Tar ponds fixation turns wrong face of community to the world
Letter to the editor from Bruce McDonald
Cape Breton Post
Friday, Feb. 6, 2004
One must give full marks to MPs Mark
Eyking and Rodger
Cuzner for getting
Geoff Regan, federal minister
for Nova Scotia, to visit this
area so soon after beginning
his tenure in cabinet. However,
it should have been a time for
all concerned at the local level
to present and publicize well
researched, progressive programs
for the development of
our corilmunities.
We need a federal-provincial-municipal
community organization to focus resources
toward job-creating developments.
The three levels of governnient and the Chamber of
Commerce all operate independently,
only sometimes in co-operation. A combined body
could focus on the organized
development of the former
steel company property, Sydport,
Northside Industrial
Park, Greater Sydney Harbour,
and other areas of the Cape
Breton Regional Municipality.
Such a co-operative focus
should include all the educational
facilities that could contribute.
We do have some success
stories like Precision Finished
Components, East Coast Rope,
Provincial Energy Ventures,
EDS and other call centres, and
Dynagen. But what was featured
in the Regan story (complete with pictures)
as a priority? The tar ponds!
What a complete waste of
time and effort for him and the
others involved in his visit.
Even worse was the negative
message conveyed to the rest of
Canada that we are living in
the past and have no positive
suggestions for our future.
The story gave a few lines to
new matters discussed, if you
read to the end (No Promises to
Clean Up Tar Ponds, Jan. 6).
Why weren't things such as the
following a strong part of the
local presentation?
Reinforce the success of the
cruise ship business by planning
to expand the former government
dock though acquiring and
incorporating properties on
either side so that the
dock will run from Dorchester
Street to north of the Sydney
Engineering property. This
would allow two if not three
cruise ships to tie up at a world-class
cruise centre. The cruise
ships should be with us for the
long term on an expanding basis.
This approach could also
provide a dock with extensive
shed space and lay-down area
for commercial development of
the harbour. If this was Halifax,
that would be done by the
province through its wholly
owned Crown corporation, the
Waterfront Development Corp.,
which has been behind most of
the Halifax Harbour developments.
Shouldn't we be trying to
make this part of Premier
John Hamm's "fairness" campaign?
Enhance the Sydney
northend historic area as a
cruise ship feature by increasing
the number of heritage
properties to visit and expanding
the museums, both physically
and with staff perhaps
even rebuilding the waterfront
home of Sir John George
Bourinot, the originator of
historic Parliamentary Rules
of Order.
Accelerate plans to open the
Donkin mine to provide jobs, to
complement the bulk shipping
operation of PEV at the former
steel company dock, and to supply
the Point Aconi power
plant as well as the export market.
Mount a strong and extensive
Cape Breton tourist marketing
program throughout
Europe. This would be country
to country, so the federal
tourist agency should play a
large part.
Get federal participation in
an overall harbour business
development, promotional and
capital development organization
to concentrate on fully
exploiting what should be one
of our best assets, our world-class,
strategically located harbour.
Why is PEV a subsidiary of
AMCI, located here, of all the
places? The company knows
we could be a major centre.
To complete the picture,
revive the already fully engineered
and researched plan to
dredge the harbour entrance to
Panamax depth - the plan that
the former harbour board
almost brought to reality. This
would enhance the bulk materials
centre here. We would not
be in competition with Halifax,
and so this time perhaps the
province would join to help.
Revive the building of the
Fleur de lis Trail to take full
advantage of Fortress Louisbourg.
This would provide a
Cape Breton tourist loop to
benefit eastern Cape Breton,
which now misses the extensive
traffic that loops back
through Baddeck. The project
would complement the Cabot
Trail traffic and all would benefit.
Have the Cape Breton railway
take over all Nova Scotia
Power Inc. coal delivery so that
this would be a long-term operation
to complement the railway's
other business. The Point
Aconi power plant is rated as a
40- to 50-year operation with a
coal-fired, fluidized-bed system.
It would make sense to
cross the Little Bras d'Or channel
with a rail bridge, at the old
highway bridge site, connected
to the adjacent rail line and run
the rail line to and along the
power plant road to provide a
permanent rail connection.
This should cut the cost
transportation, which by truck
is expensive, and should pay
for itself, amortized over the
life of the plant.
Use Department of Foreign
Affairs commercial trade contacts
to bring companies to use
trained industrial tradespeople
who formerly worked in the
steel annd coal industries. These
companies may be found in
Europe, or North or South
America, and could include
family businesses with
resources to be invested here.
Reserve the steel company
slag pile for filling the
tar ponds, and get on with it.
Reserve some of the rest for
filling the harbour shoreline
south of the Sysco dock to
adjacent deep water to enhance the
PEV operation for the long term.
Do you think these proposals
would have projected a better
image of our community
than rerunning the repetitious
erroneous and fraudulent
claim that this community is
the location of "the worst toxic
waste site in Canada"? It certainly
isn't that when measured by proven results.
It's time we all, particularly
the media, start to think and
act positively if we want our
community to progress. It has
to start with those who are in
the public eye projecting a
positive and progressive image.
After all, isn't our theme song,
We'll Rise Again
Bruce McDonald is a retired Sydney businessman
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