Official Sydney and Area Projects Thread

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http://www.capebretonpost.com/index....=242463&sc=595

Harbour dredging important for economic future

The Cape Breton Post

The recent announcement of provincial funding for the dredging of Sydney Harbour came as good news. The project is clearly important to Cape Breton’s economic future and there is ample justification for the expenditure of public funds to make it happen.

While the community remains hopeful that a world-class container terminal will be built in connection with dredging, it is important that stakeholders understand the full scope of the harbour’s potential. It goes beyond containers, in fact, to other areas with noteworthy economic promise.

By way of example, once opened to accommodate larger vessels by virtue of a deepened access channel, the Port of Sydney takes on new significance regionally and beyond. One does not have to look further than bulk cargo.

Provincial Energy Ventures is a good example. We’re in the coal importation and shipping business at the Port of Sydney. Over the course of the next few weeks we’ll be seeing the arrival of several vessels carrying coal from off shore.

The panamax vessels are fully laden, carrying in excess of 70,000 tons.
Unfortunately, at their arrival draft they would not be able to enter Sydney Harbour at present. Each vessel must transfer its cargo to smaller vessels to make trip to Sydney.

As you can imagine, there are significant costs associated with stopping a vessel short of its ultimate destination to remove part or all of the cargo on board. The economics of the entire shipping effort are adversely affected, forcing the clients to continually seek cheaper alternatives.

A deepened channel will dramatically improve economies.

This will broaden opportunities and drive traffic volume. In turn, jobs will result, new income will be generated and the overall economic significance of the port will grow.

Containers are an important part of the equation but clearly there are other commodities that will benefit from this project.

Jim Graham
Provincial Energy Ventures area manager

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http://www.capebretonpost.com/index....=243000&sc=145

Peter MacKay, minister of national defence and minister of the Atlantic Gateway, speaks with members of the Memorial Mystics girls high school hockey team after an announcement of the $12-million Northside Civic Centre, Thursday. From left are Bhreagh Orrell, Keleigh Ivey and Kelsey Matthews. Steve Wadden - Cape Breton Post

The wait is over on the Northside
Funding in place for $12M civic centre


JULIE COLLINS
The Cape Breton Post

SYDNEY MINES — Finally the Northside community will get its long-awaited civic centre.

And no two people could be more happy about that than Cape Breton North MLA Cecil Clarke and Leo Steele, chair of the Northside Civic Centre Committee.

To a packed lecture theatre at Memorial Composite High School in Sydney Mines, Steele was quick to point out the determination and tenacity of not only the board, but the community and project supporters who were critical in keeping the project alive the past 10 years.

The initial proposal for a new recreational facility for the Northside was unveiled at Memorial High in June 1999.

“We never gave up, even though there were times when it didn’t seem that we would succeed,” Steele said. “The board certainly did its part, but we wouldn’t have been anywhere without the rallies and those people, businesses and corporations that have and continue to contribute. It wasn’t just the adults, but the youth of the community, who want and need this facility.”

Peter MacKay, minister of national defence and minister of the Atlantic Gateway, joined Clarke, Steele and Cape Breton Regional Mayor John Morgan in announcing the $12-million project Thursday.

The federal government, through Enterprise Cape Breton Corp., will provide $4 million. The province will invest $4 from its B-FIT (Building Facilities and Infrastructure Together) program. The Cape Breton Regional Municipality will contribute $2.5 million and the community has raised $1.5 million in cash and pledges for the project.

“I saw a lot of smiling faces as I walked into Memorial high school this morning,” MacKay told the huge crowd. “This particular project is one I know that many people have dedicated time and effort to bring about.”

MacKay said Thursday’s announcement is a perfect example of perseverance and the art of the possible.

“No one has worked harder than Leo Steele and his committee to make this project a reality and I commend the volunteers for their vision and tenacity.”

The Northside Civic Centre, which will replace the aging North Sydney Community Forum, will feature an NHL-sized area with seating for 800 spectators. It will also sport a walking track around the perimeter of the building. The facility will also have multipurpose rooms, kitchen facilities and office space.

The centre will be built on land off King Street that has been cleared and has been deeded to the society.

MacKay described the civic centre as a true gathering place that will bring health and wellness to the forefront, while helping to attract and retain businesses and draw new families.

“The government’s economic plan is all about putting shovels in the ground and having local hands on those shovels, immediate jobs and economic opportunities with construction planned to get underway as soon as the frost is out of the ground.”

Clarke, who is also the justice minister, said the project is the result of many people working together.

“This is for the betterment of all citizens,” Clarke said. “It is timely that we move forward on this project now in a time of economic uncertainty where the construction will help create and maintain job opportunities on the Northside.”

Referring to his Justice portfolio, Clarke said the project is about promoting physical activity and good health.

“It’s about recognizing that if you want to make sure you reduce crime, you have to have the infrastructure that is necessary to allow people to engage in positive activities.”

Clarke made a special reference to municipal councillors, Gordon MacLeod, Clarence Prince, Wes Stubbert and to the regional mayor and council for their ongoing support of the project during difficult fiscal times.

Morgan referred to the project as a “remarkable achievement.”

“Our council unanimously identified one project to submit to the Build Canada Fund, it (civic centre) had that level of importance, not only to the Northside councillors, but for all of council and the community.”

The board has set September 2010 for an opening and plan to push the project along as quickly as possible.

“I’m really proud, proud of the community and how it continued to rally around this project,” said society chairman Leo Steele. “We are going to get everything the community wanted, the walking track, the ice surface, community meeting rooms, it is going to something really special.”

Steele referred to important corporate donations, but also to those individuals who have been keeping their pledges, bringing the total amount of community funds in the bank to about $830,000.

“It’s a great day for the Northside and for Cape Breton,” said Sydney-Victoria MP Mark Eyking. “To see the three levels of government involved and community on board with fundraising shows a great spirit of co-operation. It will be good to see construction begin.”

http://www.capebretonpost.com/index....=242958&sc=151

Airport decides three’s a crowd

The Cape Breton Post

A traffic jam of sorts at the Sydney airport raises important points about the proper role of the local airport authority and whether it’s doing a good job. It has come to light as a result of a Cape Breton Post inquiry earlier this week that the discount passenger carrier Sunwing Airlines doesn’t have access to the airport facilities it would need at Sydney to renew its tourist season service between here and Toronto, though it’s been offering tickets for sale.

The Sydney Airport Authority, the community-based, not-for-profit agency that took over ownership of the airport from the federal government several years ago, wants airline competition to keep fares affordable (at least on the competitive routes) but not so much competition that the result would actually be less competition in the end.

The authority was delighted when, in December, WestJet announced it would operate a direct (non-stop) Sydney-Toronto jet service from early May to late October, three times a week. Air Canada, which operates the regional Jazz service, announced in February that it will offer non-stop daily service on that route this summer.

It’s a classic illustration of competition producing better service and reasonable pricing for the travelling public. The problem is that Sunwing had been providing similar seasonal service, though only twice a week, for the last three or four years and evidently had been intending to do so again. Sunwing still hasn’t said it won’t be flying.

Authority chief executive Larry MacPherson and his board concluded that three competing services on that route would be one to many. They’d eat each other’s lunch for a summer and then one, two or possibly all three would tote up their losses and back out.

In a busier market this wouldn’t be a concern. Let the competitors beat each other up and the consumer would laugh all the way to baggage pick-up.

The authority’s rationale for wanting two carriers on the route rather than three makes sense, though some in the public are left scratching their heads over why an airport would want to discourage airline competition and seek to limit service. Bob Sime, Sunwing’s general manager in Atlantic Canada, avers that in his 30 years in the airline business he’s never seen such a thing.

Perhaps, but if the mandate of an airport authority, particularly a community-based one, is to serve the interests not just of the commercial carriers but of the flying public and indeed of the region as a whole, then the management of commercial services within the limited scope in which the airport operator has to manoeuvre would seem to be part of the job. Stability and continuity of service are legitimate goals for the authority to pursue.

Clearly, however, the Sunwing issue could have been more professionally handled, though there may be fault on both sides. They differ, but cite no documentary proof, on whether the airport’s position was ever made clear that the carrier could not and would not be accommodated this summer. It’s a sloppy way to do business.

This may sound weird, but I agree with MacPherson on this one. Not in principle, but I would much prefer WestJet as a viable competitor to Jazz than SunWing. SunWing offered a "non-stop" service to Toronto that, once in service, touched down in Charlottetown. Also, Jazz never saw Sunwing as a competitor, refusing to put a Toronto route on due to "lack of demand"...amazing how things change once a viable competitor such as WestJet comes around, eh?

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http://www.capebretonpost.com/index....=243269&sc=145

CBU approves $40M ‘business as usual’ budget

GREG MCNEIL
The Cape Breton Post

SYDNEY — A budget featuring stable funding for programs, increased investment in research and no job cuts is the order of the day at Cape Breton University.

Dubbed a ‘business as usual budget,’ the CBU board of governors approved the $40,683,710 for university operations, Friday.

Among other things the balanced budget will see CBU retire an accumulated
operating deficit of $6.1 million and maintain scholarship and bursary funding at $1 million.

“I think what you have seen . . . this year should really come as no surprise,” said Gordon MacInnis, vice-president of finances and operations for CBU.

“It is really a continuation of the planning exercise we embarked upon in the spring of 2008. At that time we took a three-year planning horizon so what you are seeing here today is really just a consequence of that plan.”

MacInnis said the budget focuses on re-investment and renewal at the university.

“There is very careful balance that has to be maintained. I think the budget, hopefully, has struck that balance between those re-investment opportunities as well as ensuring the long-term fiscal stability of the organization are maintained.”

After last year’s budget, as many as 33 positions at the university were cut.
No such cuts were announced this time out.

“We really made a conscious decision last spring to make whatever staffing adjustments were necessary. That in turn enabled us to use the transition funding which the province is providing through the operating allocation to pay for early retirement incentive programs, etc.”

Last year, he noted, about 90 per cent of the workforce reduction was accomplished through voluntary early retirement plans.

“Last time we were faced with the realization that there would be a number of human impacts one way or another,” added John Harker, president of CBU.
“This year was different and I’m glad we approached it so rigorously but we did have the luxury of knowing we were unlikely to be making life difficult for someone inadvertently.”

As per a three-year memorandum of understanding between the province and Nova Scotia universities, there will be no tuition hikes in the coming school year.

Students’ union president Ricky McCarthy was pleased to see a budget that answered specific student concerns.

“I’m impressed also they took into consideration the concerns of students that we have expressed about the library and hours of operation at the library and how they put extra full-time staff on there and especially our concerns that we wanted more time on Sunday.”

An increase in residence fees is something of a concern, though.

“I do realize that we are slightly below an average of what other universities pay for their residences. It is definitely a negative as a student I don’t like to see. As it is right now it is something I accept. I guess we can move forward and see what we can do from here on in.”

http://www.capebretonpost.com/index....=243268&sc=145

Sunwing Airlines’ Sydney,Toronto flights cancelled
Legal action planned; bookings to be refunded

POST STAFF
The Cape Breton Post

SYDNEY — Sunwing Airlines has cancelled its summer schedule of flights between Sydney and Toronto.

Sunwing had planned to resume service June 15, with twice weekly flights offered until Sept. 10, but announced Friday its planes will not fly in or out of Cape Breton in 2009.

“Unfortunately our program has been irreparably damaged by the refusal of the Sydney Airport Authority to allow Sunwing to operate into Sydney this summer,” said Mark Williams, president of Sunwing Airlines, in a release.

“Sunwing had started proceedings to obtain a court injunction to overturn the airport authority’s decision. Unfortunately, recent press coverage of the airport authority’s refusal has materially and negatively impacted sales on the route and the timing of the scheduled court date was too late for us to recover our program for this summer.”

Larry MacPherson, chief executive officer of the Sydney Airport Authority, could not be reached for comment late Friday afternoon.

But earlier this week he told the Cape Breton Post that Sunwing was no longer welcome to fly into Sydney due to the addition of a new seasonal service offered by WestJet. He said Sunwing didn’t notify the airport of its plans to return and the airport, instead, agreed to a deal with WestJet that will see a Boeing 737 fly non-stop to Toronto three times a week, beginning May 5.

see ‘Space’ page A2

MacPherson said the airport authority believes that having three airlines operating out of Sydney with direct flights to Toronto would not be sustainable. He also stated that there would not be enough counter space for Sunwing’s ticket agents.

Meanwhile, Williams said Sunwing doesn’t believe the Sydney Airport Authority has the right to act as a market regulator and they plan to take legal action.

“Sunwing will therefore withdraw its application in the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia requesting an injunction and will be immediately commencing a legal proceeding against Sydney Airport, challenging its decision.”

This would have been Sunwing’s fourth summer operating the Sydney-Toronto flights and Williams said they regret the inconvenience this has caused its customers. Sunwing will be immediately refunding all bookings made on these flights for the summer.

“We hope that, once these issues have been resolved, Sunwing will recommence service in summer 2010,” he added.

"He said Sunwing didn’t notify the airport of its plans to return and the airport"
So the airport was just supposed to assume you were coming back in June, even though it's April and they hadn't heard confirmation from you yet?
Some of the reasons MacPherson gives are kind of far-fetched, but I still agree with the decision for the most part.


This is exactly why we need a viable competitor in the Sydney Airport.
http://www.capebretonpost.com/index....=243241&sc=595

Air service a vital cog in business infrastructure

The Cape Breton Post

Anyone concerned with economic development in Cape Breton should be concerned with air travel because busy entrepreneurs tend to travel by air.
In fact, lack of reasonable air fares is a major obstacle to development in Cape Breton.

About 20 years ago, Air Bras d’Or, a small company, started an independent service between Sydney and Halifax. While Air Canada had been charging $200 one way, Air Bras d’Or charged $50 one way.

Immediately, Air Canada dropped its fare to $50. Soon Air Bras d’Or went out of business and then Air Canada raised its fare to $200.

Today the Air Canada fare to Halifax for May ranges between $426.38 and $993. It is odd that there would be a $500 difference when it is a small plane and all the seats are exactly the same.

I think the airline keeps a few seats at $426 and doubles the price for the rest. I have heard of people who were forced to pay $1,000 for a one-way seat to Sydney.

Air Canada is fortunate to have such a monopoly.

Today we have a new air battle going on. WestJet is introducing a seasonal direct service to Toronto three times per week. Below are some comparisons for flights during May:

• Sydney to Toronto:
WestJet return $369 to $392
Air Canada return $426 to $1,800
• Sydney to Ottawa:
WestJet return $507 to $575
Air Canada return starting at $714
• Sydney to Calgary:
WestJet return starting at $593
Air Canada return starting at $683
• Sydney to Halifax:
Air Canada $426 to $993

As soon as Air Canada learned that WestJet was providing a service from Sydney to Toronto, it introduced a competing service.

Obviously Air Canada has enjoyed a monopoly in air service out of Sydney.
Its fares and service are far from the standard expected in any comparable centre in Canada.

I make a huge distinction between the Air Canada staff in Sydney and the central management; the local staff members at Air Canada are wonderful. It is a shame they have such predatory management.

Air Canada will use every technique possible to force WestJet out of the Cape Breton market. If it succeeds, then it will raise all its fares to whatever level it likes. This is not open and fair free-market business; it is a predatory monopoly business.

It is a shame because travellers between Toronto and Sydney have a direct flight with WestJet, and if the service is successful in the summer then it may continue in the winter.

It is really worthwhile for travellers in Cape Breton to support WestJet. It is not simply a question of saving money; it is part of business infrastructure.

Transportation and communications are essential to modern economic development. We need some sort of watchdog body in Cape Breton that monitors various services that form the infrastructure for business development.

The other major item of transport concern is the railway. It was bad enough to allow CN to sell the link between Truro and Sydney, but worse was the neglect of our leadership in allowing the Devco railway to be sold off.

Perhaps the Devco railway could have been the basis of a freight railway between Sydney and Truro.

It would be great if bodies such as the Chambers of Commerce, the Cape Breton Partnership, the Cape Breton and District Labour Council and churches could work together with one united voice.

Still better would be a joint committee of Cape Breton MLAs, regardless of political party. The tendency for most MLAs is to work for the party rather than for Cape Breton. There are exceptions which are evident by what they have achieved for Cape Breton.

Greg MacLeod
director, Tompkins Institute,
Cape Breton University

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Muggah Creek (Before it empties into the Tar Ponds)

by macnauc

Sydney Academy

by frankie09

House at Hallowe'en

by Ken Heaton

Rotary Park

by Ken Heaton

Tourist Rail Station

by barnaby globetrotter

Fall Colours

by Ken Heaton

St. Anthony Daniel

by Ken Heaton

Union Street

by frankie09

Rotary Park

by Ken Heaton

Park (Wentworth?)

by tommyallen4

Reservoir Brook

by Ken Heaton

Rotary Park

by Ken Heaton

Cromarty Street

by Ken Heaton

MacKenzie Street

by frankie09

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http://www.capebretonpost.com/index....=243563&sc=145

Final lap for YMCA of Cape Breton pool

The Cape Breton Post

SYDNEY — Saturday marked the end of an era for the YMCA and tens of thousands of children and families. The YMCA of Cape Breton’s pool closed after 70 years to make way for a new facility.

“Our pool will close permanently in order for us proceed with construction of our new facility,” said Andre Gallant, chief executive officer of the YMCA of Cape Breton.

The YMCA is undergoing a $12.3-million redevelopment of its Charlotte Street location, which includes a 25-metre, six-lane wheelchair accessible pool.

It’s estimated that more than 50,000 children and adults have used the pool over the last seven decades. Many area residents learned to swim in the facility with young and old taking advantage of numerous aquatic programs.

Phase one of the new facility will be ready for occupancy in June of this year. Work on phase two, which will include a new childcare centre, employment centre and community meeting rooms, will start this summer and will be built on the current location of the original, 1940s structure.

The new aquatics centre is part of phase three of the project and is expected to be completed late in 2010. During the remaining 18 months of construction, the YMCA will offer limited aquatic programs at the Canadian Coast Guard College in Westmount.

“Keeping our 1940s pool operating over the past year has been increasingly difficult. While we are a little sad to see the pool close, we look forward to our new facility,” Gallant said.

The pool closure has prompted a member of the YMCA to complete a goal set almost 70 years ago.

Harry Henderson was 15 when he and his friends hung out at the YMCA back around the time the pool was first opened.

The group would challenge each other to friendly competitions. Henderson’s task was to complete 100 continuous laps in the pool.

“After the 99th lap, I didn't have the strength to go on,” he said. “The last lap got away.”

Henderson returned to the YMCA on Thursday evening to complete that final lap.

“Given that the pool was closing, I wanted to finish the job and have that one final swim in the pool that was such a great part of my youth.”

An active volunteer throughout the years, Henderson is a longtime member of the Sydney Y’s Men, a group that meets each Thursday at the YMCA on Charlotte Street. Before joining Thursday’s meeting, he accomplished his goal and finished the final lap.

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http://www.capebretonpost.com/index....=244333&sc=145

Council adopts UNSM code of conduct

The Cape Breton Post

SYDNEY — Council formally adopted the code of conduct policy being supported by the Union of Nova Scotia Municipalities.

Cape Breton Regional Municipality Mayor John Morgan and the 16 councillors all voted in favour of the policy Tuesday night. It could be used to censure council colleagues who break the law or breach any ethical guidelines in the code of conduct.

The code of conduct is based on five core values — integrity, honesty, objectivity, accountability and leadership.

The four-page list of rules and responsibilities covers topics such as conduct at meetings, the release of confidential information (which is prohibited), and the use of municipally-owned property such as vehicles, equipment, or property that is allowed only at times when conducting municipal business.

It states that no council member is permitted to accept gifts or favours from contractors doing business in the municipality. And councillors are expected to treat all residents the same, giving no one special consideration.

But the exact penalty municipal politicians might face if someone violated the policy remains a sticking point with some municipalities that have yet to pass it.

The UNSM is asking all 55 municipalities to accept the new conduct policy.
Only 33 have already done so.

So far, only two municipal units have refused to sign on to the policy because they consider it not harsh enough when dealing with people who break the rules.

http://www.capebretonpost.com/index....=244334&sc=152

Lloyd MacDonald, right, and one of his sons, Ron, stand in front of the MacDonald Auto Group-owned Nissan dealership in Sydney River, Tuesday. The auto group just announced their purchase of Kenmount Ford of Sydney. Steve Wadden - Cape Breton Post

Tokyo Lloyd does a U-turn, returns to selling Fords
MacDonald Auto Group buys Kenmount Ford

TOM AYERS
The Cape Breton Post

SYDNEY — If you bought a new import vehicle in Sydney over the last 42 years, chances are it came off the lot of a MacDonald Auto Group dealership.
Now, 50 years after Lloyd MacDonald first started selling cars in Cape Breton, the auto retailer has come full circle. The owners of MacDonald Auto Group — which includes Nissan, Toyota, Suzuki and Kia dealerships — have purchased Kenmount Ford of Sydney.

Lloyd MacDonald first started selling Fords 50 years ago, but switched to Datsuns eight years later and his dealership network has expanded steadily since then. He now owns the Auto Group with four of his sons and has added a Ford store into the mix.

“We looked hard at a GM dealership, but the timing is not good,” said Lloyd’s son Ron, one of the Group owners. “The timing is good for Ford. They have a new Fiesta coming out and it’s a hot little car. It’s the No. 1 selling car in Europe right now.”

Ford is also coming out with a new cube van and a new truck, and is the only one of Detroit’s Big Three automakers that is not looking for a financial bailout from government.

Ford is “extremely strong and their finance company is strong,” said Ron. “That’s very important right now.”

Ron also said the timing was right because Kenmount Ford owner Donald Matheson was getting ready to retire so his dealership became available.
The MacDonalds acknowledge the current recession has hit the new car retail business hard, but say Cape Breton has often gone through tough economic times and a global recession is a good time to look for business opportunities.

However, they add, business has been good at their import dealerships — even this winter, when the auto industry’s troubles turned into a crisis for domestic manufacturers.

“We’ve got good strong market share in all of our brands,” said Ron.

“Our customer loyalty has made us successful,” added Lloyd.

Several high-profile business development projects are in the works for Cape Breton and better times are coming, they also said.

“I’m very optimistic with things going on around here,” said Ron. “You know, dredging the harbour and the container port.”

“I really hope so,” added Lloyd. “We’ve never had really good times. I think our day is coming.”

Lloyd got into the car sales business in 1959, selling new Ford cars off the Sydney River lot on Kings Road where his MacDonald Nissan dealership is now located. He also sold cars door-to-door right across the island.

In 1967, Lloyd started a Datsun (now called Nissan) dealership and gave up selling Fords. Since then, his company has expanded to include several other import vehicles and the auto group operates a used car lot in Port Hawkesbury, as well.

The Internet has changed the way many people shop for cars, but Lloyd and Ron said the MacDonald Auto Group continues to employ more salespeople than ever because customers still want to come into a dealership and see vehicles, touch them, and talk about their purchase.

They said the Kenmount Ford dealership — now called MacDonald Ford — will see some renovations and changes to its business, but likely not this year.

“We’re just getting our feet wet and learning the product and learning the people down there,” said Ron. “There’s going to be changes down the road, but not immediately.”

Don't know how smart it was for him to buy a domestic dealership.

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http://www.capebretonpost.com/index....=244687&sc=145

Home sweet affordable home
CBRM most affordable place to buy home in Canada: study

NANCY KING
The Cape Breton Post

SYDNEY — An annual study of housing markets in six countries has found the Cape Breton Regional Municipality is the most affordable place to buy a home in Canada, and the fifth most affordable market internationally.

The annual housing affordability survey by New York-based Demographia International was released earlier this year. The Nova Scotia Association of Realtors received an award Wednesday from Demographia’s Canadian partners, the Frontier Centre for Public Policy, certifying Cape Breton’s position on the list.

It surveyed 34 Canadian communities, looking at figures for Canada metropolitan markets with populations of more than 100,000. It found that the median household income in Cape Breton was $42,400, and the median house price was $90,800, for a median multiple of 2.1.

The survey considers homes in the urban centres affordable if the city’s median house price is less than three years’ median income.

Linda Smardon, president of the Nova Scotia Association of Realtors, said Cape Breton’s position on the list can serve as a great marketing tool for the region, noting that it’s home to amenities such as health-care facilities, and boasts community events such as Celtic Colours.

“I think it tells home buyers that there are great options in Cape Breton,” said “There are people from away who perhaps might consider returning home, for people looking for a retirement place, Cape Breton is a great option ... It also means that if you’re making a reasonable income, you can find something to buy there. You can get something for $35,000, you can get something for a million.”

When asked whether the affordability of homes in the region may reflect an aging housing stock, Smardon said Nova Scotia in general is a province where there is a combination of newer and older homes.

While real estate markets in many regions have recently suffered due to the credit crunch and economic downturn, Cape Breton is largely bucking that trend, Smardon said.

While there were 31 fewer listings for the first quarter of 2009 compared with the same period a year earlier, there were only five fewer sales. The average time a property remained on the market so far in 2009 declined by 19 days from last year, and the average price rose by $16,000.

“God bless Cape Breton,” Smardon said. “When the whole country was going nuts, Cape Breton wasn’t going nuts. The market was doing fine, but they weren’t going over the top. They’re able to weather this much better because they have a stable market, they don’t have highs and lows.”

Smardon said that in addition to people retiring in Cape Breton, she’s also hearing of people working away and buying properties here while they are still affordable. Others are moving back to work jobs were they earn less because they have a good deal of equity in their homes and can get more home for their money.

This year, the survey expanded coverage to 265 markets in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States, including Cape Breton for the first time.

In Canada, the median multiple in Canada was 3.5. Vancouver was the least affordable market at 8.4. Other affordable markets included Thunder Bay, Ont., Chatham, Ont., Windsor, Ont., Moncton, N.B., Saguenay, Que., Saint John, N.B., Trois Rivieres, Que. and St. John’s, N.L.

The median multiple for Halifax was 3.6.

All of the communities that placed ahead of Cape Breton on the list were in the United States.

http://www.capebretonpost.com/index....=244730&sc=152

Chamber releases document listing ideas, opportunities

TOM AYERS
The Cape Breton Post

SYDNEY — Looking for the future of business in Cape Breton? The Sydney and Area Chamber of Commerce has released a document listing emerging business ideas and opportunities suggested by its members.

The document, called Roadmap to Prosperity, was released Wednesday summarizing the major findings of a business forum held at Cape Breton University in February.

The list is divided into five theme areas that include suggestions for infrastructure improvements aimed at government and the private sector, and business opportunities in energy, promotion of entrepreneurship, community attractiveness, and engagement in the global economy.

Chamber president Owen Fitzgerald said suggestions were “all over the map” and some reinforce the chamber executive’s list of priorities developed in January for submission to governments working on budget deadlines.

Some were unexpected, he added, such as the idea of establishing a commercial truck facility in North Sydney to accommodate ferry traffic or the creation of Cape Breton business “consulates” in cities like Halifax or Toronto.

The chamber is an advocate for business development, he said, and the forum was an opportunity for members to create a lengthy list of ideas that may or may not be possible.

The executive compiled the list, but doesn’t necessarily believe all the ideas should be or could be implemented.

“It’s not the be-all and end-all,” said Fitzgerald. “It’s just ideas.

“We’re not saying it’s a priority, but it’s an idea.”

Fitzgerald said some of the ideas will be passed on to governments at all levels, and others may be snapped up by entrepreneurs looking for a new angle, such as the suggested truck stop on the northside.

Still others could be controversial or expensive, such as the consulates or the addition of a “Family Day” statutory holiday.

The holiday idea was not embraced by all of the members, said Fitzgerald, but it was raised and discussed and should be listed as a possible business concern, despite the fact that some businesspeople view holidays as a cost.

“There’s some pros and cons to it . . . but that’s part of open discussion and making people comfortable with bringing forward ideas,” he said.

In January, the chamber said it’s main priorities include development of the port in Sydney, which includes dredging the harbour and preparing for a proposed container terminal.

“We’ve had some great success with the port development and we’re trying to build on that,” Fitzgerald said.

The report will be discussed with members, economic development agencies, the public and government, and it is hoped some of the ideas can be incorporated into economic development planning in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality, he added.

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http://www.capebretonpost.com/index....=245097&sc=152

Health sciences program at CBU revamped, renamed

NANCY KING
The Cape Breton Post

SYDNEY — Cape Breton University has received approval for a revamped and renamed health sciences program.

The Maritime Provinces Higher Education Commission recently approved curriculum revisions and renaming of the former bachelor of technology (public health) to the bachelor of health sciences (public health).

While it’s not a new degree, the modifications that have been made to it are
significant, noted Jane Lewis, dean of the School of Education, Health and Wellness.

The curriculum changes reflect the changing and broadening field of public health, she said, and that public health inspection is only one professional route a graduate may pursue. The program remains accredited by the Canadian Institute of Public Health Inspectors, so that option stays open for students.

“But the degree is broadened a bit, to allow students to make other choices as well,” Lewis said. “This gives us a new degree framework ... that is really an excellent and appropriate model for professional programs in health.”

She noted CBU is currently working to offer another bachelor degree in health sciences in medical imaging.

“Now we have kind of a degree framework in which it will fit, to support the development of that type of program,” she said.

Other possible career paths include environmental health officers, food safety specialists, and occupational health and safety officers, or as environmental health consultants in the private sector.

“Students are very much in-demand and it’s growing, because our emphasis on the way we approach health in Canada is broadening,” Lewis said.

That includes a shift away from focusing on how to treat illness once it has developed to moving toward how to prevent disease and promote health.

The program offers two options. In addition to a four-year degree for those entering from high school, there is a a two-year accelerated option for students who enter the program with a science degree or technology diploma.

Those with science degrees have already taken the basic science courses required, Lewis noted, and so just need the courses that are specialized to public health.

Continuing to review and refresh the university’s programming is vital to ensure it remains relevant, Lewis said.

“Professional programs have to align with external accreditation agencies, so in some ways I think it makes you look at your programs all the time critically because as things change outside and you have to meet rules around accreditation,” she said. “You have to make sure that if something new comes along and the accreditors say our field needs to address this, you have to make sure that your curriculum prepared your students for that.”

It’s a popular program because employment opportunities are available, she added.

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Scientists gather at CBU for mine water workshop

TOM AYERS
The Cape Breton Post

SYDNEY — Sixty scientists are visiting Cape Breton University to learn more about the emerging technologies that will help clean up old mine sites and possibly create a source of energy in the future.

Dr. Christian Wolkersdorfer, recently named industrial research chair in mine water remediation and management at CBU, is one of only about 10 experts in the field worldwide and is leading the three-day workshop that ends Saturday to help spread the knowledge.

“Unfortunately there are not a lot of people who know enough to do the remediation work, because there are not many universities in the world where you can learn it,” he said.

Wolkersdorfer, who secured $1.7 million in federal funding for his research position, said he intends to publish scientific papers on his work, but also intends to identify applicable technology that will work to clean up mine water and extract energy from it.

Three students from Germany will be coming to CBU to work on Wolkersdorfer’s research, and two local students will be involved, as well.

Wolkersdorfer said mining is an old industry — it has been practised in Cape Breton for about 250 years — and while the technology to remediate mine water has existed for decades, it’s only been relatively recently that the technology has become inexpensive enough to make it widely available.

The first aim is to clean up mine water “so that it does not negatively affect the environment,” he said. “You could treat mine water to make it potable, but it would be extremely expensive . . . and we have plenty of drinking
water in Cape Breton.”

Mine water is often contaminated with iron and acid, but it is also about 10 degrees warmer than regular groundwater because of its depth in the earth, said Wolkersdorfer. That warmer temperature can be used to heat other water that could drive a turbine and create electricity.

“Because we now have technology that you and I can easily purchase, we can generate heat from mine water,” he said.

Cleaning up mine water and extracting energy from it are separate aims, but Wolkersdorfer is hopeful that at some point the technologies can be merged to achieve both goals simultaneously.

“We don’t have the technology yet, but in fact that’s something that I’m looking into, to extract heat from water and use that energy to treat that water.”

Wolkersdorfer said Cape Breton is an ideal base from which to study mine water remediation because of the support from CBU and Cape Breton Development Corp., and because of the extensive mine workings in the region.

Devco has said it is responsible for 3,200 kilometres of mine works, most of which are flooded with fresh water.

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Katelyn Stubbert, the overall winner of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality’s Active Transportation Logo contest, is show with Yann Arthur, left, vice-chairman of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality Active Transportation Committee and Lesley Ann Andrews, arts education consultant with the Cape Breton-Victoria Regional School Board. Julie Collins - Cape Breton Post

Logo will promote active transportation

The Cape Breton Post

FLORENCE — The Cape Breton Regional Municipality’s Active Transportation committee is sporting a new logo.

The committee invited schools from the region to participate in the logo contest to help implement its plan to encourage active transportation throughout the municipality, .

One winner was chosen along with four honourable mentions. Four of the five were from Dr. T. L. Sullivan Junior High in Florence, including the overall winner, Katelyn Stubbert. There was also an honourable mention from Jubilee Elementary in Sydney Mines.

Stubbert’s winning logo will be featured on signs in parks and recreation areas promoting active transportation. This includes transportation that require human power such as walking, cycling, in-line skating, and others.

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EAT! — Festival encourages people to dine at restaurants

LAURA JEAN GRANT
The Cape Breton Post

SYDNEY — Need a night out?

Well, the Sydney Downtown Development Association is hoping you’ll make eating out part of any plans you have next week.

Beginning Monday and running until May 2, the Sydney Downtown Development Association, is spearheading a new festival, EAT!, encouraging people to eat out at the many restaurants and eateries in downtown Sydney.

SDDA president Ross Hunter said they want to try to develop a culture of dining in the area, similar to what exists in other cities where restaurants are bustling seven nights a week.

“Here we’re more apt to gather in people’s homes and we go out much later,” he said, noting Cape Bretoners also tend to go out to restaurants more on weekends and for special occasions.

This will be the first year for EAT! and Hunter said the inaugural festival is more about promoting awareness about what downtown restaurants have to offer, than about specific events or dining specials.

“We’ve created the spotlight. We’ve created the campaign so now what we’re hoping is that the restaurants will pick it up and use it as a platform to show what they do and do really well,” he said. “It’s going to be an evolution, we hope. It’s our hope that it will evolve into not just a great yearly festival but that it will also inspire people to eat out more and to use it as a night out.”

Hunter said the general public may be surprised to discover just how many great places there are to eat in the downtown.

“With coffee shops, pizza shops, restaurants, everything, we have about 25,” said Hunter. “There’s places where you can go and have a romantic dinner, or get friends together ... and there’s places to take families. It’s all here. We have some great new establishments and we have some establishments that have been here for a long time.”

So, Hunter is encouraging everyone to get together with a friend, group of friends or family and let someone else do the cooking this week.
“It’s spring. It’s the perfect time of year to venture out.”

Hunter said the association is excited to see how the dining festival is received and how they can improve it in future years.

“It’s going to be an event to watch,” he said. “What we’ve done for next week is very grassroots, very simple but I think the evolution is going to be really interesting to watch.”

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I wonder how far this idea will get...sounds interesting, I'm just not sure how feasible it is. Would be a nice historical attraction to add to the Sydney area for tourists, though, keeping them in the city longer.

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Adelle Schemm holds a key that she said belongs to the former Moxham Castle. Schemm’s idea to rebuild the castle near its original Sydney site has earned her a chance to appear on the CBC-TV show, Dragons’ Den. Erin Pottie - Cape Breton Post

Building castles in the air
Aspiring entrepreneur wants ‘dragons’ to help rebuild Moxham Castle


ERIN POTTIE
The Cape Breton Post

SYDNEY — Five wealthy dragons are standing between Adelle Schemm and her castle.

Schemm, who wants to rebuild Moxham Castle and turn it into a tourist attraction, will pitch her business plan to a panel of Canadian business moguls as part of the CBC-TV show, Dragons’ Den.

The aspiring entrepreneur was one of 200 contestants selected from the 3,000 people who auditioned across the country. She’ll get her chance to win over ‘dragons’ W. Brett Wilson, Kevin O’Leary, Jim Treliving, Robert Herjavec and Arlene Dickinson on May 21.

Schemm said only 100 people will actually appear on the show, which is set to begin airing new episodes in the fall.

“It sounds crazy at first but everybody sees the benefit of this and I’m hoping it continues that way,” said the 30-year-old MacAdams Lake resident, who figures it would cost approximatley $20 million to reconstruct the home of steel baron Arthur J. Moxham and turn it into a profitable business.

If the Dragon’s Den panel passes on the idea, Schemm said she will look for other investors and is also hoping to secure some government funding for the project.

“It’s something that we lost that we were really lucky to have,” she said.

“There’s also the potential to rent it out for weddings. To have occasions such as Christmas balls or Christmas at the castle, or Easter eggs hunts, activities throughout the year to bring in people from the local community as well.”

Constructed in the late-1890s on Kings Road in Sydney, the towering 30-room mansion was rumoured to have been built from stone that Moxham shipped from his former home in Lorain, Ohio after he bought an interest in the Dominion Iron and Steel Company.

Just a few years later, Moxham sold his interests in the steel mill and left the island. The castle was destroyed by fire in 1966.

For more information or to contact Schemm, visit http://moxhamcastle.webs.com.

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Nova Scotia Finance Minister Jamie Muir was the guest speaker at a Sydney and Area Chamber of Commerce luncheon in Sydney, Monday, where he announced up to $20 million over the next two years to help municipalities participate in federal infrastructure spending. Steve Wadden - Cape Breton Post

$20M an election ploy, says Whalley

TOM AYERS
The Cape Breton Post

SYDNEY — Nova Scotia Finance Minister Jamie Muir’s promise Monday to give municipalities up to $20 million over the next two years to help them participate in federal infrastructure spending would be meagre help for the Cape Breton Regional Municipality and is merely electioneering anyway, says the CBRM’s economic development manager.

“Even $20 million . . . that sounds like a lot of money, but for a province our size it’s a drop in the bucket,” said John Whalley, who was taken by surprise when asked about the money by the Cape Breton Post Monday. “But of course, it’s always welcome though.”

Muir made the announcement during a pre-budget lunch speech at the Delta Hotel hosted by the Sydney and Area Chamber of Commerce.

Whalley said if the funds were distributed on a per capita basis, CBRM would be entitled to about 11 per cent, or $2.2 million over two years, which is only about five per cent of the municipality’s capital budget this year alone.

“Yes, it would help, but it certainly isn’t earth-shattering,” he said, adding there is widespread speculation that an election will be called before the new budget is passed.

“They’re preparing the groundwork for a provincial election . . . there’s no question about it. We’d far rather they deal with the equalization issue, which is more important for us.”

Whalley said the province only sends CBRM about a third of the equalization money it should receive from the federal government, all of which it effectively claws back through provincial service fees.

Full equalization funding would provide the municipality with for more money to deal with infrastructure needs, he said.

Although the $20 million is contingent on the Conservatives passing a new budget, the announcement at a Sydney and Area Chamber of Commerce lunch meeting at the Delta Hotel came as a pleasant surprise to three CBRM councillors in attendance.

The announcement was met with applause, after a slight delay, while the audience took in what the finance minister was saying.

“It came as a shock,” Coun. Ray Paruch said after the announcement. “I’d have to say a welcome shock. It’s kind of nice to see we’re still on the province’s radar.”

Coun. Mae Rowe and Coun. Derek Mombourqette were also on hand, and said any new money to help the municipality would be welcome.

Muir said the money will be offered in the form of a grant “primarily” intended for CBRM and Halifax, but he couldn’t say how much each municipality would receive, or how it would be distributed.

Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations spokesperson Deborah Bayer said the money will be approved based on “merit and shovel-readiness,” adding that projects have to be complete by March 31, 2011.

CAO Jerry Ryan said his understanding was that CBRM would not receive money from the program directly, but that it would help extend projects such as paving, which CBRM planned to do anyway.

“We already have a capital budget,” said Ryan. “This just enhances it. Really, with the condition of our roads, this is great news. If we can continue on street paving, this is terrific news.”

Muir said the province will continue to balance its budgets, but to do so this past fiscal year — while providing more money for services — it has had to delay a debt payment and trim expenses in other areas.

Instead of paying about $106 million from federal offshore revenues on the provincial debt as required under law, Muir said the province made more money available for post-secondary education and other core services.

The budget will still be balanced, he said, but the province will have to change the legislation that includes “Nova Scotia’s unique definition of surplus,” a move he admitted could lead the opposition parties to force an election if they vote against the policy change.

The coming year’s budget — which includes the $20 million for municipalities — will also be balanced, but it “will not be a good news budget,” Muir added.
The government must make choices in order to fund core services and it will increase the debt to pay for its $1.9-billion infrastructure program, he said.

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Council rejects appeal of development permit

The Cape Breton Post

SYDNEY — Council in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality has voted unanimously to dismiss an appeal of the development permit application for a 39-bed expansion at the Northside Community Guest Home in North Sydney.

Mike McNeil, a resident who lives across the street from the facility, lodged an appeal with the municipality based on what McNeil believed is instability in the soil due to a well saturating the ground on site.

He insisted a permit shouldn’t be issued based on the engineer’s assessment that the pooling of water is nothing more than a “stagnant seasonal pond.”
In a letter to the municipality, McNeil referred to it as a well “gone wild.”

CBRM planner Malcolm Gillis said an engineering firm hired by the developer recommends the standing water be collected underground and piped to a storm sewer which will dispose of the water into the harbour.

Earlier this month, the municipality’s planning advisory committee rejected the appeal that would deny a development permit because the sole purpose of an appeal must be to influence the design of the site plan.

Council needed to vote on the issue to finalize the process.

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Neighbours against rezoning, council agrees

The Cape Breton Post

SYDNEY — Several residents, with petition in hand, were prepared to fight to keep one of their neighbours from opening a small cottage operation in North Sydney.

But in the end, a controversial rezoning that would have allowed some rural uses permitted within a few hundred feet of a neighbourhood zoned residential in the Gannon Road area was soundly voted down in a unanimous decision by council in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality.

Gary Hodder said he wanted to operate only two cottages beginning this fall.
They were to be built about 500 feet back from the road on West Street and MacInnis Drive.

Neighbours complained Hodder already had a website advertising Hodder Hill Cottages and Cabins, and had plans to open the area up to all-terrain vehicles, allow open pit fires, and develop areas for camping.

Susan Whitaker, who represented some residents at Tuesday’s meeting, said the idea of having tourists nearby partying into the late hours of the night isn’t sitting well with the community.

“This neighbourhood is a quiet area where people can raise children or they can retire here,” Whitaker said.

“It should not be turned into a project for business ventures, which would turn the dynamics of the neighbourhood upside down.”

For his part, Hodder rejected the notion he intended to attract campers or people looking for an ATV excursion.

“Tourists do not lead to the social demise of the neighbourhood,” he said.

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Good news

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Terminal, dredging get OK
Projects pass N.S. environmental assessment; federal approval expected

TOM AYERS
The Cape Breton Post

SYDNEY — The province has given its OK to the proposed dredging of Sydney harbour and construction of a container terminal in Sydport Industrial Park, and the proponents are hopeful that federal approval will follow shortly.

Nova Scotia Environment Minister David Morse gave the project approval Tuesday, with conditions that include creation of an environmental management plan, submission of detailed engineering plans, and other measures aimed at reducing any effects on groundwater, surface water, air quality, wetlands, wildlife and habitat. Waste must be minimized and recycled or disposed of properly.

“I am satisfied . . . that any adverse effects or significant environmental effects of the undertaking can be adequately mitigated through compliance with the attached terms and conditions,” the minister wrote in approving the proposal.

Peter Geddes, a provincial environmental assessment officer, said the project can only proceed as the proponents receive further approvals involved in the terms and conditions.

“What the environmental assessment does is essentially the company writes a report on what they think the environmental impacts could be . . . and how they plan to mitigate it,” he said.

“We bind them to a lot of those and add some more. We actually have other approvals to issue on this project.”

The provincial assessment covers the scope of the project, including dredging and construction of the terminal.

The project is also subject to a federal environmental assessment, which Geddes said would basically cover navigation in the harbour, fish and fish habitat.

Laurentian Energy CEO Jim Wooder, spokesman for the Sydney Marine Group which is proposing to construct the container terminal, said it is hoped the federal approval and any conditions can be received within the next week to 10 days.

“It’s excellent news,” he said of the provincial approval. “It’s 50 per cent of the equation and we’re now very focused on receiving the federal decision and dealing with any conditions attached to that.”

Wooder said it is difficult to predict the next steps in the process until the federal assessment is complete, because it will affect the cost of the project, which was initially estimated at $200 million.

The Sydney Marine Group has enlisted French investment firm Galaxy SARL to help secure financing for the project and is advocating for a private-public partnership, and while the proponents haven’t stood still waiting for the environmental assessments, the approvals are key to determining the actual costs of the project, said Wooder.

“We certainly haven’t given up on mounting a dredging campaign in 2009, but the timing is tight,” he said, adding the global economic downturn has hurt the investment world as well as the amount of container shipping being done.

However, with the economy in trouble it could be that dredging and construction companies are hungry for business, so it will be important to determine the costs.

“I guess we’ve known all along we can’t advance the plan until we know the conditions of these approvals,” said Wooder. “Until we have that it’s really difficult to determine the next steps.”

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Good thing about the time zone difference, I get the next day's stories while I'm still up.

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Ross McCurdy, president and CEO of the Cape Breton Development Corp., mingles following his speech at a breakfast meeting Wednesday at the Membertou Trade and Convention Centre. Greg McNeil - Cape Breton Post

‘Significant opportunity at our doorstep,’ says Devco president


GREG MCNEIL
The Cape Breton Post

SYDNEY — Eggs, sausage and the clean energy potential of the Sydney coalfields were on the menu of the Scotiabank Breakfast Series hosted by the Sydney and Area Chamber of Commerce, Wednesday.

Ross McCurdy, president and CEO of the Cape Breton Development Corp., was the guest speaker for the event and spoke of opportunities other than mining.

“We have a significant opportunity at our doorstep,” he said of energy potential equal to the Alberta oil sands.

“Most of the coal is offshore, so underground mining is not practical. We are advocating mining the energy, not the coal — leave the coal in the ground.”

McCurdy pointed to methane gas, biomining and the most practical local application, underground coal gasification, as potential opportunities.

There are currently six major players in the underground gasification industry, he said.

One of the two that has expressed interest in the Sydney coalfields has already visited the area.

“When they were made aware of the Sydney coalfield, its potential and the extent of it, they became very interested,” McCurdy said without revealing the company name.

“I guess really they can see there is a potential to have a viable business here and it probably makes sense.”

Similar systems are already at work in Alberta, Russia and Australia.

As for cost, a Wyoming underground coal gasification plant began with a $600-million capital investment and is employing 90-150 people full-time.

Funding of any local ventures is purely speculative at this point. McCurdy said a company would first have to step forward and develop their business case.

“Maybe they will be looking for partnership with the province or the federal government. Maybe they won’t. A lot depends on the business model.”

If a company does decide to proceed, coalfield development could begin as early as 2010.

“I think technology is far enough advanced today that allows us to mine the energy and not necessarily the coal. We can do this in a way to create some of the cleanest energy that exists in the world today.”

Knowledged-based skills will be required during the development of these opportunities, he said.

Once Devco ceases to exist in five years, Cape Breton University and local community colleges will be key players in the process.

“It is part of our legacy program to see that something is to be developed here. We want to do everything within our power to help it gain momentum as we leave. Then, in fact, this is really something that will take the place of us.”

Still around the links...wonder when they'll do the rest.
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Delays of up to 45 minutes expected on Highway 4

CHRIS SHANNON
The Cape Breton Post

SYDNEY — Continuing road work near Ben Eoin will require motorists using Highway 4 to leave home a bit earlier in order to make it to their destination on time.

Delays of 15 to 20 minutes can be expected as 6.5 kilometres of roadway is widened, realigned and repaved.

Blasting is also necessary to break up and remove rock to make it possible to widen the two-lane highway that runs from St. Peter’s to Sydney. When blasting, Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal project engineer Lloyd Hall estimates a delay of 30 minutes to as much as a 45-minute wait.

“With a solid rock face there’s a few spots where we’re actually realigning the road, raising it up in a few areas and pushing (the road) more into the rock face facing the water,” Hall said, Wednesday.

There was one blast Wednesday and another one may be scheduled for today depending on how much rock was moved in the initial blast.

In some areas, the road will be moved a considerable distance, Hall said.

“In some areas it’s very minor but in one section for about a kilometre it’s a fairly significant realignment. I guess at its peak it’s about a 12.5-metre shift.”

The construction project is a continuation of the work started in the area last year.

Several large culverts were positioned under the roadway to allow runoff to flow underneath the highway to minimize flooding. More culverts will also be put in place before the widened road is paved. Hall said the project is expected to continue until late August or early September.

And more blasting is expected as the project moves along, Hall said.

“We’ll probably go a week or so, maybe more, until we’re ready to blast again.”

Motorists can expect road work from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day. A pilot vehicle will guide drivers through the construction zone.

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PierScape staff and Whitney Pier Society for the Arts board members, from left, Shannon Dornadic, Kay Violande, Harriet Libbus, Patty McNeil, Sandra Dunn and Simon Gillis, look over some art that will be on display during PierScape, which begins Monday. Laura Jean Grant - Cape Breton Post

PierScape begins Monday

LAURA JEAN GRANT
The Cape Breton Post

Hundreds of pieces of art are stacked in every nook and cranny of the PierScape headquarters as staff and volunteers make final preparations for the festival.

And while the artwork may get a bit lost in the shuffle now, that will change next week when the paintings, sculptures and hand-stiched quilts go on display at the Whitney Pier Memorial Junior High School gymnasium.

“It’s a really creative place to work,” said PierScape co-ordinator Catherine Moir, in a brief break from the hustle and bustle and just minutes before a meeting with members of the Whitney Pier Society for the Arts, which runs the week-long event.

Moir said she’s lucky to work with such a dedicated and enthusiastic group.
“They’re all very creative and come up with new ideas each year,” she said.
“It’s always, ‘What can we do that’s new’?”

PierScape opens Monday at the school with Justice Valerie Miller, a native of Whitney Pier who was appointed a judge on the Tax Court of Canada in 2007, serving as guest speaker.

The main attraction is the visual arts exhibit at the school, which will be open daily from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. from Tuesday until Saturday.

“The theme this year is ‘Season of Growth’ and along the lines of that, PierScape is growing. We’re getting more and more artists and artwork,” said Moir, noting that approximately 120 Cape Breton artists are participating this year with each allowed to exhibit a maximum of four pieces. All artwork will be for sale.

The featured artist this year is Dorothy Rozeluk.

Two new events are being added this year.

An Italian dinner theatre May 9 at St. Nicholas Church Hall. The other new event is a Literary Cafe, Tuesday night, also at St. Nicholas Church Hall.

For more information call 567-1492 or visit www.pierscape.ca.

Some more local entertainment
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The cast of The No Class Reunion: Revenge is a Show Best Served with Dinner...Theatre show. Submitted by Pam Leader


Eat, drink and be merry

LAURA JEAN GRANT
The Cape Breton Post

GLACE BAY — Food and comedy will be served up in equal portions during a new dinner theatre production coming to the Savoy Theatre.

The show entitled, The No Class Reunion: Revenge is a Show Best Served with Dinner...Theatre, opens Friday at 7 p.m., and plays again May 7, 8, 14, 15 and 16, all starting at 7 p.m. at the Glace Bay venue. More performance dates are expected to be added throughout the spring.

The show will feature an all-local, seven-person cast of actors who have been working on the project with Glace Bay native Colin Appleton, an experienced musician and veteran of many dinner theatre productions and shows in the region including the popular Art and Paul: A Show They Never Gave, and A Christmas at the Causeway.

“It’s part of a Service Canada grant that these seven people are on that they’re learning all aspects of theatre, from writing right up to performing ... and everything in between,” said Appleton.

And what better way to learn all that than by creating and producing a dinner theatre.

“I basically started from scratch with them and we bounced around ideas and it took a couple weeks to get a script together,” he said.

The plot of the show revolves around fictional local business tycoon, Montgomery Schwartz, who is hosting an event in celebration of his newly acquired theatre.

“Basically this guy is a millionaire businessman and he purchases the Savoy and he wants to put on this variety show but his reasons are he wants to get back at people that made fun of him as he was growing up, like people he went to school with,” explained Appleton.

As the show unfolds, and as the performers begin to feel more embarrassment than adulation, they begin to question why they were recruited to perform in the first place.

The result, promises Appleton, is a fun night of music and comedy, and the audience will have a front row seat.

“The characters in the show wait on the tables in character, serving their drinks and food. The show is completely comedy so it’s a pretty relaxing, laid-back evening,” said Appleton. “It’s a fun night out for everyone. You get a meal, you get a show and you’re home by 10:30 p.m.”

Tickets to the dinner theatre are $39.95 and that includes a three-course meal, the show, taxes and gratuity. For tickets or more information contact the Savoy box office at 842-1577 or visit their website at www.savoytheatre.com.

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Regional municipality projects could receive government funding

GREG MCNEIL
The Cape Breton Post

SYDNEY — The governments of Canada and Nova Scotia have set aside $28 million in joint funding for stimulus projects in the Halifax and Cape Breton regional municipalities.

The money is part of the federal $4-billion Infrastructure Stimulus Fund which provides money to provincial, territorial and municipal construction-ready infrastructure rehabilitation projects.

Although recent discussions were held with Service Nova Scotia, the CBRM’s economic development manager said the municipality is still waiting to learn about its share of the funds.

“Our understanding of the fund is there is not necessarily a set amount that will be allocated to CBRM,” said John Whalley. “It is going to be allocated on a project by project basis. Both municipalities, basically, will submit a list of projects for approval.”

Although unsure of the amount of the funds, Whalley said there is usually a four to one funding ratio between the HRM and CBRM that is considered.

“So out of $28 million if we receive probably something around $5-6 million, that is what we would expect.”

In the meantime, the municipality has submitted a list of potential projects which are not currently being identified.

“None of those project proposals from either municipality has been approved at this point. They are just saying they are designating this amount of money for the two entities right now.”

The federal and provincial governments will each contribute up to one-third of eligible costs, with municipalities expected to contribute one-third.

“The issue for us always is having enough money because all of these are cost-shared, so the problem with us is having the money to meet the one-third required of all these initiatives. That is really the trouble.”

In all, 26 infrastructure projects in Nova Scotia will receive a joint federal-provincial investment of $55.8 million under the fund.

Projects must be built during this and next year’s construction seasons.

The funding was announced Thursday by Premier Rodney MacDonald and Peter MacKay, minister of the Atlantic Gateway.

The governments also noted a $136-million joint investment in key infrastructure projects between the governments of Nova Scotia and Canada.

In addition, the federal government and partners identified six projects worth $172 million to support the longer-term objectives of the Atlantic Gateway.

I want to know which projects...dagnammit!



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Coal’s obituary a bit premature

The Cape Breton Post

On Tuesday, federal Environment Minister Jim Prentice was describing planned climate-change regulations that could hasten the end of conventional coal-fired power plants in Cape Breton. The next day, the president of the Cape Breton Development Corporation, Ross McCurdy, was talking about prospects for exploiting the Sydney coalfields with new technologies.

Coal is dead. Long live King Coal.

The two things are not unrelated. Rising environmental concerns, especially over greenhouse gas emissions, are putting the screws to conventional coal-burning and driving the search for new technologies to unlock the energy without the pollution. Not all the technologies are new. In the spirit of the age, some are recycled. Coal gasification, one of the more promising technologies for the Sydney coalfields, provided the fuel for the street lights of Victorian England before natural gas and electricity came along.

Gasification can be incorporated as part of an integrated gasification-combined cycle (IGCC) which greatly reduces both the acid rain pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions compared to what solid coal would produce.

Methane collection from coal beds and garbage dumps is established technology, though the practicality depends greatly on the particular situation. Commercial methane extraction started at a closed municipal dump near Mount Uniacke in 2007 and work has been done to develop coal-bed methane in both the Cumberland and Stellarton basins. Stealth Ventures Inc.
ran into technical problems last year in its effort to develop methane in the Springhill area but the potential remains strong for this technique in several areas of Nova Scotia.

The interest in alternative coal technologies goes back many years in Cape Breton. Halifax-based Eastern Canadian Coal Gas Venture once sued Devco claiming that the decision to flood the abandoned Lingan colliery in 1992 abrogated an earlier agreement for the development of methane. Back in early 1980s former federal Liberal cabinet minister Alastair Gillespie crusaded for the construction of a coal liquefaction plant at the Strait to turn Cape Breton coal into liquid fuels. A blockaded Germany had used such technology during the Second World War, as had apartheid South Africa when it too fell under economic sanctions.

In the present day, methane collection has been studied as part of Xstrata Coal’s plan to develop Donkin for the mining old-fashioned solid carbon.

So some of the alternative technologies are proven in some circumstances and are being refined all the time, while more exotic techniques — using microbes, for example — are more futuristic. It’s all a matter of technical and economic feasibility in a particular situation, and unless the world turns suddenly from all forms of carbon-based energy (to Star Trek anti-matter engines, for example), the potential of the Sydney coalfields will beckon.

Exploiting this resource with alternative technologies may not inspire lamp-lit choruses of Working Man but it should be a lot safer.

[Smevo]

http://www.capebretonpost.com/index....=247727&sc=145

Veterans are shown under the new sign, Peacekeepers Way, Saturday.



Highways re-named during ceremonies

The Cape Breton Post

SYDNEY — Peacekeeping veterans, local politicians and family members were on hand for the unveiling of a new sign Saturday re-naming Highway 125 from the intersection on Grand Lake Road to North Sydney, Peacekeepers Way, in recognition of their service.

Another section of the Trans-Canada from North Sydney to the Canso Causeway also received a new name as well Saturday, the Mabel and Alexander Graham Bell Way, to honour the contributions of the famous inventor and his wife.

Edit: The Post fixed the mistake. Someone must have pointed it out to them...either that or someone on staff reads this message board.



Just some commentaries this weekend:
http://www.capebretonpost.com/index....=247556&sc=151

CBU rationed at the picnic

The Cape Breton Post

Efforts to develop a proposed environment and energy centre at Cape Breton University have flown so much under the radar for nearly the past year that CBU president John Harker’s reaction to the university infrastructure list this week may have struck some ears as a tad ungrateful.

After all, it was back in February when Harker, commenting on an capital asking list compiled by the Council of Nova Scotia University Presidents, said CBU’s need for the most urgent repairs came to $6 million. And this week, when a federal-provincial capital funding package of $114 million for post-secondary institutions rolled out, coincidentally on the eve of an expected provincial election, CBU got $6 million and change for repairs and energy retrofits to three buildings on the campus.

So, at first blush, it looked like CBU got exactly what it had asked for. Harker promptly bit the hands passing out cheques and demanded to know what had happened to CBU’s other $15 million. Gosh, isn’t that a bit churlish?

A key point, however, is that this big joint government announcement was not about urgent repairs and renovations to keep the rain out, though there is some of that included. It’s all about driving innovation, research and development, and so on — in addition, of course, to stimulating the recession-flattened economy.

Listening to the rhetoric flowing Thursday, one could swear they were all talking about CBU’s proposed $21 million centre for water management, environmental remediation, and renewable and sustainable energy that was unfailed last June. University chancellor Annette Verschuren, president of The Home Depot in Canada and Asia, started off the private fundraising component of the project (now set at $6 million) with a personal contribution of $500,000. The hope was to raise an additional $7.5 million each from provincial and federal sources.

Then the recession hit and governments put out the call for shovel-ready projects. The timing, it seemed, could not have been better, and CBU evidently thought it was on the fast track. CBU’s first Chair of Mine Water Remediation and Management, funded through Devco for five years, is already in place.

There was no immediate explanation for why CBU’s environment and energy centre has not been funded but it could not have been that the project is too big for the package. Three projects — at Dalhousie ($27 million) and Saint Mary’s ($22.33 million) in Halifax, and St. F.X. ($22.7 million) in Antigonish — account for three quarters of the $96.5 million set aside specifically for universities. St. F.X. will be able to complete the Gerald Schwartz School of Business and Information Systems on the heels of the new $17 million Coady Institute that’s to be ready by summer. Another way to look at the list unveiled Thursday is that about 60 per cent of the funding is allocated to Halifax institutions.

Harker wants a “transparent explanation” for why CBU didn’t make the cut. Unless government can point out some fatal weakness in the plan CBU has proposed, there’s no better time to fund it.

The Halifax-centred funding isn't surprising due to the number of universities in the city, but that CBU was left out completely is curious. The only provincial infrastructure funding coming to CBU other than the "necessary repairs fund" is the provincial share of the CB Health and Recreation Complex (a $10M project in total, of which the province is contributing 1/3 I think).


http://www.capebretonpost.com/index....=247549&sc=595

Equitable economic development won’t happen without policy push

The Cape Breton Post

Halifax is fortunate to have a cushion of military, university, hospital and government institutions that help shield it from the effects of business setbacks like the present meltdown. The north and south of Nova Scotia are not so fortunate.

Growth in Halifax-Truro is fine but prosperity does not automatically trickle into the other areas. I don’t see how Yarmouth and New Waterford have benefited from the growth of the hub. The non-hub areas suffer from high unemployment, lower wages and population decline.

The only way that growth in a dynamic hub can help peripheral regions is through planning. It does not happen automatically.

The business leaders in the Halifax-Truro corridor should be grateful to government for its ongoing advice and support. It is doubtful whether this development could have happened without significant government support, both provincial and federal. The federal agencies usually follow the lead of the province.

There is a wide range of special supports for Halifax business. Innovacorp, the government business research agency, has had a sizeable staff of experts with an investment fund of $10 million and its activities have been mainly in the Halifax area. Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency gave $10 million to Vancouver-based Growth Works, an investment company, to open an office in Halifax.

Nobody in Nova Scotia should resent this government support for business when it has resulted in such positive growth. What people outside the Halifax region do resent is that most government officials prefer to work with successful businesses in the Halifax core rather than with challenged businesses outside of the core.

Their approach has been to help businesses that are already successful to become more successful, a policy of going with the “winners.”

Is this good public policy? Maybe these successful businesses would become more successful on their own. Surely to heavens the business leaders in dynamic Halifax are now able to go it on their own.

The big question is whether the province will dedicate this same kind of energy to the south and north. There is a major political policy question:
When should governments intervene in the private business sector?

It is strange to me that there has been very heavy government intervention, by the province especially, in the Halifax hub but much less outside.
Traditionally, most people have said that the government should support infrastructure and basic services such as health and education, and eradicate clear cases of poverty. The private sector should be able to support itself.

Intervention in private business was justified only when there was a problem, such as unemployment and lack of economic growth. It is difficult to understand the high level of government intervention in the most prosperous area of Atlantic Canada while governments neglect the problem areas.

It appears that the vibrant, Halifax-Truro corridor does not need any further intervention. Agencies mandated by government to help business should intervene where the problems exist.

Innovacorp and Nova Scotia Business Inc. should be asked to dedicate the greater part of their resources to the problem areas of the province. Would their government-paid staff consent to live outside of the comfortable hub with its high level of amenities, which are usually subsidized by government?

A good portion of staff should be relocated to the problem areas where they will be really tested. We can’t blame government officials for preferring to live in prosperous areas like Halifax and Ottawa but public policy should not be based on personal preference.

Besides business support, the other instrument available to government which does not involve extra cost is decentralization government offices. P.E.I., which is smaller than Cape Breton, is decentralizing government to spread prosperity more fairly.

This was a policy of both Conservative and Liberal governments there.
Newfoundland and Labrador, as well as New Brunswick, have also followed this policy. Newfoundland Premier Danny Williams moved the library service to Stephenville from St. John’s and there was no problem. Internet makes such decentralization easy.

I do not assert that there are no public policy challenges in the growing corridor area. Rather, I claim that the problems are not of a business development nature; they involve issues such as affordable housing, child care and personal security. Rather than give help to successful businesses that do not require it, the province should consider programs such as low interest mortgages for low income citizens and higher home care support for seniors in the Halifax area.

These remarks have nothing to do with the staffs involved in these agencies. They have done their work well; they obeyed the politicians and the friends of politicians.

It is up to the politicians to decide what the main problems and priorities of the government should be.

Many of us in the south and north of the province are deeply concerned about our survival. When we vote we would like some clear indication of public policy issues such as equalization within Nova Scotia.

Greg MacLeod
director,
Tompkins Institute at Cape Breton University

Why did I post the last one? Because it's a slow news day. I don't agree with all of it, but perhaps some, especially about growth naturally "trickling down" to areas 4-5 hrs away. If anything, it's the opposite. [/editorial]

[Smevo]

A lot to catch up on, so I'll hold of on the editorial notes unless something really strikes a nerve.

http://www.capebretonpost.com/index....=248253&sc=152

Public asked for ideas on how to make communities healthier, more vibrant

BY CHRIS SHANNON
The Cape Breton Post

SYDNEY — Residents in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality will soon be asked their opinions on how to make their community healthier and more
vibrant.

The integrated community sustainability plan was given the go-ahead at a CBRM corporate services committee meeting Monday, which will “integrate economic, environmental, social and cultural sustainability objectives” into a living, evolving document, CBRM economic development manager John Whalley said.

Whalley said staff will begin preparation of the plan immediately, with notification of the public within a week “to provide a period of at least six weeks for submissions from individuals and organizations.”

“Give us your ideas, not only about whether the region is sustainable or not, but what are the principal investments, what are the principal policies, what are the principal changes that are required to enhance the sustainability of this region,” he told councillors, Monday.

Composing the document is part of a 2005 agreement on the transfer of federal gas tax revenues to municipalities. The plan must be submitted by all municipal units as the fifth year of the agreement winds down, Whalley said.

The CBRM is expected to receive in excess of $7-million this year from federal gas tax revenues, CBRM’s chief administrative officer Jerry Ryan said.

Whalley said the gas tax transfer program is one of those government initiatives that actually treats the CBRM fairly based on its share of expenditures and size of its population.

It’s expected staff will have prepared a draft document by September, allowing council to make any necessary changes before it’s adopted by the end of the year.

http://www.capebretonpost.com/index....=248200&sc=595

CBU environment and energy project denied though it met all criteria

The Cape Breton Post

I feel obliged to say how pleased I was at the editorial in Saturday’s paper (CBU Rationed at the Picnic) indicating why we at Cape Breton University feel that the community has been short-changed in the recent infrastructure announcements.

Under my stewardship, CBU will never become the kind of institution that takes public money for granted. I am not alone in thinking that money spent from the public purse on post-secondary education must be prized as a public good.

There is, of course, a point to be registered here. We must argue for appropriate public funding but we also share a responsibility to make every effort to ensure that the public money invested in our universities is well spent.

That is the public trust we have to honour, and, as president of CBU, I will continue to honour it with all the vigour I can summon.

In my years here I have seen clearly that the community at CBU is determined to provide value for money, to make the most of the university experience for the good of not just our students but also of the community at large.

And what a community this is — varied, yes, but with the commonality that is often bred by adversity, facing great challenges with a determination capable of transforming these into opportunities.

Transformation is what our proposed Centre for Sustainability in Energy and the Environment is all about.

We have applied for government funding to create this centre so that we can help advance the focus on establishing Cape Breton as a major supplier of green energy and, through effective, reliable, monitoring of the various cleanups underway here, help secure Cape Breton’s primacy as a supplier of technologies and techniques in environmental remediation and stewardship.
The community needs, and deserves, nothing less.

We at CBU will not be found wanting by anyone with a genuine commitment to helping our Cape Breton community secure a sustainable future, and energy and the environment are key to this being possible. In this spirit, our proposal for a new centre will stand comparison with any project, anywhere.
We know that a great community does need a great university, which must be enabled to engage in cutting-edge research, not restricted to other efforts even if they are conducted in classrooms protected from wind and rain.

We are appreciative of the money to refit aging brick and leaky windows; these are necessary retrofits for any facility. It is not an investment in a new economic future for Cape Breton.

The future for Cape Breton has to be sustainable, and it must be about freedom from years of deprivation and, yes, forced dependency.

What a future that could be. We do appreciate it when public money is made available to the university but who in this community can appreciate it when the university is singled out for denial of a major opportunity, a transforming one, when that denial is not explained — and, I suspect, cannot be in terms that will stand up to scrutiny?

We have asked for an explanation. We know we prepared a solid proposal which met all criteria. But still we alone were denied. Why?

H. John Harker
president and vice-chancellor.
Cape Breton University

There's also a second Rocky Mountain Chocolate that just opened up downtown...looks like its in the Crowell's building from the address. Can anyone confirm this?

[Smevo]

http://www.capebretonpost.com/index....=248581&sc=145

A packed WestJet Boeing 737 arrived at the Sydney airport for the first time, Tuesday morning, kicking off the company’s new non-stop Sydney-to-Toronto service. Steve Wadden - Cape Breton Post

WestJet lands in Sydney

GREG MCNEIL
The Cape Breton Post

SYDNEY — Excitement was in the air above Sydney airport Tuesday as a new air service touched down in Cape Breton.

Following five years of lobbying and several flyovers Tuesday, a WestJet Boeing 737 landed in Sydney for the first time to kick off its non-stop Sydney-to-Toronto service.

“Honest to heavens there is a great feeling in the airport today,” said Larry MacPherson, CEO of the Sydney Airport Authority.

“It is unbelievable when you are moving 110 people out May 5 out of Sydney direct to Toronto. That is very exciting and that has to do with price point, that has to do with WestJet marketing their product in Toronto.”

Dale Lynk was first off the flight when it landed in Sydney on schedule at 10:30 a.m.

Lynk, whose day began in Edmonton, Alta., said choosing a WestJet flight saved time.

“If I had flown Air Canada I wouldn’t have got here until 4:30 this afternoon. I flew here in six hours. It was going to take me 16 (hours) or something like that to get home with Air Canada. It was the convenience over the cost.”
Hayes MacNeil, chairman of the SAA, said WestJet’s arrival improves the quality of service the airport can offer the community.

“Since the day we announced WestJet was going to service our area there has been an enthusiastic buzz. Today we start a partnership with WestJet that we hope will lead to success for them, for our community and for our airport authority.”

Shane Carson, WestJet regional manager for Eastern Canada, hopes the successful inaugural flight to Sydney can become a permanent, mutually beneficial relationship.

“Cape Bretoners are a warm welcoming bunch. As WestJeters, we consider ourselves the same, so we think it was a natural fit for us to come into the Sydney market.”

MacPherson is pleased WestJet finally decided to come to Sydney but said community support will be needed to keep the service here.

Initially, WestJet’s Sydney-to-Toronto service will fly Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday.

A fourth day will be added during peak summer months.

Air Canada began its seasonal non-stop service between Sydney and Toronto last week.

MacPherson said both WestJet and Air Canada offer a good service and that the competition should mean better prices for travellers.

Related video! (sound's not working on my computer, so I can't hear what's being said).

[Smevo]

Lawsuit, lawsuit, lawsuit.

http://www.capebretonpost.com/index....=249795&sc=145

CBRM lawsuit denied again

The Cape Breton Post

By Nancy King
Cape Breton Post

SYDNEY — Cape Breton Regional Municipality Mayor John Morgan said he is disappointed but not discouraged and pledged to appeal the municipality’s lawsuit against the province to the Supreme Court of Canada.

Morgan made the declaration Friday, after the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal dismissed CBRM’s appeal of a previous decision to throw out the lawsuit by Nova Scotia Supreme Court Justice John Murphy last year.

“Obviously, we would have preferred that the final outcome be different, but if you examine the decision closely, there are some very significant elements of it that in fact help the overall effort,” Morgan said.

The CBRM lawsuit argues that Section 36 of the Constitution has been breached by the province because it hasn’t provided a comparable level of services based on comparable tax rates.

Morgan said he was heartened by the appeal court’s finding that there may be cases where the section is justiciable, or subject to trial in a court of law.

“That’s not what many people who opposed our litigation have said in the past,” Morgan said.

The 34-page Nova Scotia Court of Appeal decision was written by Chief Justice Michael MacDonald, who is originally from Whitney Pier, with Justice Linda Oland and Justice Joel Fichaud concurring.

The court heard the appeal in February, and in their decision, dismissed it without costs.

The decision found that Section 36 may be justiciable in some circumstances, but only among the federal and provincial governments who were privy to the agreement, and it is not actionable by an individual or municipality such as the CBRM.

MacDonald wrote that this is something the CBRM would have to establish if the matter was to proceed further.

See ‘Pleadings’ page A2

“The Chambers judge committed no error of law because it remains ‘plain and obvious’ that these pleadings disclose no reasonable cause of action,” MacDonald wrote.

“Respectfully they are ‘certain to fail’ and ‘absolutely unsustainable’”.

MacDonald noted there is no mention of municipal units like the CBRM in Section 36, only a statement that provincial and federal governments are to promote opportunities, well-being and reasonable public services for Canadians.

He noted the CBRM’s submission necessarily assumes that the reference to Canadians means that any Canadian may sue under the section to enforce his or her rights, and that the CBRM may sue as a representative of those Canadians from the CBRM.

“In my respectful view, nothing in (Section 36) supports the existence of such a constitutional cause of action,” he wrote.

MacDonald added the point that is relevant is that the parties privy to the agreement codified in the section are the federal and provincial governments, not individual Canadians or municipalities such as the CBRM.

Morgan said where he disagrees with the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal’s decision is that it leaves no remedy for those whose rights are infringed upon by government.

The CBRM has given its lawyers instruction to file the application for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada.

“We’re going to soldier on and we’re going to do what it takes to protect the region,” Morgan said.

Despite the unanimous ruling by the court of appeal, Morgan said there is reason to believe the Supreme Court of Canada will decide to hear the matter.

He said there has never been a clear ruling by that court on the provision of the Constitution and argued it is similar to challenges by Mi’kmaq and francophones under other sections of the Constitution which were initially unsuccessful at lower courts.

“The very nature of why someone is going to the courts with a constitutional complaint is government, by definition, has failed them,” Morgan said.

Attorney General Cecil Clarke said he was pleased with the decision, saying it is consistent with the position taken by the province, and hoped the process was coming to a close, but acknowledged there is a 60-day period in which the CBRM could file an appeal.

“To go before the Supreme Court of Canada, that will be a choice for the municipality and one that I think will cost the taxpayers needless money when there are other priorities to be addressed,” he said.

As for the timing of the decision and the chance that it may become an issue in the Progressive Conservative minority government’s current re-election bid, Clarke said he is prepared to engage in that debate.

He added people he has talked to on the campaign trail want resources directed to creating jobs and supporting health care and education.

CBRM council has previously directed that the matter not be brought back to it until the lawsuit is concluded, Morgan said.

He didn’t have an updated figure for the cost, but said it has always come in within budgeted amounts.

Read the full decision on The Cape Breton Post website.

http://www.capebretonpost.com/docume...2009nsca44.pdf

http://www.capebretonpost.com/index....=249800&sc=145

Permission needed before appeal can be heard

The Cape Breton Post

In all civil, and most criminal, cases, in order to appeal a decision of a provincial court of appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada, the high court must first grant permission (or leave) to appeal.

According to the Supreme Court Act, an application for leave may be granted when the court finds the case raises an issue of public importance, and is therefore a case that ought to be decided by the court.

The case must raise an issue that goes beyond the immediate interest of the parties to the case. As many as 600 applications for leave are filed each year, but the court grants approximately 70.

Applications for leave are usually decided by a panel of three judges.

In civil matters and most criminal cases, the application is made in writing only. Parties do not have to appear at the court to argue their application.
In very rare cases, the Court may ask that an oral hearing be held.

A decision on leave can be expected, generally, from one to three months after the application is filed.

If the application is granted, it only means a party has permission to argue its appeal.

The court doesn’t usually issue reasons for its decisions to allow or dismiss an application for leave.

A judgement on a leave is final in all but the most exceptional cases.

http://www.capebretonpost.com/index....=249780&sc=151

It’s all going according to plan

The Cape Breton Post

Stage 2 of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality’s constitutional case against the Nova Scotia government is in the books and so far everything’s going according to plan. But whose plan?

Opponents of CBRM’s legal strategy, which Mayor John Morgan has championed throughout his tenure, said from the outset that it didn’t stand a snowball’s chance in Hell of succeeding. So far they are right. The Nova Scotia Court of Appeal on Friday ruled 3-0 that Justice John Murphy’s decision last year against CBRM should stand. It’s province 2, CBRM 0 in court.

But Morgan himself had already predicted as much, creating the expectation that CBRM had to lose at the provincial level to get its one shot at justice at the Supreme Court of Canada, following the pattern that established francophone minority language rights and Mi’kmaq treaty rights. So in that sense the grand strategy is right on course.

Yet while the mayor claims to be heartened by some of the language in the appeal decision, the fact is that this is the second decisive ruling against CBRM in the case and we could just a formality away from the end of this.
CBRM must seek leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada which could, as it does more often than not, refuse without explanation. That would be the end of the road.

It should be noted as well that while the end could come this summer, ultimate victory for CBRM, as improbable as that seems, would still be a long way off. Were the municipality to get a hearing and win the next appeal, that would merely enable the case to be heard on its merits. It has been suggested that if CBRM could get to that point of presenting the meat of its case, the province might be persuaded to negotiate in good faith. But without one court win, the municipality has no leverage from any of this.

It’s all about Section 36 of the Constitution which speaks of federal and provincial commitments to promote equality across the country in economic opportunity, development and public services. CBRM wants the courts to declare that the province is failing its commitments under the section, specifically to this region.

Although the appeal upholds the Murphy finding that it is “plain and obvious” the case cannot succeed, Chief Justice Michael MacDonald, writing for the appeal court, zeroes in on what he acknowledges to be “a very narrow question” of whether a municipality (or an individual Canadian) can bring an action under s.36. The answer, in his clearly worded decision, is no. Parties to this section are the two senior governments, and if the section is capable of being interpreted by the courts (which it may be) it would be up to one of those two levels of government to bring the action.

In the great patriation battles of the late ’70s and early ’80s, municipalities tried to gain constitutional recognition. Had they succeeded, as aboriginal people did, we might very well be witnessing a different outcome now. But that’s an alternative history that never happened.

[Smevo]

http://www.capebretonpost.com/index....=250309&sc=145

Public learning more about tar ponds

ERIN POTTIE
The Cape Breton Post

SYDNEY — Water flowing in and out of the tar ponds has made the environmental remediation project one of the most unique in the world, say officials.

Project experts with the Sydney Tar Ponds Agency will soon start to divert water from two area brooks and will also block the flow of ocean tides, as part of the large remediation of the ponds, also known as Muggah Creek.

The tidal estuary covers an area of 31 hectares and contains more than 700,000 tonnes of toxic sediments — the byproduct of nearly a century of steel and coke production at the former Sydney steel plant.

“We have to control the water,” said Dan MacDonald of CBCL Ltd., consulting engineers. “We have to stop the ocean from coming in and then we have pick up these brooks and pump them around so we can create a dry environment to do the cleanup.”

MacDonald said the preferred choice of environmental remediation is stabilization and solidification.

Some experts believe the project could be carried out with the water in place, but engineers for the Sydney project did not want to be a test pilot.

“It’s been done a lot throughout the world, but not underwater,” said Alexander Wilson, water resources engineer with CBCL. “It’s a huge project — it’s very rare that you can have pumping stations that pump really two rivers almost at their peak flows — not just during the summer at its dry season . . . so it’s really special.”

Donnie Burke, agency project director, said temporary pumping stations will soon be built near the site, as the first step in a phased approach of treating the tar ponds sediment.

“This project is one of the marquees,” said Burke. “We have almost like an estuarine setting which is very unique in the fact that we don’t only have water flowing out, we have water flowing in as well.”

Burke said practices established in the Sydney project will likely be utilized throughout the world.

Once the ponds have been stabilized, a channel will be built to permanently divert the flow of water from the area as the project nears its completion date of 2014.

Project experts will be available to further explain the process during two open houses, including one at Whitney Pier Royal Canadian Legion today, and again Wednesday at Etoile de l’Acadie in Sydney. Both will take place from 3-7 p.m.

http://www.capebretonpost.com/index....=250328&sc=709

Amalgamation promise draws interest in Cape Breton

TOM AYERS
The Cape Breton Post

SYDNEY — Premier Rodney MacDonald’s election campaign promise to review amalgamation in the Halifax Regional Municipality is drawing interest in two regions of Cape Breton, if not for amalgamation at least for municipal reform.

Port Hawkesbury Mayor Billy Joe MacLean says he is still interested in pursuing amalgamation of the town with a neighbouring county, and Cape Breton Regional Municipality Deputy Mayor Clarence Prince says he would welcome a review of amalgamation in the industrial region.

Over the weekend, MacDonald said if re-elected the Conservatives would hire an independent agency to review amalgamation in HRM, where many people have complaints about tax rates and the level of services provided by the regional municipality.

HRM is about the same size as Prince Edward Island.

“There is no question that a municipality of this size presents many challenges,” said MacDonald. “At the end of the day, this may be the best model there is, but we need to end the debate.”0

MacLean has advocated amalgamation for Port Hawkesbury and said the premier’s announcement opens the door for a new debate about municipal tax reform.

He said towns are at a disadvantage because their residents pay for 100 per cent of road construction and maintenance, sidewalks, curbs and gutters, and water and sewer services.

Counties and cities have different tax formulas that include provincial funding for many of those services, said MacLean.

“There has to be municipal reform to balance the formulas,” he said.

MacLean said as chairman of a Union of Nova Scotia Municipalities committee representing 31 towns over the past two years, he quietly pitched two options to provincial bureaucrats and politicians: either consider amalgamating towns with counties or reform municipal finance to make tax rates and services comparable.

“I’ve even suggested that they give Inverness or Richmond county permission to annex Port Hawkesbury,” he added, although no one has been willing to consider that.

“They haven’t wanted to touch it because it’s not a matter of doing the right thing, but the politically correct thing.

“What could happen is they could sidestep amalgamation and give towns the same tax rate as the counties. They give us that and you’ll never hear me mention amalgamation again.”

Prince, a former councillor and mayor of Sydney Mines prior to CBRM’s creation in 1995, said although amalgamation has benefitted urban residents, he admits it has upset those in rural areas who say they are paying more taxes but receiving fewer services.

He said since amalgamation, many of the former industrial centres have been able to attract more provincial funding for services.

“To me, it’s working,” Prince said. “A lot of people don’t seem to agree . . . but as far as the urbanites, we’re getting a bigger bang for our buck.”

If the province is reviewing HRM, he added, it should conduct a review of CBRM, the province’s second-largest municipality.

In 2007, residents of the former County of Cape Breton asked CBRM council to review its tax rates and provincial assessment rates, saying they were paying more than their fair share of taxes but not receiving comparable services to urban areas.

Prince said council did not do that review, but a provincial review could look into rates and services in CBRM.

“It’d be complicated, but it would be worthwhile to go through the exercise,” he said.

I've said it before, I'll say it again in both HRM and CBRM cases...amalgamate the urban, leave the rural the "county".



http://www.capebretonpost.com/index....=250332&sc=149

Guest home extension will bring changes to Munro Park

BY CHRIS SHANNON
The Cape Breton Post

NORTH SYDNEY — Changes are coming soon for walkers loyal to the Munro Park walking track.

In a couple of weeks, a large section, possibly as much as one-quarter of the track, will be removed temporarily to allow for construction of an extension to the park’s next-door neighbour, the Northside Community Guest Home.

Part of the agreement between the park society and the nursing home was to work with the Cape Breton Regional Municipality to ensure park infrastructure isn’t lost due to the 39-bed expansion to the nursing home.

Bill Murphy, CBRM manager of parks, grounds and buildings, said the disruption to the boardwalk will last until the spring of 2010.

“They’ll be able to use a portion (of the boardwalk) but they won’t be able to do the normal loop. You can still walk to a point and then turn around and walk back,” Murphy said.

He said no section of the boardwalk as it exists today will be lost.

“It’ll be replaced, actually, once the new building is put in,” he said.

“We’re also building a regulation size soccer field at Munro Park. The existing large soccer field that’s there now will be going down for a year as well.
We’re making plans to move the North Sydney soccer (groups) to Bras d’Or school.”

Part of the regulation size soccer field will be on the site of the former DND building, which was demolished last fall.

The mini soccer field is also being developed and children will have access to it this summer. Standards are being installed for the lights and the parking lot will be paved.

Signs notifying the public of the changes will be posted next week.

Murphy said so far there have been no complaints about the temporary changes.

“It’s just a matter of letting people know before it happens so they can make alternate plans to continue their walks.

“It’s quite a popular boardwalk, used daily by walkers.”

Other improvements to Munro Park include refurbishing the entrance to the park with a memorial flag stand, coloured concrete walkways, new entrance signage, extensive landscaping and lighting.

[Smevo]

http://www.capebretonpost.com/index....=250773&sc=152

Dredging, terminal receive federal environmental OK

The Cape Breton Post

SYDNEY — The federal environmental assessment for Laurentian Energy Corp.’s plan to dredge Sydney harbour and build a world-class container terminal has been approved, a little over a week after the provincial government gave its environmental approval for the project.

“Federal and provincial environmental approvals represent a quantum step forward for the project,” Laurentian CEO Jim Wooder said in a news release Tuesday. “Our team is steadfastly committed to the development of an economically and environmentally sustainable project.”

The approval means Laurentian now has conditional permission to proceed with the project. Combined with the recent provincial approval, the federal decision confirms that all of the regulatory agencies involved with the environmental assessment are of the opinion that the project is not likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects with the application of appropriate mitigation measures, said Wooder.

Among other things, Laurentian is now required to submit plans and obtain approvals for environmental effects monitoring, dredge management and projects designed to compensate for any harmful alteration, disruption or destruction of fish habitat.

Earlier this year the province committed $2 million in support of the remaining preparatory work to be completed in advance of channel dredging. This was followed by a federal contribution of $1 million in support of initiatives related to port governance.

Discussions on the financing of the dredging work are well advanced among private companies with strong commercial ties to the port and public-sector funding partners, said Wooder.

Several key developments in the implementation of the Sydney ports master plan will be considered at Ports Day, Thursday. These include unveiling of plans for a new capital project by Sydney Ports Corporation in connection with its growing cruise business.

Laurentian and the Sydney Ports Corporation are members of the Sydney Marine Group, the private-public collaborative that is stewarding the implementation of the ports master plan.