Although, after 2004, the CBC famously put him on a seven-second delay.

If you didn't know that Sean's column has a name and that it's War & Peace, don't blame yourself, it's my fault. I haven't figured out how to add column names to my site's template yet. And yes, I realize I've had 2.5 years to do this.

Do any of you other GenXers out there remember the way Saturday afternoon sporting events (always either golf or curling in my memory) used to extend annoyingly into The Bugs Bunny Show?

All these years later, the phrase, “We now return you to your regularly scheduled program which is already in progress” still makes me grumpy.

Hasn't everyone secretly longed to launch a Ukrainian-made Cyclone 4M rocket into space from Canso? I'm waiting for them to find a way to incorporate it into Stanfest.

I guess we're not talking so much about OOE these days...

Did you know this vessel has a “godmother” and it's Sophia Loren?

Worth noting: the disembarkation are for passengers is an industry figure -- it comes from the Cruise Line International Association, CLIA, and is based on "average disembarkation in the Northeast."

The crew disembarkation rate, on the other hand, reflects information provided by Bar Harbor -- where passengers are brought to shore by tender -- and Portland -- where vessels dock.

I can't prove this, of course, because the minutes for the first of these in camera meetings won't be publicly accessible until 2024 (10 years after the meetings were held).

But council held a long series of in camera meetings and after the one on 3 February 2015 announced plans for a new port corporation with a high-paid CEO, I think it's safe to say these were topics of conversation during those in camera sessions.

I found the port development time line I created back in December 2018 very helpful.

Gogan tells council in 2017 that the article making the CAO the ex officio, non-voting chair of the board will be dropped and, in future, the chair will be elected by the board, as is the case with “more traditional” or “standard” boards.

What he doesn't say is why, in 2015, he chose this non-traditional, non-standard way of choosing a board chair.

During the meeting, Councilor MacMullin noted that they had in fact received the amended Articles of Association the preceding Friday, but the changes had not been marked.

cortisol: a glucocorticoid C21H30O5 produced by the adrenal cortex upon stimulation by ACTH that mediates various metabolic processes (such as gluconeogenesis), has anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive properties, and whose levels in the blood may become elevated in response to physical or psychological stress called also hydrocortisone

Source: Merriam-Webster

adrenaline: epinephrine

Note: Adrenaline is used in both technical and nontechnical contexts. It is commonly used in describing the physiological symptoms (such as increased heart rate and respiration) that occur as part of the body's fight-or-flight response to stress, as when someone is in a dangerous, frightening, or highly competitive situation, as well as the feelings of heightened energy, excitement, strength, and alertness associated with those symptoms. In figurative use, it suggests a drug that provides something with a jolt of useful energy and stimulation.

Source: Merriam-Webster

The reviews were so glowing, Marlowe has included them on the Sydney Call Centre website. Stories like this one from Canada Press which starts:

“His message to laid off Cape Breton call centre workers is straightforward.

“But the Iowa-based businessman’s words resonate like gospel in this hardscrabble region plunged into economic uncertainty earlier this month.

“Things are going to stay the same or get better,” says Anthony Marlowe, a self-made telecommunications mogul who himself started as a telemarketer at 18 and quickly rose through the ranks before breaking out on his own.”

As it turned out, Scahill didn't ask about the call center, he was more interested in Amazon and McDonald's.

TANGENT

Ultra-processed foods are so easy to eat, new research is suggesting they're the reason we suddenly all have crooked teeth and need braces. (Stick with me, this is interesting.)

There's a field of study known as "evolutionary medicine" or "Darwinian Medicine," which "applies the principles of evolutionary biology to problems in medicine and public health." It has a branch called "Darwinian Dentistry" which hypothesizes that our hunter-gatherer ancestors had much wider jaws than we do as a result of eating a lot of fibrous food that required a lot of chewing. We, who chew much less, have developed much narrower jaws but they're trying to accommodate the same number of teeth.

The video quality of this presentation on the subject is not great, but the discussion is interesting.

TANGENT:

When it was first invented, Coca-Cola was available only as a fountain drink. The famous glass contour bottles appeared in 1915 and held 6.5 ounces.

In 1955, Coke launched King Size (10- and 12-ounce) and Family Size (26-ounce) contour bottles, allowing consumers to bring their pop home.

Aluminum cans, which held 12 ounces, were introduced in 1960.

The PET contour bottle was introduced in 1993 and in October 2012, the last of the 6.5 ounce glass contours "rolled off the bottling line in Winona, Minnesota." As Britain's Daily Mail explained:

"Since 1915, the distinct conical bottle was a symbol of the company's soft drink dominance -- appearing prominently in Coca-Cola's advertising campaigns even in recent years.

"But, the returnable glass bottles have became obsolete -- too expensive to produce in the era of plastic and aluminum and far too small for the tastes of most modern Americans.

"For decades, 20oz plastic bottles -- more than three times of the size of the glass Coke bottles -- have been the staple of Coke's beverage lineup."

Milburn pointed me to Barbara Rolls of Penn State University who has done a lot of research into questions of food density and satiety and obesity. Here's a sample of what she has to say:

https://youtu.be/YfFGqerELdE

NOVA is the food classification system that categorizes foods according to the extent and purpose of food processing, rather than in terms of nutrients.

Fun fact: MacLeod had made a bid for this federal seat before. It was 2000 and the riding was called Bras d'Or Cape Breton and his party was called the Progressive Conservatives and he lost to Liberal Rodger Cuzner.

Additional fun fact: the incumbent in Bras d'Or Cape Breton in 2000 was Michelle Dockrill, then of the NDP. She also ran for the seat this year.

Yet another fun fact: Kenzie MacNeil, who ran as an Independent in Sydney-Victoria this year, ran for the Conservatives in Cape Breton-Canso in 2004 and 2006, also losing to Cuzner.

Final fun fact: Michelle Smith, the Spectator's gardening columnist, ran for the NDP in Cape Breton-Canso in 2015. She also lost to Cuzner.

I heard Justin Ling, the Toronto-based journalist originally from Cape Breton, explaining oil tanks and furnaces to a guest on his OPPO podcast like he was explaining the workings of a cotton gin. I felt like I should be living in the Highland Village, a relic of another time.

District 11 Councilor Kendra Coombes clarified that the recommendation was coming from the Mayor himself and asked if, perhaps, a member of staff could also speak to it.

CAO Marie Walsh said they would need to be sure there was an agreement between the Port and the helicopter operator to ensure we're “not subsidizing a private business” as though building the helipad were not subsidizing a private business.

I know very few phrases in Gaelic, but “God, help me” is one I learned early and use often.

Why would you ever locate a helipad on an “iconic piece of property?”

It is actually a “helipad” not a heliport, which Clarke himself had explained just moments before.

Also, transcription is not our mayor's friend.

The Report of Solid Waste Landfilled in Michigan noted here covers the period from 1 October 2016 to 30 September 2017 – Fiscal Year (FY) 2017.

The report measures waste disposal by volume -- in cubic yards – rather than by weight. A cubic yard is about the size of a stove – 3 feet wide by 3 feet high by 3 feet deep.

During FY2017, total waste disposal in Michigan landfills was reported at 50,604,692 cubic yards, an increase of 1,541,054 cubic yards – 3.1% -- over FY2106. The report notes:

“The largest source of waste imports to Michigan continues to be from Canada, with total reported imports to landfills of 10,572,922 cubic yards, up 1,688,964 cubic yards or about 19 percent from the FY 2016 report data. Canadian waste imports equal about 20.9 percent of all waste disposed in Michigan landfills.”

As the Detroit Free Press helpfully explained of the trash coming from Canada:

“That’s enough trash to fill 881,000, three-axle dump trucks. Those dump trucks, lined up bumper-to-bumper, would stretch from Florida’s Atlantic Coast to California’s Pacific Coast and back to the Gulf of Mexico in Texas.”

That trash, the paper noted, is not coming from the City of Toronto, which “continues to dispose of its trash outside of Michigan,” but it is coming from Toronto, via private haulers.

Out-of-state waste came from Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, New Jersey, Minnesota, Montana, Tennessee, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

1. Nuclear energy centers also claim that they produce minimal waste. This is true in volume, but certainly not true in level of toxicity. So I would want to know what this company means, exactly, by “minimal waste”. For instance, waste to energy facilities produce fly ash that is highly toxic and has to be dealt with as a very hazardous material;

2. I don’t know exactly what “ultra clean” chemicals and fuels means. I would want to know the details about this claim;

3. MSW [municipal solid waste], scrap waste and tire waste are already being recycled into other things (roads in some cases). The devil, as they say, is in the details. How do this company’s processes differ?

1. The fuels that this company will produce will increase our carbon footprint. It will increase the production, circulation, consumption, and ultimately disposal of goods. So is this a good thing? Here’s a quote from the website you sent me:

"This facility would produce excess energy that would allow us to power our port and logistics park ... fuel which would allow us to fuel our locomotives, trucking ... some of the vessel fuel that would be required, so it's quite an exciting opportunity for us," he said.

And to be clear, the company isn’t talking about reuse; it’s talking about recycling. These are two different processes, with different environmental consequences.

Coal is converted to coke (used in steel-making) by means of pyrolysis.

"Pyrolysis of plastics involves cracking long polymer chains into short-chain hydrocarbons like diesel and naphtha under low-oxygen conditions and temperatures of more than 400 °C"

The trademarks I searched for were:

QCI-PCF

G-Fuel

D-Fuel

Q-CET

Q-SOl

Q-KSOL

Transmolecular

Barbusci has no “shipping, ro-ro and bulk partners.”

Apparently, “elementary school-aged children” were the show's most loyal fans.

EMERGENCY! went into syndication in 1976, which is why I can remember watching new episodes once a week while seeing old ones every day at noon.

I'm flashing back to Grade 7 history!

According to the Canadian Encyclopedia:

"The term Family Compact is an epithet, or insulting nickname, used to describe the network of people who dominated the legislative, bureaucratic, business, religious and judicial centres of power in Upper Canada (Ontario) from the early- to mid-1800s. Members of the Family Compact held largely conservative and loyalist views and were notably against democratic reform and responsible government. By the mid-19th century, immigration, the union of Upper and Lower Canada, and the pressure of various democratic reformers had diminished the Family Compact’s power. The equivalent to the Family Compact in Lower Canada was the Château Clique."

Hey, has anybody else been watching the clock on this one? Martin Chernin was granted exclusive rights to develop our waterfront in June 2018 for 18 months – that means we're now at the 16-month mark.

The Spraytech decision can be found here.

On the LawNow blog in 2017, Jeff Surtees wrote:

"In 1982, at the insistence of Alberta under Peter Lougheed, and in response to the federal National Energy Program, a new section 92A was added, giving the provinces the exclusive power to make laws for exploration, development, conservation and management of non-renewable and forestry resources."

Greenhouse gases goes beyond carbon dioxide. Methane, nitrous oxide, and refrigerant gases are also greenhouse gases. To make things easier to express, there is the term C02e, which means carbon dioxide equivalent. C02e is the total climate change impact of all greenhouse gases caused by a behavior or product and is expressed in terms of carbon dioxide

Source: Carbonfeed

There are two such sites in Nova Scotia -- both in Dartmouth.

I received a reply after publication and wrote a second story.

Department of Business spokesperson Gary Andrea sent me an email Wednesday afternoon, after I'd published, providing the following non-answer answer:

"The Rail Preservation Agreement is intended to reimburse Cape Breton & Central Nova Scotia Railway Limited for ongoing costs directly associated with maintaining the rail line. This includes direct costs associated with maintaining physical infrastructure as well as direct cost related to insurance, property tax and legal services.

"Excluded from eligible costs are non-cash items such as depreciation and amortization. Also excluded are repair and enhancements to the line unless such repairs or enhancements are required by law. Invoices for payments under the agreement are submitted on a monthly basis."

I've sent a follow-up question asking how legal fees for land migration services -- which are preparatory for land sales -- could qualify as "costs directly associated with maintaining the rail line."

I will report back when I get a response.

I particularly like this line, because this study is dated 23 September 2015 and literally months later – on 8 December 2015 – Albert Barbusci can be found telling the Cape Breton Post he's inked a deal with the China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) “related to the design, construction and ownership of a deep-water container terminal in Sydney.”

Barbusi was also claiming to have “identified” the $1 billion in financing required for the project. He told the Post he saw the terminal going into operation in 2019, a target he didn't see “as being aggressive.”

This project, I should note, is equally imaginary) at this point.

Murray writes that he is “not aware of any written CBRM policy” to this effect.

I am assuming -- dangerously – that this is the Carolyn MacAulay, now Carolyn Nearing, who is an associate at The Breton Law Group.

The "disbursements" claimed by the municipality totaled $3,220.01 and included airfare, hotel and meal expenses for "an important witness."

This must be former CAO Michael Merritt, who was flown in from his new home in Olds, Alberta, to testify.

I remember when Merritt was hired, much was made of his Cape Breton roots -- he was "born and raised in Victoria Mines" -- and yet, he apparently doesn't have anyone he can stay with while he's visiting.

Yes, this is shameless self promotion.

Polysteel Atlantic Ltd. / East Coast Rope Ltd.

Copol International

Atlantic Preforms

Superior Propane

Hilly Acres

CanWel Building Supplies

(Source: MariNova Consulting)

If you are viewing this in Firefox with an adblocker on, you will not see these tweets. Here are the links to the them if you prefer to keep your adblock on:

Kampala

https://twitter.com/ZaynRahm/status/1175005263239241729

Hamburg

https://twitter.com/hhSonja/status/1175006086723788800

Sydney (Australia)

https://twitter.com/AlexSteffen/status/1174908839155486725

Edinburgh

https://twitter.com/TomEden11/status/1175004194518048768

If I remember correctly (and there's no guarantee I do, because I worked for VIA Rail for one year in 1988), this type of ticket was particularly difficult because the tracks were owned by two different companies, the trains by VIA, and adding a berth or a bedroom was always complicated with our late '80s software.

The source for these numbers is a no-longer-available blog post by Cox & Palmer partner Kevin Latimer.

Big Pond resident Lorna MacNeil did some excellent sleuthing (she, too, has an inner Nancy Drew) back in 2017 and discovered that the water-play feature Skidmore had included in his “plan” was the Whoa Zone on Lake Michigan in Whiting, Indiana.

She also discovered that the Whoa Zone, although anchored by 68,000 pounds of concrete, was destroyed in August 2017 by Hurricane Harvey.

I embedded Uhma's tweet with a nice picture of the book in this item, which you will see if you are viewing in Chrome, but not, for some reason, in Firefox. Not sure about Safari...

Here's the more detailed history of the OPCC and Police Review Board, as found in the introduction to their annual reports:

The Nova Scotia Police Commission was established by proclamation of the Police Act in 1976. At that time, the Police Commission reported to the Attorney General; it was responsible for improving the effectiveness of municipal police forces and relations between the police and the public. Initially the Police Commission provided a number of services relating to provincial policing and security including:

1) development and approval of training programs for police officers,

2) development of programs to improve public awareness of police functions, duties and responsibilities,

3) maintenance of statistics and research services,

4) determinations of the adequacy, efficiency, and effectiveness of the police services provided by municipalities,

5) recommendations for appointment or re-appointment of Provincial Civil Constables, Special Constables, and By-Law Enforcement Officers; and

6) other duties under the Private Investigators and Private Guards Act and the Police Services Act.

In 1992, changes to the Police Act resulted in the re-organization and re-orientation of the Nova Scotia Police Commission. The majority of the services listed above were transferred to the Policing Services Division of the Department of the Solicitor General. These services are now the responsibility of the Department of Justice. The Police Commission retained its responsibility for investigating matters relating to the conduct and performance of duties by police, the administration of a police force, the system of policing in municipalities, and the police needs of municipalities.

The Nova Scotia Police Review Board was established through amendments to the Police Act in the mid-1980s. It replaced the Police Commission as the adjudicating body for public complaints and for appeals by officers against decisions made in internal discipline matters. The Office of the Police Complaints Commissioner was created in January 2006.

This is a reference to the case of Constable Wade Lavin, who was not actually charged with “impersonating a police officer, which is a distinct offense under Section 130 of the Canadian Criminal Code called “Personating a peace officer.”

130 (1) Everyone commits an offence who (a) falsely represents himself to be a peace officer or a public officer; or

(b) not being a peace officer or public officer, uses a badge or article of uniform or equipment in a manner that is likely to cause persons to believe that he is a peace officer or a public officer, as the case may be. It seems it would actually be impossible for a police officer to commit this offense.

Lavin was charged under Section 403 for Identity fraud:

Identity fraud 403 (1) Everyone commits an offence who fraudulently personates another person, living or dead,

(a) with intent to gain advantage for themselves or another person;

(b) with intent to obtain any property or an interest in any property;

(c) with intent to cause disadvantage to the person being personated or another person; or

(d) with intent to avoid arrest or prosecution or to obstruct, pervert or defeat the course of justice.

Clarification (2) For the purposes of subsection (1), personating a person includes pretending to be the person or using the person’s identity information — whether by itself or in combination with identity information pertaining to any person — as if it pertains to the person using it.

In Lavin's case, the person he was found guilty of impersonating was a police officer, but that's not the same as being guilty of impersonating a peace officer. It seems to me a police force would want to be as clear as possible on this.

Also worth noting: identity fraud – like forgery, of which Lavin was also found guilty – carries a maximum penalty of 10 years.

(Personating a peace officer carries a maximum sentence of five years.)

Semi-Hiatus sounds like it should be an island off the Carolinas, doesn't it?

Full disclosure: I have never done this.

This is his LinkedIn page.

I was curious to see the Port Hawkesbury Port Officer’s report, so I ATIPed a copy from Transport Canada. I recently received a letter from them requesting an extension of their 30-day response period.

A shipping agent, the interwebs tell me:

"...deals with the transactions of a ship in every port that the ship visits or docks. In simple terms, it is a shipping agent who with a local expert acts as a representative of the owner of the ship and carries out all essential duties and obligations required by the crew of the ship."

Atship's rather extensive list of services includes repair work, ground transportation and "subsea inspections.”

The 1974 travel trailer in which I spend my summers is situated on land given to my family as a grant by Queen Victoria in the 1800s, I fancy.

Actually, Balaz left out some fascinating bits of Tom Childs’ bio:

"Born in France, brought up in Bermuda during WWII, and educated mainly in the United States, Tom became a financial professional after leaving the USMCR in 1964. Early experience in Vancouver with Burns Bros & Denton (as they were in those days) led to Bay Street in Toronto, Wall Street, and ultimately to 16 years in the City of London. 

"A retired member of the CFA Institute, Tom maintains old contacts and values time spent in staying abreast of the world financial markets. Also a painter and fisherman, Tom will occasionally produce a black powder muzzle loader, patterned on eighteenth century Long Rifles, but is mainly found these days with camera and Poodle recording new listings, as well as local scenery.

"Originally intending a slower paced life in Cape Breton, Tom was captivated by real estate and with his web designer wife are now thoroughly caught up in marketing the unusual and beautiful properties of Cape Breton Island.

Is there anything worse than finding the beautiful wilderness of your dreams only to discover that there is no world-class golf or cuisine within 15 minutes?

There is a third, somewhat similar development in the CR: the "Sky Trail" at Dolní Morava, but this seems to be operated by a different developer -- it forms part of the Dolní Morava Relax & Sport Resort  -- and doesn't involve trees.

As author/journalist Joan Baxter, who spent many years living and working in West Africa, told The Nova Scotia Advocate recently:

"I’ve...written so many cheques for Freedom of Information requests, and I have so many that are under appeal. That’s been the biggest shock to me, how little access we have to information. I’ve been really railing against it, as you may have noticed, in recent articles, because it’s something Canadians should be very upset about."

The Cape Breton Post reported the following airport funding figures in a June article on the airport controversy:

“Up until 2015, the Allan J. MacEachen Port Hawkesbury Airport received equal contributions of $35,000 annually from Inverness and Richmond counties and the Town of Port Hawkesbury.

“In 2016, Inverness passed a motion to stop annual contributions with the caveat it would support the airport only if it ended the year in a deficit position. Port Hawkesbury and Richmond continued support of $15,000 a year.

“'Inverness County recently approved $25,000 for capital upgrades at the airport,' [Inverness Warden Betty Ann] MacQuarrie said."

Canadian Government Apologies

Internment of Japanese-Canadians in World War Two (Conservative Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, 1988)

Detention of ‘enemy-alien’ Italian-Canadians in the same conflict (Mulroney, 1990)

Execution of 23 Canadian ‘deserters’ in World War One (Liberal Veterans Affairs Minister Ron Duhamel, 2001)

Imposition for 38 years (1885-1923) of a ‘head tax’ on Chinese immigrants (Conservative PM Stephen Harper, 2006)

Brutalization of Indigenous children for a century and a half (1840s to 1990s) in residential schools (Harper, 2008)

1914 refusal to let the Komagata Maru, carrying migrants from India, dock in Vancouver (Liberal PM Justin Trudeau, 2016)

Suffering inflicted by the residential school system in Newfoundland and Labrador after it joined Canada in 1949 (Trudeau, 2017)

Hanging of six Tsilhqot’in chiefs in ‘British Columbia’ in 1864 – after they were invited to ‘peace talks’ (Trudeau, 2018)

Rejection in 1939 of asylum requests by over 900 German Jews, hundreds of whom would perish in the holocaust (Trudeau, 2018)

Mid-20th century ill-treatment and neglect of Inuit communities stricken with tuberculosis (Trudeau, 2019)

Wrongful conviction and imprisonment of ‘Saskatchewan’ Cree leader Chief Poundmaker, known as ‘The Peacemaker,’ in the 1880s for ‘treasonous’ resistance to the government’s multiple violations of the Treaty (Treaty 6) he’d helped negotiate (Trudeau, 2019).

Did you know that the second Monday in March is “Commonwealth Day” in Canada? Seriously? How did you know that?

Apparently it used to be “Empire Day” and it fell on the last school day before Queen Victoria’s May 24th birthday and everyone danced and sang and rejoiced in being part of the British Empire.

But after Queen Victoria died, her birthday became an actual, statutory Canadian holiday and “Empire Day” faded in the public imagination (as, in fact, did empires). In 1958 it was renamed “Commonwealth Day” and became a non-public holiday that is “not a widely marked day in many parts of Canada.”

Parks Canada Mandate

"On behalf of the people of Canada, we protect and present nationally significant examples of Canada's natural and cultural heritage, and foster public understanding, appreciation and enjoyment in ways that ensure the ecological and commemorative integrity of these places for present and future generations."

Statistics Canada reports the following income comparison from 2006:

First Nations women had a median income at $14,490. For Inuit women, the median income was $16,599 and for Métiswomen, $17,520.

The income of Aboriginal women varies depending on their area of residence. For First Nations women, those living on reserve had a median income of $12,466 while the median income for all First Nations women living off reserve was $16,149.

For Métis women living in rural areas, the median income was $16,144. Median income for Inuit women living in Inuit Nunangat ($17,141) was higher than for Inuit women living outside of Inuit Nunangat ($15,383).

It is important to note that the cost of living in Inuit Nunangat is relatively high compared to southern Canada. For example, in December 2004, a 5 lb bag of potatoes could be purchased for $2.49 in Ottawa, Ontario. The cost for the same item in Clyde River, Nunavut was $7.49.

Sixties Scoop:

The Sixties Scoop, as it is known now, marks a period from the late 1950s until 1990 during which, it is estimated, more than 20,000 Indigenous children were taken from their mothers, families, and communities.

During this time, children were apprehended by the thousands, swiftly, and with little to no regard for culture (both in assessing children’s situations and in their placement with non-Indigenous families) and no regard for the children’s well-being, or the well-being of their families and communities.

The process of apprehending children varied across jurisdictions. Some mothers were told their baby was stillborn; some were coerced into signing adoption papers while medicated. As we heard in many testimonies, Indigenous mothers were convinced or tricked into believing that the welfare of their newborn babies was better managed by the Canadian state.

The "Build Cape Breton" website is clearly a work in progress. This link no longer works. Could it be that an argument based on a study from an organization headed by Cowan-Dewar himself was ultimately too egregious even for the airport promoters?

I think this should be “Improve Access to the Region,” did I mention this report is not very well written?

But I also think recommendations like, “Improve Access to the Region” are an example of consultants “stealing your watch and telling you what time it is.”

Frankly, I have never believed that a feasibility study was done.

Youthful Cities is part of something RBC is calling “Future Launch.” The bank has apparently pledged to spend $500 million over 10 years to “help empower Canadian youth for the jobs of tomorrow.” It will do this by:

“...increasing access to work-integrated learning experiences; developing current, competitive and lifelong skills and skill sets; and helping youth grow their networks by providing access to valuable networking opportunities. And further to the financial investment, RBC Future Launch is committed to raising awareness through research, speaking and convening in meaningful ways, as well as bringing people together to further understand the issue in order to find the best methods and paths towards making a significant positive impact on the lives of young Canadians.”

Too bad it wouldn’t just pay down $500 million worth of student debt.

CNN went so far as to call it "a type of salty Narnia" and if you know your C.S. Lewis, you know there are no direct commercial flights to Narnia.

Halifax Examiner transportation columnist Erica Butler has written about the Windsor Street Exchange redesign project in detail.

It's for subscribers only but isn't it time you considered a joint Spectator/Examiner subscription? Both publications for only $15 a month -- $5 of which goes into a joint investigative journalism fund.

There's a word for this, it's “fauxtomation,” and reading this reminded me of a classic example, told to me by a Czech friend.

She and her high school classmates had gone to Moscow on a school trip in the '80s. They discovered an automatic beer-dispensing machine down the street from their hotel -- you inserted your money in the slot then filled your beer stein from one of several spigots.

Being high school students, they thought it was fun to mix all the beers together and were happily pushing away on the spigots when a door at the back of the machine flew open and a very angry Russian man came out, yelling at them that he couldn't keep up the pace and they had to slow down.

Perhaps she felt our last exchange -- which ended in her sending me a link to the National NewsMedia Council's “Media Ethics” site and wishing me good luck with my "blog" -- has definitively ended all communication between us.

This would be fine (I have no desire for personal communication with her) except that she's the spokesperson for the mayor of the CBRM.

To forgive, be forgiven.

To fast, abstain from food.

In one of those little mysteries that often characterize ATIP redactions, I received two copies of this email – one with Cormier's name and “racethecape” email address redacted, one with it visible for all to see.

The public didn't find out about the marina funding until October 2012. I found the actual dates for the Ben Eoin Marina contributions in a spreadsheet of ECBC projects I downloaded from the ACOA site in 2017.

Given the ultimate fate of the building, it seems worth noting that CBCL said in the introduction to the report it would not "offer an opinion” with respect to the condition of architectural, mechanical or electrical systems, including "fire protection."

Ironically, although I was very fond of the RCBYC as a building, I've never had much interest in yacht clubs as institutions and know nothing about them, so had to google “Why do yacht clubs use naval ranks like Commodore?”

The answer, according to Wikipedia, is:

"Yacht clubs are organized like any other club or organization with committees, chairman, directors, etc. Due to the connection with the sea and hence the navy, the various posts use naval terminology. For example, the chairman/CEO is the Commodore. Usually, under the Commodore there are also the Vice Commodore (in charge of land-based activities) and the Rear Commodore (in charge of water-based activities)."

Senior officers are called “flag officers” because they are permitted to fly flags (yacht club flags are called “burgees”), presumably from the masts of their ships. Maybe from the antennae of their cars. Maybe they can just carry them around.

I have no idea and lost interest in the subject at this point.

You are no doubt wondering why I haven't already obtained these reports – the truth is, I hadn't realized I would have to FOIPOP them. I had foolishly thought they might be available upon request. They are not.

And you ask yourself: Is she ever going to stop whinging about that $478?

And the answer is: No, she is not.

A dated term for an ordinary judge of lesser rank of a particular court. (Pronounced – I kid you not -- “puny.”) -- Ed.

Skidmore “thinks” his market research team is working with Chief Marshall on a Chapel Island campground? It seems to me that is something you either know or you don't know. And if you don't know it, why say it?

I think what Skidmore means here is that he applied to have all four parcels of his land re-zoned from Rural CBRM Zone to Big Pond Campground Zone thinking he could then develop the RV Park in phases without returning to council for approval.

But Neville's recommendation to Council was that they approve the rezoning for Phase I only.

Note: Any redactions in these emails were justified under Part XX of the Nova Scotia Municipal Government Act (MGA) Sections 480 (1), 480 (1)(a)(ii); 481 (1)(b) and (c) and (c)(i).

You can read the explanations in the Act.

Details of the December 2010 storm from the New Brunswick government website:

A major low pressure system persisting south of Nova Scotia brought strong north to northeast winds and a mix of precipitation over much of New Brunswick's east coast. Heavy surf affected the eastern seaboard of the province resulting in damaged homes, washed-out roads, and power outages.

In the City of Miramichi, the storm left some properties and buildings in ruins. In Bouctouche, there was significant damage to roads and houses, leaving one of its most popular tourist attractions, the Bouctouche Dune with extensive damage to 2 kms of boardwalk and 12 kms of dunes.

The storm caused Shediac to close its main entrance to the bridge due to high tide. The famous Parlee Beach had large sections of its sands washed away. Shediac's marina sustained heavy damage to its wharf, lighthouse, and a walkway, which was destroyed by the surf. The Main Street of Shediac was flooded, and a trailer park suffered damage as decks and picnic tables were swept inland. Pointe-du-Chene's wharf was under water.

There were 150 houses affected by the storm between Port Elgin in the southeast and Miramichi in the northeast. The storm forced 35 residents from the Indian Island First Nation to leave their homes. Some people in the village of Rexton, Port Elgin, and Richibucto were asked to leave their homes. NB Power reported about 3,500 customers were without electricity, with large outages in Moncton and Bouctouche. Outages in Moncton forced Lewisville Middle School and Bernice MacNaughton High School to close.

Rubblemound breakwaters consist of piles of stones more or less sorted according to their unit weight: smaller stones for the core and larger stones as an armour layer protecting the core from wave attack. Rock or concrete armour units on the outside of the structure absorb most of the energy, while gravels or sands prevent the wave energy's continuing through the breakwater core. 

Seven Québec environmental organizations have joined together under the banner, "« SOS Port de Québec » to oppose any expansion of the port.They are:

Équiterre

Nature Québec

Initiative citoyenne de vigilance du Port de Québec

Accès Saint-Laurent Beauport

Transition Capitale-Nationale

Eau Secours

GIRAM

The latest example of this is Barbusci telling the CBC he couldn't tell CBRM council about the new deal with AVAIO Capital because it is “a publicly traded company.”

What he didn't explain was what stopped him telling council his “deal” with the Chinese had fallen through.

This story, by the way, gives the wrong date (2014) for the signing of the exclusivity agreement between SHIP (then Harbor Port Development Partners) and the CBRM.

It was actually signed in June 2015, although HPDP claimed to have been working for over a year prior to that without any official deal.

Lab Team:

Karen Furey (YMCA Employment)

Eric Leviten-Reid (New Dawn)

Robyn Lee Seale (CB Partnership)

Brandon MacDonald (First Voice)

Kym MacLeod (First Voice)

Donald Wamboldt (First Voice)

Renalda Duco (First Voice)

Jill Gardiner (United Way)

Judy Curnew (First Voice)

Barbar Duco (First Voice)

Amy McDonald (Community Services)

Cassandra Ryan (First Voice)

Davy Libbus (First Voice)

Troy Penney (NS Health)

Bethany Eyking (YMCA Employment)

Kelly Campbell (Community Services)

Ian Van Schaick

Sheila Van Schaick

Local Advisory Committee

Aran Ashton (NS Health)

Bobby O'Handley (Community Services)

Donna Anderson (Community Services)

Eric Leviten-Reid (New Dawn)

Robyn Lee Seale (CB Partnership)

Shaun Butler (Community Services)

Kathleen Yurchesyn (CB Regional Chamber of Commerce)

John Mayich (CBU)

Ashley Osborne (CBRM)

David Marshall (Membertou First Nationa)

Glenn Turner (NSC)

Taxi trips from one service area to another are more costly. For example, New Waterford to Sydney, $20; Glace Bay to Sydney, $25.

In every service area – aside from Sydney – there is a $7 flat fee to travel within the service area.

In Sydney, fares are supposed to be metered although they are often “informally set.”

Transit Cape Breton is the most affordable option for people who don't have cars. Depending on the number of zones crossed, an adult rider will pay $1.25 to $5 per trip or $75 for a monthly pass.

The CBRM only taxes residents who live within 2,500 feet of a bus route for transit. Other residents are not taxed for the service and cannot, therefore, have a bus stop in their area.

In 2018, this tax structure generated $1.8 million for Transit Cape Breton. If the entire municipality were taxed, the service would receive about $3 million per year.

(Source: TIL report)

AECOM Capital is the name of the investment arm of AECOM and it had three components:

Real Estate

Infrastructure

PPP Infrastructure

The infrastructure arm was the only one spun out.

I am going by the listing in the Nova Scotia Registry of Joint Stock Companies, which gives 2001 as the date the foundation was incorporated. On its Facebook site, the foundation says it was established in 2003.

I feel I should point out that while getting a landline phone was difficult during communist times in the Czech Republic, getting an excellent education and free healthcare was not. (Provided you didn't piss off the authorities, of course.)

Dr. Helen Creighton was a famous Nova Scotian folklorist, honored in the music community for collecting traditional songs.

I remember her mostly for the book Bluenose Ghosts which scared the living tar out of me as a kid -- and probably still would to this day.

(Update: I just watched an old television adaptation of some of her stories and can report that they are still scary.)

Higgs, by the way, supports Bernier's ideas.

MacKinnon served as director, planning and economics and executive director, development strategy in the Nova Scotia Department of Economic Development from 1976 to 1981 -- that is, for five years, 38 years ago.

His bio states he “later served in several senior capacities in the Ontario Public Service, the Bank of Montreal and as CEO of the Ontario Hospital Association from 1996 to 2003,” so it's impossible to say in what capacity or how long he served in the Ontario Public Service but it looks like he wasn't there very long either.

Apathy or boredom

The CBC described this as “a panel of economists from Alberta, Ontario and Nova Scotia” and allowed one of its participants to characterize it as “non-partisan” without pushing back.

But the best part of this article is the correction at the end – necessitated, clearly, because a reporter who didn't know better (even after having spoken to a real economist) simply repeated what the Frontier Centre told her:

"A previous version of this story stated that on average, over the past 10 years, taxes from Alberta contributed between $15 billion to $20 billion a year in equalization payments to Ottawa. In fact, on average, that figure is $2 billion per year."

Sample content:

"Consider: There are twice as many federal bureaucrats, as a share of the overall population, in Prince Edward Island as in Ontario, even though the national capital is in Ontario, according to data provided by Mr. MacKinnon."

Full disclosure: I snickered like a 13-year-old at the implication that were it not for Mr. MacKinnon and his data, Ibbitson wouldn't have known that the national capital is in Ontario.

"Parliament and the government of Canada are committed to the principle of making equalization payments to ensure that provincial governments have sufficient revenues to provide reasonably comparable levels of public services at reasonably comparable levels of taxation." (Subsection 36(2) of the Constitution Act, 1982)

FRONTIER CENTRE

It is Time for a Fundamental Course Change by Atlantic Canadians Respecting Equalization and other Regional Subsidies

The Equalization Debate

Equalization Hurts Every Canadian

Canada Should Fix Equalization and Other Regional Subsidies Now

David MacKinnon: Un-Equalization

Canada’s Equalization System Has Proved an Utter Failure That No Country Would Want to Copy

Islanders should take less, contribute more to EI, other programs

It is Crunch Time for Atlantic Canada

The Myths of Equalization: Notes for Speech by Prof. David C. MacKinnon to the Rotary Club of Ottawa West

Financial Reality is Needed in Maritime Canada: David Mackinnon addresses the Charlottetown Rotary Club, April 2, 2012 in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island

Ontario: Cash Cow For the Rest of Canada

Dollars and Sense: A Case for Modernizing Canada’s Transfer Agreements

Inequalities of Equalization Leave Ontarians Worse Off: Have-nots end up with better services than provinces that are paying the bills

Reform Unprincipled Equalization System: Equalization harms all of Canada

Regional Subsidies Damage Ordinary Ontarians: David Mackinnon addresses Belleville Rotary Club

Ontario Can’t Be Canada’s ATM

Senator Duffy is Right

Canada’s Own Financial Bubbles: Have-Not Provinces Equalization a Moral Failure  

AIMS

Time to rethink federal transfers system

The equalization debate should continue

Canada's broken equalization system

A reset is needed in Atlantic Canada

Canadian Regional Subsidies: Killing the Golden Goose and Weakening Canada

Financial Reality is Needed in Maritime Canada

It's been pointed out to me that this organization only pays half the CEO's salary, so if the full salary is not reflected in the financial statement I'm basing this on, then this one person is receiving 25% of all monies paid in salary.

The Cape Breton Growth Fund (CBGF) described itself in a 2007 press release as “a partnership between the Government of Canada and the Province of Nova Scotia” with “a mandate to assist in the transition of the Cape Breton economy.”

At that point, the CBGF, which was overseen by ECBC, had invested $56 million and claimed to have “created over 3,000 jobs.”

In 2010, the Canadian Press told a different story about what it termed the $98 million dolllar fund established in 2000:

An access-to-information request to the Enterprise Cape Breton Corp. resulted in a list of the 25 companies and 16 government and non-profit recipients of the money, with indications they expected to create a total of 3,894 jobs.

In follow-up emails, the agency confirmed 2,125 growth fund jobs still exist at call centres.

The emails also show there are number of lasting infrastructure projects that the program contributed to, such as the Sydney Marine Terminal, the Northside Civic Centre and the Membertou Trade and Convention Centre.

The Canadian Press contacted the majority of the other firms on the list that created jobs, and confirmed that about 200 other jobs were created and still exist.

The original access-to-information request seeking an evaluation and more precise job figures resulted in a signed letter from John Lynn, the chief executive of Enterprise Cape Breton, which says "a final evaluation of the Cape Breton Growth Fund was never completed."

I have no idea if it's coveted.

Detailed cost estimates that, by the time they were actually turning sod on their first housing unit seven years later had to be hopelessly out of date.

This company also exists, although I am not sure where it fits in the bigger picture:

Cossitt Heights Developments Limited, 3229448, NS Limited Company

Directors:

James Kehoe (President)

Everett Knickle (Secretary/Treasurer)

Paulette Kraitzek

Claudette Porter

Gary Peach

Recognized Agent: James Gogan

Elegant Homes Ltd, 3076728, NS Limited Company

Directors:

Robert Kraitzek (President/Secretary)

James Kehoe (Vice-President)

Recognized Agent: Everett Knickle

Picket Fence Homes, 3239087, Partnership/Business Name

Recognized Agent: Everett Knickle

Registered by: Elegant Homes

Joneljim Concrete Construction (1994) Limited, 2269381, NS Limited Company

Directors:

James Kehoe (President/Chair)

Everett Knickle (Secretary/Treasurer)

Paulette Kraitzek

Gary Peach

Claudette Porter

Recognized Agent: James Kehoe

Judging by the makeup of the board of the Commonlands Association, I would guess it has a connection to New Dawn, but I have not had time to research it properly.

Cape Breton Commonlands Association Inc, 3102377, NS Limited by Guarantee Established: 2005 Struck-off Registry: 2019

Directors:

Hector MacSween (vice chair)

Dennis Jones (secretary/treasurer)

Ora R. McManus

Walter MacNeil

This is an actual sub-head from one of the Post articles.

From: Remand in Nova Scotia 2005-2016

“Overall, the increase in remand has been driven by the JP Centre, which represents 46% of the increase over the past decade. Dartmouth, Sydney, and Halifax Provincial Courts represent an additional 40%. Together, these four courts represent 87% of the remand admissions and are responsible for 86% of the increase in remand.Other smaller courts (Bridgewater, Truro, Yarmouth and Digby) have also experienced an increase in remand admissions over the last decade; however,the number of admissions is small relative to the four larger courts.”

Here's the definition of remand from the John Howard Society:

Those on “remand” are individuals who are being held in custody while awaiting a further court appearance.While a relatively small percentage have been tried and found guilty and are awaiting sentencing, the majority are awaiting trial. Some may be awaiting a decision with respect to bail, others have been denied bail and, unless released through judicial review, will remain in custody until their trial.

This was a post from Cecil Clarke "politician's" Facebook page, which disappeared after his unsuccessful run for the provincial Tory leadership.

This is what The Lakes website has to say about the Ben Eoin Ski Hill:

"Ski Ben Eoin offers a range of experiences for the entire family. Whether you are new to the sport of skiing or snowboarding or a seasoned amateur [emphasis mine], Ski Ben Eoin offers an experience for young and old alike."

Robert Putnam is the author of Bowling Alone. Published in 2000, it drew from "vast data" (including nearly 500,000 interviews) to show "how we have become increasingly disconnected from family, friends, neighbors, and our democratic structures – and how we may reconnect."

That would be the online edition. The front page of the physical Post is silent on the issue of climate change.

Interestingly, where our round library is supposed to invoke a Mi'kmaq drum, Chinatown's is said to invoke a traditional Chinese hut. The architect also incorporated feng shui into the design.

I'm not going name the author whose famous opening line I just twisted (cruelly) to my own purposes because if you read an article this long about a library, you already know.

My father said to me, as we were discussing the facilities a new library might include:

"Maybe they could have a bowling alley in the basement, like the old library."

Apparently, the original Sydney library was on Charlotte Street in the building that now houses Finishing Touch and it had a bowling alley in its basement. So a virtual bowling league would actually pay homage to our library history.

I know the term is "stern." I just liked the sound of “rear end.” In fact, I said something even worse in my first draft.

Anthony Powell is a British author who was, from what I've read, “a toff...a snob" and "a name-dropper,” who nevertheless wrote a series of novels called, A Dance to the Music of Time, which I love.

I do not care that they are considered by many to be middle-brow – they made me laugh. (And they use a dramatic device I really like which is that a character who plays a minor role in one novel might play a much larger role – even be the focus of – another.)

Books Do Furnish A Room is the tile of the 10th book in the 12-book series.

Full disclosure: the author is my cousin. But she is not affiliated with the Spectator and the views expressed are, as ever, her own.

Ben Eoin Development Group, 3319936, Partnership/Business Name

Recognized Agent: Dwight Rudderham, Q.C.

Registered by: Ben Eoin Development Group Inc.

The Lakes Golf Club,3224363 (Partnership/Business Name)

Recognized Agent: Jim Gogan

Registered by: Ben Eoin Golf Club Ltd

Ski Ben Eoin, 3246080 (Partnership/Business Name)

Recognized Agent: Robert D. Carmichael

Registered by: The Cape Breton Ski Club

Ben Eoin Golf Holdings, 3146391 (Nova Scotia Limited Company)

Directors:

Coleen Moore-Hayes (President), Denise Gallant (Secretary), Jerry Redmond (Treasurer), W. Manning MacDonald, David MacLean, Jeffrey Power, Jim Burke, Ron MacDonald, Denise Gallant, Greg Robertson, Bernadette Romeo

Recognized Agent: Jerry Redmond

Ben Eoin Golf Club Limited, 3146392 (NS Limited by Guarantee)

Directors:

Coleen Moore-Hayes (President), Denise Gallant (Secretary), Jerry Redmond (Treasurer), Jeffrey Power, Ron MacDonald, Bernadette Romeo, David MacLean, W. Manning MacDonald, Jim Burke, Greg Robertson

Recognized Agent: Jerry Redmond

Related registrations: The Lakes Golf Club

Ben Eoin Recreation Incorporated, 3281432 (NS Limited by Guarantee)

Directors:

J. Vernon MacDonald (VP), W. Manning MacDonald, Ann-Terese Doucette (Secretary), Jerry Redmond, Alan Kehoe, Richard Ranni, Glen Brann, Sandy Macneill (Treasurer), Denise Gallant, Bernadette Romeo (President), Peter Trask, Brianne Lynch.

Recognized Agent: Darcy MacDonald.

Ben Eoin Yacht Club, 3276553 (Partnership/Business Name)

Recognized Agent: A Robert Sampson, QC

Registered by: Ben Eoin Marina Ltd

Sun Mountain Development Ltd, 1083042, NS Limited Company

Directors:

J. Vernon MacDonald (President), Katherine MacLeod (Secretary). Shane Walker, Steve Saxon, John R. MacDonald, John Ling, Gary Humphrey, John Williams, Alan Peddle, Sharon Tilley, Robert MacLellan.

Recognized Agent: Robert Carmicheal

Cape Breton Ski Club, 1254675 (Society)

Directors:

John Williams, Alan Peddle, Sharon Tilley, Gary Humphrey, John R. MacDonald, John Ling, J. Vern MacDonald (President), Steve Saxon, Shane Walker, Katherine MacLeod (Secretary), Robert MacLellan.

Recognized Agent: Robert D. Carmicheal

Related registrations: Ski Ben Eoin

Ben Eoin Marina Ltd, 3024152 (NS Limited by Guarantee)

Directors:

Tony Penny (Vice Commodore), Lisa Gammel, Alan Kehoe, Raymond Campbell, Nancy Sullivan, Bryan MacDougall, Sandy Macneill (Treasurer), Deborah Moffat, Patrick O’Shea, Michael Gillis (President/Commodore).

Recognized Agent: A. Robert Sampson

Related registrations: Ben Eoin Yacht Club

The Birches at Ben Eoin Country Inn Limited, 3307096, N.S. Limited Company

Directors:

Rodney Colbourne, President/Secretary

Recognized Agent: Rodney Colbourne

Ben Eoin Recreation Incorporated, 3281432 (NS Limited by Guarantee)

Directors:

J. Vernon MacDonald (VP), W. Manning MacDonald, Ann-Terese Doucette (Secretary), Jerry Redmond, Alan Kehoe, Richard Ranni, Glen Brann, Sandy Macneill (Treasurer), Denise Gallant, Bernadette Romeo (President), Peter Trask, Brianne Lynch.

Recognized Agent: Darcy MacDonald.

Ben Eoin Marina Ltd, 3024152 (NS Limited by Guarantee)

Directors:

Tony Penny (Vice Commodore), Lisa Gammel, Alan Kehoe, Raymond Campbell, Nancy Sullivan, Bryan MacDougall, Sandy Macneill (Treasurer), Deborah Moffat, Patrick O’Shea, Michael Gillis (President/Commodore).

Recognized Agent: A. Robert Sampson

Related registrations: Ben Eoin Yacht Club

The Birches at Ben Eoin Country Inn Limited, 3307096 (NS Limited Company)

Directors:

Rodney Colbourne (President/Secretary).

Recognized Agent: Rodney Colbourne

Ben Eoin Development Group, 3319936 (Partnership/Business Name)

Recognized Agent: Dwight Rudderham, QC

Registered by: 3312636 Nova Scotia Limited

3312636 Nova Scotia Limited, NS Limited Company

Directors:

Mike Kenny, Troy Wilson, Rodney Colbourne (President/Secretary), Steve MacDougall, Siva Thanamayooran, Glen Brann.

Recognized Agent: Dwight Rudderham, QC

Related registrations: Ben Eoin Development Group

Ben Eoin Yacht Club, 3276553 (Partnership/Business Name)

Recognized Agent: A Robert Sampson, QC

Registered by: Ben Eoin Marina Ltd

Ski Ben Eoin, 3246080 (Partnership/Business Name)

Recognized Agent: Robert D. Carmichael

Registered by: The Cape Breton Ski Club

This story has been updated to add Sun Mountain Development Ltd, which I mistakenly did not include in the original article.

Since I didn't verify the Sun Mountain board as of September 2018, I am not going to list it here -- you'll find it in the updated Ben Eoin Shuffle Story dated 3 April 2019.

I don't actually think I will be able to do this at all, but it amuses me to no end to pretend I do.

My working theory is that CBRM "developers" are so dependent on government contracts they've started to see themselves as an unofficial branch of government.

I'm trespassing on Halifax Examiner editor Tim Bousquet's territory here -- he has no end of fun mocking architectural art. In fact, he did so in Monday's edition of the Morning File:

"We are eagerly awaiting the ridiculous architectural renderings that are certain to accompany the stadium sales pitch."

In trying to determine how high telegraph poles were in the 1920s, I stumbled across the website of The Telegraph Pole Appreciation Society of the United Kingdom, which explains itself this way:

"This is not the site to visit for technical information pertaining to telegraph poles. You'll find nothing about 10KVa transformers, digital telephone networking or even so much as a single volt.This is a website celebrating the glorious everyday mundanitude of these simple silent sentinels the world over. We don't care what the wires contain either. They all carry electricity in some way be it the sparky stuff which boils your kettle, or the thinner stuff with your voice in it when you're on the phone."

The site features a photograph of the Pole of the Month, a title awarded in March 2019 to a “truly remarkable edifice” in East Dorset.

There are myriad fascinating aspects to the Billy the Kid story but I want to note two:

The first is a connection to Victoria, BC which Thompson, who lives in Victoria, BC, finds particularly interesting.

It involves a wealthy Brit named John Tunstall who, in 1872, at the age of 19, emigrated to Victoria, BC to work at Turner, Beeton & Tunstall, a store in which his father was a partner.

In 1876, he left Canada for the United States and after a stint in California, fetched up in Lincoln County, New Mexico, where he set himself up as a rancher and businessman. He fell afoul of the powerful men who ran the county and the New Mexico Territory and had to recruit ranchers and cowboys to protect him. One of these was William H. Bonney aka Billy the Kid.

Tunstall ends up dead, the Kid and some of Tunstall's other supporters form a gang called The Regulators and set out to avenge him, and the rest – known as the Lincoln County War – is history.

The second story is not so much a story as a fact: some historians believe Billy the Kid was trilingual, speaking English, Spanish (which he learned in New Mexico) and – wait for it – Irish Gaelic.

The evidence of this is apparently found in a recording of a cowboy named Clark Hust who claimed to have worked with the Kid on a ranch owned by a man named Pat Coghlan. When a niece of Coghlan's, who spoke no English, came to visit from Ireland, Hust says the Kid, who spoke both English and Gaelic, served as translator.

https://www.thevintagenews.com/2016/09/25/billy-kid-trilingual-one-language-spoke-gaelic/

I have since received a reply and the answer is "No," the CBRM did not hire outside counsel to prepare the appeal and "No," the CBRM does not have plans to hire outside counsel to help with the case.

I have since received a reply to a question I asked the regional solicitor on February 22. In answer to my query -- who made the decision to appeal the UARB decision? -- he responded through CBRM spokesperson Jillian Moore:

"The decision to appeal was made by senior staff, ultimately the CAO, based on consultations with the Solicitor."

I tried earlier to compare the CBRPS numbers to those of other police forces in Atlantic Canada but most of the forces I contacted didn't respond to my query.

The chief of the Saint John, NB force, however, did and told me they had four managers with take-home cars: the chief, the deputy chief and two inspectors.

Lavin was not actually charged with “impersonating a police officer,” which is a distinct offense under Section 130 of the Canadian Criminal Code called “Personating a peace officer.”

130 (1) Everyone commits an offence who

(a) falsely represents himself to be a peace officer or a public officer; or

(b) not being a peace officer or public officer, uses a badge or article of uniform or equipment in a manner that is likely to cause persons to believe that he is a peace officer or a public officer, as the case may be.

It seems it would actually be impossible for a police officer to commit this offense.

Lavin was charged under Section 403 for Identity fraud:

Identity fraud 403 (1) Everyone commits an offence who fraudulently personates another person, living or dead,

(a) with intent to gain advantage for themselves or another person;

(b) with intent to obtain any property or an interest in any property;

(c) with intent to cause disadvantage to the person being personated or another person; or

(d) with intent to avoid arrest or prosecution or to obstruct, pervert or defeat the course of justice.

Clarification (2) For the purposes of subsection (1), personating a person includes pretending to be the person or using the person’s identity information — whether by itself or in combination with identity information pertaining to any person — as if it pertains to the person using it.

In Lavin's case, the person he was found guilty of impersonating was a police officer, but that's not the same as being guilty of impersonating a peace officer. It seems to me a police force would want to be as clear as possible on this.

Also worth noting: identity fraud – like forgery, of which Lavin was also found guilty – carries a maximum penalty of 10 years.

(Personating a peace officer carries a maximum sentence of five years.)

Municipal Government Act

251 (1) The Board may

(a) confirm the decision appealed from;

(b) allow the appeal by reversing the decision of the council to amend the land-use by-law or to approve or amend a development agreement;

(c) allow the appeal and order the council to amend the land-use by-law in the manner prescribed by the Board or order the council to approve the development agreement, approve the development agreement with the changes required by the Board or amend the development agreement in the manner prescribed by the Board;

(d) allow the appeal and order that the development permit be granted;

(e) allow the appeal by directing the development officer to approve the tentative or final plan of subdivision or concept plan.

(2) The Board shall not allow an appeal unless it determines that the decision of council or the development officer, as the case may be, does not reasonably carry out the intent of the municipal planning strategy or conflicts with the provisions of the land-use by-law or the subdivision by-law.

Municipal Government Act

Restrictions on appeals

250 (1) An aggrieved person or an applicant may only appeal

(a) an amendment or refusal to amend a land-use by-law,on the grounds that the decision of the council does not reasonably carry out the intent of the municipal planning strategy;

(b) the approval or refusal of a development agreement or the approval of an amendment to a development agreement, on the grounds that the decision of the council does not reasonably carry out the intent of the municipal planning strategy;

(c) the refusal of an amendment to a development agreement, on the grounds that the decision of the council does not reasonably carry out the intent of the municipal planning strategy and the intent of the development agreement

A a subject I, in another life, once wrote about.

ACOA's loan to the club takes the form of an equity stake.

The Registry of Joint Stock Companies only lists six owners.

This is an interesting claim coming from McVicar whose departure from political life was neither "professional" nor "low-key"

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/andrew-younger-kirby-mcvicar-opposition-1.3333731

In this we lag behind provinces like British Columbia, which updated its lobbying laws in 2018 and now imposes a two-year cooling off period on certain public office holders:

Former Cabinet ministers and their staff, former parliamentary secretaries, and former senior officials in government departments and Crown corporations are prohibited from lobbying for two years after the date on which they left office.

You have to read the description the late Dannie Hansen gave the CBC of McVicar's job at Louisbourg Seafoods and decide for yourself what he was doing there:

"Hansen said McVicar is not acting as a lobbyist for Louisbourg Seafoods, which is trying to secure entry into the surf clam fishery from the federal government. McVicar, he said, was part of a team of managers that went to Ottawa recently to meet with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.

A spokeswoman for federal Fisheries Minister Hunter Tootoo provided details on that March 29 meeting in Ottawa between George Young — Tootoo's chief of staff — McVicar and Bruce Hartley, a registered lobbyist for Louisbourg Seafoods.

"The meeting was at the request of Mr. Hartley, who had indicated that he was a registered lobbyist for Louisbourg Seafoods and that he wished to introduce Mr. Young to a Louisbourg Seafoods employee, Mr. McVicar," Patricia Bell said in an email to CBC News.

This is one of the (many) annoying aspects of government agency responses to media questions – the repetition of boiler plate information already supplied.

It's the written equivalent of playing for time.

3312636 Nova Scotia Limited, NS Limited Company

Note: The company changed its name to Ben Eoin Development Group Inc as of 17 December 2018.

Directors:

Mike Kenny, Troy Wilson, Rodney Colbourne (President/Secretary), Steve MacDougall, Siva Thanamayooran, Glen Brann. Recognized Agent: Dwight Rudderham, QC

Related registrations: Ben Eoin Development Group

Ben Eoin Golf Club Limited, 3146392 (NS Limited by Guarantee)

NOTE: The Board of Directors has changed since I initially wrote this story. As of 11 December 2018, it looks like this:

Coleen Moore-Hayes (President)

Denise Gallant (Secretary)

Jerry Redmond (Treasurer)

Jeffrey Power

Ron MacDonald

Bernadette Romeo

David MacLean

W. Manning MacDonald

Jim Burke

Greg Robertson

Recognized Agent: Jerry Redmond

Here's the previous board:

Coleen Moore-Hayes (President)

Glen Brann (Co-VP)

Michael Kenny (Co-VP)

D Greg Rushton (Co-Secretary)

Robert J. Redshaw (Co-Secretary)

Jerry Redmond (Treasurer)

Bernadette Romeo

Greg Robertson

Jeffrey Power

W. Manning MacDonald

David MacLean

Recognized Agent: James Gogan

Related registrations: The Lakes Golf Club

Ben Eoin Golf Holdings, 3146391 (Nova Scotia Limited Company)

NOTE: The Board of Directors has changed since I originally wrote this story. As of 11 December 2018, it looks like this:

Coleen Moore-Hayes (President)

Denise Gallant (Secretary)

Jerry Redmond (Treasurer)

W. Manning MacDonald

David MacLean

Jeffrey Power

Jim Burke

Ron MacDonald

Denise Gallant

Greg Robertson

Bernadette Romeo

Recognized Agent: Jerry Redmond

Here's what it used to look like:

Coleen Moore-Hayes (President)

Michael Kenny (Co-VP)

Glen Brann (Co-VP)

Robert J. Redshaw (Co-Secretary)

Jerry Redmond (Treasurer)

W. Manning MacDonald

D. Greg Rushton

Bernadette Romeo

Greg Robertson

Jeffrey Power

David MacLean

Recognized Agent: James Gogan

The “winners” (according to the New York Times) were “CNN, mentioned four times; The New York Times, with two mentions; and ABC, The Washington Post, Time and Newsweek, with one mention apiece.”

Although our mayor (or, apparently, our former CAO) was surprisingly successful in his campaign to turn the “Civic Centre” into “City Hall,” as I discovered this week when I tried to look up “Civic Centre” on Google maps and couldn't find it – it's labeled “City Hall.”

In an interview on Christopher Lydon's Open Source podcast, Zuboff used the Pokemon example as a jumping off point to discuss the Sidewalk Labs (a Google sister company) smart city experiment in Toronto. It's really worth a listen.

http://radioopensource.org/under-surveillance-capitalism-in-the-digital-age/

Canadian medical student debt: André Picard, G&M, 21 August 2018

“The situation of Canadian medical students is similar to those in the United States in that far too many graduate with crippling debt. According to the Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada, the average debt of medical-school graduate exceeds $160,000 – half of that from tuition fees and half from living expenses.

While tuition fees are cheaper in Canada – about $25,000 a year – compared with $35,000 at public universities and $60,000 at private universities in the United States, there is far less philanthropy in Canada and not a tremendous amount of public grants and awards. So getting a financial break based on merit is more difficult for students.

GPA

"A grade point average (GPA) is a calculated average of the letter grades you earn in school following a 0 to 4.0 or 5.0 scale. Every semester, you’ll receive a GPA based on the grades you earned in all of your classes during that semester. Throughout high school, you’ll also maintain a cumulative GPA, which is an ongoing average of all your semester one and two grades beginning with freshman year.

"When you apply to colleges, they’ll receive a copy of your transcript featuring your current cumulative GPA. Colleges use this number to measure your overall performance in school and compare you to other prospective students."

Source: Campus Explorer

It is worth noting that Dalhousie's minimum GPA for students from NS, NB and PEI is also 3.3.

MCAT

Medical College Admission Test

"The MCAT is computer-based and tests physical and biological sciences, verbal reasoning, and writing skills. In 2015, the AAMC added a new section called Psychological, Social and Biological Foundations of Behavior. This section tests your ability to understand sociocultural, biological and psychological influences on behavior and social interactions as well as how people process emotion and stress. You'll only want to take this seven-and-a-half hour test once, so prepare as thoroughly as possible.

Duration: 7 hours, 30 minutes

Max. Score: 528

Avg. Score: 500 total, 125 in each section.

Source: Princeton Review

It is worth noting that Dalhousie's minimum MCAT score for applicants from NS, NB and PEI is 503.

The two types of physicians represented in the graph are Medical Doctors (MDs) and Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine (DOs). According to Wikipedia, DO is:

“...a professional doctoral degree for physicians and surgeons offered by medical schools in the United States. A DO graduate may become licensed as an osteopathic physician, having equivalent rights, privileges, and responsibilities as a physician who has earned the Doctor of Medicine (MD) degree...

“One notable difference between DO and MD training is that DO training adds 300–500 hours studying techniques for hands-on manipulation of the human musculoskeletal system, a system shared (in general but not all particulars) with chiropractic medicine."

Population: 190,965

Population: 194,585

Population: 210,700

CBRM witnesses:

Senior Planner Malcolm Gillis

Planner Karen Neville

You can read the tortured history of the CBRM's previous REN participation here.

To summarize: we initially belonged to the Cape Breton REN but Mayor Cecil Clarke withdrew from the agreement in 2016, telling council at first that it was because we were paying too much in HST for services delivered by the REN's two delivery agencies -- Business Cape Breton and the Cape Breton Partnership – and later that the other municipalities wouldn't support the CBRM's priorities, like the “CBRM Blooming” project. Since then, we have been somewhat adrift.

The weirdest thing, though, may be that Eskasoni and Membertou, which joined the CBREN at the same time as the CBRM did, remain part of it. So now we have the rather strange situation – given that this whole approach to economic development is premised on “regions” with shared needs and goals working together – of the two First Nations that are situated within the CBRM's borders belonging to a different REN.

Go figure.

I know what you're thinking: that didn't stop me from writing last week's article.

You have a very good point.

NOC 6552

• accounts information clerk
• adjustment clerk
• automobile dealerships service representative
• bill complaints investigator
• bus information clerk
• bus schedule information clerk
• bus service information clerk
• business office service representative - telecommunications
• call centre agent - customer service
• client service clerk
• compensation agent
• complaints adjuster
• complaints clerk - customer service
• complaints clerk - telephone system
• complaints specialist - customer service
• contact centre agent - customer service
• counter enquiries clerk
• courtesy desk clerk
• customer information service clerk - insurance
• customer information service representative - retail
• customer relations clerk
• customer satisfaction representative
• customer service adviser
• customer service agent
• customer service assistant
• customer service clerk
• customer service monitor - telephone system
• customer service operator - telephone system
• customer service representative - call centre
• customer service representative - insurance
• department store information clerk
• enquiries clerk
• express and freight information clerk
• hospital information clerk
• hotel information clerk - contact centre
• inbound customer service representative - contact centre
• information clerk - customer service
• kiosk information clerk
• lost claims clerk
• lost or damaged goods claim clerk
• lost-and-found clerk
• lost-and-found desk clerk
• maintenance service clerk
• merchandise exchange clerk
• order clerk - customer services
• order desk agent
• outbound customer service representative - contact centre
• price information clerk
• public relations clerk
• road transport terminal attendant
• route supply and return clerk
• service adviser
• service advisor - auto repair
• service consultant - auto repair
• service writer - auto repair
• supply and return clerk
• telephone enquiries clerk
• tourist booth attendant
• tourist information clerk
• tourist information office attendant
• tourist information officer

I am using “call center” and “contact center” interchangeably in this article although I think it's safe to say most traditional call centers – including the Sydney Call Centre – have expanded to include web-based and other services.

The Appellants called 16 witnesses at the hearing including: Ivan Doncaster Roy Gerard Maclnnis Rita Christine Morley-MacDonald<br> Carl Francis MacIntyre<br> Rod Beresford<br> Gertrude Anne MacIntyre<br> Anne Catherine MacIntyre<br> Mary Paula Maclnnis<br> Frances Maureen Campbell<br> John Robert MacDonald<br> Edwin Alexander MacIntyre<br> Michael James Britten<br> Helen Marie Doherty<br> Gordon Peter Sutherland<br> Debra Anne Moffatt David Sydney Moffatt.

Blaire Martell chairs the board of directors of the Cape Breton Regional Enterprise Network.

Sean Coyle serves on the board of directors of the Cape Breton Regional Enterprise Network.

Osborne Burke serves on the board of directors of the Cape Breton Regional Enterprise Network.

The NYT linked from that comment to a 2014 video feature entitled, "Poland's Rathole Miners."

As I watched it I thought, "Man, those Polish miners work in dangerous conditions. And then I remembered Donkin and I thought, "We have that in common, too.

In his article, the Post's Chris Shannon wrote that Chrétien intended to speak to NS Premier Stephen McNeil about the Port of Sydney, which prompted John McCracken, a former CUPE Atlantic spokesperson, to lodge a complaint with the registrar responsible for the NS Lobbyists Registration Act.

McCracken drew the registrar's attention to Chrétien's comments and noted that he was not registered as a lobbyist in this province.

The registrar, however, responded that the Act “does not contain a complaint or investigation procedure.”

Just for fun, I compared what Barbusci is telling the citizens of Brooksville, Florida about his plans to reopen the TreeUmph! Adventure Park with what he's told the citizens of Sydney about his efforts to change the way international shippers do business by establishing a transshipment hub for ultra-large container vessels in our harbor:

TreeUmph! The equipment in place is "ready to go," pending maintenance and inspections, Barbusci said.

Novaporte To date, the port project has all permits in place and is shovel-ready, according to Albert Barbusci, a founding partner of SHIP and port developer.

TreeUmph! [Barbusci] believes the park can be the economic success the county envisioned with TreeUmph!, but he cautioned that "it's not going to happen overnight."

Novaporte Construction on Novaporte is estimated to take two years, added Barbusci, but it won’t likely begin until 2018. Novaporte has to secure a minimum volume commitment before construction can officially begin.

TreeUmph! Barbusci said he's also found a business partner in Dave Johnson, president of Outplay Adventures, a building company that handled construction on the TreeUmph! course and the park in Kissimmee. Barbusci said Johnson's knowledge of the park's infrastructure will help reduce financial risks.

Novaporte Albert Barbusci, founding partner of SHIP, said, “We are excited about partnering with Ports America, the largest terminal operator and stevedore in the United States. In all our partnerships including financial, construction, engineering, marine equipment and technology relationships, we have looked for industry leaders. Ports America fits this description exactly. Its experience covers all aspects of marine operations from containers, to bulk, – breakbulk, world-class cruise terminals, intermodal and RoRo facilities. We couldn’t ask for a stronger, more experienced operating partner.”

TreeUmph! Barbusci was set to meet with county administrators in early January to discuss signing a lease on the county land and reopening the park.

Novaporte: In March 2018, Municipal Affairs Minister Derek Mombourquette brought forward an amendment to the Municipal Government Act that will allow CBRM to sell or lease land at below market value and to grant tax concessions to a commercial entity. Both changes are intended to help attract a container terminal to Sydney. (CBC)

Any of an order (Cetacea) of aquatic mostly marine mammals that includes the whales, dolphins, porpoises, and related forms and that have a torpedo-shaped nearly hairless body, paddle-shaped forelimbs but no hind limbs, one or two nares opening externally at the top of the head, and a horizontally flattened tail used for locomotion. (Merriam-Webster)

I told you the debate over council size would eventually come to encompass the issue of remuneration. In reporting Urbaniak's proposal, the Post noted that at that point – in 2007 – councilors were earning $33,160 a year while the deputy mayor collected $38,160.

Boundary Review Committee

Councilor Vince Hall (chair)

Councilor Richard Fogarty (vice-chair)

Mayor Morgan,

Deputy Mayor Claire Detheridge

Councilor Tom Wilson

Councilor Brian Lahey

Councilor Wes Stubbert (who seems to have been replaced later by Councilor Clarence Prince).

Although it's beyond the scope of this article to examine the issue in detail, the provincial government's decision to provide, as of 2019, $618,000 annually for a co-ed homeless shelter in Sydney with eight rooms for men and six for women, deserves a mention. 

While it's undoubtedly good news, on one level, it is also deeply puzzling news, given that the government has decided to give the full amount to the Cape Breton Community Housing Association, which operates the Community Homeless Shelter for Men on Margaret Street, in Sydney, to manage the new shelter, leaving organizations like Every Woman's Centre) and Transition House out in the cold, as the Cape Breton Post has reported.

I tried to find out who the Lemieux family are and discovered that among his many ventures, Barbusci, in 2014, launched a firm called Barlem Corporation in Montreal, of which he was president, his wife Pina was secretary/treasurer and one Albert Lemieux of Kirkland, QC, was vice president.

The firm, which was registered in the State of Florida that same year, was dissolved in 2016. But in the filings, all three officers -- the Barbuscis and Lemieux -- list the address of the Orlando Tree Trek park as their addresses.