PORT HAWKESBURY: Strait Area Mayors and Wardens have taken a proactive approach to supporting the Energy East Pipeline and port development activities in the Strait of Canso.
A meeting of the Strait Area Mayors and Wardens was called on December 15 by Port Hawkesbury Mayor Brenda Chisholm-Beaton who presently holds the position of chair. The last meeting of this group was held in April, and with the fall elections wrapped up, some attendees to the December 15 meeting were new to the table.
“In light of a recent meeting in October with Strait area municipal leaders and the Senate Committee on Transport and Communications, it made sense to bring the mayors and wardens committee together to discuss next steps,” Chisholm-Beaton explained,
In October, Transport and Communications Committee members, Senators Michael MacDonald and Terry Mercer, discussed the development of a strategy to facilitate the transportation of crude oil to eastern Canadian refineries and to ports on the East and West coasts. More specifically, the focus was on the benefits of an Energy East Pipeline, particularly one that would extend to the Strait of Canso, taking advantage of well-established world class storage and marine facilities. As a result of these consultations, the Strait Area Mayors and Wardens unanimously supported the concept of an Energy East Pipeline to the Bay of Fundy, along with an extension to the Strait of Canso.
“Energy East has the potential to provide significant energy security, employment and economic benefit to the region,” Chisholm-Beaton noted.
Following up on other business arising from the April mayors and wardens meeting, the issue of port development was discussed. All mayors and wardens agreed that the Strait of Canso has significant economic advantages over comparable ports, and that port-related developments can only be achieved through cooperation between the private and public sectors.
“There has been a great deal of focus on governance in the past and the mayors and wardens of the Strait area all felt that a new approach was needed,” the Mayor of Port Hawkesbury stated.
“This new approach will be focused on development opportunities and will be led by the priorities of existing and potential industries.”
Unanimous support for this approach sends a clear signal that mayors and wardens are interested in responding to the needs of industry and having a vision that is aligned with the economic development priorities of the region.