AMHERST, N.S. – As much as there are challenges, Cumberland-Colchester MP Bill Casey said the past year was one of promise for both ends of his federal riding.
In a year-end interview with the Amherst News, the longtime MP, who recently celebrated the 30th anniversary of his first election win in November 1988, said there are numerous initiatives taking place in Cumberland and Colchester counties that should see positive results in 2019.
Casey, who announced several weeks ago that he will not seek another term in October, said the area is like many other counties in Nova Scotia in that the population is continuing to decline. That makes it difficult to create economic development.
“There are 18 counties in Nova Scotia and 16 of them are experiencing a decline in population, that’s a frightening statistic,” Casey said in an year-end interview with the Amherst News. “It’s a struggle for all rural parts of Nova Scotia and it’s a struggle for all of Canada. We have one centre of growth in Nova Scotia and it’s a battle to overcome that.”
Casey said there are some things government can do to help and one of those is ensuring broadband internet and cellphone coverage are available in all rural areas. He said it’s not a luxury anymore, but life or death for a community.
Government, he said, is working on the issue and is seeing results, but it has yet to solve the problem.
“The thing is government doesn’t have linemen to install the internet, all we can do is provide the incentive for the companies and we’ve done that. In some cases, they’ve chosen not to take advantage of the opportunities,” he said. “At the end of the day, if they choose not to do that there’s not much we can do to change that.”
Casey said he has talked to representatives about the connect to innovate program the federal government is offering, but in some cases not one was interested in applying for what’s free money.
He said government needs to make rural communities more of a priority and ensure steps are taken to help maintain these communities. He said some communities are taking the initiatives.
“Parrsboro is one of those communities that has come together and the people hae worked together to fight for themselves,” Casey said. “I remember when the people wanted to build the Age of Sail museum in Port Greville, they just didn’t give up. They were so far down the list of museums, but they were so persistent and moved up. Now we’re working on the Cliffs of Fundy project and I’m optimistic we’ll see some positive outcomes very soon.”
Tourism, he said, is a key economic driver for communities in Cumberland and Colchester counties. He said Canada has slipped from the top 10 as a tourist destination and this area has a role to play in enhancing the country’s place.
He said MPs ringing the Bay of Fundy are working on a plan to develop the bay as a tourist destination, but said the internet and cellphone connectivity issue is something that’s holding back progress.
Looking back at the past year, Casey said he was pleased to see $700,000 in federal and provincial funding to study the marsh between Amherst and Sackville, N.B. and the impact of rising sea levels on the dikes that protect the railway and Trans-Canada Highway.
Another project he’s working on is recognition for Debert as the oldest community in Canada with an Indigenous presence dating back 13,500 years. He is hoping to see an interpretive centre there along with a lifelike depiction of what it was like there more than 10,000 years ago.
Casey is still working on his private members bill on the repatriation of Indigenous artifacts should they become available. Because of that work, discussions are already underway with a museum in Melbourne, Australia to bring a robe back to Millbrook.
The MP said he only spoke for two-and-a-half minutes on the bill in the House of Commons and it wasn’t two weeks later that the Australian high commissioner to Canada Natasha Smith wanted to meet to discuss helping.
“It’s something that’s garnered attention around the world. There have been news articles in China and the Netherlands because it’s a big deal around the world,” Casey said. “The reason the Australians are working with us is because they want their artifacts back. I got a call from the Commonwealth museums. Fifty-countries have museums, many of them in Africa, and they want their artifacts too and they’re using our bill as a guide.”
Casey is also hoping to see some additional work linking the national historic sites along the Isthmus of Chignecto, including a trail between Fort Beauseour/Fort Cumberland, Fort Lawrence and Beaubassin as well as a link to Fort Gaspereaux near Port Elgin, N.B.
Another project he hopes to see come to fruition is increased recognition for Isle Haute off Advocate Harbour. It’s an issue he has been working on since 2001 when he saw an article in the Canadian Geographic magazine that suggested the federal government was going to sell the island.
Casey said the Col. James Layton Ralston Armoury in Amherst remains a priority to him and he’s working with the community and National Defence on a solution for the building that is home to three cadet corps and the North Nova Scotia Highlanders.
“We don’t have an answer yet, but we’re still working on it,” Casey said. “DND is still assessing the repairs that need to be done to the building before it’s transferred and the environmental assessment that would be required.”
Even if there isn’t a solution before the election in October, he still plans to work on the project, saying while he won’t the MP anymore he’ll still be a member of the community.
Twitter: @ADNdarrell
