LEADERSHIP NEEDED FOR CBRM TO GROW
I would like to draw attention to a Cape Breton Post column (‘Why Not Move Fisheries and Oceans Department to Sydney?’, April 11) written by Alan Holman of Prince Edward Island.
Holman cites a precedent for such a move in the moving of Department of Veterans Affairs headquarters from downtown Ottawa to Charlottetown in 1976 by the government of Pierre Trudeau, father of the current prime minister. When the announcement was made at the time. it “was so preposterous few people believed it. It had never happened before.” But it did happen, thanks to the role played by a P.E.I. politician.
The benefits, Holman says, have been huge. “Sydney,” he points out, “is about the same size as Charlottetown, yet it has triple the unemployment rate.”
Holman thinks the move of Fisheries and Oceans Department could be done and that the time is right and he cites a number of very good reasons.
“The mystery is, why aren’t Nova Scotia’s politicians, particularly the MPs from Cape Breton, pushing for such a move?,” he states.
I am no economist, but as the author of a recent book on the life of Father Greg MacLeod I know that Greg worked for 50 years promoting the decentralizing of federal and provincial agencies to the peripheries of the country. He was not successful in this although he did give the leadership that prevented our major institutions already in Cape Breton from moving in the opposite direction, i.e. the Coast Guard college, the Nova Scotia Community College, and Cape Breton University. He died trying to save the railway and, hopefully, that major piece of infrastructure, which now hangs in the balance, will yet be rescued.
But we live in a new era, and I agree with Holman, along with Russ Green, whose letter to the editor in support of the proposal appeared in the Post on April 27, that the time is now. When Father MacLeod was fighting for decentralization, Cape Breton was still being seen by Ottawa and Halifax as the boondocks. The loss of the steel and coal industries, along with the notorious tar ponds they left behind, did not help.
But times have changed. Magnolia trees are now blooming (or will be soon, hopefully) where the tar ponds used to be, Cape Breton University (CBU), with its huge influx of international students, has thrown us into the national headlights in a positive way, and we are continually being written up for our worldclass recreational facilities.
When the pandemic is over, our attraction as a small city may grow even more. And recently former Cape Breton University president John Harker was promoting Sydney as an ideal site for a university medical school (‘Seeking a Path Forward,’ Cape Breton Post, April 18). Civil servants may now be more willing to move from Ottawa to Sydney. And if they are not, there are hundreds and hundreds of young educated, dynamic, cultured and idealistic international CBU students who would most willingly take their place. Young people ready to start families and bring new life to the area.
Who will take on the task to push our politicians, at different levels and of different political stripes, to make this happen? Community organizations, church groups, local political riding associations, cultural groups, the chamber of commerce and others all have a stake in this. Who will lead us? Holman suggests CBU President David Dingwall. Perhaps. He certainly has the ability, but he is pretty busy with the re-shaping of the university. He would need a tremendous groundswell of support.
Who can rally us all together? It doesn’t have to be one person. How about municipal councillors? They are close to the ground. Together they could get the popular support that would make it work Any suggestions, anyone?
Daniel Doucet Sydney