’ve been contributing to the Spectator. The battle cry at the momentRead More
Providing Coverage On Tuesday, October 27, at about 12:45 PM, police were contacted about a body discovered in the abandoned train station at 75 Dodd Street in Sydney. Writing about this on Wednesday, I guessed that over the next few days we’d be discussing the problem of homelessness in ourRead...
The discovery of human remains in the derelict train station on Dodd Street in Sydney is a horrifying development in the debate about the building’s future that began in council this summer. But more importantly, it’s an indictment of our failure, as a community, to provide for the most vulnerableRead More
