2004

American President Ronald Reagan died. Martha Stewart went to jail for insider trading. Friends went off the air. And CBRM created its Municipal Planning Strategy (MPS).

Fear not. The creators of said strategy included a policy designed to make sure that the MPS would be relevant as changes came to CBRM: “MUNICIPAL PLANNING STRATEGY REVIEW POLICY 19. It shall be a policy of Council to review this Municipal Planning Strategy within 5 years of its adoption and every 5 years subsequent to each review.”

But the MPS has never had a complete review. Ever. (It is a difficult document to read. Seriously, it is like someone set out to make it boring on purpose. If they did, well played. But still, Council has an obligation to read it and understand it and make sure that it serves CBRM well.)

The current CBRM MPS reveals important information like:

• “…women often have different recreational aspirations than men.
• “Cape Breton is not just an island part of the Province of Nova Scotia. It is the coastal area with overland access via rail and road to the rest of North America…” (My bold.)
• “It shall not be a policy of Council to coerce new residential development back into the urban communities. Rather, land use policy shall attempt to improve the urban landscape to entice people back.” (I am happy to read that CBRM decided not to force people to build houses in urban communities only. So wise.)

The CBRM MPS is finally being reviewed and updated by the planning department. (Those 17 years just flew by.)

When an MPS is ignored for a long time, weird things happen. Like the planning department’s presentation at the Council meeting on March 23, 2021.

Read more in A Shoutout to Councillor Paruch.