It's been a week since I sent my questions regarding the structure, funding and spending of the Port of Sydney Development Corporation (PSDC) to a list of recipients, including the mayor and councillors of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality.

How many responses have I received? Two -- which makes me think I should have skipped the emails and spray-painted my questions on the side of the North Sydney Food Bank. (Just kidding! I in no way condone graffiti on food banks unless, perhaps, someone spray-painted the CBRM child-poverty stats along with a call for action. But if that happens, it totally wasn't me.)

Now, some of you will say, "What did you expect? Why would anyone answer you, given that you have been criticizing the activities of the PSDC for the past few months?"

To which I would reply: That is precisely why I should be answered. What better way to shut me up than to provide information proving the PSDC has a Council-approved budget and has been regularly reporting to Council on its activities?

'You have a few questions'

Instead, I got responses from two Councillors -- District 7's Ivan Doncaster and District 6's Ray Paruch.

Doncaster emailed me the following:

Mary:You have a few questions to be answered. I would suggest you go to the clerk office on the 4th floor of the civic centre or get in touch with your councillor, he could be on the Port Board.   Ivan

I did, for the record, include my councillor in the list of recipients (he is not on the port board).

That said, I followed Doncaster's advice and sent my questions to the Municipal Clerk who replied immediately to say she'd sent them to CBRM CAO and PSDC board chair Michael Merritt. (Shout out to Municipal Clerke Deborah Campbell -- no relation, she will no doubt be relieved to hear -- and her staff, they are very professional and a pleasure to deal with.)

Paruch, not surprisingly, given his more vocal criticism of the relationship (or lack thereof) between the PSDC and the CBRM Council, responded at some length. I've attached his full answers but will highlight a couple of interesting points here:

• The CBRM Council has received no 2015-2016 operating plan or budget or capital spending plan from the PSDC but an independent audit will be conducted and the results presented at a public meeting on March 31. Mark your calendars.
• Paruch doesn't know if the PSDC has control over the $1 million in port marketing funds announced in August 2015 or if it has spent any of it. "Nothing has been presented to Council regarding a $1 million marketing fund."
• He said the PSDC did not report to Council between March 31, 2015 (when it was formed) and February 22, 2016, so unless it submitted a great big report to Council in the last seven days, the answer is: the PSDC has never reported to Council.

Those are some of the responses I received. Now here are the people who have not answered my questions (or acknowledged receipt of my email): Mayor Cecil Clarke, his spokesperson Christina Lamey, PSDC CEO Marlene Usher, Councillors Rowe, Cormier, Flynn, MacDonald (Eldon), Saccary, Prince, MacDonald (George) and MacLeod (the last four of whom are on the port board, in direct contradiction of port consultant Neil MacNeil's advice that no elected officials or municipal employees hold seats on the board). Michael Merritt has not replied, nor have I received any acknowledgement of my email from the Department of Municipal Affairs.

Working Steadfast

It's possible Mayor Clarke has yet to respond because he is a very, very busy man. He spoke at Sunday's "save the rail" meeting at the Joan Harriss Cruise Pavilion in his role as president of the Union of Nova Scotia Municipalities, a job he took over from ailing District 4 Councillor Claire Detheridge. (Had I been a citizen of any other NS municipality listening to his speech, mind you, I would have thought he was speaking as the mayor of the CBRM, but that's probably just me.)

He informed us that he will be off to Montreal this week for more port meetings (he didn't mention whether the CBRM or the PSDC will be paying for this trip).

He used the opportunity to promote the port, assuring us the PSDC, and Harbor Port Development Partners (HPDP) and he himself are "working steadfast" on the file. (Minutes later, Sydney-Whitney Pier MLA Derek Momberquette informed the crowd that the provincial government was also "working steadfast" on the rail file, and although the phrase makes me laugh uproarious, I really hope it doesn't become a thing.)

Clarke also used the words "confidential" and "proprietary" to explain why we, the great unwashed, cannot know the things that he and HPDP's Barry Sheehy and Albert Barbusci and PSDC CEO Marlene Usher know about the port project. And what wonderful things Usher and Barbusci must know -- they are apparently just back from Cairo where they were "guests" of the Suez Canal Commission. This sounds important and exciting, doesn't it? So why did we not know they were going? And when will we hear what they accomplished?

I think what the Mayor and HPDP and the PSDC need to realize is that they are developing our port, not planning a surprise party for us: even if the end result is a container pier in Sydney harbor, we don't want it unveiled after months of secret planning sessions and hushed conversations that stop the minute a CBRM citizen walks into the room. We want to see the process. We want in on the debate. We want to know what is being spent, what is being promised, what is being said on our behalf. And this seems as good a time as any to remember that, when he ran for mayor, Clarke understood this:

“[Cecil] Clarke is calling for greater transparency on the port development file by making all reports, documents and other correspondence on port issues, in particular the marketing of the municipally owned greenfield site, public at the Cape Breton Regional Municipality Civic Centre and posted to the CBRM’s website,” Cape Breton Post, September 20, 2012

We must work steadfast to get answers.

UPDATE TO MY UPDATE:

Harbor Port Development Partners has just issued a press release on the Suez Canal Global Conference attended by Usher and Barbusci. It ran from February 22 to 24, 2016 and -- sure enough -- included a presentation by Dr. Hazem Ghonima of TAF consultants entitled "The Port of Sydney Canada and the New Suez Canal - Strategic options and considerations."

Ghonima was on the front page of the Cape Breton Post on May 15, 2015, after he spoke during Ports Day. His topic? Atlantic Canada's potential to attract container traffic travelling via the Suez Canal. Did I mention he's a consultant? Do you suppose he's being paid by someone?

And while "keynote" may not be the right term for a 15-minute (15:20 to 15:35) Day-2 address, Ghonima was certainly in good company. His talk was part of a session entitled: "Ports operations and management -- Success stories." Our little, non-existent container terminal right up there with PSA's Singapore Terminals (second-largest container terminal in the world); the Suez Canal Container Terminal and South Korea's Busan Port. Is the song, "One of these things is not like the other?" playing in your head too?

Here are some other dubious bits from the press release:

"Novaporte is a shovel-ready development with all environmental permits and Aboriginal agreements in place."

So the Mi'kmaq claim to all of Sydney harbor -- you know, the one that put the brakes on divestiture negotiations with the federal government in 2014 -- has been settled, and nobody saw any reason to make that public? That's interesting, considering that as of February 8, 2016, the matter hadn't been settled. I know this because I did journalism and asked Transport Canada about the transfer and senior communications advisor Steve Bone told me, "Negotiations between Transport Canada and CBRM regarding the proposed transfer of Sydney harbour are ongoing, therefore Transport Canada cannot comment further at this time."

"Novaporte will be located within a Government of Canada designated Foreign Trade Zone."

Does the Government of Canada know this?

"Usher told delegates that when completed, Novaporte will be the most modern, efficient, lowest cost port in North America."

What happened to "greenest?" Wasn't that the claim last week? And assuming the delegates at this conference (who paid $850 to $1200 to be there) actually knew something about ports and container traffic, did they all simply nod and note that down as gospel or did they ask questions -- like, where, exactly, in Italy is Novaporte?

"Novaporte boasts a 16.5 metre deep water unobstructed harbour adjacent to 2,000 acres of developable land connected to the North American rail system."

That should read: "Connected to the North American rail system -- for at least another month!" But who in Egypt would know about our ongoing battle to save our endangered railway? And why bring up all those messy abandonment issues when everyone is having such a good time?

Sadly, these criticisms are beside the point: this press release is not for us -- it is for all the lazy, unsuspecting reporters out there who see "Novaporte," and "Suez Canal" and ask no further questions.

Stay steadfast, dear readers.

This Just In

The public is welcome to attend the first Port of Sydney Development Corporation annual general meeting, to be held March 12 at the Joan Harriss Cruise Pavilion. Says Mayor Clarke:

"The budget of the port will be provided in full and complete detail and what's being recommended to council for consideration," he said. "It's all open to the public and they're welcome to come for any or all of the different functions."

Read all about it here.