Beggaring belief So, it’s done — Albert Barbusci of Sydney Harbour Investment Partners (SHIP) has completed his work and all that stands between the Port of Sydney and a multi-million dollar terminal for ultra-large container vessels is our decrepit railway. Barbusci told the Cape Breton Post‘s David Jala (who describedRead 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

SHIP Show Update Did you catch the latest episode in the SHIP Show? How many times can one program jump the shark? The CBC reported on Wednesday that Membertou Corporate has ” made an investment that gives it a 22.5 per cent stake in Sydney Harbour Investment Partners (SHIP),” aRead More

I’ve been paying pretty close attention to this drama I think of as the The Albert Barbusci Show, but I must have missed the episode where we asked Barbusci, our port promoter and the CEO of Sydney Harbour Investment Partners (SHIP), to identify a company with an untested method ofRead More

Reporters are constantly deciding which stories they will chase and which they won’t. They are always sizing people up and determining whether or not they are credible; doing background research to ensure what they’re being told is true; talking to people who might have another view of an issue orRead More

The hook for this edition of “A Word from Your Planet” is not just weak, it’s downright imaginary — I’m hanging it on Sydney Harbour Investment Partners (SHIP)’s grand plans for our port, which I referenced this week in the Cossitt Heights article. In fact, I’m hanging it on aRead More

This couldn’t have been more timely: just as we’re all talking about ports again, veteran journalist and sometime Spectator contributor Rick Grant got in touch to say he’d attended the Halifax Needham PC Association AGM on June 20 and had taken the opportunity to quiz the four PC leadership candidatesRead More

Shout out Let’s start this out on a positive note: the staff at the Port of Sydney are really great. CEO Marlene Usher referred to them as her “small but mighty” team during her opening remarks at Port Days on Thursday and it’s true, the entire operation — including cruise,Read More

Pity the poor former world leader. How do you follow up a first act like that? I mean, if you’re not former US President Jimmy Carter, who has dedicated himself to good causes (like Habitat for Humanity and world peace), making himself more popular in retirement than he ever was in office.Read...

I am rarely rendered speechless, but I am gobsmacked by the answers I just received from John Phalen, the economic development manager for the Cape Breton Regional Municipality (CBRM). Phalen, you’ll recall, organized last week’s secret meeting between port promoter Albert Barbusci, CBRM councilors (nine of whom attended), Mayor CecilRead More