INVERNESS: A Port Hood native who has served in two provincial government departments is hoping to erase an 18-year drought for the Liberal Party in the riding of Inverness during the upcoming provincial election.
Bobby Morris, who has spent the past two years as the Cape Breton Partnership’s economic development officer for Inverness and Victoria counties, and before that worked for the Department of Natural Resources, was acclaimed to the Inverness Liberal nomination at a party gathering held earlier this month at the Inverness Fire Hall.
Morris was joined at the nomination meeting by Energy Minister Michel Samson and Natural Resources Minister Lloyd Hines, and the new candidate feels his previous work as Hines’ executive assistant has given him a unique perspective on many of the issues facing Inverness.
“[We dealt with] several industries that are directly related to Inverness County and the province’s larger plan on natural resource development, global trade, and even… his constituency work in terms of social assistance, housing and education,” Morris recalled.
“So I’ve seen the need to really step up and put your name in the ring where you can make change, and that’s through elected positions.”
Asked for his immediate priorities should he become the new Inverness MLA, Morris cited “priorities which are always there” such as road upgrades, health care and education. He also pointed to each end of Inverness County’s shifting demographics, noting that the province must tend to the needs of the county’s rising senior population while ensuring that land and housing are available for younger families and expanding businesses.
“Inverness has a very unique challenge as well, with the [Cabot Links] golf course driving such economic activity – it’s often unaffordable in Inverness, Mabou and Port Hood to even buy land,” Morris declared.
“The province has a great strategy that they’re working on, and I feel as [a potential] MLA that I need to be at the table to get the types of resources to help us to solve that problem.”
While he is touting the Liberal government’s record in Inverness, including the swift approval of a CT scanner purchase for Inverness Consolidated Memorial Hospital (ICMH) and recently-announced measures to promote the seafood sector on a global scale, Morris acknowledged that he will have to address less popular measures such as the recent implementation of a new contract for Nova Scotia’s teachers and cutbacks to such services as the county’s provincial parks.
“Government makes the best decisions they can, based on the information they have in front of them, but they may not have full access to information as quickly as government would like it to be there,” Morris suggested.
“So when I talk to someone on the doorstep, it’s very important to hear the impact that these decisions have on them, specifically.”
In the meantime, Morris is looking forward to his first provincial election campaign, which could come as early as this spring.
“I honestly can’t wait to get out on the doorstep, get involved in the campaign, and start bringing people together around these big issues,” he added.