Frank Magazine Issue 600.pdf - Besthostingplanever.com

CHIT CHAT
MY SOURCES TELL ME THAT THE CANADA
REVENUE AGENCY HAS LAUNCHED A FULL-
FLEDGED INVESTIGATION INTO THE AFFAIRS
OF A LOCAL BUSINESSMAN ON THE HEELS
OF A COMPREHENSIVE AUDIT OF HIS BOOKS.
SOUNDS LIKE THE TAXMAN SMELLS SOME-
THING FISHY.
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Speaking of investigations, a half dozen
footsoldiers from one of Canada’s leading private
investigation firms has spent the last few
weeks in Sydney on official business.
The MegaProbe contingent includes three
retired senior RCMP investigators, one retired
CSIS investigator and two support staff, all
moving with military-like precision.
Stay tuned on this one, it may well go nuclear!
� � �
A longstanding local firm is in very serious
financial straits following the recall of its line of
credit. Needless to say, time is not their friend in
the scramble to secure additional sources of
cash.
Anita DeLazzer
� � �
Morale at the Cape Breton Post is not getting
any better despite the best efforts of Anita
“I’m Not A Beancounter” Delazzer.
I know for a fact that the award winning paper
is one of Quebec-based Transcontinental’s
most profitable dailies. That’s straight from
the mouth of company founder Remi Marcoux,
whose business acumen, not to mention salmon
6 ATLANTIC CANADA FRANK DECEMBER 21, 2010
The Allegro
Grill in Sydney.
fishing skills, I respect immensely.
Also in attendance during my chat with Monsieur
at Montreal’s University Club was none
other than my good man, Gowlings LaFleur
Henderson LLP partner Philippe Ferland.
� � �
A “former” Sydney lawyer is spending considerable
time ensconced at the McConnell
Library, feverishly researching someone or
something. I can’t help but wonder what that’s
all about.
� � �
The Black Spoon in North Sydney is a delightful
place.
The chowder is superb and the Bananas
Foster, a dish I had never before experienced,
is a hit. It’s a chef-owned place, just like Allegro
down the road in Sydney. Incidentally, you
gotta check out Lynn’s coffee cake.
� � �
Can somebody please tell me why commercial
office space and store frontage in Sydney
is more expensive per square foot than Halifax
or Montreal?
Must be some complex business model I can’t
grasp. One would think it would be better to
collect a reasonable amount of rent at a rate the
market can bear, as opposed to collecting no
rent at all.
The vacant offices and storefronts on Char-
lotte Street alone are enough to send me spiralling
into a weeks-long depression.
� � �
The Port of Sydney welcomed more than
100,000 souls aboard cruise ships this year, all
of whom I’m sure were v. pleased with the shiny
new $10 million cruise ship pavilion.
Less pleasing to them, I imagine, is the godawful
view approaching the city from the mouth
of the harbour. Outside of 1980s-era Beirut or
present-day Detroit, I can’t think of where you
might find a more impressive collection of broken
down old buildings. The old Robin Hood
building is one of the worst offenders, but I’d be
here all day if I wanted to list them all. Suffice to
say, urban decay is one of the worst problems
facing our city, and we ignore it at our peril.
� � �
Nice to see Gary Ross’s wayward days are
behind him.
When not toiling at the Mira River Provincial
Park, Gary does a Herculean service as a collector
of monies for the Friends of The Mira
River Park. He is known to collect donations
for firework displays and the like from illustrious
benefactors without producing receipts or
advising that the noted organization is not a registered
charity. But hey, what’s a thousand dollars
here and there between old friends?
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