The Cape Breton Regional Municipality has hired Marlene Usher as CEO of its Sydney Ports Corporation. Usher has been seconded from her job as executive director general at the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency. CBRM chief administrative officer Michael Merritt says the municipality created the job and hired Usher to offer “strategic guidance” and enhance marketing efforts for future port development. ACOA and the Sydney Ports Corporation will share the cost of Usher’s salary and benefits, which amount to $200,000 a year, over a three-year renewable term. However, the CBRM will cover the Ports Corporation’s share until the new port board is financially viable. Mayor Cecil Clarke justifies the expense based on Usher’s expertise in the field and what he describes as the comparable cost of hiring three or four private consultants to do the same job.
