TOP COMMENT OF THE WEEK Give Your Real Name May 20, 2016 - 08:37 The Cape Breton Post should require that commenters give their real name when making remarks about stories in the paper. Judging by some of the comments on this story, it is apparent that they are not your ordinary citizen. How do we know that they are not the competition in Halifax, Quebec and the Eastern United States trying to kill this project because they fear the competition from such an enterprise. It will be much cheaper for the Chinese to unload their goods here if they own the port and control the wages. This could be a game changer for Cape Breton let's not allow outsiders to destroy it. Take all comments with a big grain of salt. Vision of the Future I guess that whoever wrote the top comment of the week thinks that a Cape Bretoner is not capable of having an educated opinion and that the Chinese should own our harbour and control our wages .What have we done, giving away exclusive rights. Now the other comments Dave from Barrie May 21, 2016 - 12:56 Next step signing up private shipping companies and brokers that are willing to put their money into this...This will truly show the viability of this operation.Then you can start building the roads,water lines and sewers...I believe the port will get some shipping which is a good thing however one has to remember its still cheaper to move goods by ship so it still makes Halifax the preferred port as it is so much closure to the markets... Reply Skeptical May 20, 2016 - 16:09 Personally, I'm a local. And I would like nothing better than for CB to thrive and prosper with this. Nothing. But much of this doesn't add up, unless it's the same old companies fishing for public dollars. This was always a good ole fishing hole for that. Reply Give Your Real Name May 20, 2016 - 08:37 The Cape Breton Post should require that commenters give their real name when making remarks about stories in the paper. Judging by some of the comments on this story, it is apparent that they are not your ordinary citizen. How do we know that they are not the competition in Halifax, Quebec and the Eastern United States trying to kill this project because they fear the competition from such an enterprise. It will be much cheaper for the Chinese to unload their goods here if they own the port and control the wages. This could be a game changer for Cape Breton let's not allow outsiders to destroy it. Take all comments with a big grain of salt. Reply Caper May 20, 2016 - 09:53 And your real name is?? And you live where? comment May 20, 2016 - 12:09 What a handle your parents put on you Give Your Real Name. john May 20, 2016 - 12:10 What didn't you give yours !!!!!!! The girl with no name May 20, 2016 - 21:53 Do you really think the people operating real ports care about what the spin doctors are saying here, Mr. Giveyourrealname? The comments sound to me like they are from local people with common sense who are sick and tired of 30 years of big talk, electioneering and broken promises. The only people saying this can work are the people who stand to make a fast buck and then disappear or the politicians who need it to get re-elected. Skeptical May 20, 2016 - 06:58 Delusion is contagious, I guess. Doesn't matter how good the port is, or how much infrastructure gets built.... we are and always will be too far from the markets, through rugged country for road and rail, for this to make any sense at all. Being the first port you come to only means you are the farthest port away from where the goods need to get to. Promoters aside, there has never been any discussion or planning among the shippers to send the very big ships here.... the infrastructure deficiencies in the US ports have been dealt with, and they are expanding..... you have to get up very early to eat their lunch...the only business anticipated for the eastern Canadian ports is overflow of smaller ships displaced by the big ones. That's good business, worth going after, but Halifax, Melford, and St. John all have extremely credible competitive advantages compared to us. When I see that ignored, and when I hear people claim the post-Panamax ships are coming here, you can smell the snake oil. Wener on CBC radio yesterday was in full-onshill mode about howSydney is the only possible choice, but that seems to be entirely loston the shipping industry. Melford is a better project.... unable so far to attract a shipper. Halifax is a better port (yes: it is), also has the same FTZ as us, at less than 50% capacity. St. John very clearly won the war when it came to federal investment betting on the future winner; they got many multiple times the funding we did. Ocean freight is the cheapest it has been since WWII..... when someone convinces me it makes more sense to unload 500 + km from the first step in the real journey to market rather than steam a few hours more, then the rest of this will start to make sense. Reply Vision vs Harsh Reality May 20, 2016 - 06:21 A 15 to 20 year period. In other words when "market dynamics for shipping change so dramatically that this becomes commercially viable; if they ever do". This vision requires billions of dollars in investment (that the project proponents have none of ). It would necessarily need the heaviest of hitters from the federal and provincial government to be on side with it because you'd be impacting existing operations all over the place. In a word it is massive! Now can someone tell me why the heavily in debt CBRM that has the highest property tax rates in the country right now has this project as the primary and what seems to be their only answer for that? Government doesn't create jobs the private sector does; it is up to the government to create local conditions (excellent infrastructure, low taxes, tax incentive plans, skilled workforce etc.) that entices private investment. When will the CBRM (working with ACOA, ESDC and NSBI) start focusing its efforts on that? Reply Busy Busy Busy May 20, 2016 - 05:07 Lots being said, videos being played tax payers dollars being spent, and the big news is that there is another coffee shop being built in new waterford and we could have A traffic problem at the drive threw oh my!. Reply santa claus May 19, 2016 - 21:49 Just saw this and had to share Following the announcement of the Novaporte & Sydney Harbour partnership, we are pleased to announce additional partners in growing the Sydney Marine Terminal and Sydney Harbour Port. The parcel of land adjacent to Novaporte, Santa Claus will develop 12,000 hectares to raise and breed rainbow unicorns, which are projected to have a value of $10.4 gazillion to be fed directly back into the local economy. Claus has also partnered and taken direction from CME in the Northside to add another 2000 jobs to the area alongside of the 100 full time positions CME has fulfilled at a an annual $65,000 starting salary. Clause projects his company will start employees at $250,000.00 with 24 weeks vacation. Claus expects to draw other national investors' like the Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy and Loch Ness Monster; who globally have investments across 27 continents worth $100 million plus infinity. The project is expected to cost about $500 trillion and half a pound of razzle berries, but Claus said that despite the large initial investment, he has spoke with Ports Authority who stated that even though they faced $1.4 million in lost lease from the Marine Terminal, they were still financially feasible and excited for the successes to come. Buddy the Elf, Claus' financial advisor said that after meeting with the Ports Authority and reviewing their year end fiscal reports, "I felt that this was a miracle and we look forward to continued financial miracles". The details of the agreement and how funds will be allocated will be frozen under a nondisclosure agreement, much like the details Claus has kept quiet regarding his controversial nice/naughty lists. Claus stated "I am very excited at the prospect of this business proposal. Being able to be part of the Sydney Harbour Port Fairytale is a dream come true. I would like to thank Jiminey Cricket for the magic of wishing upon a start, that started the wheels turning". Work on the project is expected to start this Friday. Reply Taking a Higher Road May 19, 2016 - 20:55 Like many other Capers, my fervent wish is that some sort of sustainable economic renaissance will take place here. But we can be forgiven if ten years or more of fairy tales about a container terminal has left us more than a little jaded and skeptical. Harbor Port Development has apparently put in some effort and we have seen a parade of potentially interested parties. Details of HPD's financial motivation (equity in Novazone? finders fees for investors and tenants? compensation based on activity or real results?) have been kept under wraps, so we have no way to truly know if pronouncements about Quad-C or Canderel are real progress or just Kabuki theatre. Two important things could help turn skeptics into willing listeners if not outright believers. One is a valid analysis of Sydney's competitive position vs other ports in terms of the cost of getting goods landed at Novaporte to major North American markets. Not a simple exercise perhaps, but a vital one in convincing Capers and potential customers, shippers and businesses of the port's viability. It's been ten years and two promoters - more than enough time to present a specific business case that relies on more than simply being two waterborne days closer to Suez. Secondly, talk is cheap. Quad-C is doing a feasibility study; I guess that's a start. And Canderel is interested in being the master Novazone developer IF the terminal is built, IF interested businesses want to be port-adjacent, IF they have viable business plans and IF those plans are financeable. We would be more convinced if either Quad-C or Canderel had been required to put down even a few hundred thousand dollars each of nonrefundable deposits to hold their positions as potential developers; chump change compared to the build-out amounts. Otherwise, they are simply free options, worth exactly the amount paid for them. So, Messrs Sheehy and Barbusci, please forgive us if we haven't broken into a happy dance just yet. One final quibble, if I may. Please drop the "e" from Novaporte. Right now it connotes the same cheesy perception as ice cream vendors or beauty parlours who call their premises a "shoppe". R ok next article Canadian Maritime Engineering Ltd. committed to growing in North Sydney EH and S May 20, 2016 - 13:05 Bringing a ship breaking operation into a downtown area area is one of the most dangerous things you can do. Most of those old ships have asbestos insulation around all piping and exterior areas. This is the most dangerous type of asbestos because it easily gets airborne when disturbed. This operation should be in an industrial area with proper controls, not downtown North Sydney. Reply Richard May 20, 2016 - 10:39 Tony Kennedy of Canadian maritime Engineering Ltd. did not meet the contract signed with the CBRM a council meeting should be called to address the buy back and another vote taken or the CBRM will be in contempt of contract Reply Spin Her May 20, 2016 - 07:31 You would not see something this stupid happening in Halifax or any other Municipality that had what the CBRM has to offer. The first thing they would do is move that shipyard over to Sydport(Marine Industrial Park) Help them cover their cost if that is what is needed, just put it where it is supposed to be. Fix your wharf back up and add a water taxi connected to Sydney. Get a man like Marty Chernin or a successful organization like Membertou to look at building a combination of a Hotel/Condominiums and apartments on the old ship yard site. It would sell out fast. A second Cruise Ship could dock there until Sydney can afford to get a new dock built and then after that the third Cruise Ship could dock there. This plan would offer the opportunity of bringing thousands more people to the Sydney Downtown, develop the North Sydney Downtown and help a shipyard get set up to go after the real big ships that Halifax is not taking at present( floating dry dock ).CME do not waste anymore of your own money or the money of the tax payers. This location has limited growth potential for your organization compared to what Sydport can offer There is a town called Yarmouth, that has a ferry highly subsidized by the Nova Scotia government that brings passengers once a day and the communities survival pretty much depends on the traffic that this ferry provides. It is also seasonal and the ferry does not employ any Nova Scotians or even Canadians for that matter. In North Sydney we have a ferry that docks twice a day, operates year round, does not depend on Nova Scotia tax dollars, employs many locals and we has a community are letting most of this traffic drive down the highway. There is enough room in our Marine Industrial park to accommodate a Shipyard and a proposed Container Terminal. Maybe if CME were more community friendly they might get rewarded more Federal and Provincial contracts. Reply Truth sayer May 20, 2016 - 07:19 This is more scripted pr to make it look like this wasn't a screwup. If CME has invested millions then that is one expensive barb wire fence they erected. And if money is no object why did they take an old shack used for tourist information from a non-profit organization over there? I drive through North Sydney everyday and there has been one boat in for refit for three weeks in the last six months, otherwise no activity. That's the 23 people working at peak? This 23 figure must include subcontractors, service companies and Dartmouth employees. Surely they don't hire guys for three weeks and lay them off. So they really only created 4 new jobs. Is that what the town sacrificed it's $5 million waterfront for? Council should demand financial statements that prove the investment is made and if not, buy it back like they promised. Or was that just talk? The people deserve jobs, not more big talk. Talk is cheap. Reply Bumbling May 20, 2016 - 07:13 I'm not up to speed on CME or their arrangement with the CBRM but wow - how does an area with such an elaborate marine park at Sydport have to shoehorn in a drydock on the North Sydney water front? My God - what kind of bumbling mismanaged planning on the part of local government does that speak to? Reply History 101 May 20, 2016 - 10:23 North Sydney owes its orgins to shipping and ship building. The drydock has been a fixture on the waterfront for over 100 years. Spin Her May 20, 2016 - 13:36 @history 101 Build a museum and put the ship repair where it belongs To History 101 May 20, 2016 - 17:27 And Sydney to steelmaking - so. You can still live in North Sydney and work at Sydport. History Prof May 20, 2016 - 22:10 A town built on shipping, yes, but not ship building. The 'shipyard' has a larger footprint now than it did fifty or a hundred years ago. Not because it's been a busy place and expanding, but because the owner has been swallowing up retail businesses, tearing down buildings and consolidating waterfront property. Ask any long-time resident of North Sydney, the shipyard has been largely idle for forty to fifty years, with a few sporadic attempts with government money at job creation. If anything, the shipyard has been responsible for inhibiting development of the town by tying up valuable waterfront land, with low tax valuation and very few quality jobs. The Insider May 19, 2016 - 21:26 The clock started ticking on May 1st, 2015. As of May 1st, 2016, the CB is eligible to execute its buy-back clause. But it was a bad deal that they never intended to push forward with. They would have to pay for the new fence and barbed wire, as well as the $200k price tag, and the $250k they collected from CME to buy out the businesses there. Given the sacrifice, we certainly had better home they are employing local contractors and local persons. Reply Time Keeper May 19, 2016 - 20:49 They agreed to spend $5 million by May 2016. Time is up. They didn't comply. So are the locals going to call CME on it? Come on boys, get your boots on. Reply The Insider May 20, 2016 - 08:14 Councillor Saccary, at the last council meeting, insisted that Synergy Louisbourg would have to appear before council to present their results if the CBRM supported their project. Therefore, I see no reason for a double standard. Allocate time on the next council meeting for CME to appear and present a detailed analysis of how they met their deadline, with actual money spent. That is enough reading for now, here are the results of the Cape Breton post survey at 11.15 pm Saturday. Results of the survey Do Thursday's Ports Day announcements have you feeling more or less confident about the construction of a container terminal at Sydney Harbour? 33% • More confident 24% • Less confident 32% • Unchanged 9% • Not sure A couple of links to CBRM planning strategy land use maps. In the Aerial photos, notice the population. It seems that there is very little population living around the empty Marine Industrial Park ( Sydport ) and the adjacent area of Point Edward. The area is huge and I would say could hold a fairy tale Container Terminal and a huge Shipyard ( Even bigger than Halifax's dry dock which is shut down right now because of all the attention being focused on the Naval Ship contract. So why built it in an area where people live and Tourist are getting on and off ferries twice a day http://www.cbrm.ns.ca/images/Map2_NorthSydney_GeorgesRiver.pdf http://www.cbrm.ns.ca/images/Planning/Map8_Sydney_Westmount.pdf http://www.cbrm.ns.ca/images/stories/Planning/Map3_NorthWestArm_PointEdward.pdf