Cape Breton Regional Police (CBRP) have charged eighteen men with communicating for the purpose of obtaining sexual services in Sydney, Cape Breton, the Chronicle Herald and the Cape Breton Post report. As usual, police is quoted extensively, and sex workers are never asked how they feel about it.

Danny Cavanagh, president of the NS Federation of Labour, reflects on workers’ safety on the anniversary of the New Waterford mine disaster,101 years ago. “It’s time to ensure that laws like the Westray Bill are actually enforced, and to enact policies and legislation that are more than “feel-good” laws that remain nothing more than good talking points for politicians.”

Unusual flooding, erosion, something has changed about the Margaree River in Cape Breton, writes Sam Ainsworth. When local residents start pointing it clear cutting of the Margaree watershed by Port Hawkesbury Paper, the company fights back. An expert report, the local salmon fishers association, politicians all get mobilized to argue that things in fact are just fine. Not so fast, writes Ainsworth, ” The Margaree could be a beacon of light in a very dark history for salmon in this province but the clearcutting must be drastically reduced.”

Lisa Bond explains what it is like to live the much publicized mental health crisis in Cape Breton. “With all of these hurdles facing us on this island, it’s not hard to lose hope. How are we as parents supposed to help our kids if we can’t even get them mental health help in a timely fashion? We can monitor their social media, watch their phones, have all their passwords….. but it still takes a village. We need and deserve access to the specialists that can help our kids.”

This weekend we feature a short gritty film by Grassfire Films, Cape Breton-based filmmaker Ashley McKenzie and producer Nelson MacDonald. The film was shot in 2013 in New Waterford.

In January 2016 the Nova Scotia Advocate did a story on Tom Ayers, striking Chronicle Herald reporter in Sydney, Cape Breton. Almost a year later, with the strike still dragging on, we thought we’d give him another call. Ayers talks about settling into his new daily routine, the impressive support from the community, and how he gained a new understanding of what union solidarity is all about.