Published Apr 18, 2025 • 3 minute readCBRM Mayor Cecil Clarke: “Hopefully we can deal with getting a CBRM charter within (a) two-year timeline.” Photo by IAN NATHANSON/CAPE BRETON POSTEstablishing a charter for the Cape Breton Regional Municipality remains on Mayor Cecil Clarke’s radar. According to Clarke, it seems the province’s Department of Municipal Affairs minister, John Lohr, is willing to have the CBRM pursue such a charter, which would ultimately give the regional council the authority to make decisions geared toward its unique demographic and economic needs. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY.Subscribe now to access this story and more:Unlimited access to the website and appExclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcastsFull access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment onEnjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalistsSupport local journalists and the next generation of journalistsSUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES.Subscribe or sign in to your account to continue your reading experience.Unlimited access to the website and appExclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcastsFull access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment onEnjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalistsSupport local journalists and the next generation of journalistsRegister to unlock more articles.Create an account or sign in to continue your reading experience.Access additional stories every monthShare your thoughts and join the conversation in our commenting communityGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorArticle contentRecommended from Editorial Incoming CBRM mayor says audits, charter highlighted discussions with premier, ministers CBRM Charter needed, says Cape Breton MLA “(The minister) indicated a two-year timeline likely associated with that,” Clarke said Tuesday following a special council meeting with Municipal Affairs advisers. “But the first focus we’re going to have is getting the performance audit, the value-from-money audit, done for the fall, so that we’re in a position to understand what is our path for what are the tools we have, what are the sustainability issues, and where is our funding relationship with the province.” AUDIT APPROVED BY COUNCILSoon after his election victory last October, Clarke met with Lohr in Halifax, where the mayor said he and the Municipal Affairs minister found a mechanism to begin an external performance audit on CBRM and that the Municipal Affairs department would assist in finding an independent auditor to complete it. In November, council approved to have that audit conducted. Article content“So before getting ahead of ourselves, it was let’s get this (performance audit) as the first step,” Clarke said. “Second to that would be looking at what would a charter look like for the CBRM and then set up a working committee to move forward, which would take in officials as well as some members of council.” EARLIER CHARTER ATTEMPTSAs part of his mayoral campaign in 2012, Clarke cited a need for a CBRM charter, modelled along the lines of the Halifax Regional Municipality’s charter which first came into play around 1996. However, earlier attempts to create such a charter for the CBRM — including one in 2018 when Derek Mombourquette (MLA with the former riding of Sydney-Whitney Pier, now Sydney-Membertou) served as Municipal Affairs minister under the Stephen McNeil Liberal government — didn’t fully come to fruition. Cape Breton Regional Municipality council, shown during a special meeting with Municipal Affairs advisers on Tuesday, approved to have a performance audit on the municipality conducted this past November. Photo by IAN NATHANSON/CAPE BRETON POST Mombourquette also tabled several motions over the years proposing that the CBRM have its own charter — including this past February. Article content“A CBRM charter would empower council to make the decisions that will support sustainable growth, drive economic development and enhance services for residents,” he said in a Feb. 24 new release. “It’s been nearly 30 years since amalgamation and Cape Bretoners are still waiting to get their fair share.” Each one, however, only got as far as first reading in the provincial legislature. The previous administration had hoped to renew the drive to establish a charter but its former municipal clerk, Deborah Campbell Ryan, had told council in 2022 “a directive was given to postpone meetings of the Charter Ad Hoc Committee” until after the release of a 2019 viability study on CBRM’s economic outlook at that time. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic also shifted priorities, she said at the time. RENEWING HRM CHARTERIn the meantime, according to Clarke, “The province is working with Halifax to try to renew and update the charter, because of (wanting to take) out any of the inefficient elements of it, everything being embedded in legislation versus looking at regulation … so you don’t have to keep going back to the province every time you need to make changes.” Article contentClarke said the CBRM will be looking at any lessons learned from those changes, “(And) we’re going to take advantage of those lessons learned. Any updates to the Halifax charter hopefully can be considered for a CBRM charter.” REASON FOR A CBRM CHARTER How important is it for the CBRM to have its own separate charter? “It allows you to look at types of things like taxation, where we’re right now confined on tax issues,” Clarke said. “We often hear about it, both with the commercial and residential (tax rates) but especially the commercial tax rate. What are we looking at to try and incentivize more development? What are the potential incentives for new development or investments? “So, again, it’s really about (getting) our performance audit done. Let’s look at what that outcome is, how our relationship with the province and financial components of that going forward, and then hopefully we can deal with getting a CBRM charter within that two-year timeline.” Article content
Cape Breton mayor continues pursuit of CBRM charter
