Official Sydney and Area Projects Thread

[Smevo]

Cape Breton Post

Provincial ports representatives map out strategy at Sydney meeting

Section: Business

By Doug MacKenzie, Cape Breton Post
Representatives from Nova Scotia's three major ports gathered in Sydney Monday to discuss ways to work together for a bigger and better future.

Organized by the Sydney Ports Advocacy Council, the meeting held at the Sydney Marine Terminal included officials from the Strait of Canso Superport Corporation, the Halifax Port Authority and the Sydney Port Corporation-Sydney Marine Group.

"We are pleased to meet (Monday) to discuss areas where we may be able to co-operate to sell Nova Scotia in the global marketplace as Canada's east coast gateway to North America," said Owen Fitzgerald, president of the Sydney & Area Chamber of Commerce and a founding member of the advocacy council.

Monday was the first time all three ports have met and while it was billed as the first step in establishing relationships, Fitzgerald was pleased with how the session went.

"We had an excellent meeting with great participation," said Fitzgerald. "Everybody agrees that there are many areas to co-operate on, so they are planning follow-up meetings and attempt to get clarity and dialogue with different levels of government.

"It went much better than we could have expected and as far as the Port Advocacy Council, we just wanted to bring all these key players to the table and suggest there could be benefit for the whole province to have this co-operation, especially with the huge opportunities that are presenting themselves."

"There was a lot of information-sharing at the meeting today," added Stephen Tobin, president of JCI Cape Breton. "All the ports have a variety of different experiences and areas of expertise and I think we can all benefit from taking the time to learn from each other as we define areas of collaboration and potential for future growth."

This first meeting took several months to arrange, but going forward, Fitzgerald said plans are moving at a quicker pace.

"I think we're only talking about a matter of weeks," he said. "There are a few different items they are discussing that they hope will happen before the first of June, so there will be additional meetings very soon."

Non-CBRM

Seven communities to receive water system upgrades

Section: Cape Breton

By Tom Ayers, CAPE BRETON POST
Seven Cape Breton communities will benefit from $5.7 million in funding for water system upgrades, announced Sunday by the federal and provincial governments.

The total funding is split evenly three ways between the federal and provincial governments and the municipalities involved.

The announcement, in Port Hood, covered $2.8 million for 1,300 households in five communities in Inverness County, $2.6 million for 1,300 households in the town of Port Hawkesbury, and $300,000 for about 100 households in Little Narrows, Victoria County.

Premier Rodney MacDonald said the province sets careful guidelines for drinking water treatment, especially since the E. coli catastrophe in Walkerton, Ont., eight years ago, and the government recognizes the need to support those standards with financial assistance to municipalities.

"We believe that by investing in the infrastructure, especially in our smaller communities, we're investing in people," MacDonald said.

The funding is part of the six-year, $133-million Canada-Nova Scotia Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund.

"Population-wise in Nova Scotia, we've made significant progress, but there still are a number of communities" that need infrastructure funds, said MacDonald, adding that more announcements will be made in the future.

Peter MacKay, minister for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, said the federal government funds one-third of the infrastructure projects because it recognizes that "clean, healthy drinking water is a pretty fundamental requirement for all communities."

Along with several other programs, including one that provides funds specifically for smaller communities, the federal government is "making the largest investment in infrastructure in Canada in more than a half a century," said MacKay.

tayers@cbpost.com


Water works

Seven communities will share in $3.8 million in federal-provincial funding for water system upgrades and their municipalities will kick in additional $1.9 million. The water projects include:
Inverness - new well, disinfection system and reservoir
Judique - new filtration system, analyzer and chlorination
Mabou - new well, treatment system, building, analyzer, controls and reservoir
Port Hood - new well, analyzer, controls and chlorination system
Whycocomagh - analyzer, controls and meters
Port Hawkesbury - design and upgrade of existing water treatment system
Little Narrows - a new water tower reservoir

Rodney's so predictable...only one of these communities is outside Inverness County, and all the Inverness ones are southern Inverness (in/near his riding).

Mayor intends to sue province over strip mining

Boularderie citizens suggest becoming more militant as frustration mounts

Section: Northside/Victoria

By Tom Ayers, CAPE BRETON POST
About 80 people gathered inside the local community centre, Monday, to express frustration at the fact that an open surface coal mine is operating just a few kilometres away, and several people at the meeting - hosted by Citizens Against Strip Mining - suggested they might need to become more militant in their protests.

Meanwhile, Cape Breton Regional Municipality Mayor John Morgan told the crowd the provincial government is treating Cape Bretoners as "second-class citizens" by allowing the mine to proceed in the face of stiff local opposition, and he said the municipal government needs to do everything it can to try to stop strip mining.

Morgan publicly said he intends to have a motion passed by CBRM council authorizing him to take all steps necessary to oppose strip mining, which he said in an interview afterwards will include taking the provincial government to court.

CASM spokesperson Jean Sawyer said an appeal of the permit that allowed Pioneer Coal Ltd. of Westville to begin mining the former Prince Mine site in Point Aconi was dismissed by the provincial environment minister, and all other avenues of appeal have been exhausted, except launching a court case.

Sawyer said CASM must decide if it wishes to proceed with a court challenge and, if so, it must raise a lot of money.

"We have no dollar figure, but you can bet the government will try and depocket us as quickly as possible," she said.

"This municipality is facing a broad-based effort by the provincial government, a broad-based assault by the provincial government," Morgan said. "The municipal government is really the only defence the people of this community has."

He said citizens obviously do not have the financial resources to be able to take a government to court, so the municipal government must step forward.

"It's not a bad thing or a negative thing . . . that's what the courts are there for," Morgan said.

After a presentation by Michelle Symes that included photos of the mining progress and a history of local citizens' opposition to it, several politicians voiced their support for CASM, including Morgan, CBRM Coun. Wes Stubbert, Victoria County Coun. Fraser Patterson, Conservative MLA for Victoria-The Lakes Keith Bain, and federal Green Party leader Elizabeth May.

A number of residents complained about the dust, noise and especially the blasting from the nearby mine.

"Today was even worse than ever," said Gary MacLean, who lives near the mine site. "A picture fell off my mother's wall and broke."

Val Fulford, who also lives nearby, said since the blasting started, she has spent $1,000 to get rid of water that has flooded her basement and knocked out her furnace.

Several people suggested that the citizens' group might have to start barricading roads to get its message across.

"If we need to occupy the premier's office to bring the message we won't be silenced, I'll be there," said Sierra Club member Bruno Marcocchio.

"You know, it may be coming to that point," agreed CASM treasurer Russell MacDonald.

"I really think we're going to have to somehow up it a notch," said Sharon MacLeod.

CASM member Donna Stubbert said radical action has been discussed in the past, but the group has tried to focus on positive action.

However, she said, "you have meeting after meeting, rally after rally, and they don't listen. People are frustrated."

She said CASM will have to have another meeting following the public session in order to discuss its next steps, which could include launching a court appeal and taking stronger protest action.

Brief history:
Several strip mines were proposed, but the province put a moratorium on strip mining after this one was cleared.
Some believe the moratorium length is dependent on the success or failure of this mine.
Local opposition (from more than just Boularderie Island) was strong and vocal from the outset, but was systematically ignored along the way.
Other issues involving this mine involved the lack of environmental assessment (at least independent ones), among other concerns.

[Smevo]

Action Week Fireworks

Action Week is a Sydney-wide 9 day festival of sport tournaments, concerts, and activities that has been happening since long before amalgamation. The first full week in August marks action week, starting on the preceeding Saturday and ending with the final concert and fireworks on Sunday.

All images Credit: Haunt
http://www.flickr.com/photos/haunt/s...7602227070276/

[Helladog]

Nice find...really colourful!

[Smevo]

I was planning to post more urban-related photos, but the colours of these won me over.

[Smevo]

Cape Breton Post

Advanced Glazings may yet rise again

Local business community hopeful things will turn around

Section: Business

By Chris Hayes,
A Cape Breton business leader hopes Advanced Glazings will recover from financial problems that led to the layoff of its workforce.

Owen Fitzgerald, president of the Sydney and Area Chamber of Commerce, said Wednesday he hopes to see the innovative company reopen.

"I don't know a lot of the details," he said. "We need more companies like that. It's unfortunate but that's part of business that some companies do well and succeed and some don't succeed.

"There can be many, many reasons for it, whether it's economic, the general economy, leadership, whatever. I'm not sure of exactly what went wrong there.

"It's unfortunate."

Advanced Glazings manufactures a product called Solera, a line of translucent, insulated glass designed to better distribute sunlight entering windows.

The company laid off its workforce of about 30 Friday, except for a skeleton crew finishing up some orders.

Company president Rob Nearing blamed a cash flow problem for the situation, saying it was ceasing operations temporarily but he has no plans to close down permanently.

Advanced Glazings has received loans from Enterprise Cape Breton Corp. and the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency that it has been repaying but did not draw upon offers of financial assistance from the Nova Scotia government.

D.A. Landry of ECBC said Wednesday Advanced Glazings has received a total of $2.5 million in various forms of assistance from ECBC and ACOA since 1996 and has repaid $1.3 million.

"They are up to date with their repayment schedule," he said.

Landry said $1.6 million was in the form of repayable loans, $733,000 was provisionally repayable based on the successful commercialization of the product and $196,000 was non-repayable.

The provincial government, through Nova Scotia Business Inc., approved up to $780,000 in payroll rebates for Advanced Glazings Ltd. in December 2006 but the company has not drawn on the funding, said spokesperson Sarah Levy.

Levy thought the rebates are still available to the company.

Last October, the provincial Economic Development Department announced a $2-million loan to Advanced Glazings from the province's Industrial Expansion Fund but the company has not drawn on that funding either, according to department spokesperson Heather Dion.

Dion said the deadline for the loan has expired.

Last year, the company was named in a wrongful dismissal lawsuit filed by former president and CEO Doug Milburn, who invented the energy-efficient glass and founded the firm.

Commentary

Bits of Alberta would be OK

Section: Comment

Neal Livingston figures we might want to put a stop to the "Albertaization of Nova Scotia." Hmm, maybe the groundswell that he's sensing is the rumble of thousands of Cape Bretoners commuting to and from Fort McMurray. Our guess is that Cape Bretoners would be happy to bring back a piece of debt-free Alberta on their boots. Wild Rose country can keep the tar sands and the chuck wagon races; we'll take a few of those horse head oil well pumps, nodding against the sunset, that used to symbolize western oil wealth until gigantic dump trucks obliterated the skyline.

Livingston is an independent hydro-electric power producer, film maker and environmental activist based in Inverness County, right around where Petroworth Resources Inc. hopes to carry out a onshore seismic exploration program for oil and gas. In a letter to this newspaper as co-chair of the Margaree Environmental Association (Company Wants to Look for Onshore Oil, April 10), Livingston lamented the lack of public consultation over the rules for petroleum exploration and development, and called for Petroworth's permit to be cancelled - surely without any hope of that happening.

Petroworth Resources Inc. of Calgary has been active in the Maritimes for years and now wants to step up its exploration of 383,000 acres in the Mabou-Lake Ainslie. A public meeting was planned for this evening in Mabou to explain plans for shooting 200 kilometres of seismic lines.

Onshore seismic testing uses small dynamite charges to generate shock waves. The echoes are analyzed to produce a picture of underground geology. Though onshore seismic is much milder and less controversial than testing offshore with airgun blasts, it does involve intrusion on private property, requiring consent of the owners. A typical concern is that private water wells might be harmed.

Based on history, it's highly unlikely that onshore oil and gas will explode into a monster industry in Nova Scotia. The first exploration well in the province was drilled, amazingly, in 1869, and since then well over 100 have been sunk without a commercial field going into production. Triangle Petroleum of Calgary thinks its close with its unconventional shale gas in the Kennetcook area of Hants County and plans to spend $37 million there this year on exploration and development.

In Cape Breton, the best remembered effort was by Chevron Standard in the late '70s and early '80s. After an accidental oil show in the Malagawatch area of Inverness County during a base metals search, another 13 wells were drilled.

Maybe Mull River will turn out to be Canada's second Leduc. More realistically, enough petroleum might be found to sustain small-scale production and stimulate further interest in the exploring the region. There is no little reason to fear that any significant environmental insult is about to occur.

Livingston raises a valid point about the relative lack of local benefit that often results from such resource extractions but his call for petroleum resources to be consumed locally (or even within the province) is no answer, and indeed makes little sense. The Corridor Resources gasfield near Sussex, N.B., supplies a small amount of its production to a nearby potash mine but most of the gas is pipelined out. Even on the relatively large scale of Sable gas, finding a way to use the resource directly for the benefit of Nova Scotia has proved problematic at best.

Another commentary

Glace Bay school project in limbo long enough

Section: Comment

Column: Letters to the editor

I see the Nova Scotia government has announced $24 million for a new school in Yarmouth. I wonder if that's the money that was earmarked for a new junior high school in Glace Bay, for which there seems to be no agreement on location.

With arguments over subsidence of mine workings and where best to locate a school, we are our own worst enemies. I have no doubt the school will be front and centre come election time, with everyone looking to score Brownie points.

Apparently the Highland Street site was undermined, and the neighbours in and around the swamplands on Wallace's Road don't want the traffic that would be generated from a school.

I had the opportunity last year to view an architect's drawing and plot plan for a new school on Donkin Highway that was very impressive. This parcel of land is behind Forrest Street and Maple Avenue, and borders the back road from the site of the former heavy water plant to Lake Road. This area has lots of room for expansion. Apparently testing was done, and obviously money was spent to prepare a layout for this site. Bus turnaround space and parking were included in these drawings.

I think people are hearing "Donkin highway" and think the school is going to Donkin. No matter where the school goes, there will be busing issues. If a move isn't made soon, at least to announce a definite site, we will be left out in the cold (or, in the case of the two present schools, out in the old barns) for another five years.

Please, someone, get this project on track!

Stan Peach

Glace Bay

You can solve own problems: McKenna

Section: Front

By Nancy King,
Cape Breton is facing significant economic challenges but its people need to think positively and realize they can solve those problems themselves, Frank McKenna says.

The former New Brunswick premier and former Canadian ambassador to the U.S. spoke to a capacity crowd at a luncheon at the Membertou Trade and Convention Centre, Wednesday.

For every situation, there is some bad and some good, McKenna said, but people have to focus on the good.

"The helping hand that you're looking for here, as well as across the region, can be found right at the end of your own arm," he said. "Nobody is going to come in and do it for us. On the other hand, nobody but nobody ever walked in and put a spot on our forehead and said you're a doomed and disadvantaged people."

McKenna's visit was presented by the Cape Breton University Alumni Association, the Sydney and Area Chamber of Commerce and TD Bank Financial Group, of which McKenna is now deputy chair.

Between 1996-2006, while Canada's population grew by 2.8 million, Cape Breton lost 10 per cent of its population base and thousands of jobs supported by the coal and steel industries, he noted.

Unemployment remains much higher than the national average, although he noted it is much less than it was at its peak.

While that poses challenges, he said having an available pool of labour could help attract employers to the region at a time when there are labour shortages across the country.

Even having many Cape Bretoners working in the Alberta oil patch can be seen somewhat positively, he said, because they are sending paycheques home. People may also be able to bring back to Cape Breton the skills they've developed elsewhere and their new ideas.

"It may not be the ideal situation but it's not a bad result to have access to those high-paying jobs for your skilled labour force," he said.

The first step toward recovery is recognizing that you have a problem and that no one else can solve the problem for you, McKenna said.

The region lost large, well-paying blue-collar industries, but they cast a shadow over other smaller businesses on the island, McKenna said.

Cape Breton can also look to a country like Finland as an example, McKenna said, a region from resource extraction to resource innovation.

The business environment in Cape Breton is very competitive and the region has success stories that give people reason for confidence and serve as selling points, including the First Nations community of Membertou and companies such as Keata Pharma, Protocase, local call centres and the Newpage paper mill, which continues to operate while mills across North America are shutting down. The region is also making the most of the $400-million cleanup of the Sydney tar ponds, employing local people and developing a local centre of excellence.

There is potential for new development as well, McKenna said, noting the possible development of a container terminal in Sydney, construction of a resort in Louisbourg and the possible reopening of the Donkin mine.

Why it takes a former NB Premier to tell the community (*cough* and council *cough*) these things is beyond me.

[mylesmalley]

For the record, a LOT of people have called the maritimes doomed, including the prime minister (defeatists). Hell, just pick up any newspaper in New Brunswick and you'll see just how doomed we are. The opinion pages are fun that way.

That aside, McKenna is totally right. We have all the potential in the world. We just need to reach out and grab at it.

[Smevo]

^I think he was trying to get at the idea that nobody can hold an area down if its residents are determined to fight. We have the reputation and history of being fighters, we just need some leaders (not necessarily current leaders or politicians) to ignite the fire. Same story in a lot of the "depressed" areas of the Maritimes, really. There's some fighters emerging from my generation, so things should start noticably (even to council and John Whalley) turning around soon.

[Smevo]

Cape Breton Post

We're back to the Lake Uist wind/hydro project

Richmond council concerned about proposed hydro/wind turbine project

Warden wants answers on ecosystem and fish habitat of Lake Uist

Section: Business

By Chris Hayes,
Richmond County council will raise a number of environmental concerns about a proposed hydro/wind turbine energy project at Lake Uist during a series of public open house sessions next week.

Warden John Boudreau said council is concerned about how the proposed Cape Breton Explorations Ltd. project will affect the ecosystem and fish habitat of Lake Uist, Loch Lomond and Grand River, the potential for contamination with methyl-mercury and the potential for harm to the aquifer supplying fresh water to the area.

"We have fish habitat, we've got homeowners, we've got the entire tourism sector, we've got the sport fishing sector: there are a lot of activities that will be impacted by this project," he said.

The project, proposed by Cape Breton Explorations Ltd., would feed wind-generated power from 44 wind turbines directly into the electrical power grid during the day when demand is high.

Then in the off hours at night, the wind turbines would supply power to pump water from Lake Uist through a buried penstock to a reservoir some three kilometres away and more than 100 metres higher.

The pumped water would later flow back down the penstock to drive one or two turbines producing more electricity before dispersing into the lower lake from whence it came.

The New Waterford and Area Fish and Game Association has also raised concerns that the turbines could disturb the temperature of Grand River and hurt the fish population and the Pitu'paq committee, comprising Cape Breton's municipalities, First Nations communities and government agencies, has called for a full panel federal environmental assessment and independent Mi'kmaq environmental assessment. The public has been invited to attend the open houses which will be held from 4-8 p.m. each day; April 21 at Loch Lomond fire hall, April 22 at Grand River fire hall and April 23 at Big Pond community fire hall.

Consulting firm CBCL, which has been hired by Cape Breton Explorations Ltd. to do environmental assessment and engineering work on the project, has organized the open houses.

Luciano Lisi, the chief financial officer for Cape Breton Exploration Ltd. and developer of the project, noted the public meetings are required by the provincial Environment Department as part of its terms of reference for an environmental assessment of the project.

Environmental assessments are a long process often taking several years, he said.

Lisi said there will be answers to some questions at the public meetings and other questions are being addressed in studies.

"Some areas we have answers, some we are just at the design stage and studying exactly the same things that Richmond County and others have concerns about, and those, people must not forget, are exactly our same concerns.

"We plan to meet all those concerns with positive answers. It's as simple as that."

The project wouldn't receive approval and be allowed to proceed if there are negative effects on the lake and river, he said.

Lisi said he already knows methyl-mercury is a non-issue since the project doesn't include plans to flood areas of vegetation which can raise the presence of that chemical.

If engineers find there will be adverse affects on fish populations, the lake can be restocked, he said.

Commentary on the debt situation, and on a councillor's position on it, concerning the water/wastewater treatment plants.

Treatment plants all the rage

Section: Comment

Alarmed by the growth in municipal debt, Councillor Ray Paruch protested last month that the excuse of capital obligations imposed by senior government for projects such as water and sewer isn't good enough. Actually, though, it's rather a good excuse, if one chooses to call it that, and there are indications it will be an even better excuse in future as demands for capital spending strain the ability of this and other municipalities to pay.

Earlier this month, managers of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality's water utility briefed the politicians on a massive seven-year capital program to bring water systems up to new post-Walkerton standards. CBRM will be about a year past the deadline set by the province when the planned Pottle Lake treatment plant is completed by fall 2009 at an estimated cost of $15.8 million. Water plants in Louisbourg and New Waterford, costing $19 million, are just coming into service.

While there has been help from federal-provincial infrastructure funding and there is municipal cost recovery built into water rates, it's still a burden that property owners with treated water service have to bear. And now the question is where the utility goes from here. How does it respond to demands for water service extensions, and in places like Sydney River for entire new systems?

The short answer is that the utility will concentrate on looking after what it has, but together with the municipality will consider system growth when that is justified and affordable. It's not clear what that will mean in practice.

Meanwhile, though, there's a potentially bigger requirement for municipal capital investment coming from that other level of government. Federal Environment Minister John Baird sent a shiver though many municipal offices when he declared that Ottawa will very shortly unveil regulations requiring secondary treatment of sewage dumped into lakes, rivers and oceans. Mayor John Morgan ballparks such a program at $400 million in CBRM.

Baird's heads-up prompted the Atlantic Mayors' Congress to ask the federal government for flexibility in new national waste water standards that would consider the actual risk of sewage discharges in particular locations. The mayors are worried about cost. Baird's offering $8 billion, expecting that provinces and municipalities will each match that, but some are wondering whether all this federal money would be "new." Besides, the mayor of Charlottetown, for one, says the one-third each formula is no longer adequate and senior governments will have to come in with better percentages - a sentiment that would be heartily seconded in CBRM.

Necessary though all of this may be, systems for piping and treating both water and sewer are dauntingly expensive to build and maintain. These will be key drivers of municipal debt, which in CBRM is projected to top $105 million by the end of this fiscal year. And there's no easy answer for what to do about it at the municipal level except to work through collective lobbies to press for flexibility and adequately financed support from senior government.

It's important for voters to bear these aspects of the capital spending issue in mind as campaigning municipal politicians come at them in the months ahead waving their arms about debt but offering little in the way of feasible solutions.

The last sentence is probably the most important one in the whole commentary.

Donkin community group holding auction to raise funds for major project

Building would be multi-purpose structure

Section: Glace Bay/New Waterford

By Sharon Montgomery,
The public is invited to a unique auction in Donkin - topped off with a cup of tea.

"We asked the community to make some sweets, we'll have tea and a nice dessert table there," said Faith Dillon, chairperson of the fundraising committee member of the Donkin-Port Caledonia Rural Development Association.

The spring auction is being held Sunday, April 27 at the Bayplex in Glace Bay. A silent auction will take place 6-8 p.m. and the regular auction at 7 p.m. Tickets are $5, which includes refreshments.

Dillon said there will be all kinds of fabulous items up for auction, 10 dozen lobster, green fees, Seaside Cable packages, hotel packages, paintings, gym packages and tools just to mention a few.

"On behalf of the association we want to thank each and everyone who helped in any way with this fundraiser."

Patron will be able to pay by Visa, interact and cash payments. No personal cheques will be accepted.

For tickets phone 737-1124 or tickets can be purchased at the door.

Dillon said the proceeds will go towards their third major community project, a 6,000-square-foot community centre, at a cost of about $1.5 million.

The group has applied for government funding, but needs to fundraise a substantial amount as well.

The centre will house the fire department, community hall, offices for community groups to share, tourist kiosk, heritage centre, youth centre and coffee shop.

The association was formed to make improvements to the community.

A state-of-the-art playground was constructed and opened in 2006.

The Veterans Memorial Community Park, located next to the playground, opened in July 2007. The community centre will be located in the same area.

The association is also selling tickets for their Lucky Duck draw, which takes place May 2. Tickets are $1 and include prizes of $3,000 for first place, $500 for second place and their place, a weekend getaway in Halifax. Tickets will be available at the auction.

Dillon said their planning committee is currently making plans for community celebrations called Coastal Days, to be held July 18- 27.

[Smevo]

Cape Breton Post

Full details should be out tomorrow, there's a mini-story online, but I haven't checked it yet. I figure I'll wait until it's printed in entirety.

Louisbourg funding to be announced

Fortress celebrations, business facade programs expected

Section: Front

By Tom Ayers, CAPE BRETON POST
The Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency is set to make major funding announcements this morning for at least two important programs in Louisbourg.

Several sources said funding will be announced for this summer's celebrations around the 250th anniversary of the second siege of the fortress and for a downtown business facade redevelopment program.

In addition, one source said the announcement could also include funding for private developers of the $300-million luxury home subdivision at Grand Lake that includes the Louisbourg Resort Golf and Spa.

A media advisory from Enterprise Cape Breton Corporation says Gerald Keddy, parliamentary secretary to ACOA minister Peter MacKay, will make a number of important announcements at 10:30 a.m. in the Louisbourg Fire Hall, and posters have been put up around town inviting the public to attend.

The business facade improvement program provides matching funds for businesses along Main Street to renovate and improve storefronts. The program was announced last year and business applications were expected to come in earlier this year.

This morning's announcement is expected to include at least $350,000 for Louisbourg's summer events planned around the 250th anniversary of the second siege of the fortress, sources said.

The fortress is North America's largest historical reconstruction project, with a large costumed interpretation program depicting life in 1744.

After years of fighting between the French and British, in 1758, the British took the French-built fort for the last time in a battle that became known as the second siege, which ultimately led to Britain's dominance over the French and the creation of the Dominion of Canada.

To commemorate the 250th anniversary of the battle, Fortress Louisbourg will host several special events, including an encampment in July with military and civilian French, British and native re-enactors and settlers.

The town of Louisbourg will also host several cultural heritage festivals, waterfront activities and picnics.

Louisbourg officials expect the events to draw thousands of tourists to the town and the fortress, which is a popular national historical site.

Meanwhile, earlier this year ECBC gave the Grand Lake subdivision developers $750,000 for a new sewer system and loaned the developers $500,000 for marketing.

The funds were never announced publicly.

[Smevo]

As I suspected the housing starts for the first quarter (also the slowest quarter) are up over the first quarter of 2007, to the tune of 86.7%. The first quarter stacks up like this:
(Recall: 2007 full year 32.5% increase over 2006)
- 86.7% increase over Q1 2007
- 17.6% decrease over Q1 2005 (best quarter since 2000 which is start of free data I have access to).
- 2nd best Q1 since 2000 (best, as mentioned, Q1 2005)
- 460% increase over 2000 (worst Q1 in period, tied with 2001)
- 2008 Q1 starts more than 2000 Q1, 2001 Q1, and 2002 Q1 starts combined!
- 3rd largest year-over-year increase for Q1 (2002 Q1 1st, 2005 Q1 2nd).

If we keep this up, council and John Whalley might actually notice!

[Smevo]

Just created this in Google Maps.


You can explore the map itself here!


Also did one for Sydney Area Traffic

Counts came from CBRM and NSDOT
Light Blue is 2-lane, 10,000 to 13,000 vpd
Dark Blue is 4-lane, 15,000 to 20,000 vpd
Light Orange is 2-lane, 13,000 to 15,000 vpd
Dark Orange is 4-lane, 20,000 to 25,000 vpd
Light Red is 2-lane, >15,000 vpd
Dark Red is 4-lane, >25,000 vpd

Busiest 2-lane section (higway):
Hwy 125 between GLR and George St - 17,000 to 19,000 vpd (100km/h)

Busiest 4-lane section (highway):
Hwy 4 (Glace Bay Highway) Grand Lake Rd - 18,000 to 22,000 vpd (80km/h)

Busiest 2-lane section (urban):
Sydney River Bridge - 15,000 to 18,000 vpd (50km/h)

Busiest 4-lane section (urban):
Hwy 4 (King's Road) Sydney River - 28,000 to 31,000 vpd (50km/h)

Busiest section TCH (Hwy 105):
Florence to Hwy 125 interchange - 12,000 to 16,000 vpd (80km/h and 70km/hr)

As a comparison, DOT is twinning Hwy 101 with this statement:
"Traffic volumes have been increasing steadily over the past several years. They currently range from 11,000 to 13,000 vehicles per day and are at the point where twinning is an appropriate measure for increasing highway service levels."

That's all the useless facts for now, though I have a tonne more.

[Smevo]

Cape Breton Post

Louisbourg residents now drinking treated water

Section: Cape Breton

By Chris Hayes, Cape Breton Post
Consumers are getting fully treated drinking water now that the Cape Breton Regional Municipality has opened the taps at its new $7.8-million plant in the community.

Greg Penny, manager of water operations, said the fully treated water began to flow Thursday at a rate of about 200,000 gallons a day to some 500 customers in Louisbourg.

Consumers are getting cleaner water than they got in the previous supply which had a yellow tinge because of the organic content, he said.

"You will see crystal clear (water)."

The regional municipality has different rates for fully treated and partly treated water. Fully treated water costs about $400 a year for a family of four compared to about $250 for partly treated water.

During treatment at the plant, water from Kelly Lake goes through a rigorous screening and removal process that takes out organic materials before chlorine is added. The amount of chlorine that is used has dropped dramatically now that so much of the organics have been removed first, he said.

"That's a big benefit of treatment, that you reduce chlorine."

Local fish plants, which can use up to 800,000 gallons a day during busy times, are supplied with "process" water that meets Health Department guidelines but has been subjected to less treatment and is less expensive.

"That's the beauty of this system," he said. "The fish plants can take as much water as they need to process at the partially treated rate to do business and it doesn't have any effect on customers."

Fortress Louisbourg, which started getting fully treated water a week before residents of the community, is sharing the use of its 200,000-gallon water storage tank and some two kilometres of new water line.

The fortress gets close to 100,000 gallons a day at peak times.

"We worked with them for a week to perfect the system," he said. "They were very co-operative."

Commissioning of the Louisbourg plant had been underway since October.

The regional municipality has a $54-million plan that was developed in 1999 to provide fully treated water to its 75,000 to 80,000 customers.

Consumers in Sydney and Port Morien were already getting fully treated water and the regional municipality has since provided it for customers of its systems in Glace Bay, Birch Grove, Pine Tree Village, Coxheath, Westmount and now Louisbourg.

The Glace Bay water system will likely be used eventually to supply customers in Birch Grove and Port Morien.

New Waterford's $11.2-million treatment plant is at the commissioning stage now and tenders will open May 2 for a $15.8-million Pottle Lake water treatment plant for North Sydney, Penny said.

Regional municipality's active transportation plan takes shape at open house

Section: Cape Breton

By Tom Ayers,
The Cape Breton Regional Municipality's active transportation committee is seeking one more round of public input before drafting a report for council, and now the plans are on display so people can see what is being proposed.

The committee is seeking feedback on the public's priorities by May 1, by filling out a form at the open houses - a second one will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. today in the Civic Centre community room - or by visiting the committee's website at www.cbrm-atplan.ca.

CBRM planner Rick McCready said there are three solid reasons why the region needs to put an active transportation plan in place.

"We know that in Cape Breton in particular, our health outcomes are not what they should be and that's because people aren't as active as they should be," he said.

Also, communities across the country are beginning to deal with the effects of global warming and CBRM needs to do so as well, McCready added.

And finally, he noted, "gas prices are going through the roof.

"This has got to be the right time to look at alternatives to the car. If we aren't going to do this now, when are we going to do it?"

McCready said the active transportation committee has identified several options for each community in the municipality, including walking paths and bicycle lanes, and in many cases commuting and recreational exercise can be encouraged with a few minor upgrades to infrastructure.

Outside the communities, the committee has recognized a need for a recreational route that could become an important tourist draw, he added.

And the committee, after hearing from stakeholders and the public, has also identified a series of 10 "signature projects" that could attract broad support from communities and make for larger, significant improvements to active transportation.

They include new walking paths and bicycle lanes, as well as sidewalks and multi-use trails. The committee is even considering a cross-harbour ferry for pedestrians and cyclists connecting downtown Sydney to Westmount.

The signature projects are on a map "that people tend to zero in on because they're big projects," said McCready, "but they're just ideas. Some of them might not even end up in the final plan."

None of the projects have been costed out, he added. Once the committee receives the public's final feedback on which projects should be a priority, a draft plan with rough cost estimates will be prepared for council. Then it will be up to council to endorse the plan and take a leadership role on implementing it, which would likely include seeking funds from other levels of government, McCready said.

"The committee is even considering a cross-harbour ferry for pedestrians and cyclists connecting downtown Sydney to Westmount."
That would be huge, taking quite a few cars off of Keltic Drive (Sydney River Bridge) and consequently King's Rd and Hwy 125. The bigger part of this is what it could lead to down the road, with potential for finally linking the Northside to Sydney again with a ferry of its own as a second route. I think they're both worth the cost myself, incorporate them with Transit Cape Breton and allow bus transfers and parking at the terminals for a "park and ride" situation, and this could be a big benefit not only to easing traffic and cutting emisions, but also to linking the communities across the harbour more effectively than the Sydney River Bridge and Hwy 125 currently do.

Louisbourg gets more than $744,000 for siege celebrations and facade program

Section: Front

By Chris Hayes, Cape Breton Post
Local residents were applauding Monday as governments announced $744,964 in funding to help celebrate the 250th anniversary of the second siege of the Fortress of Louisbourg, and to spruce up businesses in the downtown.

Federal MP Gerald Keddy, speaking to residents in the local fire hall, announced a contribution of $329,964 to help the Louisbourg Merchants Association and the community play a part in celebrations of the historic siege of the fortress and another contribution of $305,000 for a facade improvement program.

MLA Alfie MacLeod added $110,000 from the Nova Scotia government to the funding for the community celebrations.

During the second siege of 1758, a British army attacking with 16,000 troops and supported by 160 ships captured the fortress in seven weeks, according to a modern-day website for the national historic site.

Fortress of Louisbourg marketing officer Mark Sajatovich, who was at the announcement Monday, said the 250th anniversary celebration could attract 20,000 visitors to the fortress over the July 25-27 weekend.

The highlight will be an encampment featuring as many as 1,000 costumed re-enacters playing the parts of British, French and native people of the era.

"Once in a lifetime is a cliché in a lot of cases (but) for this, it's not," he said. "We certainly hope to think it will be one of the largest tourist events in the province."

The community of Louisbourg will use some of its funding to erect an historically themed gate at the entrance to the community that will be constructed of stone from the fortress. It will also install directional and interpretative signs.

Jolene MacIntyre, an event co-ordinator, said the community will also celebrate the anniversary throughout the summer with cultural heritage days, a fishermen's carnival, activities for children, entertainment, fireworks for the opening of the nearby Lighthouse Trail and other activities.

Local businesses can receive up to $20,000 in funds matching their own contribution in the facade program, which is being lead by the Cape Breton County Economic Development Authority.

Facade programs boost the economic base of a community, said Cindy Tobin, a community development officer at CBCEDA.

The applications have been available for several months and the deadline is April 30, she said.

Louise Carter, manager of the Grubstake restaurant, said the facade program will be helpful at a time when the tourism industry has been in decline.

"Hopefully, it will bring a breath of fresh air to the restaurant and to the whole downtown as a core, because with the facade program, everything looks more enticing and more appetizing for the people."

Parks workers across the country have been without a contract since August and talks between the employer and employees broke off in February, raising concerns about the possibility of a strike.

Keddy, the parliamentary secretary for ACOA Minister Peter MacKay, said he would be shocked if the labour dispute drags on and has any negative affects on the 250th anniversary celebrations.

[Smevo]

Cape Breton Post

Bad news, but I can't say I didn't see it coming, despite the evidence found by the professors from MUN.

Supreme Court dismisses CBRM lawsuit Breaking News print this article
The Cape Breton Post

SYDNEY – The Cape Breton Regional Municipality has lost its legal battle with the province of Nova Scotia.
A Department of Justice spokesperson confirmed late this afternoon that Supreme Court of Nova Scotia Justice John Murphy has dismissed the case. No details of his decision have yet been made available to the media.
The CBRM’s legal challenge dates back to October 2003 when Mayor John Morgan first convinced a corporate services committee and then a bare majority of council a month later to seek the advice of a constitutional law expert on the equalization funding issue.
The CBRM filed its application with the Supreme Court on May 26, 2006. The municipality's application accused the province of Nova Scotia of shortchanging the region by millions of dollars in equalization payments.
Both sides presented their cases before Murphy in November, in Halifax.
Read the full story in Thursday’s Cape Breton Post.

Open house on wind/hydro project postponed until May

Section: Business

Column: Briefly

An open house scheduled for today in Big Pond for a proposed hydro/wind energy project at Lake Uist has been postponed because of the death of a person from the community.

The open house will be rescheduled, likely to early May.

Cape Breton Explorations Ltd. has been holding a number of open houses to provide information on the proposed hydro and wind turbine project, the regulatory process it must follow and environmental studies.

The company, engineers and environmental study team have been available at the open houses.

A little good news to end the day

Med student says prognosis is good for Cape Breton

Instead of smog and bubbling goo, Mitali Banerjee found natural beauty and fresh air in Cape Breton

Section: Front

By Erin Pottie,
When Mitali Banerjee first tried to envision Cape Breton, she pictured a smoggy coastline and black muck bubbling from the ground.

But the 28-year-old medical student from Texas, who is here as part of an international research placement, was pleasantly surprised when she discovered the island's natural beauty and fresh, sea-swept air.

The fourth-year student, who hopes to become a doctor in May, attends the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. She picked Cape Breton as her international elective because of its notorious tar ponds, devastating pollution and high cancer rates.

I read an article ... that this was the most polluted area in North America, so I expected to come and see smog clinging to the coast, said Banerjee, who is nearing the end of a four-week placement at the Cape Breton Cancer Centre. By and large the place is quite pristine and clean and I think people are very easygoing and friendly.

I just expected it to be a desolate, weak place but it's been very uplifting to see how warm people are, how friendly people are and how excellent the doctors are.

Banerjee has been working with Dr. Ron MacCormick, an oncologist with the Cape Breton District Health Authority and medical director of the Cape Breton Cancer Centre.

Like MacCormick, Banerjee says the current high cancer statistics don't do justice to the hard work that's been done locally because of the lag time between cancer and its causes. She also expects those cancer rates will soon fall.

Some people make their living out west in other provinces. When they're a little bit older, they come back home to Cape Breton because they feel tied to this place. I just wonder if we're seeing people ... sort of coming home to die, Banerjee said.

Banerjee decide to study medicine after her mother battled breast cancer. Diagnosed in a later stage of the disease, her mother underwent 11 operations and a mastectomy at coast of $11,000 for each procedure.

Banerjee says Cape Bretoners have a lot to be thankful for.

I think the most remarkable thing is what excellent care people in Cape Breton receive. They're getting the latest treatments expensive treatments and somehow the system just absorbs the costs. That really removes a lot of the anxiety.

While the island failed to live up to its unsavoury reputation, Banerjee doesn't regret her placement.

I don't regret it at all. I've learned a lot in terms of medicine and also in terms of the people and the culture and the life here.

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Cape Breton Post

AG Research expands market reach across the Caribbean

Section: Business

AG Research Inc., a local software development and technical support company that specializes in government and large business applications, has announced a partnership deal with Illuminat of Trinidad.

"This partnership is an exciting opportunity for both companies and we expect rapid growth as a result," said Irving Schwartz, co-owner, AG Research. "We are excited to grow our products and services beyond our current areas of operation in Canada, the United Kingdom and Bermuda - Trinidad and the Caribbean offer great potential."

AG Research is already active in the Caribbean. Together with Illuminat, the company is working on opportunities across the Caribbean to supply computer programs that assist governments with property tax solutions, environmental planning, property and asset management and information and communications.

"I commend AG Research for securing this partnership to increase opportunities for international trade," said Economic Development Minister Angus MacIsaac. "This partnership will allow the company to further pursue important projects in the Caribbean and expand the reach of Nova Scotia's exports."

Fenwick Reid of Illuminat visited Nova Scotia in March to work with AG Research on a strategic plan highlighting a number of opportunities emerging in Trinidad and the eastern Caribbean. Reid also met with provincial ministers and officials, and local businesses, to discuss trade opportunities between Nova Scotia and the Caribbean.

AG Research was founded in Sydney in 1991, and the company now employs about 40 people and has international offices in the United Kingdom and Bermuda.

Kevin McCormack, AG Research vice-president of business development, said most of the company's employees are in Sydney, however a few are also stationed in the Strait area where they provide technical support for the Strait-Richmond School Board. AG Research started out as Atlantic Geomatics, specializing in global positioning systems mapping, said McCormack. It has since expanded its products into data hosting and technical support, as well as a wider range of software applications, often including GPS technology the company developed earlier.

"We often take that technology and put it into other applications for interactivity," he said.

For example, under the partnership deal with Illuminat, it is expected that Caribbean governments will soon use AG Research programs that help map out new land developments and keep track of rent and repairs in government-owned buildings.

Career Expo 2008 a hit with employers and jobseekers

Section: Business

By Doug MacKenzie, Cape Breton Post
It was the ultimate job fair for people who don't want to leave home.

More than 30 local businesses, including Atlantic Superstore, Cape Breton Post, Freedom 55 Financial and Louisbourg Seafoods, gathered at the Sydney Marine Terminal Wednesday for Career Expo 2008, which was organized by the Sydney and Area Chamber of Commerce.

"A lot of people just aren't aware of the opportunities that exist," said Mike MacSween, executive director of the chamber of commerce. "There are a lot of private employers here today looking for employees and some have had some challenges in connecting with employees, so our goal is to try and connect those employers with prospective employees."

Local employers like Bruce Meloney of Smart Shop Place were pleased to see a strong turnout of candidates and believe events like this are vital to building a strong workforce for the future.

"It's the first time I've been involved in one of these and that's a great sign because there are job opportunities out there," said Meloney. "We know that down the road there is going to be a lot more opportunities coming up and we have to start thinking different because there is going to be less people to fill those jobs and we have to get creative.

"As an employer, I'm going to have to get creative in what jobs I have, what the hours are, what I pay, because it's getting different and it's getting harder to find good employees."

One of the busiest booths at the expo belonged to EDS, which operates a call centre in Sydney.

"We're very pleased with the turnout we've had so far," said Lisa Hardy, a recruiter with EDS. "It's really important (being part of the expo) because we have a number of opportunities that we are currently recruiting for. We want to get the word out there that we are still hiring."

Another busy spot was one which may not spring to most people's minds, but the Canadian Armed Forces booth attracted a lot of attention.

"A lot of people don't realize that the Reserves here in Sydney employ up to 500 to 600 people part time and 70 full-time people in Sydney," said Master Warrant Officer John Eagles, regional recruiter for the Sydney garrison. "The Reserves have a lot to offer the community and we have both full-time and part-time jobs.

"(The expo) gives us a chance to get out to talk to the community and to explain that the Reserves and the regular Forces is a way of life."

The employers weren't the only ones pleased with the expo, as many of the potential employees were pleased to see the options available to them whether they were searching for a summer job or a full-time position.

"It's been good and there are a few things that interest me," said 18-year-old Alyssa Clark. "I've been looking for a summer job, so I thought this would be the best place to start."

"I was surprised there were so many options," added 20-year-old Christina Googoo. "We have a lot of work available here."

With good reports, MacSween hoped to see the expo become a yearly event and said it was important to highlight what the local job market has to offer.

"We're very pleased to be able to provide this type of service and we would like to make this an annual event," said MacSween.

"We see this as showcasing that we're on the move here in Cape Breton. Good things are happening, there are employers in this community hiring people and there are opportunities for young people to stay here at home, or to move home and make a life for themselves."

The rundown of the expo is that there were 1,000 positions available asap from participating employers, including every area ranging from customer service and call centre, to fishing and investment, to scientific fields including engineers and engineering technologists.
I would also like to note that I was very disappointed with the way Jim Nunn handled the interview about this on the CBC news.
I'll be making a post about the updated employment situation/trends in the region after I finish catching up on these updates.

CBU offering more than $1M in scholarships

Section: Cape Breton

By Nancy King, Cape Breton Post
For the first time in its history, Cape Breton University has sent out more than $1 million in scholarship offers to potential students.

The university has offered about 100 renewable scholarships - three times the number it was able to offer last spring. The total value of all scholarship offers is $1.15 million.

The reason for the substantial increase is the success of the Future First campaign CBU launched in 2005 to double its endowment, noted Keith Brown, the university's vice-president in charge of development. That campaign actually exceeded its target by almost $1 million, leaving CBU with an endowment of more than $15 million, less than a year after the effort was launched.

"It's been dramatic," Brown said. "You're now seeing us having the ability to take the income from the endowment and turn it straight into new scholarships . . . This is the first time we've been able to have this amount, at this quantity and at this level."

Previously, CBU would offer more one-time entrance awards.

"It wasn't really for the life of your degree," Brown said. "Before the Future First campaign, we were financially unable to make any large number of substantial offers - no matter how good the student was, we just didn't have any depth in our endowment."

That would leave the university unable to make competitive offers to many of the top students from Cape Breton Island, he added. That's now changed, Brown said, noting the new scholarships are of varying amounts, up to chancellor awards valued at $24,000 annually.

"You will have Cape Breton students look at what's the total cost of university for them, if they stay at home or if they don't stay at home, which of course is a big part of the overall cost of university," Brown said.

Because about three-quarters of CBU students come from communities across the island, most of the offers are going to Cape Breton students, although about 10-15 per cent of the offers have gone to other applicants.

"You would expect, perhaps, that about 75 per cent of the offers would go to Cape Bretoners but the number is higher because we are attracting larger portions of students with the highest averages from Cape Breton Island.

The final acceptance decisions from students are coming back this week, with the takeup by students so far being "exceptionally strong," and Brown, noting the students with the strongest academic performance in the Cape Breton high schools are accepting the offers in large numbers.

Improving the scholarship offerings is an important tool in CBU's recruitment and retention strategy at a time when it and all other universities in the province are grappling with the effects of declining school enrolment.

Recently, CBU president John Harker warned faculty and staff will see job cuts over the next couple of years due to a sharp drop in local students and declining provincial funding. Early retirement incentives will also be offered.

"It doesn't remove the fact that there are severe enrolment declines in every school board in Nova Scotia, that's a reality, which also means competition for the smaller numbers of students is getting more competitive," Brown said.

Grand River residents appear reassured about proposed hydro/wind energy project

Section: Cape Breton

By Chris Hayes, Cape Breton Post
Local residents appeared to leave an open house in Grand River feeling reassured about a Cape Breton company's plans to develop a hydro/wind turbine energy project.

Fire Chief Stewart MacKay said that was his impression after joining about 40 to 50 people at the open house held by Cape Breton Explorations Ltd. at the local fire hall Tuesday evening.

"There were lots of people there, lots of questions and most of the people I have spoken to came away with a positive feeling on the project," he said Wednesday.

MacKay, who works as a wildlife technician and is a sports fisherman, said many of the questions were about any effects the project could have on the fish habitat of Grand River.

"The government is there to regulate all this stuff," he said. "It is going to be looked after. There is going to be nothing done up there until all the i's are dotted and the t's are crossed."

Stewart said he still plans to keep a close eye on the proposed project.

The plan by Cape Breton Explorations Ltd. would feed wind-generated power from 44 wind turbines located near Lake Uist directly into the electrical power grid during the day when demand is high. Then in the off hours at night, the wind turbines would supply power to pump water from Lake Uist through a buried penstock to a reservoir some three kilometres away and more than 100 metres higher.

The pumped water would later flow back down the penstock to drive turbines producing more electricity before dispersing into the lower lake from whence it came.

Concerns have been raised about the affects of the hydro part of the project on the fish habitat of the lakes and river.

Luciano Lisi, the chief financial officer for Cape Breton Exploration Ltd. and founder of the project, said in addition to open houses that have already been held in Loch Lomond and Grand River, sessions will be held at Big Pond and at Eskasoni for First Nations communities.

The company will hold further rounds of open houses returning to update the communities on its research and progress on the project, he said.

Lisi said he has been assuring people the project wouldn't get government approval without satisfying concerns about the environment.

Gail Johnson, who represents the area on Richmond County council, agreed area residents at the open house were positive about the process being followed by the company.

Local residents realize this is a preliminary stage for the project and there will be environmental assessments, she said.

CBRM lawsuit tossed out

Mayor John Morgan says he'll look at an appeal of Nova Scotia Supreme Court decision

Section: Front

By Chris Shannon, Cape Breton Post
A Nova Scotia Supreme Court justice tossed out the Cape Breton Regional Municipality's legal case against the province Wednesday, which accused the provincial government of chronically underfunding the municipality by millions of dollars through a complex equalization formula.

A defiant John Morgan, who led the municipal charge resulting in the hire of a Toronto-based constitutional law firm to examine the issue of inequity in the equalization formula, said he'll look at an appeal of Justice John Murphy's decision.

The CBRM mayor said that'll only happen, however, with council's approval and that's far from a certainty.

"You are dealing with tens of millions of dollars of additional expenses that are going to impact the region if the appeal for fairness, the effort to get compliance with Section 36 (of the Constitution), is abandoned," Morgan told the Cape Breton Post.

"The costs of abandoning the legal action is absolutely monumental and that is a cost that is going to be borne by the taxpayers."

Municipal staff began preparing a notice of appeal only hours after finding out about Murphy's decision. It must be filed with the court within 30 days.

Council cannot afford to sit on its heels and do nothing, said Morgan, adding there is currently no 'Plan B' to cure the CBRM's economic woes.

Both sides in the sometimes acrimonious dispute received notification late Wednesday afternoon of Murphy's written decision. He had heard the case during a one-day hearing on Nov. 28 in Halifax.

While media outlets weren't informed of the decision until today, the Cape Breton Post was first to report the news of the lawsuit dismissal on its website, Wednesday afternoon.

CBRM council voted narrowly in favour of seeking expert advice from constitutional lawyer Neil Finkelstein to examine its options in November 2003. A year later seven new councillors were elected in the municipal elections and then council started to debate whether the lawsuit was the right way to go. Several councillors favoured negotiations with the province instead.

Deputy Mayor Richard Fogarty is one of the councillor who's glad the legal action was dismissed Wednesday.

He doesn't believe the mayor can muster enough support to continue the battle with the province.

"I don't think council is going to back (Morgan) up even if it's an election year. I hope to God they don't," said Fogarty, who noted he would be in favour of face-to-face negotiations with Premier Rodney MacDonald to resolve the equalization issue.

Fogarty estimated the municipality has spent in the area of $600,000 in legal fees since 2004.

Justice Minister Cecil Clarke called the provincial-municipal dispute a "differing of opinion" but said times have changed since 2003 when a lawsuit was first suggested by the CBRM.

"What precipitated this action in the first place, I think times have changed and we're in a different era right now and it's one of optimism and one that speaks to growth," Clarke said.

"There are things that have a direct net benefit to municipal interests such as our efforts to move forward . . . on the Donkin mine, overall government support for advancing the Atlantic Gateway and the Port of Sydney."

However, in its argument before the court, the CBRM used statistics including a working age population that's dropped by 6,000 people from 1995 to 2005. And in that time, the unemployment rate dropped by four per cent however the number of those employed only rose by 1.3 per cent.

The CBRM's financial situation is also more serious as borrowing for the capital budget in March reached $20.2 million, resulting in an overall debt of $105 million.

Following debate on the $121-million operating budget, Morgan argued the only way to tackle the debt is to wait out the results of the lawsuit.

"It is really the only path for the region to survive," he said.

The mayor said looking at the fiscal horizon there are many financial obstacles awaiting a decision by council and he said they can't be ignored.

"Where does the $20 million (capital funding) from the last budget, where does the $40 million for the landfill closure and the $400 million for sewage treatment, where does that funding come from?

"I think if you get to the heart of what my opponents say, it comes out of their pockets and it would be a very dark day, I think, for the region if the municipal council ultimately doesn't continue to pursue the appeal."

I've read through the court decision. The reasons it was thrown out were:
1) the judge found section 36(1) of the constitution to contain non-legally binding language, meaning that the "committment" to fairness was moreso something to strive for rather than a legally binding committment.
2) there was no reasonable outcome sought for by the CBRM. The CBRM was only looking for a declaration of wrongdoing, where a settlement would be later negotiated out of court. This would have left the door wide open for continuing legal action anytime any municipality disagreed with the provincial government over delivery of services.

Through reading it, I got the impression that if the CBRM was seeking the court to impose a settlement, such as the difference between the municipality's entitlement and what had been actually given to it by the province, retroactive to the passing of the equilization legislation, that this may have been allowed to go to trial.
Outside of that, I was surprised that there was no mention of NSPI property tax revenue disparity. I quoted from a report by two PhD carrying MUN professors (with no personal interest in Cape Breton or CBRM) in an earlier post:
the Nova Scotia government collects over $9M in property tax annually from NSPI properties within CBRM, and gives CBRM less than $2M of this tax revenue taken from within CBRM boundaries.
(I paraphrased it this time) I would think legal action on this aspect would be even more binding than a lawsuit seeking real damages based on S.36(1) rather than just a "declaration of wrongdoing".
I support the lawsuit in principal, but I think the only chance CBRM will actually get what is being shortchanged is by seeking a real, court imposed settlement. Despite the province's rhetoric, attempts to negotiate with the province have proven to be a waste of time.

[/rant]

[Smevo]

Cape Breton Post

Morgan says 'monumental taxation increase' is critics' alternative to equalization case; council slated to discuss possible appeal

Is it tax hike or lawsuit?

Section: Front

By Chris Shannon, Cape Breton Post
The Cape Breton Regional Municipality couldn't convince the Nova Scotia Supreme Court its argument for a larger chunk of the provincial equalization pie belongs in the courts, as presiding Justice John Murphy sided with the province in calling it a claim that's "absolutely unsustainable."

Even though Murphy acknowledged in his 32-page ruling Wednesday that Canadian courts should interpret the Constitution in a "large, liberal and generous rather than legalistic manner, and that courts must be prepared to hear and rule upon novel claims," he continued by saying a novel claim such as the one presented by the CBRM "does not raise a justiciable issue, and a pleading which does not disclose a reasonable cause of action should be struck out."

The municipality has used the legal argument that the provincial government has violated Section 36 of the Constitution, which ensures the complex federal equalization formula is applied fairly to all municipalities and that they receive reasonably comparable levels of public services.

CBRM Mayor John Morgan had hoped a legal victory could lead to a reworking of the equalization formula that has, up to this point, resulted in a loss of approximately $20 million a year to the municipality dating back to municipal amalgamation in 1995, according to CBRM staff.

Cabot Trail will soon be smoother, safer ride

Section: Northside/Victoria

Column: Briefly

Regular users of the Cabot Trail will soon enjoy a smoother, safer drive, according to Keith Bain, MLA for Victoria-The Lakes.

This is year one of a five-year plan that will see 33 kilometres of the Cabot Trail upgraded and widened from the foot of Cape Smokey to where Trunk 19 and Route 312 intersect.

"This road has been a concern to local residents and the tourism industry for some time," Bain said. "I am very pleased to see this commitment to the people of northern Victoria County and to the Cape Breton tourist industry.

"This is the first component of more infrastructure investment in Victoria County by the (Rodney) MacDonald government. The effect on the ability for residents and tourists to travel safely on this road together is key," Bain said.

33 km in 5 years? How long did it take you to repave the roads in southern Inverness county, Rodney?

[Smevo]

Cape Breton Post

Dismissal of CBRM lawsuit no surprise to local business spokesperson

Section: Business

By Chris Shannon, Cape Breton Post
The dismissal of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality's lawsuit against the provincial government Wednesday didn't come as a surprise to the Sydney and Area Chamber of Commerce, says its executive director.

Mike MacSween said Friday municipal politicians and business leaders need to focus on investment and development, not legal action.

"Recognizing, I suppose, that the lawsuit is perhaps part of the mayor's plans for the growth of this community, we really feel that what needs to be looked at is ways to develop business in this community that's going to grow our property tax base and that is, in fact, one of the keys to solving the municipality's financial situation," MacSween said.

In his written decision, Supreme Court justice John Murphy threw the legal action out of court based partly on the province's assessment that the CBRM is trying to address public policy in the courts.

Murphy said declaring a breach of Section 36 of the Constitution, where the CBRM argued that all municipalities must receive reasonably comparable levels of public services through the complex federal equalization formula, could leave the door open to future legal actions against the province based on unpopular decisions set out by government.

"Declaring a breach, without addressing remedy, could be inconclusive, and might result in continuing court involvement in allocation of funds for municipal equalization and economic development," he wrote.

Council will meet with its legal representatives on May 23 to discuss a potential appeal of the court's decision. An appeal can only be launched with the approval of council.

So far, since the legal action began in December 2003 it has cost taxpayers nearly $290,000, CBRM chief administrative officer Jerry Ryan stated Friday. Earlier this week some councillors had estimated the cost at about $600,000.

Businesses in the CBRM reacted negatively toward the legal action when it was first launched and now that it's been tossed out of court, Cape Breton Partnership chair Bert Lewis said this presents an opportunity for the business community to work with municipal officials on an economic strategy.

"Whether it be business interests or community interests, they have a stake in this and I would hope that there would be a wide consultation and an offer to accept representation from all of those groups that have a vested interest before moving ahead with whatever the next step would be," Lewis said.

MacSween said the CBRM can't depend on government money alone to lift itself out of a debt that's now climbed to $105 million.

"You know what, maybe we are entitled to some more (government) dollars, but we can't build our future on that entirely."

"Declaring a breach, without addressing remedy, could be inconclusive, and might result in continuing court involvement in allocation of funds for municipal equalization and economic development,"
- Like I said, we need to be seeking a real settlement, not just a declaration.

"MacSween said the CBRM can't depend on government money alone to lift itself out of a debt that's now climbed to $105 million."
- The CBRM was claiming a dicrepancy between entitlement and actual funding since 1985. If we won a retroactive decision to 1985, of what Morgan is saying amounts to $20M/yr, that would be $460M, enough to wipe out our debt, cap the landfill, and build a good chunk of the wastewater treatment infrastructure that's being legislated from the federal government. While the real figure is probably different from $460M, it would most likely, if true, be enough to wipe out the municipality's debt of $105M completely, with enough left for some infrastructure upgrades.

"You know what, maybe we are entitled to some more (government) dollars, but we can't build our future on that entirely."
- This statement I agree with. We can't build our future dependent on the lawsuit, and need to be doing things now, but that doesn't mean we should drop the lawsuit altogether.

"So far, since the legal action began in December 2003 it has cost taxpayers nearly $290,000, CBRM chief administrative officer Jerry Ryan stated Friday."
- In other words, it's cost each person in CBRM a whopping $0.65/year to pursue this lawsuit. That's $2.75 for each person in the CBRM over the course of the lawsuit. We could've dropped it and bought a coffee at the Bean Bank! (A local coffee shop on Charlotte St for those not from the area, it's like Second Cup or Starbucks...only better).

Earlier this week some councillors had estimated the cost at about $600,000.
- These would be the councillors who don't agree with the lawsuit and are planning to use it in their upcoming election campaigns.

[/editorial rant]

CBRM down at first hurdle

Section: Business

Regional councillors polled Thursday by the Cape Breton Post were mostly non-committal on whether they'd support Mayor John Morgan's call to carry on the constitutional case against the Nova Scotia government for a better financial deal. The controversial challenge, in process for more than four years and in court hands for nearly two, fell at the first hurdle this week when Nova Scotia Supreme Court Justice John D. Murphy ruled the Cape Breton Regional Municipality has no case.

The wariness among councillors is understandable six months before municipal elections in which the mayoral race may again come down to a virtual referendum on Morgan's legal-based strategy for dealing with the province. In 2004 he won 80 per cent of the vote: will voters abandon him and his project now because of the court result? Councillors aren't sure of the answer either.

The ruling is a serious blow, however. As Morgan notes, CBRM did win some points, but it lost its key argument that Section 36 of the Constitution is amenable to adjudication by a court in these circumstances. "No justiciable constitutional issue is raised," Murphy found, "and CBRM's pleadings do not disclose a reasonable cause of action." Section 36, among other things, enshrines the principle of federal equalization and speaks of "furthering economic development to reduce disparity in opportunities." CBRM was asking for a declaration that the province is failing to meet its commitments under this section.

In deciding to strike down the proceeding at this preliminary stage the judge had to be satisfied that there would be, in the words of a cited decision, "no chance" of CBRM's case succeeding if allowed to go forward. The province, Murphy found, had "established that it is plain and obvious the claim is absolutely unsustainable." The strong wording echoes case law, as it must in anticipation of appeal, but nevertheless the judge did write those words and councillors will have to consider his opinion very seriously as an admonition not to proceed further.

In a CBC radio interview Thursday, the mayor, a lawyer, came close to impugning the independence and integrity of Nova Scotia's judiciary by commenting that most judges get where they are because of political ties. Morgan said CBRM saw this as a challenge from the outset and would get away from that only when "we move to justices outside of Nova Scotia" who are not "part of the political structures that are endemic" to this province. This idea that CBRM's chances will improve as it climbs the judicial ladder ("outside of Nova Scotia" must mean the Supreme Court of Canada) may be dismissed as wishful thinking on Morgan's part, except that the pattern is not unknown in cases where new legal ground is eventually broken.

Recall that Donald Marshall's conviction at trial for illegal eel fishing was upheld on appeal in this province only to be overturned in a landmark ruling by the country's high court in 1999, establishing the treaty basis for the creation of commercial Mi'kmaq fisheries. An ultimate CBRM victory could set even bigger precedent, though that outcome is looking a lot less plausible.

Aside from the legal merits of the case, however, there is the politics. For generations, Cape Breton politicians have fed on the politics of grievance, exploiting and stoking perceptions that the region was being short-changed and neglected by powers-that-be on the mainland, based in Halifax. It never really mattered how true this was so long as it was believed. Morgan took command of this agenda by putting forth what the public, so far at least, seems to have accepted as a concrete plan of action, Quixotic though it may be, to right historic wrongs.

Now every other politician in the region is confronted by his challenge: So if the legal strategy is the wrong one, what's yours? Playing down the gravity of CBRM's financial difficulties or the region's social and economic needs is an untenable answer politically against both the perception of grievance and the reality of serious problems. The only alternative offered is along the lines of "Let's negotiate with the province" - except no one has managed to make that sound convincing. It doesn't help in this regard that Premier Rodney MacDonald, even in his reaction this week to the Murphy decision, maintains that the provincial government is "fair to all parts of the province, including Cape Breton, the CBRM." Justice Minister Cecil Clarke (Cape Breton North) suggests the region is in better shape, more optimistic, than it was when the legal strategy was hatched four years ago. What is there to negotiate when in the province's view there is nothing to fix? Provincial politicians may believe this, may even be right, but it leaves no foothold for anyone in the region trying to articulate an alternative to Morgan's approach.

Regardless of what happens with the legal case, the challenge remains open for any credible leader to come forward on the municipal scene with a substantive, elaborated idea for how else to move forward.

"It doesn't help in this regard that Premier Rodney MacDonald, even in his reaction this week to the Murphy decision, maintains that the provincial government is 'fair to all parts of the province, including Cape Breton, the CBRM.'"
- The list of spending/capita found in the report by the PhD's from MUN
Bridgewater - $3,035
Kentville - $3,286
New Glasgow - $2,226
Port Hawkesbury - $2,885
Truro - $2,779
CBRM - $1,937
HRM - $3,091
Average - $2,466
See it yourself here!(pg 10)
As long as "all parts of the province" means "within an hour of Halifax plus Southern Inverness County", Rodney's telling the truth.
Also keep in mind that to reach the $1,937/capita spending, our residential tax rate is 11% above the provincial average, and our commercial tax rate is 21% above the provincial average. (pg 11)
Even the $7M+/year we should be getting from NSPI property taxes would bring us up to $2,003/capita.(pg 12 has the NSPI situation)

More info in links in post#197 in this thread!

New addition made to ferry service

Section: Northside/Victoria

By Julie Collins,
Marine Atlantic is expected to take delivery of a new fast ferry for the service between Newfoundland and Nova Scotia by late fall.

Federal officials made the announcement Friday at the terminal in Port aux Basques, N.L.

Ottawa will contribute $101 million to the purchase over the next five years. It could take a few months to finalize some minor details of the charter.

The vessel is one of the largest vessels ever to enter Port aux Basques and is being fitted with high-powered bow and stern thrusters to manoeuvre inside the harbour in very high winds.

The ship (to be named by a contest which will be open to all schools in Newfoundland & Labrador and Cape Breton) should arrive in approximately six months.

"Our chairman Rob Crosbie and board appreciate federal Fisheries Minister Loyola Hearn and Transportation, Infrastructure and Communities Minister Lawrence Cannon for their dedication to the cause," said board member Walter Pelley.

Also on hand for the announcement was Cape Breton Regional Municipality Deputy Mayor Richard Fogerty and Port aux Basques Mayor Brian Button.

"The announcement is truly a blessing and reaffirms the commitment that the federal government has to providing the constitutionally guaranteed economic lifeline to the island of Newfoundland and Labrador," said Pelley. "It ensures we have a quality ferry service."

Pelley added that the new ferry should ensure the capacity required to meet the total traffic demand and meet customer service expectations of on-time departure and arrival.

In comparison to the MV Caribou with a capacity of 350 cars, the new ferry has in excess of 50 per cent more vehicle capacity than the Caribou or the MV Joseph and Clara Smallwood. It is capable of carrying approximately 551 cars or a mix of cars and commercial vehicles. There are 196 passenger cabins, compared to 50 on the Caribou.

The vessel also features a dedicated truckers lounge, restaurants, gift shops and a children's playground.

[Smevo]

I already posted a CB Post story earlier that mentioned the progress we made since 2001, but here's a longer period and I've included real numbers for growth/loss of the labour force, employed, and unemployed characteristics.

The only reason I include HRM is because Cape Bretoners (and most Nova Scotians) have an irresistable massochistic urge to compare their region with Halifax, so I do it for the lurkers rather than to prove any kind of point.

**The population figures for 2006 were not given by statscan, so they were calculated by myself using info from the 2006 community profiles, giving numbers that differ slightly from the actual numbers. This affects all three "regions" being compared! All other numbers directly from statscan tables.

Red numbers in the tables are movement in a direction negative to economic growth (though in the case of NS and HRM, the movement is marginal, and therefore negligible).

CBRM

Between 2001-2006, CBRM:
grew its labour force by 2,070 people (4.64%)
grew its employed labour force by 3,295 people (9.20%)
shrunk its unemployed labour force by 1,225 people (-13.98%)
was the first intercensal period (since 1991) to have all economic indicators move in a positive direction!
Population growth is not comparable to other intercensal periods due to differing sources!
(Anybody who claims this isn't a turnaround...is an idiot).

NS

Between 2001-2006:
Labour force growth of 5.48%
Employed persons growth of 7.53%
Unemployed persons dropped by 11.32%
Population growth is not comparable to other intercensal periods due to differing sources!

HRM

Between 2001-2006:
Labour force growth of 8.31%
Employed persons growth of 9.36%
Unemployed persons dropped by 5.14%
Population growth is not comparable to other intercensal periods due to differing sources!

And it's continuing to improve...
Labour force characteristics for the Economic Regions, March 2008 compared to March 2007 (unadjusted).


In the past year, Cape Breton Economic Region (the entire island) experienced:
Labour force growth of 1,700 (2.72%)
Employed persons growth of 2,200 (4.21%)
Unemployed persons decline of 500 (-4.95%)

Outpaced NS and HRM for Labour Force growth in total growth, percentage growth, and participation rate growth.
Outpaced NS and HRM for Employed persons growth in total growth, percentage growth, and employment rate growth.
Outpaced NS and HRM for Unemployed persons decline in total decline, percentage decline, and unemployment rate decline.

These numbers are not comparable to the Census numbers because they are unadjusted and are for the Economic Regions rather than the CA/CMA.

Again, this is not to prove anything negative happening elsewhere, only to prove the positive happening here.

We've got a long way to go, but we're moving in the right direction.

"Turnaround" - a movement in a direction opposite that which occured previously.

Looks like we satisfy that criteria pretty well.

[Smevo]

Here's a video of the Vogue demolition (actually happened April 4th).

Because this was recorded by a strong supporter of trying to save the Vogue, you get the predictable shots of the modified "Shame On Us" marquee.
• Video Link
JennB1981

And a bonus one of Marc-Andre Fleury's jersey retirement at an Eagle's home game (C200), January 25, 2008
• Video Link
jonpatterson

[Smevo]

Cape Breton Post

Slow news day today

Revised multicultural council promising to be heavily involved in community

Section: Our community

By Doug MacKenzie,
The Multicultural Council of Cape Breton is back up and running after a few years absence.

"There used to be a council here, but for about the last three or four years, it has, basically, been done," said president John Danch. "We're brand new and hopefully we'll keep growing. There are about a dozen involved right now and they are very dedicated people.

The majority of the people involved to date come from the Whitney Pier area of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality, with people from a variety of cultures such as Polish and Ukrainian.

"To me it's exciting because you're getting a very core of people and there are a lot of others," said Danch. "There are a lot of people who are heavily involved in volunteering and in the community (in Whitney Pier)."

While the group is still relatively new, Danch said they are already looking at a few different ideas on how to become involved in the community, such as a festival and a quarterly newsletter.

Danch hopes a festival would be held later this year and said one of the ideas which had come up at their meetings was to spread the festival to a variety of sites, rather then having it staged in one place.

"We could have the Ukrainian group in their place and so forth and then people could circulate," said Danch. "You could have guided tours in the Ukrainian church and the significance of it and its history. You could be doing this with all the different cultures and organizations. I think in a lot of ways it would be better for the people. More incentive to go out."

The newsletter remains a work in progress at this point in time as the group looks at possible prototypes. Danch said they were partnering with the Whitney Pier Society of the Arts on the newsletter and they hope to have it going within a couple of months.

"It will help let people know we're out there," said Danch. "We're looking at each issue featuring a specific group, but a newsletter can be a lot of things. If you focus on different aspects of a certain culture, there are things you can get into further, interesting little bits and pieces."

The Multicultural Council of Cape Breton meets on the first Thursday of every month at the Cape Breton Business College in Whitney Pier and Danch said "anybody and everybody" is invited to come out and be part of the group.

Since it's a slow news day, I'll edit in some MLS sales stuff. Unfortunately, the only month I can compare year-over-year with for CBRM is January because of an article I posted on pg 2 (post #23).

Month...................Residential Units...................MLS Average Residential Price
Sep 07......................84..........................................$94,873
Oct 07......................86..........................................$94,776
Nov 07......................78..........................................$98,616
Dec 07......................44.........................................$103,866
Jan 08.......................37.........................................$114,314
Feb 08......................60..........................................$92,298
Mar 08......................45..........................................$84,208

January 08 compares to previous years this way:
- 12% decline in number of units from Jan 2007 (42 units). Units sold provincially declined 11%. Halifax-Dartmouth sales declined 7% in value, with no info easily availabe (for me) on how number of units compared.
- 76% more units sold than Jan 2006 (21 units)
- Average residential price increased ~28% over Jan 2007 ($114,000 vs $89,000 Jan 07). Average residential price was up 8% provincially, and up 11% in Halifax-Dartmouth.

All my info came from NSAR website, with # of units being estimated by myself using Residential MLS/Average MLS Price.

Won't have any other year-over-year comparisons until the September sales come out, unless another article is run in the CB Post before then. Until then, I'll just have to post housing starts and absorption rates.

[Smevo]

Cape Breton Post

Council will debate possible plebiscite on court appeal

Section: Cape Breton

By Chris Shannon,
When council sits down to discuss its failed legal action against the province in late May, councillors won't only be debating on whether it should be appealed or not, but also the prospect of having residents in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality decide its fate in a plebiscite.

Following the Nova Scotia Supreme Court ruling last week that called the CBRM's legal action "absolutely unsustainable," in which the municipality argued for a reworking of the federal equalization formula, Coun. Vince Hall suggested voters should have a direct say in pursuing any further action.

He said it would be possible to hold a plebiscite in conjunction with the municipal election Oct. 18.

A notice of appeal, which must be filed within 30 days of the decision, is in the works by municipal staff. A special meeting of council to discuss a potential appeal has been scheduled for May 23 with constitutional lawyer Neil Finkelstein.

Other councillors are jumping on board the idea of holding a plebiscite and Mayor John Morgan is also in favour of a CBRM-wide vote.

"It wasn't a surprise on what was ruled from the courts," said Coun. Jim MacLeod. "I would like to see it go to the federal courts, to the Supreme Court of Canada, and let the people of the CBRM have the opportunity to say yes or no."

Coun. Lee McNeil has been gauging the reaction of constituents in her district since the court ruling came down last Tuesday. From those who've e-mailed and called McNeil, she believes residents in her area are split down the middle on whether the legal action should continue.

"This is a big decision and the people should be making this big decision," she said.

Cape Breton University political scientist Tom Urbaniak said a plebiscite would open up dialogue and a greater understanding of the issue, but it also lends itself to the danger of a "us versus them" mentality.

"The issue is, in fact, much more complex and nuanced," Urbaniak said. "The CBRM is not actually suing for a specific sum of money. The CBRM is, in effect, asking the courts to order negotiations between the CBRM and the province."

But some feel an appeal of the court's decision doesn't seem likely and Deputy Mayor Richard Fogarty is one of them.

Fogarty said municipal staff must find Justice John Murphy erred in law when he made his ruling, and he doesn't believe they'll be able to do that. He has already stated he's against an appeal of the decision.

"The question is: how can it go ahead? And that's what (Morgan) is not telling the people. He should know this better than anybody because he's a lawyer," he said emphatically. "So until they go through the (decision) with a fine-tooth comb and try to find out whether the judge made a mistake in law, what is the sense of us going through a plebiscite, or even entertain an appeal, because we're going to lose again."

No surprise in Fogarty's comments, especially with the election coming up.


Commentary from a Northsider on the lawsuit/economic plan situation.

Developing economic plan need not preclude legal action

Section: Comment

Column: Letters to the editor

Saturday's paper contained two articles relating to the Cape Breton Regional Municipality's legal case against the provincial government that I found quite interesting. Comments in the editorial, CBRM Down at the First Hurdle, about the case made very good sense.

Among other things, it seemed to imply that If our premier, Rodney MacDonald, insists we are being treated fairly now, and Cape Breton cabinet minister Cecil Clarke suggests conditions have improved lately, what sense or hope is there to negotiate, as some councillors are suggesting?

Without the legal case, we'll never have a definitive answer, and we are left only with the status quo. That doesn't seem acceptable.

The comments of Sydney and Area Chamber of Commerce executive director Mike MacSween and Cape Breton Partnership chair Bert Lewis seem puzzling and misleading (Dismissal of CBRM Lawsuit No Surprise to Local Business Spokesperson, April 26).

Although they suggest pursuing another avenue to relieve our financial problems, they seem to imply that investment and developing an economic strategy could not go ahead along with the lawsuit.

Surely it is not the amount of money the legal case is requiring that's frustrating the implementation of an economic strategy.

There may be a manpower shortage, but why can't the development of an economic plan and the lawsuit go on simultaneously?

Why does one preclude the other?

Nobody is saying that winning the lawsuit would alone solve our financial problems but if we are deserving of more equalization money - MacSween concludes his comments by admitting we might be - we should pursue it.

Leo Doyle

North Sydney

CBU officials should learn fate of BEd program this week

Section: Front

By Nancy King,
Cape Breton University officials will know the fate of its plans to offer its own bachelor of education program by the end of the week.

Education Department spokesperson Dan Harrison confirmed Monday that Minister Karen Casey will make public her decisions regarding the future of teacher education in the province in the latter part of the week, although it's not yet clear what day that may happen.

"She had talked it over with her cabinet colleagues last week and she's going to have some further discussions with university presidents and then is expected to make a public announcement at the end of the week," Harrison said.

In January, a three-person panel released teacher review recommendations for Nova Scotia. Among the recommendations were two which would directly affect CBU - the panel not only recommended that CBU's proposal to deliver its own program not be approved, but also that the minister request CBU discontinue its current BEd program delivery arrangement with Memorial University of Newfoundland.

In February, CBU president John Harker said what the review panel failed to notice was how the current program at CBU was already fulfilling many of their other recommendations. For example, he noted the program is delivered in 16 months rather than the traditional 24-month approach.

Since 2003, nearly 200 students have been admitted into a 16-month program provided by CBU, which offers 40 seats.

The current program offers instruction at the intermediate and secondary levels; if CBU gains its own program, the university would look at offering an elementary program and a stream for aboriginal students.

CBU is sending approximately $400,000 a year in tuition fees to Memorial.

In the reader comments to this, there's more than a few very stupid, for lack of a better word, comments from readers supposedly from Antigonish, including one that claims "if you want to go to a real university, come to the mainland." This is most likely jealousy given the history of CBU and St. F. X.

In brief, Xavier College in Sydney was a satellite campus of St. F. X. It then broke away, despite a lot of whining and crying from St. F. X., and became University College of Cape Breton (UCCB), which is now Cape Breton University (CBU). As the president stated, the CBU BEd program already uses the recommendations of the panel. This also probably annoys St. F. X. as they'd be the closest university to offer the program if the proposal was denied. Anyway, if you've seen the comments, that's the history behind them.


Baddeck development

Construction budget approved for Alderwood replacement

Section: Northside/Victoria

By Julie Collins,
Alderwood Rest Home is one of the first replacement homes to have its capital budget of $17 million for construction approved by the provincial Department of Health.

"Right now we are working on finalizing the location of the building on the property. From there we go to purchase of the property, hopefully within 10 days," said Alderwood administrator Arlene Morrison. "We are still here for a good two years, but this home will go on the market within the week."

The deadline for expressions of interest for the prequalification of civil contractors, general contractors and an on-site construction quality adviser is May 15.

Tender will go our for two contracts for construction of the new facility.

The site preparation contract, which will include clearing and grubbing, the extension of water and sewer services, construction of a new road, soil and erosion control and the construction of a building pad for turnover to the general contractor for building construction, will be tendered shortly and interested civil contractors must contact MHPM Project Managers out of Halifax.

The building contract will be tendered to follow the completion of the site preparation contract. General contractors interested in the construction of the new rest home must contact MHPM project managers. General contractors must pre-qualify in order to bid on the project.

The building contract will include all work necessary to construct a 65,000 square foot health-care facility on the prepared pad. The new nursing home facilities are expected to be ready for occupancy in March 2010.

"We are hoping to have a community meeting by the end of June," Morrison said. "The aim is to have the road started this summer."

The new nursing home facility will be situated on Shore Road (just past the Silver Dart Lodge) with a view of Baddeck harbour.

Alderwood Rest Home opened in 1971. It has 70 beds and approximately 120 staff. A building assessment was conducted in 2002 to determine the life cycle of the present building and at that time it was recommended the building be replaced.

The new home, which will be one storey, is about triple the size of the present rest home and will house 70 residents.

The building will have more common space, more private rooms and improved recreational facilities.

"The whole design focus is on resident-centred care. We have great staff and the care level is high. The new facility and equipment will complement that care."