Official Sydney and Area Projects Thread

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Cape Breton Post

Unama'ki construction companies praised for work on cooling pond project

Section: Business

Representatives of three Unama'ki construction companies from Cape Breton are in Vancouver this week to participate in the National Federal Contaminated Sites Workshop.

One of the Cape Breton representatives is Mona Morris of Morris Construction, one of the aboriginal construction companies working on the $400-million Sydney tar ponds cleanup project.

Morris is profiled in promotional material for the Cape Breton aboriginal construction companies.

The Unama'ki construction companies are bursting with pride over the success they have had in undertaking a multimillion-dollar environmental remediation project at the Sydney tar ponds cleanup site and they have their sights set on millions of dollars in future contracts.

"This experience has also allowed these Cape Breton aboriginal construction companies to build capacity and expertise and has positioned them to play a significant role in future contracts and other major construction projects in Nova Scotia," said Dan Christmas, chair of the Unama'ki Economic Benefits Steering Committee and senior adviser to chief and council in Membertou First Nation.

"The cooling pond project is a clear success. Without question, this is largely attributable to the aboriginal contractors working on the project," said Frank Potter, president, Sydney Tar Ponds Agency.

The three aboriginal construction companies that won the tender to work on the cooling pond are Norman Morris Joint Venture of Eskasoni, MB2 Excavating and Construction of Membertou, and Membertou - HAZCO Remediation Group.

Representatives of the Sydney Tar Ponds Agency are also attending the National Federal Contaminated Sites Workshop.

Community fears school construction will be delayed

Section: Glace Bay/New Waterford

By Erin Pottie,

Community members are fearing yet another delay in the construction of a new junior high school.

Earlier this week the deputy education minister suggested delays are likely for the Glace Bay junior high school which has endured multiple sidetracks since its construction was announced in 2003.

The building was slated for completion in 2007, and again in 2009, however financial restrictions and failure to find an appropriate location have delayed the school opening to 2010.

"What we're doing is we're examining the sites and we're still expecting some reports (in) mid-May," said Department of Education spokesperson Dan Harrison. "If we can get a site selected and move fairly rapidly after that point, the current schedule should be - it'll be tight, but the current schedule could hold or at least be completed by December of that year."

About 20 sites have been tested, though there have been many subsidence and undermining problems. Two locations being considered for the school are on the Donkin Highway and Wallace's Road. Harrison said geotechnical and engineering reports are taking longer than expected. He also said the budget will set-aside $1.1 million for the project this year.

"This government is committed to build the school once we have a safe site," said Education Minister Karen Casey after the announcement of the provincial budget, Tuesday.

Glace Bay MLA Dave Wilson suggested to the minister, that her department keep Deputy Minister Dennis Cochrane's "hands off money," fearing funds allocated to the Liberal-held district school could get reshuffled for other projects.

Rodney MacDonald's Conservative government came under fire from Opposition MLAs about the fairness of school construction projects after the government announced a new school for Tory cabinet minister Bill Dooks' Porters Lake area. The Halifax Regional School Board had only requested a renovation.

"I'm so used to delays now, nothing surprises me - at some point, in my opinion, it's got to be political will," said Myrtle Turnbull-Campbell of Glace Bay and a member of the Cape Breton-Victoria Regional School Board. "Board members haven't been informed of anything and once we get something firm we have to meet as a board and go to our next step; and I'm not even sure what that is."

Construction of a Glace Bay junior high has been a top priority of the board for five years. Turnbull-Campbell said she expects the warning of a delay means there will be one.

"Where there's smoke there's fire," she said.

"Rodney MacDonald's Conservative government came under fire from Opposition MLAs about the fairness of school construction projects after the government announced a new school for Tory cabinet minister Bill Dooks' Porters Lake area. The Halifax Regional School Board had only requested a renovation."

All I'm going to say here...typical.

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Commentaries
Kaz is at it again. He wants his $2.75 back.

Council must stop marching to the Pied Piper

Section: Comment

Column: Letters to the editor


It was no surprise to me to read that the legal action put forward by Mayor John Morgan and council was tossed out of court. The mayor, who organized this stupid court action, has seen not only the case tossed out but also close to $290,000 of taxpayers' money.

It was bad enough to hear this mayor on CBC Radio Thursday morning talk about how he hoped to appeal and how he would fight to his last breath for the region, but then on the same show residents who called in supported Morgan to go on, calling him a wonderful leader. One stated he was the best ever in the mayor's chair.

I must hand it to him for doing a wonderful job of brainwashing these people and his councillors. How could you call someone a wonderful leader who has led us into a $105 million debt? How can people call him a wonderful leader for not having discussions with either council or provincial politicians to solve our problems?

If someone in council does not put a stop to the mayor's antics, then we must as taxpayers demand a complete audit and investigation by the provincial government. The time for sitting back and watching this foolishness is over.

Councillors are elected to represent the residents of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality, not to follow a Pied Piper.

Kaz Siepierski

Whitney Pier

I certainly wouldn't call Morgan the best mayor, I'm hesitant to even call him a good mayor, but I do support him in the lawsuit and, considering the low cost associated, feel it was/is worth it to pursue.

Finally someone with some sense

It's very sad to see case tripped up without ever getting to substance of the issues

Section: Comment

Column: David Johnson

By David Johnson,

The mayor and council are facing one of the most important decisions in the short history of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality.

Last Wednesday, Mr. Justice John D. Murphy of the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia rendered his judgment in CBRM's constitutional litigation against the Government of Nova Scotia. CBRM was arguing that the province was in breach of Section 36 of the Constitution Act for failing to provide an appropriate level of equalization funding to CBRM to ensure that residents, in comparison to other citizens in Nova Scotia, had comparable levels of public services at reasonably comparable levels of taxation.

In a closely reasoned decision, Justice Murphy dismissed CBRM's pleading as failing to raise a reasonable cause of action. "I have concluded," wrote the judge, "that CBRM's proceeding does not raise a justiciable issue - the questions the municipality seeks to have determined in the context of complaints advanced respecting municipal equalization and economic development do not have a sufficient legal component to warrant court intervention. If the court were to adjudicate the dispute, it would exceed its proper role within Canada's constitutional framework ... and engage in political and economic considerations which are not appropriate for judicial determination."

As I read this 30-page decision (and I encourage everyone to read the decision, available on the CBRM website), I have conflicting thoughts. I have long supported the principle of CBRM bringing a legal challenge against the provincial government over the flawed manner by which federal equalization funds are distributed across this province. The substantive merits of this case are very sound; there is a great weight of evidence that Cape Breton is financially disadvantaged in this province and that the provincial government has not been taking effective equalization measures to ensure that people in Cape Breton have comparable levels of public services at reasonably comparable levels of taxation.

What makes me very sad, however, is that Justice Murphy was moved to dismiss this case without needing to address the substantive issues. CBRM lost this case not on its substantive merits but due to technical and procedural flaws in its arguments placed before the court. But these technical and procedural flaws, as perceived by the judge, were fatal to the life of the case, and they pose huge hurdles to overcome if council moves to appeal.

Now, I am not a lawyer; the following analysis is that of a political scientist and not a legal specialist, and I very much urge Mayor John Morgan and council to attain a wide variety of expert legal advice on this judgment before deciding whether to appeal.

Three key issues rise to the fore in Justice Murphy's findings. One is the justiciability of Section 36 - whether the provisions dealing with equalization actually provide legal commitments enforceable before the courts. Here, Justice Murphy sides with existing jurisprudence that these commitments are not justiciable but are rather akin more to statements of political principles than legal rights and obligations.

The Supreme Court of Canada, however, has never ruled on this, so we still lack the guidance of the highest court of constitutional interpretation.

The second weakness, as identified by Justice Murphy, is that while CBRM pleads that provincial policies and actions on the management of equalization are unconstitutional, the municipality does not challenge the constitutionality of the Municipal Grants Act, the legislative and administrative mechanism by which provincial equalization is distributed within Nova Scotia.

By failing to impugn the Municipal Grants Act, CBRM is accepting its constitutionality, including the mechanisms and formulas by which equalization is distributed by the province. As such, there is a logical inconsistency at the heart of CBRM's case. Had CBRM challenged the constitutionality of this act and its mechanisms and formulas, this challenge might have provided sufficient weight and detail to the case to persuade a judge that the provisions in Section 36 were violated by the act, giving a court a valid reason for holding Section 36 to be justiciable in such a case. But it is too late to make this argument now; a party cannot rewrite its pleadings on appeal.

The third problem with CBRM's case was that while it argued that the province was violating constitutional provisions on equalization, CBRM did not ask for a clear legal remedy. CBRM asked simply for a declaration of a breach of the Constitution, with the parties then being required to engage in negotiations to address the breach. But, as the judge argued, if he did grant such a declaration, there would be no guarantee that negotiations would result in a successful resolution of the matter, and the courts might be embroiled in further challenges as to whether future negotiations and their failures constituted further breaches of Section 36.

Rather, Justice Murphy stressed that the role of the courts "is to provide final determination of legal issues, without intervening in public policy." As such, CBRM should have asked for an explicit remedy that a court could have ordered to fix the constitutional problem it was facing. By not asking for such a clear fix, the CBRM pleading did not provide the court with a sufficient legal framework to render a legal decision.

Now, all three of these flaws with the case are major problems, and they proved fatal before Justice Murphy. Could they be overcome on appeal? That is the key question before the mayor and council, and it is this question that requires them to get expert legal opinion from a wide variety of sources.

I have long supported the principles behind this case but the practical implementation of this legal challenge has left much to be desired. And while I am all in favour of fighting for Cape Breton, remember Napoleon's advice: "Never fight a battle you know you cannot win."

David Johnson, PhD, is associate professor in the Department of Political Science, Cape Breton University.

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Cape Breton Post

Two more differing opinions on the lawsuit.

CBRM's legal case costing money, not recovering it

Section: Comment

Column: Letters to the editor

I've never been so disappointed or angry with a politician as I am with Mayor John Morgan. After reading Chris Shannon's article, Is it Tax Hike or Lawsuit? (April 25), you should be too.

When this tempest in a teapot over filing a legal action against the province began, I figured that it would fizzle rather quickly, given how ridiculous the idea seemed. But it didn't go away and now that a court has thrown the case out and I'm left to wonder are we any better off for it.

What have we gotten for five years of this? Was there really nothing else our mayor could have been spending his time and our money on?

Ladies and gentlemen, I propose that the problem is not that the province hasn't been giving the region enough money; it's that our municipal government hasn't been spending that money with our communities' best interests in mind.

This legal case has served only one purpose - to give the mayor an axe to grind. He's been able to play the role of advocate, sticking up for the maligned residents of our fair communities, and this is what we really like about him.

It's in our blood. From the coal mines to the steel mill, the island's history lies in exploitation and resistance. We fought tooth and nail with big companies for our right to a better life and we've been brought up to respect the advocates who helped us do that. These were the men and women who stood up to say we deserve better and we're going to get it, but Morgan is no such advocate.

Don't be fooled: this case is not a solution to the problems facing our communities. In my opinion it's a dereliction of duty to, and a distraction from, the real issues like employment, out-migration and municipal infrastructure.

In the fall there will be another election and if Morgan decides to run again I beg you to ask him some tough questions. What has he done to attract new and viable businesses to the area? What has he done to attract and retain youth?

We are not the only community in Canada facing these problems. We need a mayor who's going to focus his time and effort on the problems facing our communities, not on the golden goose of provincial funding.

Provincial funding is only one small part of the problems facing our communities. After five years of trying, hopefully the mayor will realize this lawsuit is costing money rather than recovering it.

Aiden Buckland

Calgary

Having come so far, CBRM's constitutional case should not be lightly abandoned

Section: Comment

By Blair Mitchell,

Last week's Supreme Court of Nova Scotia decision striking out the Cape Breton Regional Municipality's legal attack against the province was a hard hit. There will be strong arguments that CBRM should no go further with this, and many of those arguments will be served up with all the sting that political wrangling can muster.

But whatever the lawsuit's original political, practical or legal wisdom, decision makers need to think carefully before simply turning out the lights on this action.

The case represents a significant investment of legal expense, municipal time and commitment that needs to be conserved and respected. But, at least as important, simply letting the claim go may undermine the region's future credibility to threaten a legal challenge to provincial policy.

The creation of CBRM in 1996 - a large area of local government that could speak with one voice in Nova Scotian affairs - has given industrial Cape Breton a new way of influencing provincial decision-making. Having committed to legal action, the region needs to take careful stock of how it will continue to manage this presence.

And giving in to a simple, knee-jerk reaction, for the luxury a few opportunities of saying "I told you so," deserves careful thought.

The action was struck at what is a procedurally early stage: the province alleged that the claim was simply not "a reasonable cause of action" - and on the face of the decision, the argument stuck. The reality is that this was not an easy application to bring, and the Supreme Court's striking it is a clear statement that the law on which CBRM relied is less than clear or simple. The decision may also be saying that this kind of constitutional action in Canada, in legal terms, is still in its infancy.

CBRM's claim is based on Section 36 of the 1982 Constitution Act. Specifically, the section declares that Canada's governments, federal and provincial, are committed to promoting equal opportunities for all Canadians, furthering economic development to address disparity, and providing reasonable levels of essential public services to all Canadians.

At least at first glance, this law would be the first place to look for legal support for a region that believes it is being short-changed in the distribution of provincial development money and the administration of municipal taxes. But the section is a strange one. Called "puzzling" by one legal expert, compared to other rights in the same legislation it is unique.

The provision is written differently from all of the other rights set out. It does not expressly provide for a right to apply to a court or to sue for remedy. And how it is phrased - a statement of commitment to fairness and rough equality of access to essential public services across the country - makes even more unclear how it is to be enforced.

So, in the 26 years since it came into effect, s.36 had come to a court in the country only twice before the CBRM action. And it was on this basis, in the CBRM case, that the province's lawyers argued that the section was never intended to support legal action. Rather, they said, it was merely a statement of principle, and the principle would be meant to be "enforced" by politicians in the political process.

Hearing the lawsuit, the province argued, "would not involve the court in an interpretation of law, but rather in a review of economic policy," and accordingly it disclosed no "cause of action." So, the attorney general said, the claim should be struck. S.36 is just not, in the language of the courts, "justiciable."

And yet surely the section means something. Nova Scotia was as much a signatory of this Constitution as any other government in this country and so this section has to be a significant statement of the province's own commitment to the principles the section sets out.

Like everything from hammers to nuts, constitutions are ultimately made to be used. They provide a basis not just for how laws are to be made, and by whom; they also prescribe values and standards within which law is to be made. They may not have to be used every day or even every month or every year, but they are there for a reason. And, unquestioningly, to ignore their potential to influence public policy can amount to a big political and public policy mistake.

CBRM's lawyers pointed out to the court the significance of the use of the word "commitment" (to economic fairness) in this case. Equally, and strongly, they set out the unequivocal words elsewhere in the Constitution that it "is the supreme law of Canada," and underlined that as such "law" the provision must be enforceable.

The decision reflects that s.36 has scarcely been considered since the Constitution's adoption in 1982, and in the result there is little guidance from other cases to this court on how the matter should be decided.

The decision itself travelled into what seems to be a new way of deciding how such cases should be analyzed for the sake of weighing whether to accept or reject the claim. Beyond this, the municipality's position, according to the court's decision, was further complicated by how circumstances or legal strategy required the claim to be advanced.

It reasonably could only have been expected that at the first level of the court process, considering the stand-alone phrasing of this constitutional provision, in the absence of legal precedents giving it guidance, and in the face of a broadly based challenge such as this, CBRM's action would have been treated cautiously and with close scrutiny in its first appearance in the courts.

There are no guarantees of success in any constitutional litigation. And in this case, the road may be steeper than in many others. But regional disparity is a fundamentally important national issue - across provinces, between them and within them, from one end of this country to the other. Obviously, rightly or wrongly, and there are strong views on both sides, CBRM is convinced it is not being fairly treated.

It bears considering that, whatever else might be said, CBRM's willingness to be resourceful, to advance a position and to endure risk of loss, by having raised the issue and to have come this far perhaps should not be lightly given away.

Blair Mitchell is a Halifax lawyer with an established interest in public law.

Edit- just realised I was on a new page. New photos may have to wait until I'm back to the house after the flood here in Fredericton recedes.

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Cape Breton Post

GOOD NEWS TODAY!!! FINALLY!!! AND MORE THAN ONE STORY TOO!!!

This is just from the online section for now, if more comes in the subscriber section I'll edit it in tomorrow!

Chalk one up for CBU
Minister of education says CBU will get its new bachelor of education program

DOUG MACKENZIE
The Cape Breton Post

SYDNEY — John Harker didn’t believe in horoscopes until Thursday morning.
Cape Breton University’s president and vice-chancellor picked up a newspaper en route to the Nova Scotia legislature for Education Minister Karen’s Casey’s announcement on changes to the province’s teacher education system.
“I don’t believe in horoscopes, but I was looking through the paper this morning trying to take my mind off where I was going,” said Harker, a taurus. “I read it today and it said ‘You have everything to look forward to and nothing to fear. Yes, it’s really that good.’”
Shortly after reading that bit of prognostication, Harker listened as Casey outlined changes to the teacher education system, changes that include a 40-seat bachelor of education program for CBU.
“I’m very happy it went the way of good public policy for all of Nova Scotia and that’s very important to this university,” Harker said.
A recent review on teacher education in Nova Scotia noted there is an oversupply of teachers in the system and made several recommendations to Casey, including not granting CBU its program; however, the department recognized there is significant demand for a bachelor of education degree and that there are shortages of teachers in some rural areas and in particular subject areas, such as math and French.
With that in mind, Casey supported a BEd degree program at CBU beginning in 2009-10, but only if certain conditions are met, including approval of the Maritime Provinces Higher Education Council and a focus on areas of labour market need.
“I had to look at the geography of the province and where we have universities now that deliver BEd programs — they are all on the mainland — and also look at the number of students leaving Cape Breton,” said Casey. “It was important to me that Nova Scotia students who want to get a BEd program in Nova Scotia would have that as an option and so I wanted to increase the numbers across the province and geographically I wanted Cape Breton to have some of those seats.
“I’m happy for Cape Breton and I’m happy for education all across the province because we have many, many young people who want to be teachers and we want them to have a quality program and we need them in our schools,” Casey said.
“We have to respond to the labour market demands and we know there are some disciplines where we don’t have the supply we need. One of the ways we can make sure we can meet that is to put that on as an expectation.”
“We know when we have a new degree we have to get it approved by the MPHEC and that’s a system we understand and we welcome,” said Harker. “They want 70 per cent to focus on areas of need in the province and we’ll be able to meet with that.”
CBU will now prepare a proposal to submit to the minister, outlining its plan. This will reflect the current 16-month model. The university will be able to respond to demands of the island’s Aboriginal communities.
“Today’s announcement clearly recognizes what we have developed and delivered right here at Cape Breton University, in close partnership with school boards, local teachers, and the best of community resources — a very successful education model,” said Jane Lewis, dean of education, health and wellness at CBU.
CBU’s current partnership with Memorial University of Newfoundland will end after the current cohort of students graduates. The 16-month version, which starts this month, would overlap with the new CBU class. The 2009-10 year will see students entering as CBU education students and receiving their degrees from CBU. CBU will continue to offer the master of education (information technology) with Memorial.

CBRM median incomes grew faster than national and provincial averages!

Business leader calls census figures ‘positive sign’
NANCY KING
The Cape Breton Post

SYDNEY — A local business official says census figures that show that median family income grew significantly since 2000 can be seen as an indicator that the Cape Breton Regional Municipality is seeing some slow progress in its economy.
Data released from the 2006 census by Statistics Canada Thursday indicated the median income for families in CBRM was $51,710 — an increase from the previous census, when it was $46,018 when adjusted for inflation.
The 12.4 per cent increase compares with a national increase in income of 3.7 per cent and a provincial increase of 6.1 per cent.
Individuals in CBRM had a median income of $20,348. Five years earlier, the median income was $17,964.
“We all understand very well the challenges that we’ve faced and where we’ve come from. The economy has gone through a huge transition, and we still have challenges, as far as outmigration,” said Owen Fitzgerald, president of the Sydney and Area Chamber of Commerce. “But what the community needs is to see that there are some positive signs, that we’re moving in the right direction.”
Median income is the point at which there are equal numbers of families earning more and less. Statisticians believe it’s a more accurate portrayal of a community than average income.
Fitzgerald acknowledged there are growing numbers of people choosing to go west in search of good-paying jobs who then send their paycheques home to the families in Cape Breton, but he noted there are also more job openings here now than in recent memory.
He added the Statistics Canada data can serve as good evidence that there has been progress.
John Whalley, economic development manager with the CBRM, noted that in looking a little more closely at the figures, the increases aren’t shown as coming from earnings, but from another source, possibly pensions, which would be associated with the aging population. Those sources won’t be clear until more data is released, he added.
“That is both good news and bad news at the same time — it’s good news in that those families have more income, it’s bad news is that that money is not coming from earnings,” Whalley said.
The census does show how education can impact potential income, he added. While the median income for those with university education was $51,082, college or trade school graduates made much less.
“If you look at the returns to education, it’s quite striking,” Whalley said.
Capt. Bill Preston of the Salvation Army noted that while the census figures may show rising income, that doesn’t mean there’s been a drop in demand for his organization’s services. In fact, demand is higher, he said, possibly due to factors such as a new, higher profile location in Sydney and people having to grapple with rising fuel costs.
“It’s like a domino effect — when fuel goes up, food goes up, gas goes up,” he said. “The minimum wage might go up and incomes might go up ... but the need is there, it’s crazy.”

Holy crap Whalley! It's like the guy was placed there with the sole mandate of perpetually promoting the "doom and gloom" scenario! Can't expect much more, though, from an Economic Development Manager who was against a downtown condo which, literally, would have brought more people into downtown who would walk to downtown businesses and shop there more often than the average vehicle commuter.

Business starting to look up, says Advanced Glazings president
BY CHRIS HAYES
The Cape Breton Post

By Chris Hayes
Cape Breton Post
SYDNEY — Advanced Glazings, a Cape Breton firm that laid off most of its workforce last month because of cash flow problems, says business is starting to look up.
Company president Rob Nearing said Thursday Advanced Glazings has recalled a handful of employees, has some new orders on the books and is talking to potential buyers and investors.
“The company’s future looks much brighter with the amount of business that is coming through the door and the fact we have been able to curtail some of our costs by downsizing a little bit in our overhead,” he said Thursday.
“We are actually running cash positive now.”
The company, which produces Solera, a line of translucent, insulated glass designed to better distribute sunlight entering windows, said in mid-April it was laying off most of its 30-person workforce while keeping a skeleton crew to finish some orders.
Nearing said then the company was experiencing a cash flow problem.
Laying off the employees helped the company reorganize into a more profitable situation, he said Thursday.
The company is now back up from eight to 12 employees, Nearing said. He couldn’t say if or when additional employees will be recalled.
“I foresee that we need them but I don’t want to speculate and say in six months, we will have everybody back because I have to dig a little deeper and really, we are going to run a lean, tight ship.”
Nearing declined to identify the potential buyers or investors because of confidentiality concerns.
He said the company has orders from Canada and the U.S.
“We had a pretty good backlog that we’ve been working through and we are about through our backlog and we will be starting to move forward on the new orders in a continuing operation,” he said.
“We are continuing to operate and we are starting to beef up our production, so we are adding some staff back.”
Last year, the company was named in a wrongful dismissal lawsuit filed by Doug Milburn, who invented the energy-efficient glass and founded the firm.

I still remember the vacuum tubes and the elevator operator when this was still a department store back in the 80's and 90's.

Special event Saturday will show off Crowell’s building and its history
BY ERIN POTTIE
The Cape Breton Post

By Erin Pottie
Cape Breton Post
SYDNEY — If these walls could talk, the downtown Crowell’s building would tell you it’s about to spring to life this weekend.
The century-old building will host a public event, Saturday, to encourage shoppers to look around, enjoy some activities, and learn a bit about the history of the 1901 structure.
Three shops located within the building are hosting the Spring to Life — Live Action at Crowell’s event. Building owner New Dawn Enterprises is holding an historical exhibit of building artifacts and items from the original Crowell’s department store.
“Together the three stores tried to figure out how we could bring some attention back to the history of what exists here,” said Tanya Andrews of Picturesque Photography. “So were doing it as a spring event and trying to bring some awareness and letting people know what shops are in here now, because there has been a lot of changes in the past few years.”
There will be children’s entertainment by Bubbles the Magic Clown at Planet Kids Books and Toys, live music at More Than Treasures and a ‘15 minutes of fame’ free photo shoot at Picturesque Photography — where visitors will receive a free 4x6 print and door prizes.
The management and staff say they are paying tribute to the longstanding history of the building and are welcoming new opportunities to its doors.
“We’re inviting everyone to come down and check everything out — if anything, come in and look at the stores and the exhibits as well,” said Andrews. “We’re going to have a unique window display; it’s kind of top secret right now but we’re really excited.”
The middle window of the building facing Charlotte Street has been covered up for the display and will be unveiled at 11 a.m., Saturday, though stores open at 9 a.m.
The Crowell’s building was saved in 2004 from the wrecking ball by New Dawn Enterprises and has maintained its legacy as a shopping destination in downtown Sydney. The building is now home to The Shops at Crowell’s, a conglomerate of retail stores.

I actually had no idea there was a plan to demolish it. I'm glad they never did!
Here's the building.

my own


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Commentaries

MacDonald and Casey came through after all
The Cape Breton Post

Give credit to the premier and the minister of education. I was quick to criticize them on the issue of the Bachelor of Education program for Cape Breton University. Now I must thank them for realizing the importance of this program.
My speculation was not accurate and I do truly apologize. Thank you, Premier Rodney MacDonald, and Education Minister Karen Casey. This is great news for CBU.
Paul Carrigan
Port Caledonia

CBU BEd decision confounds skeptics
The Cape Breton Post

Elsewhere on this page, letter-writer Paul Carrigan offers apology to Premier Rodney MacDonald and Education Minister Karen Casey for speculating that Cape Breton University was headed for disappointment in its campaign for its own Bachelor of Education. We don’t recommend his example; we wouldn’t have space for all the letters because of how pervasive that same pessimistic expectation was among the wide spectrum of Cape Bretoners who exercised pens and typing fingers in support of CBU’s cause.
Even when the government gave off supportive signals, as Premier Rodney MacDonald did in mid-February when he commented that he had “no problem” with CBU’s teacher education arrangement with Memorial University in Newfoundland, it was interpreted in the negative. Aha! folks said, he means to leave us with the status quo, the traitor. Why didn’t he endorse CBU’s bid for its own BEd?
These battles take time to play out, and a premier can’t simply pre-empt a senior minister, in this case his education minister. MacDonald probably said more than he should have that day in Baddeck because he contradicted a key recommendation of the Minister's Advisory Council on Teacher Education six weeks before Casey issued her official response. That advisory report, issued in January, touched off the three-month battle over CBU’s BEd hopes. Some six weeks after MacDonald’s strong public expression of support for CBU retaining at least the Newfoundland partnership, which awards Memorial teaching degrees to students working through CBU, Dalhousie University in Halifax announced that it, too, had inked a deal with Memorial, offering 60 seats to CBU’s 40.
The premier’s signal that the government would not follow the advice to kill the CBU-Memorial deal may well have played into Dal’s decision to move in advance of Casey’s official response to the advisory report. Dal has since backed off in the face to the minister’s displeasure.
In announcing approval Thursday for a 40-seat BEd program for CBU, subject to some conditions that the university is comfortable with, Casey said she took into account that all four BEd programs in the province are “on the mainland.” Not to take anything away from St. F.X. University in Antigonish, one of the four offering an approved BEd program already and still the university of first choice for many Cape Bretoners, Casey’s recognition of Cape Breton as a distinct region, not just part of “eastern Nova Scotia” or some such division, should be read as a small but significant advance in mainland thinking. If this perception had prevailed when teacher education was rationalized down to four programs in the mid-’90s, Cape Breton might not have had to wait more than a decade for a BEd program because Antigonish had one.
Much of the debate has revolved around the definition of “demand” for teacher education: does it mean job market demand for the graduates, primarily within Nova Scotia’s shrinking public school system, or does it also mean “demand” for a BEd option among students, some significant portion of whom will go on to find employment outside Nova Scotia’s public schools and even outside the province? Clearly it should be a balance of these, and Casey has recognized that.
This is a good break, hard won, for CBU and for Cape Breton. We could use some more.

Object of legal case variously stated
The Cape Breton Post

Should we appeal the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia decision on the case of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality versus Province of Nova Scotia? Should we have a plebiscite to decide?
First, I think we should have a definite answer on what we are appealing.
It seems many people believe that what the lawsuit is all about is some $20 million per year that the province owes us. Then I have heard it is about an unspecified amount of money that the province can satisfy by giving us $10 extra per year.
An April 29 article by Chris Shannon (Council Will Debate Possible Plebiscite on Court Appeal) quotes Tom Urbaniak, who is some sort of guru on municipal affairs, saying the object of the lawsuit is, in effect, to order negotiations.
I guess I’m stupid. If negotiations are what is needed, why in the hell are they spending hundreds of thousands of scarce dollars in the courts? Would it not be better to find someone without a chip on his shoulder to talk reasonably with the parent government?
This should not be a popularity contest for the mayor. It should be a decision on clearly stated fact, with input from both sides. We do not have the facts and I challenge the newspaper to provide them. As for the appeal, my answer is No!
D.B. Morrison
Sydney

There should be an editor's note at the end of this pointing to the reports provided to CBRM posted on the municipality's website. It's also not the newspaper's job to fight Morgan's PR battle for him.

Elected representatives should make the call
The Cape Breton Post

With regard to whether to appeal the legal decision on equalization, I must add my two cents while we still have two cents. I think we must appeal. This is the time to move forward, not backward. To do anything else would be a step backward.
I also think our elected representatives should make the decision; that’s why we elect them. So take a stand and make your case. It’s called an elected council, sent by the people — in short, democracy.
Lorne MacKinnon
Sydney

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Edit:

I was wondering why CBRM hasn't published updated community populations yet, now we know.

CBRM frustrated with Statistics Canada

Section: Cape Breton

By Chris Shannon, Cape Breton Post

The Cape Breton Regional Municipality's planning department is growing increasingly frustrated at how Statistics Canada derives its population and other demographic information for communities within the CBRM.

Director of planning Doug Foster said it has reached a point where the municipality can't figure out the exact population of Glace Bay - once the largest town in the province - because Statistics Canada uses 208 dissemination areas, or community zones in the CBRM, that in many cases combine neighbouring communities into one population statistic.

He said it's the same for smaller communities elsewhere in the CBRM.

"Alder Point and Little Pond is combined in one enumeration area, so we have no way to break this down," Foster told the municipal planning advisory committee Thursday.

Foster said Statistics Canada has ignored the CBRM's suggestion to align boundaries that follow accepted community and neighbourhood boundaries, or at least maintain the same dissemination areas from one census to another.

The information ascertained by Statistics Canada can be important to volunteer fire departments trying to determine the population of a certain community, as well as the age of residents, in its attempts to recruit new volunteers. It also provides important information for school boards when planning bus routes, Foster said.

"Churches often approach us looking for information on demographics from the census and if we can't break them down into sensible units below the regional level, it really becomes problematic."

With municipal amalgamation in the mid-1990s, the following census in 1996 stopped publishing data on former towns and the city of Sydney because they were no longer incorporated separately, although they were, and continue to be, some of the largest communities in the province, Foster said in his report to the committee.

It leaves the CBRM without accurate population numbers for other major communities such as Sydney, North Sydney, Sydney Mines, New Waterford and Louisbourg.

The Halifax Regional Municipality doesn't face the same problem because it meets the criteria for a census metropolitan area, which produces information on the "block face data" for the urban areas of HRM. Saint John, N.B., with a population of 60,000, also meets the same criteria.

While the CBRM has several urban areas, Foster said Statistics Canada doesn't consider the municipality urban because no one community is considered large enough to be classified as an urban area.

"We've always had problems with this but it's getting worse and we don't seem to be able to get (Statistics Canada's) attention."

Later this month council will be asked to pass a resolution to pressure the federal government to change its policy on publishing dissemination area data so that it follows meaningful community and neighbourhood boundaries recognized by the province, Canada Post and the emergency 911 system.

"The information ascertained by Statistics Canada can be important to volunteer fire departments trying to determine the population of a certain community, as well as the age of residents, in its attempts to recruit new volunteers. It also provides important information for school boards when planning bus routes, Foster said.
As an example, the Sydney UA would be served by Sydney Fire Department (divisions Whitney Pier, Ashby, Central), Sydney River Volunteer Fire Department, Coxheath Volunteer Fire Department, Westmount Volunteer Fire Department, South Bar Volunteer Fire Department, Grand Lake Road Volunteer Fire Department, and Mira Road Volunteer Fire Department. The only population figure available to these departments is Sydney UA.

Another storey on the average income increase

Average CBRM family makes more cash: census

Section: Front

By CP

The latest census data suggests the average family in Cape Breton Regional Municipality has a lot more in its wallets than it did the last time Statistics Canada asked people about how much money they make.

New information from the 2006 census released Thursday indicates the median income for families in Cape Breton Regional Municipality was $51,710 - an increase from the 2001 census, when it was $46,018 when adjusted for inflation.

The 12.4 per cent increase compares with a national increase in income of 3.7 per cent and a provincial increase of 6.1 per cent.

Individuals in Cape Breton Regional Municipality had a median income of $20,348. Five years earlier, the median income was $17,964.

The census data also indicates the gender wage gap decreased. Men in Cape Breton Regional Municipality typically earned $39,123 compared with $29,913 for women - meaning women made on average only 76 per cent of what men earned. Five years earlier, the gap was 70 per cent in favour of men.

People aged 25 to 34 - generally the age range when younger people are getting established in the workforce - had a median income of $20,450. Senior citizens in Cape Breton Regional Municipality had a median income of $18,980.

Statistics Canada also looked at how people in the lowest and highest earnings brackets fared over the five-year period.

The median earnings for lower-income workers - those in the bottom 20 per cent of earners in the community - increased by 9.8 per cent to $13,554. Those at the high end - in the top 20 per cent - saw their income increase by 6.6 per cent to $67,439.

Statistics Canada does not have a standard definition for the term "poverty line." Instead, it uses a formula that looks at families who need to spend a high proportion of their income on basic necessities like food, shelter and clothing. In Cape Breton Regional Municipality, Statistics Canada says 15.1 per cent of families fell into this low-income category.

Not surprisingly, the level of education has a direct impact on earnings. Among people in Cape Breton Regional Municipality with a university education, the median wage was $51,082; those with college degrees made $34,218; trade or apprentice school grads made $32,732; people with only a high school diploma made $26,177 and those with no secondary school diploma made $24,940.

Immigrants living in Cape Breton Regional Municipality typically had a median wage of 1.5 per cent less than the median wage of all those in Cape Breton Regional Municipality. Across the country, the census shows that immigrants made less on the job than the average Canadian - $39,523 compared with a national median wage of $41,401.

The earnings information released by Statistics Canada is based on information gathered in the 2006 census where respondents were asked for their total income during 2005. Income can include earnings from a job, investments and government programs.

The data published Thursday is the final release of material from the 2006 census. Previously, Statistics Canada revealed information about the population of Cape Breton Regional Municipality in a wide range of areas, including age and sex breakdowns, education, immigration and language. The next census is scheduled to be conducted in May 2011.

[Smevo]

Cape Breton Post

I agree with Mr. Jackson that people should read the decision (I have) and not blindly follow either side, but I disagree that we shouldn't appeal (personal opinion). I do, however, think we should've been seeking a settlement rather than a declaration, but it's too late to change that now. I think we need to see what the Supreme Court of Canada has to say about it, and if we lose, we lose, but at least we didn't give up. (If we lose it's probably going to be because we were seeking a declaration rather than a settlement...something that opens up the floodgates to further legal action whenever there's a disagreement b/w a municipality and the province, but negotiation is a lost cause at this point since the province is not interested and continues to claim all areas of the province are treated fairly...again personal opinion).

CBRM should stop chasing the pot of gold through expensive legal action

Section: Comment

Column: Fred Jackson

By Fred Jackson,

We're not claiming a specific amount of money, we're looking to seek a declaration. A declaration is the appropriate remedy.

This important comment by Toronto constitutional lawyer Neil Finkelstein, which I published at the beginning of a December column, came home to roost last week when Mr. Justice John D. Murphy of the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia rendered his judgment in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality's constitutional litigation against the Government of Nova Scotia.

I have said from Day 1, including in that December column, reiterated in another column last month, that even a legal victory would not mean any instant cash payoff for CBRM. Finkelstein made that point to Murphy during a hearing last fall.

Finkelstein said the case is not about money but about what the citizens of CBRM deserve, such as a provincially comparable level of municipal services at a reasonable level of taxation.

Back then I said this should be a reminder for our taxpayers and voters. When you interpret these words and understand the Constitution, it's clear there would not be an immediate windfall for CBRM.

No money would be awarded directly, so taxpayers and CBRM council shouldn't be counting on a windfall to erase a debt that could cost taxpayers about $6 million annually on interest.

Now it's official. Murphy has tossed out CBRM's legal case, which accused the provincial government of chronically underfunding the municipality by millions of dollars through a complex provincial equalization formula.

Mayor John Morgan, who led the charge to hire of the Toronto-based law firm to pursue the issue of inequity in the province's equalization formula and its support for economic development in Cape Breton, said he'll look at an appeal of Murphy's decision, which would need council approval to proceed.

Folks, Justice Murphy's decision is loud and clear. The entire decision is available on our website at www.cbpost.com if you'd like to read it yourself.

On Page 7 of the decision, Justice Murphy states: "The only relief which CBRM seeks is a declaration that the Government of Nova Scotia has not complied with its commitments under Section 36 of the Constitution Act. It does not ask the court to determine the full scope of Nova Scotia's constitutional commitment, nor does it request the court to direct what the province must do to fulfil its obligations. The municipality does not challenge the constitutionality or validity of the Municipal Grants Act or other Nova Scotia legislation."

On Page 32, the judge notes again that the only remedy sought by CBRM is a declaration that Nova Scotia breached its constitutional commitments in Section 36. The municipality argued that the court should declare that constitutional commitments had not been fulfilled but did not ask the court to do more than declare there has been a breach; the municipality maintained that determining the remedy and manner of compliance can be left to the government to decide.

Folks, there's no pot of gold at the end of CBRM's rainbow. CBRM must move forward and forget the appeal process.

CBRM's financial state needs immediate action. It's a serious situation.

If I were Morgan, I would continue to fight for Cape Breton by negotiating with the province and the federal government. It's time for our mayor, council, and all community and business leaders work together.

And it's time that all citizens understood that this battle is purely political and about different views of what's necessary for economic survival. Hopefully, the people of CBRM will gain a true understanding by reading Justice Murphy's decision. This should be in the hands of voters.

Post gauging public opinion with reader poll on the appeal issue

Section: Front


Residents and politicians in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality continue to debate the pros and cons of whether to appeal a Nova Scotia Supreme Court decision that threw out a constitutional challenge from the CBRM.

Mayor John Morgan has been leading the charge for a more equitable slice of the economic pie after charging the province has chronically short-changed the municipality by millions of dollars through a complex and lopsided equalization formula.

Given the long and short-term implications and huge costs of a potential appeal, the Cape Breton Post has initiated a reader poll in an effort to gauge public opinion.

The poll as of now has is 95% in favour of a plebiscite, 5% in favour of the councillors deciding. Judging by the comments section, those in favour of the plebiscite don't want this decided by councillors trying to position themselves for the election.

At least two potential buyers for Ski Cape Smokey

Section: Northside/Victoria

By Chris Hayes,

A society trying to sell Ski Cape Smokey confirmed Friday it has received a proposal from one potential buyer and is hoping to hear from a second.

Lee Buchanan, the acting chairman, said the Ski Cape Smokey Society has set a firm May 9 deadline to hear from the second prospective buyer, which he identified as a Cape Breton group.

"I feel very confident that it is gone," he said. "We have a good proposal in now and we are waiting on the next one. The next one is going to have to be awfully good."

The Nova Scotia government which owns the ski hill will be involved with any sale, as will the local business community, said Buchanan.

Buchanan also planned to hold public meetings on the proposals.

"It is going to be a community-based decision."

Buchanan said he can't reveal details of the proposal that has already been received other than to say it includes an expansion of the ski hill and year-round activities.

He hoped to have a decision soon after the May 9 deadline.

Ski Cape Smokey, which has been described as one of the best ski hills in Atlantic Canada, has been closed this season and last because of a lack of funds to operate.

The society had asked for proposals from buyers who could turn Ski Cape Smokey into a year-round ski hill and tourist attraction that would be a big economic boost for the area.

History will repeat itself

Up to 1,000 costumed historical re-enactors set to gather for 250th anniversary of the second siege of Fortress Louisbourg

Section: Weekend

By Chris Hayes,

History will come to life at Fortress Louisbourg in July when up to 1,000 costumed historical re-enactors gather for an encampment celebrating the 250th anniversary of the second siege of the fortress.

Like Jeff Brown of St. Thomas, Ont., they will wear the clothing and play the parts of British soldiers and the French troops they defeated in the summer of 1758 to win control over the fortress town, in what was one of the most significant events in Canadian history.

Brown, a nurse in his work-a-day life, will play a British corporal in the Amherst's 15th Regiment of Foot, which is based on an actual regiment under the command of Brigadier General James Wolfe during the siege at Louisbourg and, a year later, the battle at the Plains of Abraham.

"I have always had a love for history," said Brown, who will be joined by his wife, Brenda.

"My father was in the military, my grandfather, my great-grandfather. My mother told me by the time I was four, I had pretty much a good grounding in military history."

Fortress of Louisbourg marketing officer Mark Sajatovich said Encampment 2008 from July 25-27 is expected to attract about 1,000 costumed re-enactors from across North America playing the parts of British, French and native people of the era.

During the encampment, there will be a number of "tacticals" or demonstrations of the type of warfare fought in that era. The tacticals will include an evening attack on the fortress that will end with a display of 18th-century fireworks.

The fortress also plans special siege, archaeology and garden tours and dancing and drumming exhibits.

"Once in a lifetime is sometimes a cliché but this really isn't," said Sajatovich. "This will be a once in a lifetime thing."

The second siege of the French fortress which happened over seven weeks in the summer of 1758 was a key battle in the Seven Years War between the British and French.

Wolfe gained prominence as one of three divisional commanders during this siege and the following year became overall commander of the British land forces attacking Québec, the fortress website added.

It was one of the most significant events in Canadian history, Sajatovich said.

For the British, capturing the fortress was a necessary step to mounting the sea-borne attack at the Plains of Abraham under Wolfe's command a year later, which led to the fall of Quebec and French power in what became Canada..

"It was necessary to take Louisbourg to open the way to Quebec, although obviously the threat Louisbourg would have posed would have been from the ships in its harbour not the guns in its walls," explained Sandy Balcom, a curator at Fortress Louisbourg.

"The link between the attack on Louisbourg and the attack the next year on Quebec was a very direct one."

The battle at the Plains of Abraham was followed by the official ceding by France of its North American possessions to England.

For the community of Louisbourg, which is planning lots of events during the encampment weekend and throughout the rest of the summer, the 250th anniversary celebrations are an opportunity to revive a declining tourist industry, said Sherry Borgo, project manager for Louisbourg 2008.

"We have made every attempt this summer to ensure it's a summer jam packed full of events for all ages and walks of life."

During the encampment weekend, events will include a Parade of Centuries involving the re-enactors and modern-day military, songwriters' circle, entertainment tents with vendors and food, a mess tent, activities for children, outdoor adventure activities like sea kayaking, concert and a fireworks display celebrating the official opening of a improved section of the Lighthouse Trail.

The community will also unveil an historic stone gate at the entrance to Louisbourg modelled on one in the fortress.

Louisbourg's plans for the rest of the summer will include cultural heritage days, a crab festival, a fishermen's carnival, old town reunion and rural summer fest.

Borgo hopes to see 30,000 visitors over the encampment weekend and many more during the whole summer.

Fortress Louisbourg is the best historical site in North America if you ask Brown, who has visited a number of others and taken part in other encampments. This will be his fourth trip to the Cape Breton fortress.

Brown and other members of the modern Amherst's 15th Regiment of Foot like to entertain spectators by acting out their own storyline about capturing a deserter who is hiding out in the community near the historical site.

"We capture him, bring him back to camp in shackles, he is publicly humiliated, flogged. It's amazing. The public just goes wild," he said.

The historical re-enactment will also have a more serious side for Brown.

"It gives me a real sense of appreciation for both sides, the British and the French, as to what the people went through years ago to found this country."

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More lawsuit commentaries, again, one on each side

CBRM's constitutional case a dud from the get-go

Section: Weekend Feedback

By Dan Fraser,

I was not surprised by the April 24 headline, CBRM Lawsuit Tossed. While campaigning for mayor four years ago, I made the point, obviously not as well as I should have, that the suit was bound to fail. This was based on two main reasons.

Professor Peter Hogg has written that interpreting Section 36 of the Constitution is not an issue for the courts but a political matter. Most people would not know him, but for constitutional law in Canada there is Prof. Hogg - and then all others. The Supreme Court of Nova Scotia agreed with that position in this case.

The other reason I said this action was doomed is that in this circumstance the court cannot award money. All it can do is make a declaration that the disbursement of money by the province is contrary to Section 36. In reality, that is all Mayor John Morgan and the regional municipality asked of the court. Although it may come as a surprise to many, CBRM and its expensive lawyer, Neil Finkelstein, did not ask for any money.

Don't take my word on this: read Mr. Justice John D. Murphy's judgment where he explains what CBRM was claiming.

The mayor admits he has no Plan B to bring the Cape Breton Regional Municipality back from the brink of bankruptcy. However, when he took office - thanks to the Plan A prepared by Gordon MacInnis as director of finance - CBRM was working its way out of debt, and by 2007 would have begun spending money on capital projects without the need to borrow. Our mayor and his supporters in council could not wait. The mayor pointed the finger at others for our poor financial situation, ignored the MacInnis plan, then with council support started borrowing money, permitting some councillors to spend hundreds of thousands of these borrowed dollars as they wished, and destroyed the capital expenditure priority plan. Thus did people feel they should not worry because, according to Morgan, the lawsuit was a "slam dunk" (Cape Breton Post, Oct. 30, 2003).

It is hard to believe that the mayor would deal with fiscal issues in such a way that he would count on money from a lawsuit. In effect, the municipality has been spending money in an out-of-control manner while depending on receiving money from an ill-conceived lawsuit. It is an irresponsible way to run the municipality.

In recent years, CBRM has been provided with additional tax dollars due to increased assessment values on our homes and businesses. At the same time, we have been given a windfall of $3.5 million from the federal government in the form of gasoline tax rebates and every cent of it has gone to make payments on the interest charged on borrowed money. We have nothing to show for these increased dollars given to CBRM.

To Mayor Morgan I say forget the appeal, roll up your sleeves and start listening to and working with your councillors; listen to and work with the business community and other organizations in our community that are seriously trying to grow jobs and improve our quality of life. And, most of all, stop fighting with others who can and will work with CBRM to assist wherever they can, and instead start to provide some appropriate leadership and guidance to the councillors and the administration.

Dan Fraser lives in Sydney.

Losing Round 1 only to be expected

Section: Weekend Feedback


If the five Alberta women associated with the Persons Case had listened to the "expert" opinion after the "wise" justices of the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that women were not persons, how long would that injustice have persisted? Undeterred, they correctly pressed on, and changed the law. After reading the subjectively-laden decision on the Cape Breton Regional Municipality's legal case by a former Halifax-based lawyer, I find that this initial outcome was to be expected.

The legal gymnastics used by Mr. Justice John D. Murphy to dismiss the municipality's case make one question why Section 36 was inserted in the Constitution if it has no enforcement provision (although that is not stated), while other "experts" argue it does, to which this judge gives little consideration.

On such expert, Prof. Lorne Sossin, states: "It simply does not make sense that unwritten, judge-made constitutional doctrines such as conventions possess this 'constitutional feature,' while written provisions of the Constitution Act, 1982, do not."

Justice Murphy asserts "that the commitments upon which the municipality's claim is based do not diminish the legislative authority of Parliament or the legislatures, or their rights with respect to the exercise of that authority." That would be an impossible claim for the municipality to make since the municipality is itself a creation of the provincial authority.

The municipality's claim need only request a declaration that the provincial government in a transparent manner must exercise its authority pursuant to the equalization commitment in Section 36.

And, since none of our MLAs has publicly expressed support for this municipality's grievance as expressed in its suit, the only possible avenue remaining for the residents of this municipality is to appeal this decision.

Charles W. Sampson

Sydney Forks

[Davey Boy Smith]

A few notes around town:

- There is a construction trailer at the old George's Pizza location. I noticed that today. I have NO idea if or what might be going there but it is interesting nonetheless.

- The new building near the Regional Hospital is the new headquarters for Emergency Health Services (ambulances). Apparently, it is going to be quite the state of the art facility. They currently have their headquarters in a tiny building near Centre 200.

- The old Vogue location is now totally cleared and the ugly red building next door was also taken down. NO construction yet.

- NO go on Eastside Mario's - for now. They are still hoping it will happen at some point though. Urban Planet is apparently a new store coming instead. Michael's opened a few weeks ago.

- The YMCA construction should be starting soon as they have now closed the back parking lot.

[Smevo]

Thanks for the updates Davey Boy Smith. The next time I'm in town won't be until the end of June, so keep them coming as you see/hear them. Too bad about Eastside, but I'm sure someone will step up and revive it. People in town have been waiting for something like it for a while now. I'm assuming it will be revived as a stand-alone in the SPAR Rd powercentre.

Good to hear about the YMCA starting soon, I'm assuming the office building on the Vogue site will start late spring/summer. From what I've heard, Royal Bank is his anchor tenant (moving from Prince Street Plaza), but that's unofficial rumour from what I understand.

Good to see EHS move too. I still remember when Curry's Ambulance had their headquarters on the second floor of the building on the corner of Prince and George. I think the ramp is still in back.

I'm trying to remember where George's Pizza was. Was that near downtown? Possibly used to be Mama's Pizza? I'm more familiar with the shops in/near the Pier.

[Smevo]

Cape Breton Post

From here-on, I will be limiting the lawsuit related commentary I post because, frankly, there'll be at least a couple each day until either the election or it gets back in court or withdrawn.

Tourism industry happy about repeal of Tourist Accommodations Act

Section: Cape Breton

By Chris Shannon,

The tourism industry in Cape Breton is optimistic that the repeal of the Tourist Accommodations Act will result in less government regulation and better quality of accommodations over the long-term.

Tourism Minister Bill Dooks introduced the repeal of the act Friday in the legislature, which means accommodations will no longer have to be licensed but instead will have to participate in a recognized quality program if operators want the province to promote their businesses.

Pauline Bona, the owner of L'Auberge Acadienne Inn in Arichat, said the change will give operators the option to choose which rating system suits them the best.

"I don't think in today's world that we should be dictated as to who (we choose as a rating system). I'm now studying the different types of programs there," Bona said.

In order to be eligible for provincial marketing programs such as novascotia.com, the Doers' and Dreamers' guide or the Check-In Nova Scotia reservation service, tourism operators must choose one of several quality assurance programs.

They can participate in any of the recognized rating programs such as Canada Select or the Canadian Automobile Association's diamond rating program. More than 60 per cent of operators are rated through a recognized rating program.

It's estimated operators could save anywhere between $80 to $800 in licensing fees, Dooks said.

"Operators will face less red tape and enjoy the freedom to choose the type of quality program that best suits their business needs," he said in a release.

Another option open to establishments that want to tap government resources but don't want to enter into a ratings program is the new accommodation quality program led by the Tourism Industry Association of Nova Scotia.

The association is working with operators to develop and lead the new program, which will include a set of quality standards for accommodations properties.

While quality will be led by the industry, safety issues will continue to be dealt with through other legislation.

Accommodations operators who choose not to participate in a quality program must still comply with all federal, provincial and municipal legislation related to public safety and the operation of a business, but they will not be promoted by the province.

Ray Kavanaugh, chair of Destination Cape Breton Association, said a committee may be set up to monitor the quality of accommodations.

"I think a majority of people feel this can work provided again that there's quality control," he said.

"There's always been a problem, for example, with unlicensed premises versus licensed premises and that sort of thing. There are people playing by the rules and people not playing by the rules and that's been a real difficulty."

The province made the decision to repeal the act after a review that began in July 2006.

Until the act is repealed, the department is granting short-term tourist accommodation licences to operators. Once the bill is proclaimed, licensing will end.

[Smevo]

Cape Breton Post

Marconi students reconstruct historic gate from Fortress Louisbourg

Section: Business


Nova Scotia Community College students at Marconi campus have used their newly acquired skills to forge a piece of history for the community of Louisbourg.

Students in the metal fabrication and plating and welding programs reconstructed the Bigot Gate that protected residents of the 18th century French fortress.

Students used the original plans and design.

The reconstructed gate will be erected at the entrance to the community as part of this summer's Louisbourg 2008 events in which the community celebrates the 250th anniversary of the second siege of the fortress in 1758.

Jason Vassello, an instructor, said the students took a great deal of pride in the project knowing that it would be permanently installed to welcome visitors for generations to come.

"This project not only brought a benefit to the community of Louisbourg, it also provided a great deal of motivation for the students to use their newly learned skills on such a significant project," he said.

Sherry Borgo, project manager for Louisbourg 2008, said the community has been waiting for many years to have an entrance like the gate and will always be grateful to the students.

"This project will serve as a legacy to NSCC and its students for many years to come," she said.

A plaque will be mounted on the site of the gate as a tribute to the Marconi campus and students.

A ribbon cutting will be held to officially open the gate on Canada Day, July 1, at the S&L Railway in Louisbourg.

Chamber launches council to promote innovative new businesses

Section: Cape Breton

By Nancy King,

The Sydney and Area Chamber of Commerce has launched a council on innovation intended to encourage entrepreneurs to think creatively and launch new businesses in Cape Breton.

The council - chaired by Advanced Glazings founder Doug Milburn - has 32 charter members, including private sector companies such as AG Research, Marcato Digital and Protocase, as well as public sector agencies such as Enterprise Cape Breton Corp.

The council is advocating for the establishment of a publicly funded (in the form similar to InNOVAcorp's I-3) contest which would see five startups each year supported financially with prizes of $100,000 each. The program would be specific to Cape Breton.

"We have that level of entrepreneurship in our community that is very doable - five a year on an ongoing basis," Milburn said.

The council's role will be in encouraging community support, he noted.

"We've had a history in our community, when we try to do things, sometimes we don't get full community support before we make our move and we've been wasting a lot of energy in this community fighting with each other, as opposed to fighting the good battle," he said.

It will also attempt to bring the different elements such as economic development agencies and innovators together. It will do that by taking what's worked in the past and building on it, Milburn said, such as the Technical Advisory Group which originated in the 1990s and InNOVAcorp's I-3 business plan competition.

Milburn used his current employer, Protocase, a company that specializes in customized metal enclosures, as an example of a successful innovative Cape Breton-based company.

"Protocase has innovated in their business model and offers things in two to three days, via design routes that you couldn't even do 10 years ago and as such people from all over North America and the U.K. buy their electronics enclosures here," he said. "Why would somebody from San Jose decide to place an order with a company in Sydney, N.S. - it's because we serve them better."

Past efforts have focused on trying to attract established businesses to Cape Breton, which is extremely difficult, Milburn said. The council would instead focus on encouraging the startup of new ventures here, which could then attract private investment.

Chamber president Owen Fitzgerald said supporting innovation is a key element of the group's vision for future economic development, and noted there are already highly innovative companies based in Cape Breton.

"They have had some great success and are demonstrating to the world that innovation can be successful, if not more successful here in Cape Breton," he said.

The public and private support that's been shown is encouraging, he added.

Acting ECBC CEO Marlene Usher said while there have been some local research and development projects funded, Cape Breton hasn't really been positioned to make best use of programs such as the Atlantic Innovation Fund, set up by the federal government. She added more effort has to be given to building capacity for research and the council will play a role in that. Innovation will be critical to Cape Breton's competitiveness and long-term prosperity, she said.

Devco president Ross McCurdy said he thinks innovation is the key to the region's future, and as an example, added he believes its principle economic driver in the 21st century will be energy, calling it one of the richest areas of the world from an energy resource standpoint - including wind, geothermal, biofuel and energy from the Sydney coalfield. Innovation will play a large role in making that potential reality, he added.

"I believe the future can be bright and I think there is tremendous potential for you in Cape Breton to succeed," McCurdy said.

I can't understand how pensions could be responsible for an increase in median income of $5,700/yr after allowing for inflation, but that's what John Whalley thinks anyway, and this editorial thinks "we have to look into it further". Wouldn't have anything to do with our movements in the labour force characteristics.

Dry numbers stir passions

Section: Comment


It was Mark Twain who attributed to British prime minister Benjamin Disraeli, perhaps incorrectly, the now famous remark: "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics." A Cape Bretoner could sum up the point more succinctly: "All numbers are politics."

We got a sour taste of this truism last week when surfers bombarded the Cape Breton Post website with vitriolic comments to the story, Business Leader Calls Census Figures 'Positive Sign.' The story quoted Sydney and Area Chamber of Commerce president Owen Fitzgerald's upbeat interpretation of new Statistics Canada numbers showing a sharp rise in family income in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality. (Some of the anonymous comments were removed for violating the website guidelines.)

It's a strange mind-set that attacks even a mildly optimistic view of the region's economy as though it were propaganda in the class of Joseph Goebbels or the Dear Leader of North Korea, Kim Il-sung. In this case, even CBRM's economic development manager, John Whalley, often called upon to tell the downside of any new set of numbers, found "both good news and bad news" in the income statistics, based on StatsCan's census analysis.

The striking number for CBRM is the rise in median income for families from the 2001 census figure of $46,018 to $51,710 in real terms (allowing for inflation). That 12.4 per cent increase compares to 6.1 per cent for the province and 3.7 per cent nationally. For individuals, CBRM's median moved in five years from $17,964 to $20,348, a gain of more than 13 per cent.

There's no particular reason to question the accuracy of these figures. Just what they mean is far from clear, however. Fitzgerald's conclusion that "we're moving in the right direction" is not unreasonable on its face, though Whalley points out that more detail is needed since something besides earnings is contributing to the increases - possibly pensions, reflecting the aging population.

While the politics of numbers takes a peculiar twist in CBRM, related to the uniquely ideological divide over whether the region's glass is half full or nearly empty, this is by no means the only place where StatsCan's dry numbers get people excited.

Last week's release of the report, Earnings and Incomes of Canadians Over the Past Quarter Century, had conservative commentators hyperventilating over the way StatsCan had called attention to the figures on earnings (mostly from paid work) instead of the more inclusive figures on income (including the effects of taxes and government benefits, such as old-age pensions).

It turns out, you see, that earnings for middle-income Canadians have virtually flat-lined in real terms over the last 25 years; meanwhile, the lowest 20 cent saw earnings sag 20 per cent and the top earners gained 16 per cent. As one would expect, many news reports keyed on the theme of a growing income gap between top and bottom, and the stagnant middle class, though a fuller picture shows government actions on taxes and transfers (for child support, for example) have moderated income gap growth.

Curiously, though, while the emphasis on income rather than earnings alone is meant to short-circuit calls for more "progressive" taxation and more government transfers to individuals, the same argument underlines the growing importance over the last quarter century of government policies and programs in maintaining whatever standard of equity prevails in the country today.

I'll have to look into this later and compare the 2001 breakdown to the 2006 one, but I'm still dealing with flood cleanup/displacement at this point.


Because it's not a commentary, and Fogarty's response is all too predictable.

Lawsuit seems to suit CBRM citizens just fine

Clear majority at public meeting want CBRM lawsuit to continue

Section: Front

By Tom Ayers,

A clear majority of those who attended a public meeting Monday evening at the Membertou Trade and Convention Centre voiced their support for the Cape Breton Regional Municipality's legal case against the province.

Speaker after speaker got up to the microphone at the CBC-sponsored meeting to say they believe the CBRM has been chronically underfunded by other levels of government and the municipality should continue its constitutional challenge for a fairer distribution of tax dollars.

Kevin MacNeil of Sydney drew thunderous applause when he compared CBRM's relationship with other governments to the way bullies are dealt with in the education system.

"I found out at Ashby School, you stand up to the bastards," he said.

"I don't think we need a smaller council, we need more voices ... you never, ever back up from a bully and that's what's going on here."

CBC Radio's Information Morning host Steve Sutherland emceed the meeting, which was attended by about 120 people and included a panel discussion by Mayor John Morgan, Deputy Mayor Richard Fogarty and Cape Breton University political scientist Tom Urbaniak.

A Nova Scotia Supreme Court justice tossed out the CBRM's legal case against the province April 23, and Morgan is urging council to appeal to a higher court. Fogarty is against an appeal, saying the legal costs are at nearly $300,000 now and will be close to $600,000 by the time it's all over.

Urbaniak agrees with the decision to sue the government over a constitutional principle, but is urging a "third way" in which council simultaneously implements economic development projects on an incremental basis in order to improve the municipality's financial situation.

Morgan said CBRM staff are in the process of filing a notice of appeal and that council will decide May 23 if it wishes to continue with that appeal. After that, council may also decide whether to put the issue to the citizens in a plebiscite that would coincide with municipal elections this fall.

Twenty citizens went to the microphone and 16 clearly said the lawsuit should continue. One said it definitely should not, one asked for more information, one called for a plebiscite on the issue and one didn't say one way or the other.

Bernard Gillis of Sydney, the lone dissenter, referred to the amalgamation that led to the regional municipality and the differences of opinions on council regarding the lawsuit.

"CBRM is not operating as it was intended to," he said. "It was supposed to be a united body. We are not working as a group."

He also opposed to suing the provincial government.

"I believe in negotiating."

A number of speakers, including the mayor, said the province is not negotiating because it believes tax dollars are distributed fairly.

"At this point, negotiation with the province is at a dead end," said Gordon Sampson of North Sydney.

Everett Baker of Mira Road said as a retired union representative, he understood the need to have the law on his side in any negotiations.

"You've got to have something that says you have to come to the table to talk to us," he said.

At one point, Chris Corbett of North Sydney asked the audience for a show of hands: who supports an appeal? Most hands shot up.

Fogarty, who was the subject of plenty of heckling throughout the meeting, said he was not deterred in his decision to oppose an appeal.

"There's 102,000 people in this municipality and this is certainly not a majority," he said.

120, while not large, is a pretty darn good turnout for something like this. The thing I don't like about Fogarty is that he seems scared to see it go to plebiscite, where it will be clear whether a majority or minority support it. If Morgan, as stubborn as he is for it, can extend an olive branch, than so should Fogarty imo.

Port Hawkesbury keeps pulling its weight

Port has largest tonnage increase in Canada, passing Saint John, N.B. for third place

Section: Front

By Nancy King,

In 2005, a year of record-breaking freight handled by ports nationally, the port here saw the largest tonnage increase in Canada, according to a new Statistics Canada report.

Port Hawkesbury, surpassed Saint John, N.B. for third place on the list of the country's top 20 ports. It went from handling almost 24 million tonnes of cargo in 2004 to 30.7 million tonnes in 2005, a 27.9 per cent increase, or 6.7 million tonnes. The report said that the jump was mainly due to increased international shipments of crude petroleum.

The largest single cargo handler at the Strait of Canso is Statia Terminals' Point Tupper facility, it operates one of the world's largest storage and petroleum products transshipment terminal.

The only ports ranking ahead of Port Hawkesbury were the Port of Vancouver, which saw a 4.6 per cent increase to 78.3 million tonnes, and Come-By-Chance, which saw a 7.2 per cent decline, to 39 million tonnes.

It was the second annual drop for Come-By-Chance, which also experienced the biggest decline in Canada.

Vancouver's increase was attributed to improved shipments of bulk commodities and a record volume of containerized tonnage.

From 2004-2005, Port Hawkesbury saw a 12.9 per cent drop in domestic cargo, to 449,000 thousand tonnes, but also a 28.8 per cent increase in international cargo handled, to 30.2 million tonnes.

While Saint John dropped to fourth place, it also saw a 4.6 per cent increase in cargo handled.

Nationally, the report indicated Canadian ports handled record-breaking levels of freight for the fourth consecutive year in 2005, as international cargo hit another high. Overall, shipments increased at 14 of the country's top 20 ports.

Ports and marine terminals under 19 Canadian port authorities handled 53 per cent of the total cargo.

While the most recent figures looked at by Statistics Canada come from 2005, an official with the Strait of Canso Superport Corp., has indicated more recent figures it has seen place the Strait as second only to Vancouver for the year 2006 in terms of tonnes of cargo handled. The corporation is the non-profit body responsible for operating marine facilities at the Mulgrave Marine Terminal and Port Hawkesbury Wharf.

[ErickMontreal]

Port Hawkesbury keeps pulling its weight

Port has largest tonnage increase in Canada, passing Saint John, N.B. for third
In 2005, a year of record-breaking freight handled by ports nationally, the port here saw the largest tonnage increase in Canada, according to a new Statistics Canada report.Port Hawkesbury, surpassed Saint John, N.B. for third place on the list of the country's top 20 ports. It went from handling almost 24 million tonnes of cargo in 2004 to 30.7 million tonnes in 2005, a 27.9 per cent increase, or 6.7 million tonnes. The report said that the jump was mainly due to increased international shipments of crude petroleum.

Wow, whats happened down there ? Which business the port has been able to attract to increase tonnage that way ?

[Smevo]

Cape Breton Post

The front page had a picture of some of the work being done for the Wentworth Park Upgrades. Phase 2 is officially underway!

The caption underneath the picture reads:

Jimmy Jonas of Boart Longyear Inc. Environmental Geotechnical Drilling runs a safety cable through the uprights on a drilling barge in the Wentworth Park pond in Sydney, Tuesday. The company starts drilling for soil samples today as part of a geotechnical investigation necessary for the upcoming park upgrade. Coun. Ray Paruch says that the Cape Breton Regional Municipality plans to narrow the pond closest to the bandshell and also extend the bandshell platform so the park can host events. Steve Wadden - Cape Breton Post

This is an interesting development. I understand that the Chamber wouldn't be able to "name drop" those that were driven away, but I wonder if it's maybe not slightly exaggerated as the the extent of it. That said, I know the Chamber knows a hell of a lot more about the situation on the business end than I do.

Chamber seeks common ground on municipal lawsuit issue

Section: Business

By Tom Ayers,

The chamber of commerce is opposed to an appeal of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality's lawsuit against the province and the business group hopes to get the two levels of government to the table for a meeting.

"We have to do something," said Sydney and Area Chamber of Commerce president Owen Fitzgerald. "I don't think people realize how much this is hurting us . . . it's driving business away."

The chamber planned to issue invitations to the mayor and councillors and area MLAs, Tuesday, for a meeting to try to pursue a process of negotiation rather than further legal action.

"We're just hoping if we can calm people down and make it less political . . . let's see if there's some area of compromise," Fitzgerald said.

At its regular monthly meeting, Monday, the 600-member chamber voted "overwhelmingly" to oppose an appeal of the lawsuit, Fitzgerald added.

"In the past year since I've become president, we've made it an effort to take a collaborative approach on issues.

"The municipality has tried one route for years now at great expense and it's had a negative effect, and it's time to move on."

Fitzgerald said he isn't at liberty to identify companies or business people who have been driven away from CBRM because of the lawsuit, but he said the political climate and negative attitude expressed by some people has hurt the business community.

"In conversations we have with different business people, it arises," he said.

"I don't want anyone to think everything's perfect . . . (but) it seems like we're putting all of our efforts into where our weaknesses are."

The chamber hopes to hold its first meeting with the municipality and the province by May 16. At that point, Fitzgerald said, the chamber will try to get both sides to agree on an independent expert to further mediate the dispute.

Fitzgerald said a few politicians are aware of the chamber's plan, but he isn't sure the tactic will succeed. However, he added, the chamber was successful in mediating a dispute between New Dawn Enterprises and the Department of National Defence, and he hopes the same approach will work with CBRM.

"We're hoping to start a dialogue and see who can come to the table," he said. "We're just issuing the invitations. There's some indication that some are willing, but we'll have to wait and see.

"We're at a critical juncture in our economic development and we need all the help we can get."

If they can successfully do it, I'd much rather this route, but it all depends on both sides being open-minded, which is much harder with politicians than it is with companies and government departments.


CBU has jumped on the international campus bandwagon

CBU convocation will include first class from Egypt campus

Two Cape Bretoners to receive honorary degrees

Section: Cape Breton


More than 700 students from 34 programs will graduate from Cape Breton University Saturday in its annual spring convocation, including the first class from its campus in Egypt.

Chancellor Annette Verschuren will be on hand to confer the degrees, diplomas and certificates, and also pay tribute to two honorary degree recipients.

The first class from the CBU campus in Cairo, Egypt - the Canadian International College - is set to graduate. A dozen students will receive bachelor of technology information degrees, the remaining 12 with bachelor of business administration degrees.

The students take their first two or three years in Egypt and then have the option to attend CBU. The CIC offers a cross-cultural educational experience, including the option to study in Canada and the opportunity to graduate with both Canadian and Egyptian degrees.

This year's valedictorian is Cindy Butler. Originally from Halifax, she now lives with her family in Cape Breton. She will graduate with her bachelor of arts degree, major in English and political science. Butler will start her next degree next week in the final cohort of the CBU/Memorial University bachelor of education program.

Bringing salutations is Sara Rambolt of Mary's Harbour, NL.

The two honorary degree recipients are Beatrice LeBlanc and Kenneth Mann.

LeBlanc is an humanitarian and advocate for women and children who have been threatened by abuse. A native of Arichat, she relocated to Sydney 40 years ago and, in 1981, began working at Cape Breton Transition House, where she is now executive director. LeBlanc, who will also address the graduates, will receive a Doctor of Laws, honoris causa.

Mann, a noted scholar, author and world leader on aquatic ecology research, will be recognized with a Doctor of Letters, honoris causa, for his innovative and influential career. Born in England, Mann received his doctoral degree from the University of Reading where he began his career as a freshwater ecologist. He led a holistic study of the River Thames as a whole ecosystem, which set the standard for 40 years of innovative and productive research. In 1967, he immigrated to Canada where he was invited to join the staff at the Bedford Institute of Oceanography in Nova Scotia. Mann supervised the graduate research of James Foulds and Bruce Hatcher, two professors of marine science at Cape Breton University.

Saturday's convocation ceremony starts at 2 p.m. in the Canada Games Complex. Community members are invited to attend, and a reception will follow in the CBU Commons. The ceremony will also be web cast live at www.cbu.ca/convocation.

Down in the dumps

CBRM facing $41M bill to close old landfills

Section: Front

By Chris Hayes,

The Cape Breton Regional Municipality is facing a whopping new estimate of $41 million to close old landfills that have been sitting idle for more than 20 years.

CAO Jerry Ryan said Tuesday the regional municipality simply does not have the money to pay for the closures and that at least some of the dollars will have to come from other levels of government.

"If you are going to put those regulations in, at some point in my view, you have to be measuring ability to pay," he said. "You can't get blood out of stone. If they take us to court to say you are not adhering to the regulations, there has to be a solution."

Former landfills that must be properly closed include: Woodbine in Caribou Marsh, sites on Tobin Road, Butt Street, Shore Road, Vickers Lane and Church Street in Sydney Mines, North Sydney landfill, the regional municipality's part of a Louisbourg landfill and former sites for Dominion and New Waterford.

Permits acquired by the regional municipality from the province when they opened the landfills include requirements for closure.

The landfills date back to the days before the opening of an regional incinerator to burn garbage in 1987 that was subsequently closed when the regional municipality opted to ship its garbage to a second-generation landfill in Guysborough County.

Engineering consultants ADI Ltd. said in a preliminary 2001 report the former landfills were used for disposal of municipal solid waste and construction debris although some were also used by Devco to dispose of mine waste.

The regional municipality was estimating the cost of former landfill closure at $36.3 million during budget talks a year ago but solid waste manager Donnie Burke put the estimate at $41 million during an interview Tuesday.

The closure cost will be highest for Woodbine, where the estimate is $24 million, followed by $14 million for the former New Waterford landfill, he said.

Landfill closure typically requires a waterproof cap and collection and treatment of leachate water and methane gas.

Burke said the regional municipality's plans for now include further study of the sites including an effort to quantify the materials to see what engineering work will be required to bring them to a fully closed condition.

The province is only asking for a cleanup plan at this time, he said.

Burke said the former landfills appear to be stablized although that could change once they are disturbed.

Ryan said projects like sewage treatment have been cost shared with the federal, provincial and municipal government picking up a third of the cost.

The regional municipality, which has been borrowing for capital improvements, needs a better funded provincial-municipal equalization program to cover its share of this kind of costs, he said.

Accounting practices followed by the provincial government require the regional municipality to set up a reserve fund to cover the closures which it hasn't been able to do either, he said.

[Smevo]

Originally Posted by HalifaxMtl666

Port Hawkesbury keeps pulling its weight

Port has largest tonnage increase in Canada, passing Saint John, N.B. for third
In 2005, a year of record-breaking freight handled by ports nationally, the port here saw the largest tonnage increase in Canada, according to a new Statistics Canada report.Port Hawkesbury, surpassed Saint John, N.B. for third place on the list of the country's top 20 ports. It went from handling almost 24 million tonnes of cargo in 2004 to 30.7 million tonnes in 2005, a 27.9 per cent increase, or 6.7 million tonnes. The report said that the jump was mainly due to increased international shipments of crude petroleum.

Wow, whats happened down there ? Which business the port has been able to attract to increase tonnage that way ?

It's always been a very active port. An ice-free harbour was created on that side of the strait when the causeway was built in the 50's. It's ability to attract business is mostly related to that. The port is also directly served by railway, thus allowing it to reach Western Canada and US markets relatively easily despite the lack of a twinned highway.

Edit: gotta run out for a bit. I'll post the rest of the updates later today.

[Smevo]

Cape Breton Post

Federal Gypsum to add second shift to Point Tupper plant

Section: Business

Column: Briefly


Federal Gypsum has added a second shift to its plant after being in dire straits at the start of the year.

The new shift, set to start next week, will transform the Point Tupper plant into a 24-hour operation for three days week. The company now has 50 employees, up from 32 before the plan was implemented in February.

Federal Gypsum was burdened with liabilities of $32.2 million and had to deal with 99 creditors. The payment plan, approved by creditors, will see $14.5 million from a variety of government agencies be paid back over a five-year period, and a quarter of all money owed funneled back to the remaining creditors over the same period.

In February, the company's type X fire-rated gypsum wallboard became available.

The product, with the trade name PlasterRock X, is used in commercial and residential construction where applications require compliance with fire codes. The product was required to pass stringent fire tests by Underwriters' Laboratories of Canada in late 2007.

MP asks for more funding for summer jobs program

Section: Cape Breton

Column: Briefly


Sydney-Victoria MP Mark Eyking has asked Human Resources and Social Development Minister Monte Solberg to increase funding for the Canada Summer Jobs program.

This year 254 projects and 350 jobs have been approved totalling $736,000.

"I am pleased with the way Service Canada handled the program this year," said Eyking. "Unfortunately some small businesses were not approved and many non-profits are short of what they asked for. I wrote the minister recently asking that funding be increased and that any nationwide slippage be diverted to areas of higher unemployment."

Eyking says Service Canada spent a great deal of time explaining the program this year.

"They did a good job of telling people about the program," said Eyking. "That means that there was higher uptake so I hope the minister will be able to respond favourably to my request. Last year the program was under-funded initially leaving many non-profits out in the cold. They restored funding after great pressure by business and community groups."

CBRM landfill bill may be a lot less than $41M

Section: Front

By Chris Hayes,

For $41 million, Donnie Burke probably hopes he is wrong.

Burke, the solid waste manager for the Cape Breton Regional Municipality, estimated in a story in Wednesday's Cape Breton Post it will cost $41 million to close old landfills throughout the municipality that have been sitting idle for more than 20 years.

However, a provincial Environment Department spokesperson called the Post to say the municipality would not have to follow the closure procedures anticipated by Burke for former landfills like those in the municipality that were shut down before 1995.

Spokesperson Janet Lynn McNeil said the Environment Department was setting up a meeting with officials in the municipality to clarify its responsibilities for the former landfills.

"If they would be willing to take away these requirements, we would be more than happy," said Burke, adding with a laugh, "If I can save the municipality $41 million, I figure if I got one per cent of that as a bonus, I'd be a happy guy."

The former landfills date back to the days before the opening of an regional incinerator to burn garbage in 1987. The incinerator was subsequently closed when the municipality opted to ship its garbage to a second-generation landfill in Guysborough County.

Burke based his $41-million estimate on the closure requirements of the former Sydney landfill. He referred to letters Wednesday from the province in the 1990s that set out the same set of requirements for closure at the other former landfills.

"Our understanding is we close these former landfills to a standard similar to that used on the former city of Sydney landfill. That would be a cap, leachate collection, methane collection and monitoring and treatment.

"That's where the $41 million estimate came from."

McNeil said first generation landfills closed before 1995 require ongoing water testing and soil monitoring to ensure there is no negative impact on the environment.

A municipality would be required to look at additional measures if the tests showed a negative impact on the environment, she said.

A cap and leachate collection and treatment would only be required for first generation landfills operating after 1995 when the province introduced a new solid waste management strategy, she said.

"This is what's going on in every municipality in Nova Scotia."

CAO Jerry Ryan said in Wednesday's story the regional municipality simply does not have the money to pay for the closures.

[Smevo]

Cape Breton Post

Government announces ecoFreight funding for Cape Breton railway company

Section: Business


The federal government has announced a $72,000 grant for the Cape Breton and Central Nova Scotia Railway to help the company reduce its greenhouse gas emissions.

Central Nova MP Peter MacKay announced the grant, under the Freight Technology Incentives program, Tuesday. The funding initiative falls under Transport Canada's ecoFreight program, which helps transport companies acquire new technology that benefits the environment.

"The ecoFREIGHT program aims to reduce the environmental and health effects of freight transportation through the use of technology," said MacKay. "Nova Scotians will see real results through cleaner air."

Cape Breton and Central Nova Scotia Railway will receive a grant of up to $72,146 towards the purchase of four diesel auxiliary power units, which allow locomotives to be shut down during extreme temperatures by keeping the engine oil warm and batteries charged to ensure a reliable engine start.

In addition, the units provide heating and cooling when the locomotive is not running, further reducing the need to idle the locomotives generally.

"The result is lower emissions of greenhouse gases and other air pollutants," said Lawrence Cannon, Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities. "It demonstrates our government's strong commitment to the environment and our support for the sector in today's highly competitive market."

Projects funded under both these programs are eligible for a contribution of 50 per cent of eligible costs, up to a maximum of $500,000, and must be implemented within a two-year period. Remaining costs must be contributed by funding recipients and their partners.

Dingwall's getting in on the action

CBRM should rely on negotiations not legal action, says former MP

Section: Cape Breton

By Chris Hayes,

David Dingwall is warning against relying on legal action to solve the Cape Breton Regional Municipality's differences with the provincial government.

Dingwall, who has joined a Sydney law firm now that his days as a federal cabinet minister and bureaucrat are over, said Thursday an appeal of last month's Supreme Court of Nova Scotia ruling throwing out the municipality's legal action would obstruct any chance of negotiations.

"The province will do the following: 'I'm sorry. We can't do anything because the matter is before the courts,'" Dingwall told a Sydney and Area Chamber of Commerce breakfast meeting.

Dingwall said in an interview later the issues facing the regional municipality and provincial government are policy issues that belong at the negotiating table.

"There is a variety of ways you can come at that: you have the three political parties, you have media, you have lobbying efforts, you have interest groups that can all put pressure particularly in a minority situation."

There are other tools in the toolbox for resolving disputes, including mediation and arbitration, he added.

Last month, Nova Scotia Supreme Court Justice John D. Murphy ruled against the CBRM's key argument that Section 36 of the Canadian Constitution is amenable to adjudication by a court.

The municipality argued the Nova Scotia government wasn't meeting its commitments under Section 36 to promote equal opportunities, further economic development to address disparity and provide for comparable services.

Council will meet later this month to consider an appeal of the ruling and to also consider whether that question should go to the people in a plebiscite.

Local residents appear to believe the legal action is about getting $20 million a year backdated to 1995, the year the regional municipality was created, but the remedy sought by the regional municipality was a legal declaration, Dingwall said.

"Even if they had of won in the Supreme Court, they only would have won a legal declaration. No money, not a cent," he said.

Dingwall also questioned whether the legal declaration sought by the municipality would give it leverage to negotiate with the provincial government.

He said residents of the CBRM had a kind of plebiscite during the last election and it's up to council to make the decisions.

Following the speech, Dingwall was asked if he is interested in running for mayor, to which he replied, "No, not at all."

The chamber has invited council and area MLAs to a meeting to try to negotiate a resolution of the disputes that gave rise to the legal action.

Dingwall was asked in an interview how he feels about criticism of the severance package he received after leaving the Royal Canadian Mint in 2005 and expenses charged to his office while he was its president.

"Old news is old news," he said. "You just have to get up off the floor and do your best and keep moving forward and try to deal with the issues."

Dingwall was attacked by opposition Conservatives over the $417,780 severance but cleared by an independent auditor who concluded he was entitled to his entitlements, as he so famously told a parliamentary committee.

An independent review found only minor discrepancies in his expenses.

Carbon plan could unlock 'treasure chest'

Devco head: Sydney coal field could contain commercial quantities of methane

Section: Front

By Chris Hayes,


The Cape Breton Development Corporation says a carbon capture and storage research project in Nova Scotia may help unlock a "treasure chest" of commercial methane gas in the Sydney coal field.

Ross McCurdy, president and CEO of Devco, said Cape Breton has the best potential for carbon dioxide capture and storage in the province because of the enormous size of the coal field and presence of Nova Scotia Power plants which produce the greenhouse gases.

Carbon dioxide storage in coal can release commercial quantities of methane gas, McCurdy noted.

"For every molecule of carbon dioxide you introduce, you actually displace two molecules of methane," he said. "I think you are going to see tremendous interest in the natural gas capability for the Sydney coal field in the upcoming years."

"It's a treasure chest off there, and I think this potentially gives us a chance to get at the treasure chest in a totally different manner than we have ever experienced before."

Last month, the federal and provincial governments announced $5 million in funding for the research project which looks into trapping and storing carbon dioxide emissions before they escape into the atmosphere and contribute to global warming.

Nova Scotia's Carbon Storage Research Consortium, a group which includes the provincial Energy Department, Nova Scotia Power and Dalhousie University, has identified northern Nova Scotia and Cape Breton as a promising area of the province to find the deep undisturbed coal beds or saline aquifers which are the best geological conditions to store the carbon dioxide.

The consortium's research will also be guided by proximity to carbon-dioxide producing Nova Scotia power plants like those at Lingan, Point Aconi and Point Tupper in Cape Breton and Trenton in northern Nova Scotia.

Consortium director Andrew Henry was cautious about the likelihood of focusing on any area of the province this early in the 12-year research project, however, saying it would be very premature to start talking about drilling at Lingan or Point Aconi

Collin Harker, a consultant working with Devco, noted there are a number of places in the world where coal is being gasified underground, mostly using a combustion process.

Harker suggested the energy potential of the Sydney coal fields is on a scale similar to the Alberta oil sands if the methane gas can be captured and brought to market.

He considered it impossible to predict when carbon capture and store producing methane gas might actually be occurring in Cape Breton.

The consortium plans a 12-year research project, he noted.

"I don't see why it would be happening earlier than that under these auspices," Harker said.

Coal, which forms a molecular bond with carbon dixoide, is a better storage medium than a saline aquifer, Harker said.

[Smevo]

Since the April Unemployment numbers (unadjusted) came out today, here's how Cape Breton Economic Region is faring (CBRM 105,928; Victoria County 7,594; Richmond County 9,740; and Inverness County 19,036 make up Cape Breton ER)

I'm only comparing it to Nova Scotia as a whole this time. If I was on my own computer, I'd do up a spreadsheet with each ER in NS, but I'm not and this laptop only has an unregistered spreadsheet which the activation period is up, so it's locked. I'm also only showing the differences from April 07 to April 08 for that same reason.

Parentheses is % growth except with the rates where it's the unadjusted April 2008 rate.

Nova Scotia
Pop >15 --------------> +3,500 (+0.46%)
Labour Force ---------> +1,100 (+0.23%)
Employment-----------> +1,900 (+0.44%)
Unemployment---------> -800 (-1.9%)
Participation Rate------> -0.2 (62.5%)
Unemployment Rate----> -0.2 (8.6%)
Employment Rate ------> n/c (57.2%)

Cape Breton ER
Pop >15 --------------> -700 (-0.60%)
Labour Force ---------> +2,200 (+3.5%)
Employment-----------> +2,300 (+4.4%)
Unemployment---------> -200 (-2.0%)
Participation Rate------> +2.2 (55.8%)
Unemployment Rate----> -0.8 (15.2%)
Employment Rate ------> +2.2 (47.3%)

Still moving in the right direction.

[Smevo]

And some quick housing information for the first quarter (historically slowest quarter for CBRM), compared to first quarter 2007.

Housing starts up 86.7%
Completions up 357.1%
Absorbed Single-Detached Units up 271.4%
Median and Average price was withheld in 2007
Median Price of Absorbed unit up 11.4% since 2006
Average Price of Absorbed unit up 4.6% since 2006



Hopefully everything will be back to normal soon, and I can actually give slightly more detailed comparisons on this stuff.

[Smevo]

Cape Breton Post

Wes Stubbert's been after the mayor for a while, I wouldn't be surprised to see his name pop on the mayor candidate's list at the last minute, or at least in the next election after this. His quote isn't surprising.

Debate over CBRM's legal action far from over

Section: Cape Breton

By Doug MacKenzie, Cape Breton Post


Yes or no - should the CBRM proceed with its legal action against the province, if necessary to the Supreme Court of Canada?

Citizens of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality may have the chance to answer that question if council votes in favour of a plebiscite to be conducted at the same time as the 2008 municipal election.

Council will hold a special meeting May 23 to address the issue and to review the previous court decision against the CBRM legal action.

A Nova Scotia Supreme Court justice tossed out the municipality's legal case against the province, which accused the provincial government of chronically underfunding the municipality by millions of dollars through a complex equalization formula.

"There were a number of councillors and residents and myself as well who thought this was such an important issue in terms of the region that it was important that the public have an opportunity to control their own destiny," said Mayor John Morgan, who has the support of several councillors.

"The people should have the opportunity to be heard," said Jim MacLeod, councillor for District 7. "I've heard the chamber of commerce saying there is no need of it, and a few councillors saying there is no need of it - then allow us to go to the public and find out if there is a need and see what the people believe."

MacLeod would also like to see more support for Morgan and the lawsuit from other politicians.

"It's about time that those who are spending so much time working against the municipality, should start working with the municipality. Our provincial politicians and our federal politicians should stand up and stop hating the little fella, because they hate John Morgan, because he's not in anybody's pocket."

Wes Stubbert, councillor for District 16, disagrees with MacLeod.

"The problem with the resolution is we don't know the facts of it," said Stubbert. "I read the 40-page report of Judge (John D.) Murphy from cover to cover and he clearly states that there is no case here. We're wasting our time and money because it's not a legal matter, it's a political matter and I think anybody with a grain of common sense realizes that, except our mayor.

"I don't believe in plebiscites in that regard because we're elected to make decisions. Anyone can make the easy ones."

The boldfaced section is why I like MacLoed. He'll always say "if you're so sure people don't want it, why not let us officially ask them". What's very telling is that those against an appeal are afraid of a plebiscite as well. Not saying that an appeal will be won, but there are some councillors staking their reputation on the failure of the lawsuit, so they're afraid of any minute chance it may succeed.

Richmond wants municipalities to follow its recycling policies

Section: Cape Breton

By Nancy King, Cape Breton Post


The warden of Richmond County thinks more municipalities should take its lead in requiring waste to be placed in clear trash bags.

Richmond was the first municipality to make that move and since that time, 30 others have followed suit.

It was recently named region of the year by the Resource Recovery Fund Board's annual Mobius awards, which recognizes environmental achievements and leaders in waste reduction. Provincial solid waste disposal data for 2006-07 showed that Richmond has the province's highest diversion rate at 51 per cent.

Mandating the use of clear bags and the work done by the county's public works department in educational efforts were important factors, Warden John Boudreau said, adding the biggest factor was the willingness of county residents to take waste reduction efforts seriously.

"Our good citizens have chosen in large, large part, I would say somewhere in the area of 93-95 per cent of citizens, have chosen to do it properly, to recycle properly to compost, to do the things that are necessary so that we are not burying the toxins we used to," he said. "What really makes it difficult is that other communities are not doing it properly, other communities are still using coloured bags, are still permitting things to be buried that oughtn't to be buried."

The reluctance of some other municipalities to move in that direction can complicate things for those that do, Boudreau said, because as county residents visit other municipalities or hear about their less stringent regulations, they may ask why they are expected to hold to a higher standard.

Some municipalities have cited privacy concerns as a factor behind not moving to clear garbage bags, but that's an argument that Boudreau doesn't buy. He noted some regions that have introduced clear bags also allow homeowners who do have legitimate concerns to apply for municipally provided waste cans in which they can place their trash bags for curbside collection.

"Anybody who calls us and tells us they have privacy concerns, we're going to go and put a black can or container of some kind that they can put their garbage bag in," he said. "That's as private as if it was in a black bag."

The RRFB also noted the municipality hired a full-time backyard composting and recycling assistant who provides information about source separation of recyclable materials, delivers composters and helps residents learn how to use them.

Changes in way tenders assessed prompts Friday meeting at MTCC

Section: Cape Breton

By Doug MacKenzie, Cape Breton Post


Changes to a local economic development policy prompted a Friday meeting between the Cape Breton Partnership and the Sydney Tar Ponds Agency.

In a February gathering at the Membertou Trade and Convention Centre, Dan White, economic benefits and planning co-ordinator for the agency, explained the how the big package for tenders would work, with 85 per cent weighted toward cost effectiveness and 15 per cent focused on economic benefits for the community.

Also explained was the fact any bids with a price six per cent or more above the lowest compliant bid would be rejected immediately.

"The major concern is this new (six per cent upset clause) policy was put in place without consultative and collaborative approach with the various business stakeholders and the community," said Keith MacDonald, executive director of the Cape Breton Partnership. "It was a change in an approach which was felt to be very effective. When we originally developed the 15 per cent economic benefits piece we worked very closely with the project partners so we really dialogued quite a bit about how we can ensure that moving forward we can strengthen our communications between the tar ponds agency and various partners and how we can go about when policies are being developed, that before they are put in place, there can be some kind of discussion with the community on how that will affect the area as the project moves forward."

Alastair MacLeod, chairperson of the community liaison committee for the Sydney tar ponds and coke ovens cleanup, said Friday's meeting was necessary to address concerns of the local business community.

"Recently the local business community has expressed concern about the sort of lack, or decreasing amount, of consultation regarding the local economic benefits package," said MacLeod, who was pleased to be able to bring local contractors and government together. "We had a big discussion about what the parameters of the problem are and certain things were agreed at the end and the outcome of it is, there is going to be regular consultation between the business community and the government partners to discuss the local economic benefits package so that it is tailored to our needs here in Sydney and the tar ponds cleanup goes along well."

MacLeod doesn't expect the six per cent clause to cause any delays in the more than $100 million in contracts expected to be tendered in 2008.

"I think by increased communication, the good will we saw (Friday) around this table will help to solve these things. We all care deeply about the cleanup and we're going to work together."

I post this editorial simply because it relates to Owen Fitzgerald's assertion that the lawsuit is keeping business away. He also is posting comments on the CB Post website blaming the lawsuit (in part) for his own photography business failing (he also blames digital cameras and WalMart).

Debate picks up over legal case

Section: Comment


The stakeholder group loosely referred to as "the business community" has joined the debate over whether the Cape Breton Regional Municipality should appeal the April 23 Nova Scotia Supreme Court decision throwing out its constitutional legal action against the province. It's a debate that needs the active participation of all major players.

That debate over the last two weeks has been disappointing, with few on the opposing team daring to show their colours. At the CBC's public forum Monday evening at Membertou, only a couple of speakers out of 20 from the audience were evidently opposed to proceeding although there were certainly more of that mind who chose to sit on their hands. The attitude seems to be that there's no point trying to argue publicly against Mayor John Morgan's camp on this question when the result will be jeers and insults. If silence is the choice, though, no one can complain when the mayor runs off with the ball.

Challenging the mayor on this is not easy, however. He's thought about this a lot; his position is consistent and well articulated, and it strikes a deep populist chord. An effective challenge should be equally sophisticated, and so far no one has been quite up to the task.

David Dingwall, work-hardened to the blunt trauma of the political arena, staged his return to public life Thursday, after a controversial exit from the federal scene some two years ago, to take a stab at stating the arguments against carrying on the legal case. As is true for others who argue that CBRM's demands on the province should go to negotiation and not litigation, the former federal minister's case is undermined by the province's repeatedly expressed position that there is nothing fundamentally wrong in its financial relationship with CBRM.

Dingwall suggested to a breakfast meeting of the Sydney and Area Chamber of Commerce that the province can cite the legal action, as long as it continues, as an excuse to do nothing. The problem with that is the province needs no such excuse at the moment. If the province did decide to look at deep fiscal reform, the legal action would indeed be an impediment but there is no hint of such an agenda coming forward. Dingwall's best point was that CBRM, in his view, has failed to use the full tool kit available to it in advancing its aims - including political parties, media, lobbying, interest groups, all within the context of a minority provincial government.

Morgan's critics always accuse him of ignoring diplomacy when in fact he and CBRM have done very well at the municipal level, winning support from the Union of Nova Scotia Municipalities in October 2005 for the report A Question of Balance: An Assessment of the State of Local Government in Nova Scotia. That ambitious blueprint for a "principled" reform of the provincial-municipal relationship, if substantially implemented, might well have scuttled the legal case. The province rejected the report and the UNSM caved, accepting some incremental improvements as the best that could be done.

That was a good try on CBRM's part, but there is no evidence of a comparable strategically executed stalking higher up the political ladder, at the provincial and federal levels. There, so far as we've seen, it's been mostly acrimony, and Dingwall has pointedly taken note of the gap.

From all appearances the most likely course is that CBRM will proceed with the appeal, with or without a fall plebiscite on the question. The people seem to want it, and it's their dime. Opponents of the strategy therefore need to think of how to carry on while the case remains in process, and for that they should pay attention to Cape Breton University political scientist Tom Urbaniak. His idea of a "third way" assumes the case continues, even if he doesn't necessarily see that as a wise bet, while energy is refocused on other steps such as the creation of an economic plan and "money magnets" like a port authority.

Urbaniak's prescription may sound a bit academic and may not be doable in its specifics but the notion of working around the legal case rather than waging futile war against it should be taken seriously. What, after all, drives business opposition to the legal strategy? Is it the case per se, or is it that the case stands for what many business people don't like about the mayor's combative approach and Civic Centre emphasis on negatives about the region?

Chamber president Owen Fitzgerald was pressed this week by both the Cape Breton Post and CBC to back up his assertion that the region has been harmed by the legal case. Finally he conceded in a CBC Radio interview that "it's more of an atmosphere sort of a thing." The legal case, though certainly problematic if serious negotiation were a realistic prospect, is also symbolic of a deeper fissure between this municipal administration and groups in the community when all should be working in concert. Fix that fracture and disagreement over pursuing the legal case would matter a great deal less.

"His idea of a "third way" assumes the case continues, even if he doesn't necessarily see that as a wise bet,"

Just as a note, Urbaniak has come out publicly as supporting the lawsuit including at the election-related forum in Glace Bay.

"Chamber president Owen Fitzgerald was pressed this week by both the Cape Breton Post and CBC to back up his assertion that the region has been harmed by the legal case. Finally he conceded in a CBC Radio interview that "it's more of an atmosphere sort of a thing."

In other words, in context of the paragraph preceeding this one, it's not necessarily the lawsuit keeping some businesses away, but perhaps the "doom and gloom" scenarios being perpetuated by people like Morgan and Whalley.

[Smevo]

By maci0047
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v727/maci0047/

[Smevo]

Cape Breton Post


Though some of this may seem a bit far-fetched, overall it's actually a well thought out commentary (for a change) on the situation.

While pursuing constitutional rights, region also needs to develop its Plan B

Section: Comment

By Dannie Hansen,


The Cape Breton Regional Municipality will be in debt $105 million by the end of this fiscal year and Mayor John Morgan states it does not make sense to start making a Plan B. The legal case against the province is all we need, he says.

Some believe we will get money if we win, when in fact CBRM did not ask for money; we would still have to fight for that. While I do believe there is good merit in this case, I do not believe that the judge dismissed it out of bias. I believe there would be nothing wrong with continuing with the next step to find out once and for all about the equalization question if we can afford to do it. This is Canada and we have a right to ask questions without being penalized.

In the meantime, municipal politicians must stop taking shots at the MLAs and MPs just to look good to the taxpayer.

Review the words of David Johnson, Cape Breton University professor, who recommends we research our next steps very carefully (Political Insights: It's Very Sad to See Case Tripped Up Without Ever Getting to Substance of the Issues, April 30). Regardless of what happens with the case, we still need a Plan B. It will take the most proactive leadership ever seen on this island to create such a plan and make it happen. The first step is for our municipal, provincial and federal representatives to form a committee, with four citizen members, that would deal with the top priorities in CBRM. These are what I see as our three priority clusters:

Alternative revenue generation

Instead of raising property taxes or depending on equalization completely, let's at least look at using government entitlements with a focused approach to realizing an economic plan. Lobby for 10- to 20-cent dollars; Kevin MacDonald, CBRM public works director, is an expert at this. Focus on entitlements that support innovation, infrastructure, transportation, information technology, resource development, sewer and water, and roads. Deposit funds in an account for these purposes, as suggested by MP Mark Eyking for roads.

Then look at CBRM's public works, planning and IT departments to be expand and contract-in some of the work. CBRM would review costs and spending, find out who is paying for what, and use new technology for a service-pay system (showing just how much rural and other residents pay and how little service rural people get for their money).

Senior governments could create an innovative tax credit. Agencies like Enterprise Cape Breton Corporation and the Cape Breton County Economic Development Authority could end up with new missions. ECBC could support business development through tax credits, research and centres of excellence.

The federal citizenship office in Sydney could be expanded through decentralization, since the department is expanding to handle the backlog of 880,000 applications. CBCEDA could take over community development, tourism and resource.

The CBU political science department could have three senior students investigate (and receive a grade for it) what other areas with our population and size in North America and Europe are doing to find new revenues and stem out-migration. We could set up offices in Fort McMurray and Calgary to recruit contracts for goods that would be built in Cape Breton and shipped out, instead of always shipping out workers. If we build it, they will come back!

Hundreds of millions of dollars will be spent here in the next 10 years at the tar ponds, Devco remediation, CBU, Nova Scotia Community College, Port of Sydney, Membertou, Donkin, CN Marine and other places: we must try to get more impact from this spending toward covering some of CBRM's costs as we did with other projects.

Sydney's downtown core

Live up to the motto CBRM adopted in 1995, Community of Communities. Ask people to accept that gains in downtown Sydney will benefit other communities, and not at their expense. No, I have not moved from the rural area; I just know we must develop a vibrant core and other areas of CBRM will benefit.

When we sell fish in China and Europe, the first thing they say is: "Are you in Halifax?" I tell customers to learn about Sydney on the Internet: our commerce, airport, customs, culture, government and social life. It never fails. They call back and we talk business.

That tells me it's time to build a strong centre of commerce in Sydney for CBRM. I'd rather see Cape Bretoners at work in the Sydney area than in Alberta.

Let's start with building a clear roof from the new building that replaces the Vogue to the new YMCA, closing off that block on Charlotte Street to allow for sidewalk cafes for arts and evening entertainment, as well as a site for a farmers' market on weekends and the like. Investors could to be recruited to build new accommodations there.

Move the tar ponds cleanup headquarters and lab into an environmental centre of excellence in the downtown. Build indoor parking behind Dooley's and the Capri Club. Consider a theme park enclosed in glass like Crystal Palace in Moncton.

CBRM could build a centre of excellence for innovation in the middle of Sydney to explore ways to add value and innovation to our every move.

New infrastructure

The harbour has excellent leadership, and the ports plan must proceed. Water and sewage treatment projects need to be funded by provincial and federal governments because municipalities simply cannot afford them otherwise.

Rural roads need real focus, as with ports, and the link between Gabarus and Louisbourg is very important. There needs to be a Cape Breton-wide, modern communications plan of action funded as well by the federal government. The global economy requires this be done now.

This will take a lot of work, co-operation and brain power. Keep in mind that there is a large, experienced and educated, retired workforce available to help. If I learned anything as a municipal councillor, it's that people will help; you just need to ask.

A Community of Communities with proactive leadership and public involvement would be a better place to live. It would be a lot less frightening than the talk I've heard lately from a councillor who says we are going to die and a mayor who implies our supreme court judges make political judgments.

Former regional municipal councillor Dannie Hansen lives in Mira.

I find the clear roof and theme park ideas a little too whacky, and I would not like a theme park downtown one bit (put it a bit outside, perhaps Harbourside, SPAR Powercenter, adjacent/near Mayflower Mall for a few suggestions with good transportation infrastructure and not impeding future more urban development in the downtown). Outside of that, he makes some good points.

[Smevo]

Cape Breton Post

We found out what the mystery development is for the corner of George Street and Falmouth (the one Davey Boy Smith mentioned earlier).

Photographer: Steve Wadden for Cape Breton Post
Crews from Yates Trucking and Excavating work on clearing the land on the corner of George and Falmouth streets in Sydney, Monday. The property will be the site of a new two-storey building where Lawtons Drugs store in Sydney will be relocating after construction is finished.


Lawtons Drugs to relocate to new outlet in downtown Sydney


By Chris Hayes
Cape Breton Post

SYDNEY — Lawtons Drugs store in Sydney is moving into a new building that will be constructed at a downtown location.
Jill Thomas-Myrick, of parent company Sobeys Atlantic, confirmed Monday Lawtons will relocate from its current location on George Street into the new building which, including a parking lot, will be on a large site bordered by Bentinck, Falmouth and George streets.
Earth-moving equipment was working at the site Monday.
Lawtons will lease part of the building, Thomas-Myrick said.
Thomas-Myrick declined for competitive reasons to provide any other details of the company’s plans for the new Lawtons Drugs.
“What I can confirm for you is we will be relocating from our current location. It will be a bigger store. Obviously we are responding to customer needs and demands in the marketplace and will be enhancing the overall offering.”
Developers Terry Shannon and Janine Shannon, who are based in Sydney River, are constructing the new two-storey building.
Terry Shannon declined to give any details about the cost or other potential tenants for the building Monday.
A former paint store on the George Street side of the block will be demolished to make room for parking.
Lawtons has drug stores throughout Atlantic Canada including Sydney, Glace Bay, New Waterford and St. Peter’s.

Created by myself in Google Maps.
Two of the buildings in the highlighted area have already burned down, the third is vacant and planned to be demolished for this project.


Here's the rest of the stories from Tuesday...
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Future of province's natural resources to be debated

Section: Cape Breton

By Chris Hayes,


Cape Breton residents are being encouraged to share their ideas about the future of the province's natural resources at a series of meetings in May and June.

The sessions are part of a plan by the province's Natural Resources Department to develop a new strategy for forests, minerals, parks and biodiversity - the four areas people will be asked to focus on, said Rita Fraser, a spokesperson for the Voluntary Planning Natural Resources Citizen Engagement Committee, which is holding the series of meetings.

"We are asking Nova Scotians to think long-term about what they would like to see for the future of those four areas," she said. "On this first phase, we are (asking) Nova Scotians to look to the future and think about what is important to you in one or all of those areas and comment accordingly."

Fraser noted Voluntary Planning has posted a conversation starter on its website (http://vp.gov.ns.ca/) with some broad questions to help people prepare for the sessions.

A complete list of meetings around the province and documents for submitting written comments are also on Voluntary Planning's website.

"We expect we are going to hear everything from the very broad 'yes we want to preserve the forests for both sustainable jobs and recreation,' we are going to hear that. And we will hear about current issues as well," she said.

Last year, Natural Resources announced plans to develop a broad management strategy to answer the sweeping question of how the province should make the best use of its natural resources including the four key areas of forests, minerals, parks and biodiversity.

The plan was to include the public consultations being held by Voluntary Planning which will report to an external, impartial panel of independent experts which will conduct more detailed analysis.

Natural Resources says it will write the new strategy using inputs from the community meetings and independent panel of experts.

At the meetings, participants will be encouraged to express their ideas in small- and large-group conversations, said Voluntary Planning.

The meeting in Cheticamp will be held in French.

chayes@cbpost.com

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


schedule

Cape Breton residents are being invited to share their ideas about the future of the province's natural resources at a series of meetings. Meetings will be held:
Today, Port Hawkesbury Civic Centre, 606 Reeves St.
May 20, Inverness County Centre for the Arts, 16080 Highway 19
May 21, the Gaelic College, 51779 Cabot Trail
May 27, Centre Acadien, 35 Baron Rd., Cheticamp
May 28, St. Peter's and Area Lion's Club, 82 Lion's Ave.
June 4, Membertou Trade and Convention Centre, 50 Maillard St.

I had a feeling Urbaniak would clarify his position...here it is.

CBRM should sue and sow, not sue and wait

Section: Comment

Column: Letters to the editor


Saturday's editorial on the Cape Breton Regional Municipality's lawsuit (Debate Picks Up Over Legal Case) makes compelling arguments, but I wish to provide clarification on my proposed Third Way.

My support for the lawsuit is more than grudging. I believe we need clarification from the courts on the scope of governments' constitutional obligations to address regional inequalities.

Ideally, the judicial guidance would take account not only of CBRM's request for an interpretation of Section 36 (the equalization section) of the Constitution Act, 1982. There could also be reference to Section 6 (mobility rights), including possibly an implied right to make a living in one's own region, and to Section 15 (equality rights), including possibly an implied prohibition of discrimination based on one's region of residence.

But our constitutional arguments, no matter how articulate and ingenious, will not in themselves be our salvation. Thus far our approach, for the most part, has been to sue and wait - and to wait years as the case proceeds through the system. Our approach should have been, and it could still be, to sue and sow. We can fight and we can create at the same time. Seasoned activists will attest to that.

And we must create. If the province suddenly were to decide to invest significantly more funds here, we would not be ready with a "treatment plan" for our communities.

The Third Way would tap into the wisdom and experience of our citizens. CBRM would set up "money magnets," not-for-profit, quality-of-life corporations. The citizen volunteers on the new boards would develop the financing and staffing plans, and try to attract federal and provincial seed funding or pilot project funding. Some of CBRM's basic infrastructure needs, such as road and water upgrades, could be incorporated into those plans.

A port authority (with real authority) would be one money magnet. A corporation to position CBRM as an international capital for environmental remediation research would be another. A corporation to develop downtown Glace Bay as an artists' colony could be yet another, along with a student housing corporation to encourage off-island students to settle in downtowns.

Meanwhile, a corporation could develop Local Economy Trading Systems (LETS) to promote self-sufficient rural communities. A new CBRM community foundation could be a magnet for philanthropic donations from current or former residents who wish to leave a local legacy by keeping up our parks, beaches, trails and vistas.

Even out-migrants could be money magnets. We ought to appoint volunteer municipal agents-general in every city in the world in which former CBRM residents have settled. They would use their new official title to make formal connections for us.

The Third Way would include incremental governance reform. For example, CBRM and other municipalities should propose that the federal government hold elections for the Enterprise Cape Breton Corporation board. Such a change would not require a constitutional amendment but we would then have the nucleus for an increasingly autonomous regional assembly.

The problem with the sue-and-wait approach, as opposed to sue and sow, is that even if we win an outright victory several years hence, it will still be left to Halifax and Ottawa to set our priorities for funding and economic development.

Tom Urbaniak, PhD

Department of Political Science,

Cape Breton University

Mostly he's reiterating what he said at the Glace Bay forum, but that speech only was published in its audio form and only by the Glace Bay Gleaner.

Devco property no longer for sale: ECBC

Section: Glace Bay/New Waterford

By Sharon Montgomery,


A group of residents will be asking their MP to look into a tender process initiated by Enterprise Cape Breton Corp. in which they were involved.

Several months ago ECBC issued a tender notice for a piece of former Devco land near the Nova Scotia power station. A group of local residents submitted a bid, hoping to secure the land and maintain it as a green space.

Rob Tonary, a spokesperson for the group of residents, said ECBC officials recently informed him the land is no longer for sale.

"We didn't get any explanation or anything. They told us a developer who had a bid in is not getting the property either, which is somewhat good news.

"The main thing is we don't want to see the trees there come down."

However Tonary said the group is not happy with the tendering process in which they were involved.

"We will be asking (Sydney-Victoria MP) Mark Eyking to look into the whole process and to find out why our tender was not accepted."

Eyking has toured the land with members of the group.

Tonary said he has been told if ECBC decides in the future to sell the land, the group will be contacted.

"Who is to say someday we won't have to go through this whole process again?"

The group of New Waterford residents submitted a bid to purchase 74 acres of former Devco property which borders their properties in the MacLellan Drive area.

The residents are worried the area will be strip mined. As well the residents say the trees act as a buffer zone between an ash pile at the power plant and their homes.

There is a memorandum of understanding between Devco and Enterprise Cape Breton Corp. which has ECBC selling lots of Devco land. ECBC also has a property manager who oversees all of the former Devco properties.

D.A. Landry, spokesperson for ECBC, confirmed it has been decided not to sell the property.

"People who have placed offers and bids were notified by phone and will receive a followup letter."

Landry said ECBC is an economic development agency and bidders were asked for viable economic development plans for this property.

"When we took all this into consideration - including feedback from the community - we determined the sale wouldn't generate the economic development impact we were looking for."

He said there are no immediate plans to re-offer the land for sale.

Public invited to open house tonight on cleanup work at former Princess colliery

Section: Northside/Victoria

Column: Briefly


Public Works and Government Services Canada is inviting the public to an open house tonight to discuss ongoing activities associated with the cleanup work taking place at the former Princess colliery site.

The Cape Breton Development Corp. has asked PWGSC to manage a number of projects on its behalf as part of its site closure program, including the former Princess site.

As part of this work, PWGSC has been preparing the site for the final cleanup activities and is prepared to share its plans and to hear thoughts from residents as work continues to move forward.

Anyone interested in learning more about this project, is invited to attend a community open house at the John J. Nugent Firemen's Centre (Sydney Mines fire hall), 6-9 p.m., tonight.

For additional information about the project, contact Eric Parsons, Public Works and Government Services Canada, 902-564-2825.

It's going to be an active news day tomorrow, too, but since there's no relevant (to this thread) photos on the site, I'll wait until the full issue is available in the subscribers section.

[ErickMontreal]

Sydney chamber eager for $200M shipping terminal

A new $200-million container terminal is in the works for Sydney harbour, a development the business community says will redefine the local economy.

The development is a joint venture with Nova Scotia-based Laurentian Energy Corp. and Galaxy SARL of France, a transportation infrastructure equity fund.

The plan calls for a two-berth container facility with a yearly capacity of 750,000 tonnes, in order to accommodate the world's largest ships. It would go on the west side of the harbour's south arm at Sydport.

Corinne Namblard, CEO of Galaxy, which has invested in ports in Europe and Australia, said Sydney is ideally situated to capture a share of the world's growing shipping traffic.

"This particular project out on the eastern seaboard was best capable of addressing some of the issues related to the port industry today," she said.

Investors say the project could create as many as 3,000 new jobs.

The development would certainly transform the economy, said Owen Fitzgerald, chair of the Sydney and Area Chamber of Commerce.

"There's been a huge amount of community co-operation in ensuring this happens," he said. "This redefines our whole economy. This is a new course for our harbour and a new course for the community,"

Plan calls for dredging of harbour

While investors say funding for the project will come from the private sector, they are looking to government for up to $30 million to dredge the channel into the harbour so it's deep enough for the larger ships.

Laurentian Energy CEO Jim Wooder wouldn't speculate on what would happen if either the funding or approval for the dredging doesn't come through.

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," Wooder said. "But we feel we've got a pretty robust case to at least make the case and solicit the support."

In fact, dredging Sydney harbour is included in the Nova Scotia government's $300-million wish list to turn the province into a gateway for international cargo.

An environmental assessment of the project is underway. If all goes according to plan, dredging will start next fall and the container terminal will open in late 2010.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/nova-scotia...-terminal.html