ACOA pres visits Sheet Harbour
MacKay commits to action on broadband
SHEET HARBOUR - The top brass at the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) committed Saturday to do what they can to help bring high-speed Internet service to the Sheet Harbour area.
That commitment came from ACOA Minister Peter MacKay and ACOA president Monique Collette during a Chamber of Commerce luncheon at which MacKay, MP for Central Nova, was guest speaker. It was Collette's first visit to the Eastern Shore.
Prior to the luncheon, the chamber's executive met with MacKay, Collette, ACOA vice president for NS John Knubbly and other ACOA officials to discuss challenges facing the area and ways in which ACOA may be able to help.
In his remarks, MacKay said he was pleased to have a number of ACOA officials present, "not only to see what's missing (in the area), but to see the potential." He said the Sheet Harbour area had been neglected too often in the past.
Hinting that more ACOA announcements benefiting the community would be forthcoming, MacKay said the ACOA program is "here to stay." He noted that $418 million in ACOA funding had been announced in the first 100 days of the new Conservative government. MacKay noted that the entire ACOA staff would be meeting at Liscombe Lodge and touring the Eastern Shore in June.
The minister talked about the importance of ACOA to development in the area, saying sometimes a little help from ACOA at the beginning will help a business take off and then grow substantially in the future. MacKay said it's also important for government to not be a hindrance to business growth.
"Sometimes the best thing that government can do is get out of the way," he noted. "Sometimes streamlining and paring things down is the best thing a government can do."
The minister spent some time talking about the importance of getting broadband high-speed Internet service for the Sheet Harbour area. "We have to work collaboratively with the province and with HRM to make sure broadband comes to the Eastern Shore."
In response to a question from the floor regarding broadband, Collette had some encouraging words. "I wouldn't see why we couldn't look at it through our Innovative Communities Fund," Collette said, adding that it was clear from Saturday's gathering that the will and support is there for this service to come to the community.
MacKay said he has asked that an ACOA development officer be assigned exclusively to the Sheet Harbour area.
"It's about results," he stated. "I don't want to come down here again and see that we're still talking about it (broadband). I want to see results."
MacKay also talked about his government's environmental interests and praised the work of local environmental volunteer Jack MacDonald, president of the Eastern Shore Wildlife Association. "We are going to see a day when salmon will be running in East River again," he predicted.
MacKay said he has been working closely with provincial Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture and Minister of Agriculture Ron Chisholm on meeting the needs of the local area.
"I've never seen anyone who is more tapped into the community than Ron Chisholm," he said of his Conservative colleague.
MacKay also heaped praise on former provincial MLA and new chamber president Tom McInnis for his many contributions to the Sheet Harbour area.
Local HRM councillor Steve Streatch complimented MacKay on his work as Minister of Foreign Affairs. "The people of this area that you represent are very proud of the way you represent us on the world stage," he said.
