CBC Cape Breton
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The Atlantic Lottery Corporation will soon set up a new online casino for PEI residents, similar to one launched last summer in New Brunswick. But it's a good bet that there will be opposition from people who worry about the potential harm. Reporter Kerry Campbell has the story.

When a surgical unit at the Cape Breton Regional Hospital was converted to a COVID-19 unit at the start of the pandemic last year, Darlene White says she and her colleagues were a little scared by all of the unknowns they were facing.

Nova Scotia has announced it is tightening border restrictions with New Brunswick following the outbreak of cases in that province. The CBC's Jean Laroche and Jennifer Ludlow discuss the details.

For details of the COVID-19 vaccine roll-out plan, we contact Dr. Robert Strang, Chief Medical Officer of Health for Nova Scotia, to talk about phase one of the vaccination plan starting today in Cape Breton.

More on their plate... We have an update with Meals on Wheels in Sydney as they continue to meet an increasing demand presented by the pandemic. Claire Turpin is the manager of the Meals on Wheels program for New Dawn Enterprises in Sydney.

Meet the Makers: Brittany Noseworthy Brittany runs the Middle Ground Market, a shared boutique space for creatives, in Cape Breton. Brittany herself also creates custom home décor under the name of Day By Day designs.

We reconvene a trio of professors from Cape Breton University to grade their COVID-19 experience and reflect on what they've discovered about online teaching. Our panel of instructors are: Jason Loxton, Stephanie MacQuarrie, and Simon Barrick.

The Nova Scotia Community College is doing a hybrid model of online and in-person classes this year, so we check back with the principals of the Cape Breton campuses to see how things are going. Fred Tilley is Principal of the Marconi Campus in Sydney, and Vivek Saxena is Principal at the Strait Area Campus in Port Hawkesbury.

As the Cape Breton Regional Municipal Council prepares for its first official meeting tonight... the new Mayor of the CBRM - Amanda McDougall - gets the patented Information Morning Popcorn Interview treatment today.

Cape Breton Regional Police are stepping up foot patrols in downtown Sydney at the request of local business owners.

This morning, we remember the life and work of the late Cape Breton University Sociology Professor Margaret Dechman who was dedicated to helping vulnerable populations on Cape Breton Island.

The Restaurant Association of Nova Scotia is calling for all restaurants and bars in Halifax to close to dine-in customers for at least the next two weeks because of rising COVID-19 case numbers in the area.

Nova Scotia is reporting 11 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, as Newfoundland and Labrador and P.E.I are exiting the Atlantic bubble for at least two weeks as cases rise in Atlantic Canada.

Time to serve up another of our revealing Popcorn Interviews - featuring our newly elected officials in the CBRM. Now, get to know Lorne Green, the new Councillor for the CBRM's District 12, which encompasses Whitney Pier, South Bar, and Victoria Mines.

A snowy view of Ingonish. Photo by Brittany Wentzell.

Cape Bretoners can often be identified by their accent... in this edition of Then and Now, community historian Jim St. Clair takes us back 200 years to explore the variety and languages that you would've heard in Port Hawkesbury - then known as Ship Harbour.

As our municipal election coverage continues, we hear from the candidates running in Richmond County's District 1. Brandon Boudreau, James Goyetche, Rod Samson, and Shawn Samson are seeking the seat to represent District 1 as councillor.

Airline will no longer fly to Moncton, Fredericton, Sydney, Charlottetown and Quebec City

Mayoralty candidates Chris Abbass, Cecil Clarke, Kevin MacEachern, Archie MacKinnon, Amanda McDougall and John Strasser debated for two hours on several topics, including this question from CBU's student union president, Amrinder Singh. He asked them what they'd do to help keep international students here in Cape Breton.

Baddeck's financial future is looking brighter than it did this summer, when uncertainty around the pandemic had commissioners in the Nova Scotia village considering dissolving and amalgamating with Victoria County.

Hear the final excerpt from our evening at Membertou with the CBRM candidates for Mayor... sharing their views on environmental priorities and climate change. The mayoral candidates are: Chris Abbass, Cecil Clarke, Kevin MacEachern, Archie MacKinnon, Amanda McDougall and John Strasser.

ICYMI:Cape Breton Regional Municipality is getting $4.75 million from the Nova Scotia government to move its downtown Sydney fire station to make way for a new community college campus.

CBC Cape Breton hosted a debate for the 6 candidates for Mayor in the CBRM Wednesday night. Chris Abbass, Cecil Clarke, Kevin MacEachern, Archie MacKinnon, Amanda McDougall and John Strasser are running for the job, in this excerpt they reflect on the issue of equalization.

ICYMI: The Municipality of the County of Richmond council came under fire in February for declining to fund locals wanting to attend a leadership conference aimed at getting more women involved in politics. Now three women, all political newcomers, are vying for a seat at the council table.

A 53-year-old man from Cape Breton and a 64-year-old woman from Guysborough County were pronounced dead at the scene

Here’s the link to the complete video with clean audio of last night’s mayoralty debate. https://youtu.be/_0Eb-RR_pLI

Roxy the dog is safe at home after being rescued from the cliffs of Glace Bay.

Reporter Tom Ayers filed a freedom of information request into the CBRM council's decision on relocating the Sydney Fire Station to Pitt and George Streets, and how much money the municipality got from the province for the land and building on the Esplanade to make way for the new NSCC Marconi Campus.

A trio of Mi'kmaq politicians have written to the federal government asking for the creation of an Atlantic First Nations Fisheries Authority. One of the signatories is MP for Sydney-Victoria, Jaime Battiste, he explains the vision for that authority.

Members of the Potlotek First Nation will head out on St. Peter's Bay at noon today, Treaty Day, to exercise their treaty right to earn a moderate livelihood from fishing. Chief of Potlotek is Wilbert Marshall.

With election day this Saturday, we continue with our candidates roundtables. Today, its the candidates for CBRM District 1 - Sydney Mines, Florence, small part of North Sydney, Little Pond, and Alder Point. In the first part, we hear from Andrew Doyle and Gordon MacDonald. In the second part, Danny Laffin, Daniel "Duke" Pero, and Shara Vickers have their say.

Support for species at risk... Hear about a project that aims to protect 350,000 hectares in the Bras d’Or Lake watershed. Lisa Young is the Executive Director of Unama'ki Institute of Natural Resources, and Tristen Simon is the program manager of the four-year project.

October is an ideal time to get out and explore Cape Breton... this morning, its time for our Cape Breton Nature Phone-In with naturalist Bethsheila Kent of South Haven. She will take your questions, or your stories about wildlife and plants around our Island.

Are you missing the fall fairs and markets? Two Rivers Wildlife Park is hosting a tailgate market on Saturday! Hear all the details here:

Next up in our candidates' roundtables... we focus on Inverness County District 5, where there are three candidates - Lynn Chisholm, Betty Ann MacQuarrie, and Thom Oommen - vying for your vote in the Mabou and Port Hood area.

Focus On The Pier. Sheraton Simmons is one of the co-creators of a new video about the history of Whitney Pier produced by African-Nova Scotian youth. The documentary launched last night on YouTube.

Last night, our CBRM Mayoralty Debate was held in Membertou, this is our first excerpt from the evening - the 6 candidates for Mayor of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality: Amanda McDougall, Cecil Clarke, Chris Abbass, Archie MacKinnon, Kevin MacEachern and John Strasser - reflect on a question posed to them from Senator Dan Christmas.

Poverty remains a major issue to be tackled in the CBRM. The 6 candidates - Chris Abbass, Cecil Clarke, Kevin MacEachern, Archie MacKinnon, Amanda McDougall and John Strasser - seeking to be your next Mayor reflect on poverty in the municipality, as we present another excerpt from our Mayoral Debate in Membertou.

A new commercial development in Eskasoni, N.S., will create 60 construction jobs.

Mayor Cecil Clarke says international students and Black and Indigenous residents regularly face racism in society

UPDATE: There were technical issues with the audio recording on this video. To watch the clean copy, please go to our Youtube channel here: https://youtu.be/_0Eb-RR_pLI

A man from Nova Scotia's Wagmatcook First Nation will stand trial on charges of killing the mother of his twin daughters.

Tonight from 7 to 9 p.m. your CBRM mayoral candidates will square off for a debate. The debate will be moderated by Information Morning's Steve Sutherland. You can tune in live here on our CBC Cape Breton page or head to the CBC Nova Scotia website.

"I see you, I hear you, I believe you and I am sorry." Words from Premier Stephen McNeil yesterday as he apologized for systemic racism in Nova Scotia, and announced a new design team to re-imagine the justice system. The Premier explains his hopes for that team.

Time for another of our candidates' roundtables, this morning focusing on CBRM District 7: Howie Centre to Irish Cove, Gabarus, Marion Bridge, and Mira Road. The candidates are: Ivan Doncaster, Kevin Hardy, Steve Parsons, and Adam Young.

Karen Bernard, director of the Jane Paul Indigenous Women's Resource Centre in Sydney, tells us about their grand re-opening today, and about the new and expanded services the centre offers.

From Africa to Inverness. In this edition of Then and Now, our community historian Jim St. Clair answers a listener's question about how Egypt Road in the Margarees got its name.

Reporter Brent Kelloway spoke to Dean Smith, from Whitney Pier. As Chair of the Diversity and Inclusion Task Force, he describes Hockey Nova Scotia's plan to tackle racism and discrimination in hockey. The task force has just launched a survey that is open to the public.

We are continuing our roundtables with people who are putting their names forward to represent Cape Breton. We're in Cape Breton Regional Municipality in District 9 which is part of the community of Glace Bay south of Main Street from the Harbour. Candidates are Steven James MacNeil, Clarence Routledge and Kenny Tracey.

With anger and uncertainty swimming around St. Mary's Bay over indigenous fishing rights, we step back to learn a little about how we got to this point. Ken Coates is a Canada Research Chair in Regional Innovation at the University of Saskatchewan. He has studied the Marshall Decision extensively and wrote a paper a year ago to mark two decades since the decision came down.