CBRM ready to shut down if necessary: mayor

SYDNEY — Mayor Amanda Mcdougall says the CBRM is prepared to shut down some services and buildings if the municipality gets hit by the second wave of COVID-19.

And the recently-elected mayor of Nova Scotia's secondlargest municipality also said informal discussions have already begun with other Cape Breton communities on a possible island-wide strategy to prevent the spread of the coronavirus on the east side of the Canso Causeway.

Mcdougall presided over the new Cape Breton Regional Municipality council's first meeting, and the body's first in-person meeting since early March, on Tuesday evening in a replica chamber set up in the south concourse of Centre 200 in Sydney. The larger venue was utilized after it was determined the regular meeting chamber in city hall is too small to allow for proper social distancing.

Ironically, the meeting started just hours after the province reported 37 new COVID-19 cases and announced new restrictions, including a temporary halt to in-person restaurant and bar service and the closure of libraries, casinos, museums and recreational facilities in the Halifax Regional Municipality.

“It was a hard day in terms of COVID numbers and knowing that we had an increase,” said the former District 8 councillor, following her first council meeting as mayor.

“I have to take a stance on behalf of the community here in the CBRM and say that we are taking this seriously and we will implement a two-week shutdown of municipal services and buildings if need be, if our numbers are going up, so having the ability to meet today in person and to set the course for our council as a team, well, we had to do it.”

When questioned whether she would like to close the causeway as a way of preventing the spread of COVID into Cape Breton, Mcdougall laughed off the suggestion with the acknowledgement that the CBRM has no jurisdiction over the province-operated connector. However, she said informal discussions about how to keep the virus out of Cape Breton are already underway with other community leaders on the island.

“I have been speaking with Mayor (Brenda) ChisholmBeaton in Port Hawkesbury and have full intentions of an island-wide consultation with other leaders, the mayors and wardens, to see what this might look like,” said Mcdougall, who said she is in contact with local business leaders also concerned with COVID-19 and its impacts.

“A lot of it comes down to individuals having to take responsibility not only for themselves but for other community members — we don't want people calling each other out and pointing fingers in the street because someone can't wear a mask. We have to be compassionate and we also have to be extremely vigilant.”

Meanwhile, the expectant mayor said the due date for her baby is sometime in midDecember.