Media coverage of the weekend fire at the Donkin Mine may not have answered all the pertinent questions about the incident, but it revealed an interesting truth about the way Kameron Coal operates. According to the Cape Breton Post, the province was alerted to the fire around 7:00 PM onRead More

Kameron Coal Management Ltd, owner of the Donkin coal mine, has received 14 warnings, 19 compliance orders and eight administrative penalties or fines since re-starting operations in September 2022. The CBC published a full list of the violations and it is impressive: Orders:  Sept. 21 – Failure to designate qualifiedRead More

Comfort and Joy I have to tie up two loose ends from my coverage of Tuesday morning’s council meeting. After listening to—and approving—Destination Cape Breton’s funding request (which I covered in detail because opaque organizations spending oodles of public money are catnip to me— or would be, if I wereRead More

CBRM Council has agreed to increase the marketing levy on hotels and other “fixed-roof” accommodations from 2% to 3% and apply it to Airbnb and VRBO rentals. Destination Cape Breton (DCB) CEO Terry Smith made the request to council yesterday morning, explaining the changes will be governed by new legislationRead More

Back in May of this year, District 8 Councilor James Edwards moved that council call for a staff Issue Paper on the pros and cons of selling Centre 200 and the Mayor and 10 councilors present that night (Councilors Paruch and O’Quinn were not there) approved it unanimously. Writing thisRead More

The first thing I need to tell you about last night’s CBRM Council meeting was that it was blessedly short—just over half an hour. That’s because the agenda was light in recognition of the CBRM’s ongoing struggle with the aftermath of Hurricane Fiona. The second thing is that, due toRead More

I made my thoughts on the potential re-opening of the Donkin Mine pretty clear in last week’s Fast & Curious but I feel the need to return to the topic, thanks to a Cape Breton Post story under the headline: Coal’s last chance: It may be now or never forRead More

If you follow CBRM politics, are on social media or hold local elected office, you probably know the name Rod Gale. The South Bar resident (who has written for this publication in the past) doesn’t hesitate to share his thoughts, especially on matters about which he’s passionate — like poverty.Read More