GUYSBOROUGH: During an unexpected special council meeting on March 2, senior staff with the Municipality of the District of Guysborough (MODG) passed a motion to stand in solidarity with Ukraine, by making a $25,000 donation.
Based on the recommendation coming out of the committee of the whole meeting, which ended minutes prior to the meeting being called, council voted in favour of making the donation to the Canadian Red Cross Ukrainian Crisis Appeal Fund.
Warden Vernon Pitts additionally signed a letter that will be sent to all mayors and wardens in the province, as well as the Nova Scotia Federation of Municipalities and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, urging them to follow in their footsteps in supporting Ukraine, if they are financially able.
CAO Barry Carroll read the letter into council, which was greeted with boisterous applause from staff at the meeting.
In an interview with The Reporter on March 15, Pitts indicated it was the right thing to do.
“What it equates to is about $5 per resident; man, women and child throughout the municipality,” Pitts said. “And whereas the Red Cross through the federal government have offered to partner and help out, it equates to $50,000, which is quite substantial.”
While it’s not something the municipality regularly does, the warden suggested this is a time where they have to stand up and be accountable, as this was an attack on democracy.
“And all you have to do is put their shoes on for a minute, what if Russia decided they were going to take Canada,” Pitts said. “I watched Zelensky this morning on the television addressing Parliament, he was saying ‘Imagine if it was the CN Tower or Montreal that was being bombarded.’”
Visuals that are circulating world news agencies, like the Ukrainian fathers who are taking their children and wives to the train station and touching their hands on the window saying goodbye, the warden said makes their decision that much easier.
“Could you imagine what that would be like?” Pitts said. “Right now, what we’re potentially facing over in Ukraine, their most valuable resource, which is their young people, the young adults that are educated, the leaders, these people are going to be annihilated, if we don’t do something.”
The situation, Pitts said, has the potential to wipe out an entire generation and people need to stand up for what’s right.
“Imagine waking up this morning, there are bombs going off around you, you couldn’t get water, you couldn’t get food, you don’t have heat, you don’t have electricity,” Pitts said. “And from a humanitarian perspective, I think this is the way to go.”
While challenging other municipalities to donate what they can, the warden suggested they don’t necessarily need to match their $25,000.
“Anything at all will help, it all adds up, this is the time for all of Canada to stand up and do their part,” Pitts added. “We can either take care of it in Ukraine or we can wait for a while and we can take care of it here in Canada.”