CBRM Council’s regular meeting began last night with the usual mishmash of proclamations that left us with a “Maritime Kids Health Day” (September 14), a “Medic Monday” (September 26),  a “Cape Breton Classic Cruisers Fall Classic Show & Shine Weekend” (September 16-18), a Fire Prevention Week (October 9-15) and anRead More

Catch 22 “There was only one catch, and that was Catch-22.” Did you happen to watch the CBC-sponsored CBRM mayoral candidates’ debate on Wednesday night? I watched the whole thing and, given my obsession with all things port, was struck by Mayor Cecil Clarke’s assertion that the province was preparedRead...

As regular readers of the Spectator know, I have an affinity for document-based research — emails, letters, court records, consultants’ reports, council minutes, issue papers, doctoral theses — I am never happier than when up to my elbows in print. But sometimes when you have an issue that you want veryRead More

Writing about wastewater earlier this year, I raised the possibility that CBRM Mayor Cecil Clarke might not be worried about meeting a December 2020 deadline associated with new federal wastewater regulations because he’s already announced he won’t be seeking a third term — which means he will bid us farewellRead More

I (finally) received an answer from the CBRM in response to my wastewater questions. You can read my original story here, but the gist is that when Canada’s new Wastewater System Effluent Regulations (WSER) came into effect on 1 January 2015, municipalities operating water treatment systems that didn’t meet themRead...

This was supposed to be a follow-up to last week’s article on wastewater in which I would present the response of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality (CBRM) to concerns about its readiness to meet federal Wastewater System Effluent Regulations (WSER). But what with vacations and long weekends and short workweeks,Read...