RESERVE MINES: Strait area groups were the recipients of federal funding announced by the local Member of Parliament last week.
On March 16, Cape Breton-Canso MP Mike Kelloway announced $274,895 in non-repayable funding through the Canada Community Revitalization Fund (CCRF) for projects around the riding.
Among those is the Antigonish County District 9 Community Development Association which will receive $15,828 to carry out upgrades at Cape Jack Beach Provincial Park in Havre Boucher including the construction of an accessible washroom and change house, as well as landscaping.
Mark Fougere, chair of the association, said this will compliment work they did with the Municipality of the County of Antigonish to get mobility mats on the beach. He said the group is trying to create a day-use park with benches, picnics tables, horse shoe pits, ladder toss games, and hopefully an electrical source on the site.
“We have people travelling 50 kilometres in one direction, even in these high fuel prices, to come and visit the beach,” said Fougere. “Seven days a week, 365 days a year, I live next to have beach, I see folks coming and going. We’ve had people internationally come to the beach that they picked up through their connections for travel.”
The Friends of Notre Dame de l’Assomption Cathedral Association in Arichat was greenlit for $4,650 to restore the steps, accessible ramp and railing at the entrance of the church to allow for tours of the building, which the release said is the oldest Catholic church in Nova Scotia.
“Thank you for paying attention to accessibility in your facility,” Richmond Warden Amanda Mombourquette said. “I think it’s a critical activity that we need to be considering to make sure that all citizens have equal access to such incredible structures as the Cathedral. Regardless of your faith, the architectural detail in that building is something to behold. It’s a beautiful, beautiful structure, and such an historic one in our community. The spires can be seen for miles.”
Kelloway pointed to the efforts of the group.
“I’ll go back to the leadership of Andre Boudreau and many others; it is so important to have people like this at the heart of organizations like the Cathedral association,” he noted.
The St. Peter’s and Area Lions Club will use $7,500 to upgrade the ballfield by adding top soil, as well as gravel to the walking trail.
Gerry Gibson, with the Lions Club, said the funding will benefit the whole community.
“Our infield was getting really, really filled in with grass and the walking track is in similar condition as that,” Gibson said. “All this will be put into that infield and the walking track, and if there’s a couple of dollars left, we might do a couple of little things with the school because the long jump track is filling in as well and it needs some more upgrades to that as well.”
Kelloway called the Lions Club an “active organization” that helps the community and works with other groups.
“Most of the projects, of the 30-plus that we’ve announced in our riding, many of them, most of them, in fact, are around accessibility opportunities and overcoming accessibility challenges,” noted Kelloway. “I really like the fact that you’re working to explore and encourage people to get out and take part in that trail.”
To assist with the installation of an outdoor storage building, the River Bourgeois Community Services Society was approved for $7,417 in funding.
“The society will be installing an outdoor storage building to securely house recreation complex equipment to safeguard it from the elements of weather in Cape Breton. And also in terms of keeping that equipment safe and ensuring that the equipment is enjoyed by all members of the community,” stated Kelloway. “I can’t wait to see this money put into action.”
The Inverness Victoria Federation of Agriculture was approved for $39,000 for the installation of solar panels, heat pumps, insulation, new windows and doors, wiring, and entrance upgrades for the group’s storage buildings.
Federation president Jamie van den Hoogen said the Mabou Development Association, the Mabou Farmers Market, the 4-H Club, the Mabou Ceilidh, and the Mabou Arena currently use their buildings. He said the upgrades mean they can host training sessions and demonstrations.
“It was used to modify our two current buildings that are used for storage, for the machinery committee and the agri-technology rental program. The buildings are used for storage by other community organizations as well, and with this funding we can make it more accessible for them,” he noted. “With the heat pump and the accessibility at the back of the room, we should be able to host meetings or small first-aid courses. We are upgrading the current place just to bring it up to code.”
Kelloway added that such groups are the “lifeblood” of communities.
“It’s an important community asset, it is important to Inverness County, but it’s important for the entire province in my opinion,” the MP said. “As we come out of COVID-19, organizations like yours are really going to be important in terms of how we build back better, in terms of community resiliency, and we’ve demonstrated community resiliency for some time in our riding but my money is on organizations like yours to do great work in the community.”