Earlier this year, the idea of a guaranteed annual income (GAI) was in the news, including in The Cape Breton Spectator where yours truly wrote about Ontario’s plan to “launch a pilot project to assess whether a basic income can better support vulnerable workers, improve health and education outcomes forRead More

Has anyone else wondered why our political leaders at every level of government give lip service to representing the constituents they seek support from only when they are campaigning for office or forming the political opposition in the legislature? Ritually, leaders of political parties promise and promise and promise someRead More

If there was one issue that dominated the 2017 provincial election in Cape Breton, it was healthcare. And it’s not like there was any one healthcare issue that stood out — poke the system just about anywhere and you’ll hit a sore spot, whether it’s lack of access to primaryRead...

Editor’s Note: The following letter was received in response to Part One and Part Two of Susan Dodd’s “A Short History of Blame” series. There is no doubt mining was a dangerous occupation, particularly where gas was close to the operating surfaces and loose stone led to cave-ins. A goodRead More

Editor’s Note: This is the second in a series of essays by Susan Dodd on Nova Scotia’s history of blaming coal mining accidents on the miners themselves — a history that finally changed in the wake of the Westray disaster. You can read the first, third and fourth essays by clicking theRead More

I wrote last week that dealing with international waste (IW) at the Sydney Marine Terminal will involve more than simply getting in a stash of orange garbage bags. You can read the details here, but the gist is that international waste coming off vessels must be segregated from domestic wasteRead More

Having established that property taxes are the domain of municipalities in Nova Scotia, I now have to admit that they are also, in some instances, the domain of the province. I know, right? Just when you think you’ve got a nice, black and white distinction going, someone has to comeRead...

Doing Well By Doing Good “Activist and fundraiser” Dan Pallotta will speak during the Community Impact Summit, an anti-poverty gathering to be held in Sydney next Wednesday and Thursday. The summit will bring together “business, government and non-profit sector leaders [emphasis theirs]” to “commit to specific, positive actions to helpRead More

The Nova Scotia New Democratic Party made a freedom of information application to the Nova Scotia government last December requesting: All communication (including emails, letter and other electronic messages) briefing notes and other documents related to An Act Respecting a Teacher’s [sic] Professional Agreement. The request referred to legislation that Education MinisterRead More

Before writing a word about the workplace conditions of Nova Scotia teachers, there is something I need to say: everything I know about the Nova Scotia school system is based on having passed through it as a student in the 1970s. In other words, I know bupkis (to borrow a termRead More