If Cecil Clarke can’t see it looking out of his downtown office window, it does not exist. 

Cecil has tunnel vision and has been focused on the Sydney waterfront megaprojects for FOUR YEARS, and all are still many years away, if ever. In my opinion, Cecil can't put the puck in the net!

He has forgotten the rest of the CBRM.  You don’t have to believe me, look at his marketing materials. Look at what he said in his berth announcement,  “I looked out my window and saw three ships.”  

All CBRM's money is allotted for megaprojects on the Sydney Harbour with peanuts for the rest.  What about Sydney River, Ashby, The Pier? Not one big project for any of us. 

What about New Waterford and the expansion of their rink? Nothing in four years.  Cecil visited Glace Bay and had a photo taken at the Bayplex, but nothing was done.  The Miners Museum, another photo, and no money for repairs to the roof.  The holes are so big you can look outside. The Savoy, more photos but no repair money. He has had four years to fix these things and they are all worse.   

Northside? Not only did he not fix the waterfront, he sold it!  Louisbourg? No money for the lighthouse. Dominion? No money for the Hawks Club and the Rink.  The list goes on and on.  You think we have no money now for our buildings and service clubs.  Imagine how little we will have in the next four years if downtown Sydney gets a megaproject.

I like Rankin’s plan.  It’s a business person’s approach to these megaprojects. If and when they can finance themselves, we do them. 

In the meantime let’s start fixing the Bayplex, the Savoy, the Miners Museum, the lighthouse in Louisbourg, and many other worthy projects today.  This will create hundreds of jobs and fix our infrastructure for the next 25 years. 

Cecil is going to ask: where is the money coming from? And our answer is: the same money you were going to use on the megaprojects.  The difference is these community projects are ready to go today, not in three or four years, if ever.

PLEASE COMMENT ON A PROJECT IN YOUR CBRM COMMUNITY THAT COULD BE DONE TODAY.  LET’S PUT PEOPLE TO WORK TODAY, NOT YEARS FROM NOW.