The Muskrat Falls hydro project in Labrador is the mainstay, keystone, and linchpin of Nova Scotia’s energy plan for the next half century. It promises enormous benefits for us—and for Newfoundland—in a setting where no practical alternative exists. Without it, the mainmast snaps, the arch collapses, and the wheels come off. That’s why last week’s reckless blustering by Stan Marshall, newly appointed CEO of Nalcor, Newfoundland’s troubled government-owned energy corporation, about possible cancelation of the half-built project, ought to alarm Premier Stephen McNeil. [Disclosure: In 2011 and 2012, I carried out writing projects for Emera Inc., involving the Maritime Link, the undersea cable that...

02 May, 2016

Male ruby-throated Hummingbirds began appearing on mainland Nova Scotia last week, according to the first arrival map at Hummingbird.net. It's only a matter of days before we get word of a Caper hummer. Males, which are easily distinguished by their iridescent red throats, arrive ahead of the females. Nova Scotia's first hummer of the year appeared on April 19, and half a dozen more have been reported since. Each early report is recorded with a dot, colour-coded in half-month increments, so its easy to track the northward progress. The hummers that entertain us at feeders for the next five months likely spent the winter in Mexico, in Central America, or on...

28 April, 2016

Saturday I happened upon a huge lineup for Sydney's latest Chase-the-Ace spectacle and came away with mixed feelings. Cape Breton readers were sharply divided. Earlier I published some thoughts from participants who think it's all good fun. Today, the dark side, starting with a resident of far northern Cape Breton: I've heard about all the fun to be had, from friends, relatives and acquaintances who regularly drove the two hours from here to Inverness, but these Chases seem to me to be business as usual. Money isn't trickling down from the 1%, so the lower-earning half of the 99% (wild guess) circulate...

25 April, 2016

After watching an astonishingly long lineup for Chase-the-Ace at a Sydney mall Saturday, I offered the following conclusion. Unlike Atlantic Lotto’s slot machines, Chase-the-Ace won’t drive anyone to addiction, financial ruin, or suicide. Still, it was sobering to see so many of my fellow Capers willing to endure such a humiliating lineup for such an extreme long shot chance at instant wealth. I don’t want to be a spoilsport, but the whole thing felt sad. Contrarian's Cape Breton readers are sharply divided on both points: whether it's harmful, and whether it's sad. Today, we'll hear from readers think it's mostly harmless fun. Several commenters noted that lineups at the...

24 April, 2016

Earlier this month, I criticized former Health Minister and interim NDP leader Maureen MacDonald for her deliberate snub of incoming leader Gary Burrill as she made her abrupt departure from the legislature. This drew an indignant response from a longtime backer of the party's demoralized Dexter faction. Nevertheless, NDP insiders know the snub was real, deliberate, and gratuitous. For his part, Burrill hasn't exactly embraced the Dexter supporters he so soundly defeated. Now comes an interesting footnote from Dartmouth Halifax resident Allison Brewer, who served as leader of the New Brunswick New Democratic Party for an unhappy year in 2006-2007 2005-2006. In a...

24 April, 2016

A friend of a friend was trawling through back issues of Punch on when he stumbled upon this gem in the March 13, 1929 edition of the venerable British humour magazine: Newcomers to Nova Scotia are often surprised at what a white bread place we are. It didn't happen by accident. We could still do with a little less Gaelic on our roadsigns and a little more oomph in our quest for immigrants of all shapes and sizes....

24 April, 2016

Saturday afternoon I made the mistake of popping into the Mayflower Mall, Nova Scotia's largest shopping centre outside Halifax and one of nine places Cape Bretoners could buy tickets for yesterday's Chase-the-Ace lottery. The point of sale was just past Best Buy at the extreme western edge of the mall. The lineup stretched three and four abreast for the entire length of the mall—past Best Buy, Winners, Sport Chek, Laura Fashion, Staples, and 40-odd smaller stores, to the mall entrance of The Bay store, then past various food booths to the shopping centre's eastern entrance. The stores were mostly empty. At Best Buy and Staples, clerks stood around in small...

24 April, 2016

The case for compensating residents of Sydney for injuries caused by the Sydney Steel plant and coke ovens has always been weak. The steel plant itself produced little in the way of harmful emissions; any harm to public health came mainly from the associated coke ovens, which produced large amounts of potentially harmful airborne emissions and runoff in the process of baking coal into coke. The health of coke ovens workers, who were surrounded by fumes from the coking process, certainly suffered from their exposure, but they were covered by Worker's Compensation, the Faustian bargain by which workers surrender their right to sue for damages in return for modest but supposedly reliable...

22 April, 2016

This video of an irate toddler brandishing a steel pipe to defend his street-vending grandmother from Chinese bylaw enforcers went so massively viral, Chinese censors ordered the country's news media to stop displaying it. “Child Grasps Steel Pipe to Resist Chengguan” video, pictures, and news reports must all be removed from main news sections. News that unfavourably portrays the law enforcement community must be released with caution. As the Chinese Digital Times explains, the Chengguan function as a junior varsity police force. They are widely dispised for heavy-handed enforcement of petty rules. Despite its popularity on Chinese social media, I haven't seen much reference to to the irate toddler video in North...

19 April, 2016

Here's the text of  a news release about an interactive map the province just released showing every block of forest land proposed or approved for cutting in Nova Scotia. Except, as Bill Turpin pointed out, the news release completely avoids use of the words, "forest" and "tree." It's as if we were we're talking about the annual hemp harvest, Turpin said. (Now there would be a useful map.) Harvest Plan Map Viewer Launched Department of Natural Resources A new interactive map viewer is helping to improve public engagement on planned fibre harvests in Nova Scotia woodlands. The Harvest Plan Map Viewer provides better access for Nova Scotians to...

19 April, 2016
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