Cape Breton needs a more unified approach

With regards to recent letters in the Cape Breton Post regarding Cape Breton becoming a province, it is easy to imagine such a senario.

However, the likelihood of this happing is very remote. We all know about equalization and how we are treated in Nova Scotia and, indeed, Canada.

This is not new news.

Now to the real world. The provincial government many years ago decided that in order to compete in the world economy we should centralize resources. This was done in the Halifax area, the seat of the provincial capital. In order to have shipbuilding or attract industries at the time its ice-free port would be a growth area. Thousands of jobs were created and Capers left for HRM as they have done throughout history.

They are still proud to be from Cape Breton, however. Just attend a major junior hockey game in Halifax when the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles are visiting. Many of the fans are cheering for the Eagles, not Halifax. Yes, still Capers at heart.

Once we had steel and coal industries. They are gone now and are not coming back. None of us like it but it is what it is.

One of the main problems for Cape Breton is the power in this province rests in one area, but as stated in a previous letter the move of the Nova Scotia Community College Marconi Campus to downtown Sydney could generate the start of a new beginning. It suggests that the provincial government is interested in rebuilding CBRM. I am encouraged by such a bold move and support it.

So what can we do to help make it happen? Well, we can by supporting local port development and investing in our own communities.

We can also encourage private businesses to create jobs. They need all the help we can give them. We can eliminate the stupid downtown parking meters in Sydney like Glace Bay, New Waterford and the Northside did years ago. We can encourage tax breaks when jobs are created. Never let go of our tourism and fishing industries, either. Invest in our island.

It is not in our make-up to give up on fighting for what is right for us. This means CBRM council should stop arguing and display a unified approach.

Things will not be perfect but we have some very good MPs and MLAs speaking on our behalf. We can and will do better, but it is essential that we stop looking at Halifax and look at what we can do for ourselves.

I see it this way because I, like many others in Cape Breton, have grandchildren who live away. I know and understand what it’s like to have children and grandchildren away, especially at this time of year. We can change that if we plan for the future. The Nova Scotia Community College move is how we start.

That’s the way I see it. Lorne MacKinnon Sydney