Has province written off C.B.?

The closure of the Northside hospital, and the practical and financial arguments given to support this, ultimately only makes sense from the perspective of a provincial government that has written off Cape Breton’s economic future.

The “practical” reasons put forward to justify the closure of these hospitals are premised on the assumed continued lack of economic development of the area, and of Cape Breton as a whole. A lack of economic development that is guaranteed by the provincial government’s willful underfunding of our region as to both our fair share of federal equalization payments and also as to our very great needs.

First we are robbed, and then the conditions that result provide the excuses to rob us some more.

As for the difficulty of finding doctors for the Northside hospital, there is difficulty in finding doctors across Nova Scotia because of ill-advised provincial governmental policies that undermine rather than facilitate the recruitment and retention of doctors. There is absolutely no way to deny that there will be an immediate, negative impact on the lives of many Northsiders and those of surrounding areas, especially those who are lacking in means or who are affected by psychological or physical functional limitations.

It’s not just that Halifax has money that they could be sending our way. I am writing of the money that the province gets from the federal government specifically because of us. That is, there is a portion of equalization money that Nova Scotia gets which is attributable to how both Cape Breton’s population and poor economy factor into the equalization formula whereby the federal government decides how much the province gets.

We receive such a small portion of this money that it is criminal. It is a literal instance of theft and exploitation. For perspective’s sake, consider that P.E.I. — which has only 1.6 times more residents than the CBRM — receives 28 times more equalization money than CBRM because it gets its equalization money directly from the federal government . There’s no Halifax to steal it.

There are many in Cape Breton who are doing well financially and, for those with money, Cape Breton is a great place to live. But the prosperity of a region is measured not by the happiness of only certain of its people. I have not had such a sheltered existence as to be unaware of just how much poverty, with all of its corollary problems, there is on the island. It is the continued, status quo practice of Province House to pursue a policy of neglect of Cape Breton that directly compromises the physical and mental health of many of its people, and which is responsible for an out-migration that according to some media reports is the worst seen in Cape Breton since the Great Depression.

People are forced to leave their families, friends, and communities. A society loses talent, and its young. Services and resources diminish. A culture faces an uncertain future. People suffer and despair. And Stephen McNeil gets paid.

Nicholas DiPierro Sydney