Rants &Raves

We discuss charters, health care, retirements and more

RAVE: For a proposed charter. CBRM Mayor Cecil Clarke has been lobbying for a municipal charter for more than five years now, arguing that the document would give the municipality more control over its own affairs. Cape Breton University political science professor Jim Guy has long argued that a charter could be key to fixing our broken system of governance since amalgamation. We agree and that’s why we hope two public consultation sessions next week (Monday and Saturday in the council chamber at city hall) will go a long way towards prompting the provincial government to change the status quo. Guy suggests that equalization payments and taxation should be considered among the items of greatest importance. Here’s hoping a charter becomes a reality in 2018.

RAVE: For a lifetime of service. Wellrespected Rev. Hugh D. MacDonald never put much stock in Freedom 55. Same goes for Freedom 65, 75 and 85, too. But, finally, at the age of 92, after 66 years of serving as a Roman Catholic parish priest at stops throughout Cape Breton, he is planning to retire. To put that timeframe into perspective, the Korean War was still raging when Rev. MacDonald was ordained and Queen Elizabeth’s coronation was still nearly eight months away. Happy trails, ‘Father Hughie.’ The pulpit won’t be the same without you.

RANT: For a broken system. An exclusive story in the Cape Breton Post last week served as just another example of why Cape Bretoners feel the Nova Scotia Health Authority is failing them. In it we learned that when one of the adult psychiatrists left Glace Bay last year, the other psychiatrists in surrounding areas proposed centralizing services to the Cape Breton Regional Hospital so that the one remaining Glace Bay psychiatrist would be able to provide services in a safer environment and not alone. It took three months to get a meeting with the NSHA regarding the matter, nothing was done and now the remaining psychiatrist is leaving as a result of being left to practise in the Glace Bay/ New Waterford area alone and without appropriate supports. NSHA officials will no doubt state that they are working hard to improve health-care service around the province and that there are no easy solutions. Fact is, however, that actions (and in-action) speak louder than words and in this case it’s another loss for Cape Breton.

RAVE: For straight talking. Whether it was lobbying for lower commercial tax rates, supporting business development proposals, questioning complaints about seismic testing off the coast and more, Adrian White was never shy about speaking his mind during his five-year stint as executive director of the Sydney and Area Chamber of Commerce. He didn’t do it behind closed doors either, as his op-ed columns and letters in the Cape Breton Post will attest. We wish him well in his next adventure and promise that we’ll continue to make room in our op-ed section whenever he wants to weigh in on local issues.