AMHERST, N.S. – It has been a busy, at times hectic, year for Cumberland North MLA Elizabeth Smith-McCrossin.
While her bid for the leadership of the provincial Progressive Conservative Party is in the past, the MLA expects to remain just as busy in 2019 as she continues to work on a number of issues aimed at improving the economy of Cumberland County and removing some of the barriers to community development.
Smith-McCrossin said the past year saw a lot of challenges for people in Cumberland North.
“One of the biggest one is financial. A lot of people experienced financial hardship, while a lot of people were dealing with a lack of access to health-care services,” the MLA said.
The past year was one full of ER closures at the hospital in Pugwash while there were concerns about the future of the regional hospital in Upper Nappan – concerns that led to a massive rally in front of the hospital during the summer as well as at other hospitals across the county.
Smith-McCrossin said Cumberland County is not alone in expressing its concerns, adding it’s both a rural and urban problem in Nova Scotia.
Looking ahead, Smith-McCrossin is hoping to see some work on the promised new health-care facility in Pugwash. The premier was in Pugwash prior to the last election to promise the facility and she said it is slowly making its way through the wheels of the Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal Department.
She’s also hopeful to see the new bridge completed over the Nappan River, replacing the 80-year-old Rainbow Bridge that was closed and condemned last December and then demolished in the late summer and early fall.
“I am disappointed with the length of time it’s taking, if it was being done privately it would done by now,” she said. “It has been over a year since the bridge was closed and it’s a major inconvenience to the people who need it. Lloyd Hines has promised it’s a priority and we will continue to hold him to that promise.”
The MLA said she plans to continue pushing the government to remove the tolls on the Cobequid Pass as soon as possible, but not just for cars but for all vehicles. She’s against a proposal that could see the toll still charged on commercial vehicles and out of province vehicles She said the toll places companies on the Cumberland County side of the toll at a disadvantage when trying to ship product to market in the rest of Nova Scotia.
“It’s an unfair tax on residents and business owners in Cumberland County,” she said. Truckers have said it’s around $7,400 per truck per year and that’s an expense that comes right off their bottom line and they can’t get it back.”
The province has pledged on several occasions to eliminate the toll, at least on cars, as soon as the 44-kilometre highway is paid for. While the original date for the bond to be paid is 2026, the province has said it hopes it can pay it off either in 2019 or 2020.
Much of the success of Cumberland North as well as the province is stopping the depopulation of rural communities for job opportunities in other parts of Canada.
“I’m concerned about the declining population in rural Nova Scotia and the outmigration of our young adults with little or no growth in our provincial revenues,” she said. “We need to focus as legislators on how we can focus on making Nova Scotia and Cumberland North business friendly and encouraging entrepreneurship and successful business growth. That’s what is going to drive our economy. People need good-paying jobs and stable growth. If we see that we’ll see improvement in other areas.”
She said she’s confident in the work of the Cumberland Business Connector, a local board of business owners working with government on several community initiatives. She has been working with them on growing the economy through agriculture.
“Land is one of our assets that’s not being fully utilized. We’re having an agricultural symposium on Jan. 24 at the business innovation centre and it’s going to be a full day of presentations and panel discussions on growing the economy through agriculture,” she said. “The business connector has already done a lot of work on this and we’re already being seen as a leader across the province.”
The MLA is also concerned with the federal government’s potential divestiture of both the Col. James Layton Ralston Armoury in Amherst as well as the wharf at Northport. She finds it ironic the prime minister is spending millions around the world, but it is withdrawing money from Cumberland North.
She would also like to see a plan developed for sidewalk access from Amherst to the regional hospital as well as access to adequate Internet for all rural parts of the riding. She would also like to see a government commitment for a hospice facility.
She is hoping to see more accountability and transparency in the provincial government moving ahead and feels her experiences during the leadership campaign gave her a greater understanding of the province and the needs of its people.
It’s this experience she feels will benefit her in her role as an MLA and as the Municipal Affairs critic for the PC caucus under new leader Tim Houston.
Twitter: @ADNdarrell
