On October 15th, 2016 you need to fire these five fellows. That's right, Mayor Clarke and these four councillors need to be let go from service to the CBRM.

Vote for Someone Else

To get rid of them, you just have to vote for someone else. And the mission will be accomplished - if you choose to accept it.

Didn't Two of Them Take the 15 Point Councillors' Pledge?

Yes, Deputy Mayor George MacDonald and Councillor Prince acknowledged the pledge. However, among other conflicts, they are in serious violation of item #10:

#10 I will follow the rules. Rules and regulations will not be ignored.

How did they violate point #10?

The mayor and these four councillors are all elected officials in the CBRM - as you know.

But here are some very important things you may not know yet:

• Mayor Clarke appointed himself and these four councillors to the Port of Sydney Development Corporation.
• Starting back as early as 2009 and again in 2013 over $1,000,000 was spent developing a governance model. See the timeline here.
• He also handpicked and appointed a CEO with no port development experience and gave her a $200,000 per year salary.
• The governance model created says no elected officials are to be on the board. That includes the mayor and councillors.
• The mayor dismissed industry people from the previous board, and took their place with these councillors.
• Clarke promised that this board would be replaced with a qualified board.
• At the annual general meeting of the Port of Sydney Dev Corp a year later, a new board should have been in place. Clarke announced he and the others were staying on the board.
• They chose to violate the terms of the articles of incorporation (section 5.02(a)).
• They also chose to delay releasing audited financial statements. It's August 2016. They are still not released.
• None of these men have any qualifications to be doing port development.
• These men put themselves in charge of an estimated $1.6 billion dollar port development project - with no experience.
• Nowhere in Cecil Clarke's new list of 100 campaign promises does he indicate he plans to put a qualified board in place.

Is this a joke?

No, all of the above is true. If you're concerned, you should be. Remember to fire them on October 15th, so that we can fix this situation together as a community.

Maybe the Councillors Don't Realize Their Mistake?

They realize. They've been told repeatedly. They know fully well what the articles require. However, they stay on and jeopardize the entire economic future of Cape Breton.

Is this why we don't have a container port yet?

A container port development is a very complex project. It would be an immense challenge to the biggest investors and most sophisticated port experts in the world. Whether or not the proposed business plan for our port makes sense remains to be seen. Several experts suggest that it doesn't.

What we do know is that the mayor and these councillors are not experts, are not in any way sophisticated in port development, and really have no qualifications whatsoever to be on this board.

How important is it to have qualified people to get things done?

Let's let Councillor Jim MacLeod tell you. It should be a no brainer. When he was talking about fire services, he hit the nail on the head. Things don't get done when there are no "professional opinions".

How do we break the news to them?

We live in a democracy. Nobody knows what you put on the ballot when you vote on October 15th.

However, if you really feel like you want to let them know, give them the Warren Warning. It's an assertion that you are paying attention to their performance and will vote accordingly.

Is there any way back for them?

Voters like you will decide their fate. However, if they realize as Jim MacLeod has in the video above - that they are jeopardizing our economic future - they can resign from the Port of Sydney Corporation Board immediately, and tell the mayor that they won't play a role in violating its governance structure any more.

This isn't about likability or familiarity. Voting for these men for that reason alone, to save their jobs, may come at the expense of hundreds of jobs for the good citizens of the Cape Breton Regionality Municipality. They all have pensions in place. Just think of the teachers who were let go with the school closures and the Saputo closure and layoffs. It's not "if", and it's not "when". It's happening now.

If they are not willing to do the right thing, then we have to do it for them.

These five fellows need to go.