PRINCE COUNTY
Year in review
The strength of Egmont’s economy was the highlight of 2017 says the riding’s Member of Parliament Bobby Morrissey.
The strength of Egmont’s economy is the highlight of 2017 says the riding’s Member of Parliament.
“It was across-the-board. It was the fishery. It was tourism. It was construction,” Bobby Morrissey commented in a year-end interview recently. He believes the good catches in the lobster fishery have helped drive the economy right across P.E.I., and he credits the new Stompin’ Tom Centre in Skinners Pond with having a positive impact on tourism numbers in his riding.
“It does appear they got it right,” he said in reference to a re-evaluation of the centre’s plan prior to construction. “A lot of people attribute some of the growth in tourism in this area to that one piece of infrastructure.” Morrissey suggested the
federal government’s revised criteria for infrastructure spending, especially as it relates to highways, also played a role, as the changes allowed more highway projects in P.E.I. to qualify for federal funding. Those included highway work in Miscouche and between Elmsdale and Alberton, the new roundabout at Bloomfield Corner, and the new bridge in Cascumpec.
Funding for seniors housing, he said, has allowed for perhaps the single largest federal investment in Tyne Valley – more than $4 million for a new manor. All of those cost-shared projects, he said, free up provincial government dollars for other projects, and all of that, he suggested, has combined for more jobs in the construction sector.
But Morrissey cautions against complacency.
“We can always do better. There’s always a drive to create better, longer-term jobs.” One of the ongoing challenges he sees is the need to grow the population of rural Egmont, and even there he sees positive signs, including the impact of a more flexible immigration policy.
The MP places hope in the new Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) for opening up new markets for agricultural and seafood products, and suggests it might hold the key for the recovery of the
blueberry industry.
2018
Looking toward 2018, Morrissey said he will be pressing for upgrades to several harbours in Egmont, including Seacow Pond and Skinners Pond. Dredging continues to be a priority for many ports, he added. He said a new infrastructure round will benefit small communities. He is optimistic about funding announcements for projects in O’Leary this year and he continues to work to bring new opportunities to Miminegash.
“That is a very active file,” he added.
He said work is underway to see what infrastructure would be required to make Miminegash attractive for a business opportunity that makes sense for the area.
“Optimistically, I would like to be in position where we could be moving substantively before 2018 is gone by.”