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

Dining Out I’m tired of listening to my own cranky voice complaining about things, so I’m going to start today by talking about three things that have impressed me lately: specifically, meals I’ve had in three local restaurants. There was a time in my life when I dined out regularlyRead More

I was very interested to hear the “news” on CBC on Tuesday that the deeper channel dredged in Sydney Harbour six years ago is not being used because the necessary navigational aids have never been put in place. The gist of the story is that there was not enough money forRead More

Welcome to this week’s installment of “Where’s Cecil?,” my ongoing effort to keep track of Mayor Cecil Clarke’s campaign appearances to judge just how much time he’s taking from his day job to travel the province in pursuit of the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party of Nova Scotia. AsRead More

Back in April 2017, the Spectator asked the Port of Sydney Development Corporation for a breakdown of spending from its so-called Assumption Fund. The Assumption Fund is a trust fund containing monies (about $2.5 million originally) left over from the 2012 Sydney harbor dredge, a $37 million project funded by threeRead More

I have been debating how to mark Open Government Week in Nova Scotia (May 7-11). Sitting in the graveyard behind St. Patrick’s Church in the rain with a 40-ouncer of Captain Morgan was my first idea, but I don’t like watery rum and frankly, I always knew the week wouldRead More

On Monday, the Law Amendments Committee sent Bill 85, which grants new powers to the Cape Breton Regional Municipality (CBRM), back to the Nova Scotia House of Assembly without amendment. One of the powers Bill 85 will grant the CBRM is the ability to enter into a 99-year lease, which our mayorRead More

Former Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien says the Sydney container port project promoted by Albert Barbusci of Sydney Harbour Investment Partners (SHIP) has a 90% chance of success but “sometimes you don’t succeed,” so whatever happens, his reputation as a prophet is guaranteed. Chrétien spoke to reporters on the sidelines of the ThinkRead More

Post truth? The Cape Breton Post spoke with Alberta Barbusci, president of Sydney Harbour Investment Partners (SHIP), after his secret, Holiday Inn meeting with nine CBRM councilors and the mayor on Wednesday — a meeting the Post no doubt found out about the same way everyone else in the CBRM did,Read More

Discovering, thanks to the reporting of Rick Grant, that the CBRM mayor and council are holding a secret meeting today with port developer Albert Barbusci sends a chill up my spine. The meeting is being held at the Holiday Inn to avoid the bother of calling a special in cameraRead More