Prince Street in Sydney will have detour Monday and Tuesday

January 17, 2022

Sydney, NS - Roadwork will be taking place Monday, January 17 and Tuesday, January 18 at the intersection of Prince Street and Sheriff Ave.   

The project is focused on pedestrian crosswalk improvements at the Prince and Sheriff Avenue crosswalk. Work will include underground excavation as part of the installation of pedestrian half signals. 

A full closure of Prince Street will be in place with traffic being detoured via (eastbound) Victoria Road and Disco St and (westbound) Sheriff Ave and Townsend St/High St/Inglis St. 

Transit Cape Breton will also have modified stops due to the construction site.  

Route 1 and CBU Express will now be detoured via Disco Street to Victoria Road (and return on the same route) to avoid this area.   

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Services update: Deadline for applications extended for low income property tax rebate

January 6, 2022

Business and rate payer services available during office closure 

SYDNEY, NS - The deadline has been extended to January 31 for applications for the Municipal Low Income Property Tax rebate.  The rebate program provides a maximum yearly tax reduction of $225.

Applicants must reside in CBRM and have legal title to the property and it must be assessed in their name. The property must be their primary residence and not a seasonal residence, vacation home or income property. Total household income must be less than the maximum income threshold as stipulated by the Guaranteed Income Supplement Program. For the 2020 taxation year, that maximum was $25,104.

Municipal planning department services and taxation and utility payment services are available during the current closure of City Hall at 320 Esplanade in Sydney. 

Applications for building and development permits, vendor licenses, and other Planning Department business can be downloaded from the CBRM website and emailed to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or can be dropped off at the drop box at the front entrance of 320 Esplande. 

For more information visit the Business section online at www.cbrm.ns.ca

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Holiday season service update: Christmas tree collection, Transit Cape Breton operations

December 29, 2021

SYDNEY, NS – On Monday, January 10, the CBRM Solid Waste Department will collect undecorated Christmas trees from residential properties eligible to receive curbside collection. Residents placing a Christmas tree curbside for collection during this year’s Christmas Tree Collection must have the tree curbside no later than 6:00 am on Monday, January 10, 2022. 

Residents are encouraged to wait to place their Christmas tree curbside until the weekend of January 7-9 and are instructed to place the bare Christmas tree in a safe location for the collector to remove. A tree placed on top of a snow bank, located in a ditch, or drain, buried in snow or frozen to the ground will not be removed. 

All additional items must be removed from the tree such as the tree stand and all decorations. 

Artificial trees are not collected curbside. These trees can be dropped off for disposal at the Waste Management Facility on SPAR Road in Sydney. The site is open 8:00am to 4:00pm Tuesday to Saturday.  Real trees are also accepted for drop-off at the Waste Management Facility on Spar Road in Sydney. 

Curbside collection 

There is no curbside collection on New Year’s Day, January 1, 2022. All areas scheduled for collection on January 1 will be rescheduled to Monday, January 3. All Solid Waste Management Sites including the administration office are closed on Saturday, January 1, 2022.  

Transit services  - update 

Transit services end at 5:00 pm on Friday, December 31. There are no transit services on Saturday, January 1.Service resumes on Sunday, January 2 with the current Sunday schedule including Route 1 and Handi-Trans service.

Municipal buildings closed

December 23, 2021

Effective immediately, December 23, municipal buildings are closed to the public until further notice for the enhanced safety of workplaces and essential workers.

As always, emergency services are accessed by 911.To inquire about municipal services call 311 during business hours.

311 service is available from 7:00 am- 4:30pm on working days. On December 24 and December 31, the hours are 7:00 am - 3:00 pm.
311 services are closed on December 27, 28 and January 3.

Public Works after hours number is 902-563-5500.

CBRM services on holiday schedule

December 21, 2021

Several CBRM services are on holiday schedules in the weeks ahead. 

Transit Cape Breton is not operating from 5:00 pm on Friday, December 24 until resuming full service on the morning of Tuesday, December 28.

Transit is also not operating on Saturday January 1, resuming operations on Sunday, January 2. 

Solid waste collection does not occur on Saturday, December 25.  Instead, collection will take place on Monday, December 27. 

There is also no curbside collection on New Year’s Day, January 1, 2022.

All areas scheduled for collection on January 1 will be rescheduled to Monday, January 3. 

All Solid Waste Management Sites including the administration office are closed on Saturday, December 25, 2021 and Saturday, January 1, 2022.

Zone amendment: Harbourside Business Park

Public Hearing

The Council of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality has scheduled a Public Hearing to consider an application to amend the boundaries of the subzone within the Harbourside Business Park (HBZ) zone to facilitate the sale of property (see map below).

The Public Hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, December 14th, 2021 at 6:00 p.m. in Council Chambers, 2nd floor Civic Centre, 320 Esplanade, Sydney.

Anyone wishing to comment on this proposed amendment is welcome to make a presentation at the Public Hearing.

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Municipal planning department seeking public input on temporary signs

December 6, 2021

SYDNEY, NS - The Cape Breton Regional Municipality is considering whether to adopt a new bylaw to regulate temporary signs.

The type of signs being considered are commonly displayed as black roadside signs with interchangeable lettering. 

Public input is sought to help scope the issues and guide any future regulations.  An online survey is now open at www.cbrm.ns.ca 

The survey will be open to responses between December 6 and 17. 

If you have any questions or would like a paper copy of the survey, please contact the Planning and Development Department at 902-563-5072 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Transit changes for Dec 4 Santa Claus parade in Glace Bay

Transit changes for Glace Bay Santa Claus Parade

On December 4, 2021, from 1pm to 5pm, the annual Santa Claus Parade will be leave Reserve Street at the Fire Hall, head to Union Street, Commercial Street, Brookside Street, Park Street to Union Street, back to Reserve Street and end at the fire hall.   

The temporary transfer hub for route 3 & 4, with route 1, will be at Sobeys on Reserve Street. 

Route 1:  Route 1 will enter the Sobeys’ parking lot at the traffic light, turn in and exit the parking lot at the exit located across from the Superstore. Route 1 will wait for route 3 at Station Street/Main Street. 

Route 3 (New Aberdeen):  Will use Gannon Street to access Main Street, to get back on route on Minto. 

Route 4 (Steel’s Hill):    Will use Glace Bay High School, to access Ling/Highland Road, to Dominion Street, and pick up the route at Emery Street. After the route reaches the hospital at South, the route will head to Quarry Road, and take Quarry Road to School, to Dominion Street, to MacLeod’s Road, back to Sobeys.

Citizen Representation on Committees - Call for Expressions of Interest

November 30, 2021

The Council of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality requires the services of citizens who would be willing to serve as volunteer members on the following Committees:

• CBRM Diversity Committee (one representative from the disability community for the balance of a two-year term to February 2023)
• CBRM Audit Committee (one representative for a two-year term)
• Cape Breton Regional Library Board (one position for the balance of a two-year term to February 2023)
• Port of Sydney Development Corporation (one individual with a professional accounting designation for a three-year term; and one individual with expertise in business and commerce for a three-year term commencing April 1, 2022)

The Terms of Reference for these Committees and Boards can be found on the CBRM website: https://cbrm.ns.ca/clerks-department.html

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EMERGENCY CONTACT INFORMATION

During the storm activity, it is important to direct your call to the right municipal service provider. If you have an emergency, or a dangerous situation to report such as power line down, manhole cover displaced, road washout, downed tree on roadway etc. the following services are available:

911 for emergency/imminent danger calls (24 hrs)

902-563-5151 for police non-emergency (24 hrs)

902-563-5500 for CBRM Public Works emergency dispatch (24 hrs)

902-567-1337 for CBRM Solid Waste hotline (M-F 8:30-4:30)

311 for calls related to municipal closures and information (M-F 8:30-4:30)

1-877-428-6004 Nova Scotia Power – outage or downed power line

1-844-696-7737 Nova Scotia Dept of Public Works – Operations Centre