ARICHAT: The warden said a conference in Halifax demonstrated there are great opportunities for the municipality.
During the regular monthly meeting of Richmond Municipal Council on Nov. 28 in Arichat, Warden Amanda Mombourquette said she recently attended a conference in Halifax hosted by Marine Renewable Canada, which is increasing its profile in the Atlantic region.
“I just wanted to express what a great learning opportunity it was,” she told council. “The sessions that I attended included how to communicate effectively about marine renewable energy. There was a women in marine renewable networking event. We celebrated some Canadian firsts, primarily focused on tidal, but it was also a great opportunity to hear from Premier Houston, as well as MP Sean Fraser about their vision, both the provincial and federal levels.”
Along with Port Hawkesbury Mayor Brenda Chisholm, Mombourquette moderated a “Power to X” session with analysts, including Paul MacLean with the Bear Head green energy project in Point Tupper, as well as European officials.
“The lessons that we can learn from that international perspective were, I don’t want to say shocking, but eye-opening,” she reported. “It was a fantastic presentation, overall.”
The warden said there is an opportunity to position Nova Scotia as a leader in green energy.
“Call it a revolution because, I think, that’s the direction it’s going in,” she said. “There was a great showing from this region; probably eight or nine representatives were there. It was the Strait area en masse in Halifax.”
Mombourquette will be sending a letter to the Minister of Public Works expressing council’s concerns over washouts on Oban Road, and requesting a timeline for repairs.
Council approved $10,000 for the Administration Portuaire de Petit de Grat for a commemorative monument in recognition of the Expulsion of the Acadians, with funding coming from the cultural category under the Canada Community Building Fund, as well as from the waterfront development fund.
The Village on the Canal Association was approved for a $1,000 Type 4 Regional Health General Grant, with $200 coming from each district fund, based on a recommendation from the committee of the whole.
In approving a recommendation from the committee of the whole, the warden will write a letter to the provincial government supporting amendments to marketing levy legislation proposed by Destination Cape Breton.
Specifically, council is proposing that new legislation states that the marketing levy will be applied to all fixed roof accommodations, as defined in the Tourism Accommodation Registration Act, including Airbnb and Vrbo, regardless of the number of rooms.
The letter is also asking that language in the legislation be changed to, “funds collected will be used be exclusively on activities and programs that directly support the development of the tourism industry, and the marketing destinations from which they were generated.”
The letter requests that there be a seamless process to replace the current Cape Breton Island Marketing Levy Act with the new legislation so there is no impact on planning or budgeting for Destination Cape Breton.
The letter will also encourage all municipalities in Cape Breton to participate.
For the Office of Healthcare Recruitment’s Community Fund, council approved a recommendation from the committee of the whole to have staff reach out to the program director of Cape Breton South Recruiting for Health to offer support in the application process.
Council approved a recommendation from the Planning Advisory/Heritage Committee, which met on Nov. 8, to have Eastern District Planning Commission (EDPC) staff research scoring systems to evaluate heritage property submissions, and have the commission staff report back to the committee.
As part of a discussion on wind resource mapping, council approved a recommendation from the Planning Advisory/Heritage Committee to have EDPC staff research as of right wind turbine zone areas and report back to the committee’s next meeting.
Council approved a recommendation from the Planning Advisory/Heritage Committee to have Chief Administrative Officer Troy MacCulloch investigate whether the EDPC can issue summary offence tickets, and if not, why they don’t have the authority to do so, and report back to the committee at a future meeting.
Council supported a grant request of $2,500 from the Louisdale Lions Club for a holiday event which includes sidewalk displays, a “Jingle Bell Walk,” carols, food and drinks.
From District 3 funds, the project will receive $1,500, and $1,000 will come from the Type 4 Regional Health General fund.