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CCN Hits the Road by Mary DesRoches Early last year, the Coastal Communities Network (CCN) held a series of regional workshops leading up to a major community economic development (CED) conference in May, 1998 at White Point, Queens County entitled " Building Our Future: Respecting Our Past." In the process, a total of 550 Nova Scotians voiced their ideas and concerns about the way forward for CED. The Conference Report identified the strengths and challenges facing CED, and sketched out an action plan for promoting it in coastal and rural Nova Scotia. One key aspect of the plan that came out of White Point was to work toward the establishment of regional CED networks across the province. Over the summer of 1999, CCN worked to move the CED process even further forward. In June and early July, I conducted a CCN "Rural Revitalization Road Show," a series of sixteen workshops across the province. The idea was to bring the White Point recommendations back to the grassroots and so give people in rural and coastal communities an opportunity to assess them and share their ideas on where we go from here. (Funding for the "Road Show" was provided by Human Resources Development Canada.) The "Road Show" gave people in rural and coastal communities across the province a chance to speak out about the uncertainties and concerns their communities are facing. Over and over again, community members pointed to the critical need of identifying and clarifying the roles of CED agencies and organizations. This would enhance their organizational stability and reveal competing agendas that prevent cooperation among CED groups. The consultation process used by government decision makers received poor marks from rural Nova Scotians. As some participants noted: The consultation process is geared for business, not for community. For instance, an environmental management conference for the Gulf Region cost taxpayers $65,000, but very few community people were present… It cost $350 per person to attend this "consultation," which made the process inaccessible to communities. To be charged this much to attend a meeting just so we can ask questions, leads us to ask, "Who attended? Who benefited?" The final word is that government "consults" with communities but it is still not listening to them. Government decision makers also received a low score when it comes to responsibility and accountability concerning environmental issues. There was a feeling that the environment comes last, while development comes first. There are no standards for sustainable development. Nova Scotia has no policy on replanting forests that are being intensively clear-cut. People in our small communities are frustrated by unsustainable practices, whether it is in forestry, the fishery, the oil-and-gas industry, or other sectors. Communities are not given the time necessary to gather or distribute environmental information, or to assure that people can get involved. Yet, communities desperately need that relevant information in order to make informed decisions. Community groups that see the need for concrete changes are finding that the power to effect positive change often lies outside their communities. Organizing, and passive lobbying – such as researching, developing alternatives, and presenting them to politicians – doesn't seem to make a difference. The politicians just don't seem to listen. Several of the workshops identified government regulations and policy restrictions as important issues. The need for rural-based policies was clearly identified, while legal liabilities forced on volunteers through public policy were judged to be unrealistic. For example, government policy now dictates that community groups can no longer use their own rough lumber in building construction. Who benefits from such a policy? Communities and small businesses pay dearly for policies that further the interests of special-interest groups (in this particular case, big lumber companies) and make it difficult to accomplish the work that needs to be done in our rural communities. Workshops participants expressed the opinion that start-up costs for small businesses make success difficult, and this was reflected in the comments of one workshop participant: The process of qualifying for a loan from the Farm Loan Board is a long one. It cost me a lot extra in labour costs to get set up to produce this spring. I have a substantial investment of my own savings in this business that equals two-thirds or more of the borrowed amount… For whatever reason, it appears that the Farm Loan Board doesn't want me to succeed. There are too many barriers put before small communities and small businesses in their efforts to launch local projects. One common sentiment was expressed by one participant, who remarked, "Politics get projects launched. Business develops because of political connections." Many people and organizations in rural communities don't know how to work through the political process. There is a need is to de-politicize the decision-making process. Another high priority for rural communities is to have decision makers adopt the communities' meaning of language. Decision makers must end the process of the past and stop telling communities to change their definitions of "community" to fit governments' tastes and needs. There has been a communications breakdown: the meanings of key words and concepts differ between people in rural communities and government decision makers. To top it off, government documents are still not understandable. Plain language could avoid headaches and confusion. The language problem is particularly stressful to small businesses that often have to pay lawyers to help them through "the hoops." The infrastructure problems facing rural communities across the province need to be addressed from a human perspective. Good roads, safe wharves, lighthouses, marine navigational aids, signage, schools, health care, and the like must be secured and protected in rural communities. One matter that particularly concerned workshop participants is the fact that the people of Nova Scotia are rapidly losing access to our coastal lands, as more and more shoreline is bought up by private owners. Workshop participants also expressed concern that the level of competition is too high among government departments, CED agencies, and others in our small communities, while the level of cooperation among them is pitifully low. Government departments don't work or talk together nearly enough, because they so often find themselves competing with one another for funding. Similarly, CED agencies and organizations aren't cooperating efficiently due to funding shortfalls of their own. This can sometimes place communities in a "Catch 22" situation: local groups working in their community often have to gain funding approval from a Regional Development Authority that looks on those groups as direct competition to itself. Other topics touched on by participants in CCN's "Road Show" included transportation, health and safety, and literacy issues, a lack of jobs for young people, the need for family resource centres, the difficulties faced by voluntary organizations, and volunteer burn-out. Workshop participants also identified a number of strategies that work for rural communities. These included a series of CED modules developed by Saint Francis Xavier University and delivered in rural regions, a set of information and strategic planning workbooks provided by the provincial Department of Economic Development and Tourism, and some successful CED projects in Shelburne County. Those who attended the workshops were very supportive of CCN, with many offering helpful suggestions on the future directions it should be taking. Most regions are enthusiastic about a pilot project CCN is undertaking to establish four regional CED networks. The "Road Show" has given us a good understanding of the problems and opportunities before Nova Scotia's coastal and rural communities. The next step is to move CED even further forward so it can play a meaningful role in the present survival and future prosperity of coastal and rural Nova Scotia. back to top Pictou Island Living Together, Living Apart by Scott Milsom Caribou Harbour is a busy place in mid-July, as thousands of vacationers line up in their cars to await the ferry to Prince Edward Island. The terminal building is often mobbed with Moms, Dads and kids who kill time by buying ice cream and other treats. A casual onlooker would be forgiven for thinking that the P.E.I. ferry was the "only game in town" in Caribou. But a careful observer would notice a second transportation link that leaves from here. Just a few yards west of the huge P.E.I ferry dock, another vessel also takes people across the water. Its scale, however, is far more modest than either the Holiday Island or the Confederation, which sail from here to Wood Islands, P.E.I. The Suncatcher sails to Pictou Island, and you could probably fit 100 boats its size into either of the larger ferries. Pictou Island, mind you, is no P.E.I. At no point much more than a mile wide, it's a sliver of land about five miles long in Northumberland Strait. It's certainly not on the way to anywhere else. There are no rooms for rent. There's no store of any description. The only road is a dirt track that runs the entire length of the Island. If you want electricity, you'd better own a generator. Although several people from the mainland, and from as far away as the United States, have summer places there, sometimes swelling Pictou Island's population to as much as 90 or so, only about ten to twelve families live there year-round. Lobster pretty much defines the Island's economy, and most year-round households are at least in part sustained by the spring lobster season, during which people from the mainland also come to the Island to fish their lobster licences. One of the most festive days of the year on Pictou Island comes at the beginning of July, at the end of lobster season. There's lots of hard work done and good cheer shared on this informal holiday that one resident described to me as "Trap Hauling Day." But you won't read anything about Trap Hauling Day in the province's tourism literature. Everyone, of course, knows everyone else on the Island, and whenever this is said of any small community, people in larger centres usually think of it as a drawback. But there's another side to it as well. For one thing, people know where to go when they need something. For example, a resident tells me that one of the possessions his family keeps in the shed behind their house is an extension ladder. Everyone, of course, knows this, and so whenever anyone has need of a ladder, they know where to go for it. That family-owned extension ladder, in fact, serves as a community ladder. This type of community sharing goes on daily on Pictou Island – sharing of things, sharing of skills, sharing of knowledge. (This is not to say that Pictou Island is some kind of rural paradise: it's simply a matter of people helping one another when they can.) The voyage across from Caribou takes about 45 minutes on the Suncatcher. It's about 6:30 p.m. when I arrive at Pictou Island's well-maintained wharf. I'll be spending a weekend here with a friend who picks me up at the wharf. My friend, who meets me in his pick-up truck, wants to see if he's got any mail, so on the way back to his house he pulls into the driveway of Ken and Debbie Banks. She's the postmistress for Pictou Island, and a small section of their home serves as the community's post office. She's not home at the moment, but her husband, Ken, is sitting out front in a patio chair. He ambles into the house and brings my friend his mail before offering us some refreshment. Most post offices are shut up, tight as a drum, at 6:30 on a Friday night, but not so on Pictou Island, where the mail comes twice a week, on Tuesdays and Fridays. From May until November, it arrives on the Suncatcher. In winter, it arrives by plane. Along a portion of the road not far from the Banks' place, the brush has been cleared back from the road's edge, and this allows a small plane, which flies in from nearby Trenton Airport on the mainland, to use the road as a sort of landing strip. Ken Banks is one of several year-round residents who have come to the Island from away. Something of a poet, he grew up in southern Ontario, studied English at university, then came down to Pictou Island in the mid-‘70s with a friend from Pictou County. In a matter of days he'd found work as a hand on a lobster boat. He soon found the prospect of life here an attractive one. "I like to be on the water, and to be in the woods," says Ken, "so here, it's great. I cut wood in winter, and I love the silence of the woods." He also has a lobster licence, as the hundreds of traps stacked in his front yard attest. The Banks household includes Ken and Debbie's three kids, and as in every other household, groceries are essential. But having no retail outlet, Pictou Islanders either travel to the mainland to do their shopping or make other arrangements. Craig Campbell runs Campbell's Omni Food Store in Pictou, and he explains the system that's some Islanders have worked out to put food on their tables. "They can phone their orders in," he explains, "and we do them up. In summer, it costs them $3 to deliver to the ferry: in winter, it's $5 to take it to the plane in Trenton. We don't even ring that money up here. It goes to the delivery driver to maintain his truck. The people on the Island are great to deal with: they're our customers, and we appreciate their business." After talking with Craig I remember that when I left on the Suncatcher for the Island, about 20-odd cardboard boxes with family names written on them with a black marker were lowered down by passengers and crew onto the boat. At our destination, they were handed up to the wharf. Grocery delivery, Pictou Island style. People have been living on Pictou Island for generations. The Mi'kmaq were regular visitors in summer, when they would reap the bounty of the nearby waters. Local legend has it that the first to spend a winter there was a Native woman abandoned by her husband. To his surprise, she survived the winter by trapping rabbits and then managed to make it back to the mainland in the spring. Her husband is said to have been tried and punished by the tribe when she made her story known. The Island's first European settlers arrived early in the last century and by the early 1900s several hundred people lived there, surviving through the fishery and the rich soil. Over the years, there were seven lobster canneries on the Island, and during the lobster season people, mostly women from P.E.I., would come to work in them. Livestock were ferried every year to market on the mainland. Pictou Island was once a far busier place than it is now. But as the century progressed, economic and other pressures drove people to seek their livelihoods elsewhere. A low point was reached in the early 1970s, when the population was down to less than 20 souls. Since then, however, several new residents have decided to call Pictou Island home. Pictou Island has a one-room schoolhouse, and it's run quite differently than your typical mainland school. During the last school year, there was a total of four students in Grades Primary through VI, and a teacher (actually a teaching assistant) was paid on a half-time basis to teach them through those grades. But, after the earlier grades, parents must decide whether to move the kids to the mainland for the school year or to teach them at home. That presented quite a dilemma a few years ago to Pictou Island couple Dave Harding and Maureen Hull. Dave, whose family roots are in Yarmouth County, came here in the mid-‘70s as part of the "back-to-the-land movement." Not long afterwards, he met Cape Bretonner Maureen, and, as she says, she soon "fell in love with the guy, and with the Island." Today, Dave is a lobster fisherman, while Maureen is both a fisher and a writer of short stories, novels, poetry, and children's literature. In the early ‘90s, the couple's two daughters, Amy, now 19, and Moira, 18, were ready for Grade VII. Dave and Maureen were then told that if the kids took Grades VII through XII through correspondence courses, that there would be no hope of them ever being accepted at university. So, the pair took correspondence courses through Grade X, but when it came time for the girls to enter Grade XI, Dave and Maureen decided to send them to King's/Edgehill, a respected and historic private school in Windsor, in order to assure that they would both be sufficiently grounded to go on to university. Today, it looks like that decision was a good one: this fall, both girls will enjoy scholarships to attend Harvard University, where both will focus on the study of literature and philosophy. It will be Amy's second year studying in the Boston area, and Moira's first. Not bad for a place the size of Pictou Island, and no small accomplishment for Maureen and Dave. Although the Island's sole road is unpaved, the provincial Department of Transportation has a grader based there to assure that it is kept in reasonable condition. (Most of the vehicles that use the road are towed over on a barge by the Suncatcher. ) Facilities have also recently been put in place to allow a helicopter to land on the Island in case of a medical emergency. So, what does the future hold for Pictou Island? Agriculture there is a thing of the past, and the number of full-time residents is unlikely to rise dramatically as long as facilities remain as basic as they are. The future of the Island's school is in doubt. (Two Island students, entering into Grade VII and correspondence courses this fall, will rely heavily on the Internet for their training.) But more and more people in this age are attracted by the Island's very isolation, and there has been a recent upsurge in the number of summer cottagers, a trend that is only likely to continue. And, as long as the surrounding waters remain bountiful, there will always be people who will choose Pictou Island life over the busier and more hectic pace of the mainland. Coastal Communities News would like to thank Dartmouth high-school student Stuart Read for providing information on the history of Pictou Island. back to top Fisheries Downturn Affecting Women's Health by Stella Lord and Linda Christiansen-Ruffman, Nova Scotia Women's FishNet and the Canadian Research Institute for the Advancement of Women The Nova Scotia Women's FishNet recently got together with the Canadian Research Institute for the Advancement of Women to conduct a participatory research project in five coastal communities around the province. We wanted to find out how women's health and well-being are being affected by the downturn and subsequent changes in the fishery, and by other problems facing coastal communities. We were moved to undertake this research because the specific impact of the fishery crisis on women has, up to now, been invisible or ignored. Women have always worked hard in fishing families, doing most of the child care and home management while also helping to run the family fishing business. As well, they have often been at the core of activities that help keep communities together. Ten community-based researchers undertook group interviews in each community and also interviewed a total of twenty women individually. At the end of the project, all the researchers came together in a workshop to share their insights, to begin analyzing the information they'd collected, and to develop some ideas for future action. The researchers learned a lot about the problems facing many of these women. "I was surprised how stressed women are," said one. "Some of the interviews broke my heart." Another woman noticed that "the sense of hopelessness carries through to the school children." Some women are having a particularly hard time dealing with domestic abuse and violence, a situation made even worse by alcohol abuse and other stresses on the family. Most of the women interviewed said that government policy changes in such areas as fisheries regulations, the Atlantic Groundfish Strategy, and Employment Insurance haven't helped at all: on the contrary, they've made bad situations worse, both for themselves as individuals and as members of fishing families. As one woman put it, "Government policies are making us sick." All the researchers found it stressful working on this project, listening to what many of these women are going through. But, after thinking about and discussing the results of our efforts, we decided on the next step forward: after a more in-depth analysis, we'll use our research results to raise awareness of the problems of women in fishing communities, and work to create change. We have lots of ideas on how we might achieve this, and we'll be working on them in the fall. Stay tuned for further developments. Shelburne FishNet Addresses Women's Health Issues by Lillian Benham, Shelburne County Women's FishNet The Shelburne County Women's FishNet has been very busy this past year. We received a small health-promotion grant from the Western Regional Health Board to carry out a research and action project on women's health needs in Shelburne County. We involved women from various parts of the County and from different walks of life. Some were directly involved in fishing concerns, others not. However, there was one thing we all had in common: we all shared a concern for what is happening to women and their families in the County's coastal communities. When the project began, we all felt current realities in small communities were affecting women's health and that we had to do something to help women and families cope. At the beginning of the project, we held several planning meetings to figure out how we'd organize the collection of information we needed to build an action plan. With the assistance of some funding from another project organized by the Canadian Research Institute for the Advancement of Women, we conducted several interviews and focus groups with women in different parts of the County. This helped us identify the issues, the needs, and the concerns of women in the area. We found that many women were experiencing an almost suicidal depression caused by a sense of isolation, helplessness, and hopelessness. For some, family violence, triggered by the stresses of unemployment and financial worries, emerged as a serious problem. However, many women have resisted professional help, either because they've lacked information about services, they've had worries about privacy or safety, or they've felt a misplaced sense of pride. Many women reported feelings of poor health, weariness, and frequent small illnesses, which, in turn, have affected the general health of the family. We held several workshops to discuss both the problems women had identified and the community resources needed to address those problems. Among those needed resources were more supportive communications within each small community to combat a sense of isolation and restore some sense of empowerment. We thought long and hard about what might improve the situation and what, realistically, our group could do about it. One idea we are beginning work on is the development of a resource centre where women and girls could share information and offer mutual support. It would use existing resources and stress the idea of peer support. It would also provide valuable information and support for women to help them deal with the numerous issues and concerns they identified through our research project. A small group has begun work on this idea, and we hope that, starting this fall, it will be able to develop and carry through a concrete plan as a pilot project for the rest of the County. Meanwhile, the Shelburne County Women's FishNet will continue to work on other ideas for helping women in our communities. back to top Our Medical System An Everyday Pipe-Dream by Scott Milsom One day earlier this summer my companion, Jeannie, was sitting at home enjoying a cup of coffee. All of a sudden, she felt that something had gotten into her eye, and despite a number of vigorous rinses with large amounts of cold water, the feeling that there was something that didn't belong there remained as a minor irritant for her all the rest of that day. The next morning, a few more cold-water rinses failed to completely solve Jeannie's problem, but she found her irritation a bit less bothersome. So, that afternoon we decided to escape the city heat of Halifax, along with Jeannie's sweet little three-year-old granddaughter Brie, to take a relaxing drive down the South Shore. And so we set off, looking forward to a relaxing afternoon of shoreline wandering. We stopped for a stroll or two, and also paused to allow Brie to expend a bit of her endless energy at a playground in a Hubbards schoolyard. As we dawdled past East River, Chester, Western Shore, and other Lunenburg County coastal communities, Jeannie became increasingly distressed about whatever was wrong with her eye. As we approached Mahone Bay, her situation became so distressing that I asked whether I should stop if we were to pass anywhere that offered medical services. When she promptly replied "Yes," I knew that this was no slight irritant, because her tendency (like mine, I confess), is to leave such things be and hope they just go away on their own. We continued along Highway #3 until I spotted the Mahone Bay Medical Clinic, where I pulled into the driveway. Jeannie went inside while I took the little tyke for a walk to keep her amused with an exploration of the town. We wandered about, marvelling over flowers and creepy-crawlies for about a half-hour before arriving back at the Clinic's parking lot, only to find Jeannie leaning patiently against the car. What had happened is this. Jeannie had gone inside, explained that she had no appointment, that her family doctor had moved out-of-province a few weeks previously and she'd not yet found a replacement, and that there was something in her eye causing her a fair bit of discomfort. Within a matter of ten minutes she had seen a doctor, had the problem – an in–turned eyelash – successfully diagnosed, and had the matter corrected. No problem. No charge. Just our provincial health-care system doing its job. We hear much about our health-care crisis, and indeed there is no lack of problems we can point to. But despite all our health-care headaches, Jeannie's summer-afternoon experience drove home to me the fact that we still have a medical system that would be but a pipe-dream to most of the world's population. Yes, we need to fix the many problems that are all too obvious in the system, while at the same time resisting government cutbacks that would further diminish it. But I think we also owe it to ourselves to celebrate that system when it does its job right, as it does quietly and with little fanfare in the course of the thousands of trips to the doctor that Nova Scotians make every day. And we need to recognize the excellent quality of service given every day by health-care providers in our small rural and coastal communities. We must recognize the medical system in place in small-town Nova Scotia for what it is, no matter its problems: an extremely valuable community resource. Three cheers for the Mahone Bay Medical Clinic, and for the hard-working people who staff our health-care system! back to top Defining Progress: Common Sense Economics by Wendy Johnston The Exxon Valdez contributed more to the U.S. economy by spilling its oil than if it had delivered it safely to port, because all the cleanup costs, lawsuits, and media coverage added to the growth statistics. – Ron Colman, Director, Genuine Progress Index Project There's something wrong with this picture. According to the non-profit research group Genuine Progress Index Atlantic , when it comes to measuring progress we're counting the wrong things. Traditional ways of looking at growth, like the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), only track increases or decreases in the production of goods and services. By this yardstick, many of the negative things in our society – such as crime, pollution, and addictive gambling – are counted as economically beneficial, because, whatever else they might do, they increase the production of goods and services. Here in Nova Scotia, we have lots of experience with activities that seem to make the economy grow but don't improve our quality of life, or aren't sustainable, over the long term. Overfishing, clear-cutting of forests, the use of pesticides… the list goes on and on of things that make cash flow but don't help us in the long run. Unlike the GDP, the Genuine Progress Index (GPI) distinguishes between economic activities that benefit us from those that cause harm. According to Dr. Ron Colman, GPI Atlantic's Director: "The GPI assigns value to our natural resources, including our soils, forests, fisheries, and non-renewable energy sources, and assesses the sustainability of our harvesting practices, consumption habits, and transportation systems. It measures and values our unpaid voluntary and household work. The index goes up if our society is becoming more equal, if we have more free time, if our quality of life is improving." GPI Atlantic is constructing a GPI for Nova Scotia by including social and environmental factors in economic accounts. GPI Atlantic is working closely with Statistics Canada, which has designated the measurement of Nova Scotia's GPI as a pilot project for the country. Community- based groups in Kings County are developing a template that can be used to develop "indicators" for communities to use in discussion and planning for real progress. GPI Atlantic is currently developing twenty indicators that will help us better understand real and sustainable progress. It has already produced reports on three of these indicators of genuine progress: the value of voluntary and civic work, the economic value of unpaid housework and childcare, and the costs of crime. These reports look at these topics in a new light. According to the GPI report titled Value of Voluntary and Civic Work, volunteer work in Nova Scotia has declined since 1993 by 7.2 percent, costing the province $60 million each year in lost services. "When combined with a 17.5 percent cut in government services and a 5 percent decline in income supports since 1993," the report says, "the total loss of services and supports to vulnerable groups in Nova Scotia is estimated at 30 percent, even excluding health-care cuts." "This loss isn't counted in the GDP, or in any other standard measure of progress, even though it directly affects our quality of life and standard of living," says Dr. Colman. "Because the voluntary sector is invisible in our national accounts, we've never before been able to test the assumption that volunteers can absorb government service cuts." This report is the first evidence that the voluntary sector has been unable to make up for government budget and public service cuts. The data indicates that, overall, volunteer hours have been dropping in the province, because of increased time pressures on people caused largely by increasing demands from paid work. A second GPI report titled Economic Value of Unpaid Household Work and Childcare states: "While women have doubled their share of participation in the paid labour force, their share of unpaid work has hardly changed." Dr. Colman says that "this unpaid household work is more essential to basic survival and quality of life than much of the work done in offices and factories, and is a fundamental pre-condition for a healthy market economy... When we pay for childcare and house-cleaning or when we eat out, this adds to the GDP and counts as economic growth. But when we cook our own meals, clean our own house, or look after our own children, this has no value in our current measures of progress." In its third and most recent report, The Costs of Crime, the GPI researchers discovered that "traditional measures have counted high crime rates as good for the economy because they trigger more spending on prisons, police, and other security measures." The GPI, however, sees crime as a liability to progress, and "its aim is to explicitly value a peaceful and secure society as an indicator of progress." The report adds that "crime costs Nova Scotians $1.2 billion a year," which works out to $3,500 per household. (These figures include some medical costs but not the costs of hospitalization.) GPI researchers are looking into a number of other areas (or, in statistical terms, "accounts") and they hope to publish reports this fall on soils and agriculture, fisheries, forestry, and greenhouse emissions. Jennifer Scott, the main researcher for the soils and agriculture account, hopes her work can "get a good discussion going about the costs and benefits of local food production." Dr. Tony Charles, who is directing the fisheries account, indicates that his approach "tries to look at a whole range of factors related to the fisheries, a holistic view that will indicate the true costs and benefits of fishing and what sustainable levels should be." In the winter of 2000, reports are expected on other accounts, including transportation, employment and under-employment, as well as an "ecological footprint analysis" that will relate human production and consumption to the carrying capacity of the ecosystem. While all these GPI findings are meant to have an impact on public policy, researchers also hope the information will spark grass-roots discussions about community values and indicators of progress. This has certainly been the case in Kings County, where, as a community-based experiment, more than 60 people have met three times to discuss community goals and aspirations. They chose five accounts they wanted to investigate locally: soils and agriculture, employment and under-employment, peace and personal security, family well-being, and the voluntary sector. (Health and education matters are woven throughout these five accounts.) Five work-groups have been formed to identify issues and values, and to discuss how to measure progress and gather data for each account. It's hoped that this experiment, organized by the Nova Scotia Citizens for Community Development Society in conjunction with GPI Atlantic, will eventually produce information other communities can use to develop their own consensus about shared values and ideas of progress. After all, the degree of true community involvement is the real yardstick by which the value-laden concepts of GPI will ultimately be measured. The Genuine Progress Index project can provide communities with useful tools to examine our values and our understandings of progress, and can also provide measures of how we're faring. And, it can't be fooled by the likes of the Exxon Valdez. Wendy Johnston is a freelance writer and community activist living on the Eastern Shore. More information on the Genuine Progress Index is available from the GPI website at: www.gpiatlantic.org.Future issues of Coastal Communities News will focus on GPI research into our fisheries, soils and agriculture, and forestry. back to top October 2nd Lighthouse Day in Nova Scotia by Dan Conlin, Past President, Nova Scotia Lighthouse Preservation Society The Nova Scotia Lighthouse Preservation Society (NSLPS) has begun a very active campaign to press Parliament to pass a Lighthouse Protection Act. What we have in mind is legislation similar to that which gives some protection to railway stations. This campaign is in the hands of a Lighthouse Protection Act Committee of the NSLPS. We have been working with some like-minded organizations, such as the Coastal Communities Network, and together we've arranged for October 2nd to be celebrated as "Lighthouse Day." (October 2nd is the anniversary of the legislation that created Sambro Island lighthouse, Canada's oldest, in 1758.) If this day is to be successful, we'll need as many events as possible around the province to get the issue of lighthouses and lighthouse preservation into the minds of the public and hence onto the agenda of politicians. It will also be a good opportunity for residents of coastal communities to promote their own lighthouse by taking advantage of a province-wide event. People are encouraged to organize an event of some sort in their area. People may want to organize a special tour, a lighting of the lamp ritual at sunset, or to ask local school boards to arrange an essay or picture contest for school children. A large-scale faxing of letters to Heritage Minister Sheila Copps and Fisheries and Ocean Minister Herb Dhaliwal is also being planned for Friday, October 1st. We hope all these events will draw attention to the threatened future of lighthouses and to the need for legislation to protect them. The NSLPS is willing to promote and coordinate local efforts by letting people know what other groups are planning through our newsletter, The Lightkeeper, and with a special page on our website. (www.ednet.ns.ca/educ/heritage/nslps/lighthouseday.htm) We also may be able to help with advertising the event on a province-wide basis. We urge residents in our small communities to get involved in Lighthouse Day. If you'd like to get involved, please call me at 424-6442. Dhaliwal Named New Federal Fisheries Minister In early August, Prime Minister Chr&#eacute;tien announced the appointment of Herb Dhaliwal, member of Parliament for the British Columbia riding of Vancouver South-Burnaby, as Minister of Fisheries and Oceans. At the same time, David Anderson, the previous Fisheries Minister, was moved to the Environment ministry. Mr. Dhaliwal isn't well known to people involved in this region's fishery. Here's a little background on the new Minister. Mr. Dhaliwal was first elected to the House of Commons in 1993. Since then, he has served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans and on other parliamentary committees concerning the fishery, aquaculture, and government finances. He has also travelled internationally as a member of various government delegations. Prior to taking on the Fisheries portfolio, he was Minister of National Revenue. Mr. Dhaliwal was born in the Northern Punjab, India, in 1952. He moved to Canada in his youth and graduated from the University of British Columbia with a Bachelor of Commerce degree in 1971. He has spent more than 25 years in the private and public sectors as a small businessperson and entrepreneur, and has also contributed time and effort to the charitable sector. He is married and has three children. The Department of Fisheries and Oceans is currently in the midst of a wide-ranging review of its Atlantic fisheries management policies. We hope Mr. Dhaliwal has the strength and wisdom to steer that review firmly in the interests of our coastal communities and those with live there. Year 2000: Don't Be Left at Sea As most of us know by now, the Y2K problem had its origins in the early days of the computer industry when, to save expensive computer memory space, many programmers used two numbers instead of four to denote the year. So, now that our calendars are about to change from 1999 to 2000, some computer systems may "think" it's 1900, while others may not recognize that 2000 is a leap year. Simply said, the "millennium bug" may cause equipment that relies on date-sensitive data to shut down, malfunction, or produce inaccurate information. The marine industry, including commercial shipping, the fishery and related enterprises, and the pleasure craft sector, is driven by technology. Ship-board and shore-side equipment may fail or produce flawed data when the Year 2000 arrives. If you fail to identify and correct Year 2000- related problems there could be serious complications, such as the unexpected shutdown of an engine or on-board navigational equipment. The operation of most fishing vessels depends on electronic systems, and many harvesters could be affected by the Y2K bug. Examples of the type of things that can malfunction include: global positionaing, loran, and other navigational equipment; radios; radar systems; depth sounders; engine control systems; rudder control systems; refrigeration systems; cargo and terminal equipment. The millenium bug may seem overwhelming at first, but it can be predictable and manageable if proper precautions are taken. Think of it as a challenge that can be overcome by taking some smart basic steps: Look and List Look around your vessel to list all its on-board and off-board computer hardware, software, and any electronic equipment containing embedded chips; Prioritize Once a list has been made, determine which systems and equipment are critical to fishing operations. A good rule of thumb is to consider the business or personal risks that could arise if the equipment stopped working: the greater the risk, the higher that item should be on your priority list; Communicate Get in touch with the people who can help answer the question, "Will this equipment work in the Year 2000?" Check with manufacturers, vendors, and service providers to find out if equipment and software is Year-2000 compliant. Don't rely on verbal assurances! Ask instead for written confirmation. The easiest way to approach the Y2K issue is to treat it like any other warranty or service problem; Take Proactive Measures Work, and share information, with other fishers. No competitive advantage exists if you can't land your catch. Have a back-up plan in the event of system problems or disruption in service. Ensure that all employees or co-workers are trained adequately for every eventuality. Above all, don't wait until Jan.1, 2000 to protect your boat from the Y2K bug. Act now. While most of the Y2K media blitz has concerned what might happen on January 1, 2000, there are a number of other dates that might cause special problems. These include: August 22, 1999: this is the "rollover" date for for Global Positioning navigational systems (see box, below); September 9, 1999: there is a potential problem in that some programmers may have used a sequences of "9s" to indicate something other than a date. Therefore, some programs and equipment might not recognize 9/9/99 correctly and then malfunction; February 29, 2000: this is a "leap day," and systems not programmed to recognize this fact might malfunction. The federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) has already made substantial progress toward ensuring it will be able to deliver all the key services the fishing industry relies on. Almost all the equipment and systems that had to be altered to ensure delivery of essential services were fixed by the end of December 1998. The remaining equipment and systems that support critical departmental activities were scheduled to be fixed by June 30, 1999. In the event of any problem, DFO has extensive back-up plans for everything related to the delivery of its key services. Search and Rescue will be fully prepared to handle emergencies that may occur due to the Y2K bug. If you are interested in learning more about the Year 2000 Bug or need help preparing your fishing operations for the year 2000, contact: the Government of Canada's Year 2000 hot-line at 1-800-O-Canada (1-800-622-6232) manufacturers of marine equipment, computer hardware and software. Most have toll-free customer service lines and Year 2000 information on their web sites. the following Government of Canada Year 2000 web sites: http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/ www.info2000.gc.ca/ strategis.ic.gc.ca/SSG/yk04743e.html the United States Coast Guard YEAR 2000 web site: www.uscg.mil/hq/g-m/y2k.htm the Year 2000 Information Centre, a forum for disseminating information about Y2K and discussion of possible solutions: www.year2000.com In Nova Scotia, further information may be obtained from Doug Earle, Maritime Regional Fisheries and Oceans Year 2000 Director. Phone: (902) 426-4314, or Fax: (902)496-1535. Global Positioning and Y2K Global Positioning System (GPS) navigation systems account for time by using a number for every week the service is in operation. When it was initially designed it began counting weeks using a starting point of midnight (Week 0000) on the morning of January 6, 1980. Broadcast by satellite, the week numbers are used by receivers to calculate position. The "field" for GPS week number in the satellite message only provides for numbers up to 1024, so, at the end of week 1023 the week number will roll over from 1023 back to 0. This will happen at midnight on August 21-22, 1999. Unless repaired, on August 22 some GPS receivers may "think" that it is January 6,1980. This, of course, will cause problems. It is the responsibility of each GPS user to deal with this. How this problem will affect any particular GPS unit will depend on its brand and model type. If the rollover wasn't accounted for at the time a GPS receiver was designed and built, then it might have problems. Some receivers may merely display inaccurate date information, but others may also calculate incorrect navigation information or might stop providing positions. Some units will require a software upgrade. Owners and operators of fishing vessels are advised to get compliance information from GPS receiver manufacturers and suppliers. The following websites may be helpful: http://boatsafe.com/nauticalknowhow/022599tip.htm http://www.spacecom.af.mil/usspace/news8-99.htm http://gauss.gge.unb.ca/manufact.htm http://joe.mehaffey.com/y2000dat.htm http://vancouver- webpages.com/sailBC/GPS-WNRO.html http://www.laafb.af.mil/SMC/CZ/homepage/y2000/y2k/index.htm back to top EDITORIAL A Year: Looking Back Lessons of Kindness, Lessons of Strength by Scott Milsom Before taking on the job of Editor/Communications Officer for the Coastal Communities Network (CCN) in June of last year, I'd become a little bit familiar with the problems and prospects facing rural and coastal communities in the province. I'd picked up these scraps of knowledge in two ways. Firstly, I've spent countless weekends over the years exploring Nova Scotia's secondary roads (and even its "third-ary" and "fourth-ary" roads, to coin a couple of awkward expressions), and so have learned a bit about the province's geography and the fearful state of much of its rural infrastructure. Secondly, I spent several years involved with an alternative magazine about the Maritimes that often dealt in considerable detail with the state of the fishery, forestry, and agriculture across the region, and which also delved into many of the other realities of rural life in the Maritimes. These two experiences, perhaps, gave me a basic understanding of what life is like in Nova Scotia's small communities but, the fact is, I was born, raised, and still live in Halifax. So, when I started this job last year, I knew I was going to be dependent on CCN members to give me some deeper insight on the matter. So, what do I think I've learned over that time? The first thing that springs to mind on looking over the past year has something to do with the culture of rural and coastal life, that is, with the way people think of and relate to one another as human beings in this corner of the world. We've all heard the horror stories and the hilarious jokes that stem from clumsy encounters between city and rural folks, between those who bring their stereotypes from "away" to their encounters with people in the small towns and villages of the Maritimes. Stories of this type almost always involve an "outsider" who carries with him (it usually is a "him") a sense of his own superiority, despite an almost complete ignorance of life as it's lived by those he confronts. And there's a kernel of truth in such stories: it doesn't take a rural Maritimer long to spot a "smooth operator" from outside his or her own community, and when that happens, the chances of anything positive coming from the encounter are pretty much out the window. But in my CCN travels, I've discovered that the opposite of the above is also true: that if a person goes into rural and small-town Nova Scotia with the attitude that there is something to learn from the people there, those people will respond in an extremely warm, patient, and friendly manner to even the silliest questions. I've not met kinder or nicer people anywhere than in my travels to talk with fish and timber harvesters, community activists, and others who live and work in every corner of this province. And the same holds true for the many meetings and other CCN gatherings I've attended around the province: warmth and friendliness have met me at every turn. There was something else I knew I'd have to get up to speed on when I began my CCN work: the fishery. When I started, I knew just enough about the complexities of fisheries management issues to know that I didn't know anything. Over the past year-and-a-bit, I've made an effort to absorb a little knowledge about the industry, and I've become less hesitant to voice the opinion that DFO's seemingly relentless drive to privatize fish stocks is a huge problem for coastal communities, or to suggest there is strong evidence that certain gear types might not be ecologically sustainable. But, at the same time, I've also learned something else: now, I know enough to know that I know far less than do the people directly involved in the fishery. A third thing I've learned while working for CCN has come as no surprise. Just as I was almost certain it would be, the job of travelling around the province to meet and talk to people, and then to write about it, is wonderful fun. It seems to me the best of all possible worlds. I get out of the office. I get to visit almost every nook and cranny of Nova Scotia. I regularly get out in the fresh air, whether it be on land or sea. I get to meet interesting people. I get to rely on their solid judgement to make sure I don't embarrass myself in print. And I get paid for it! I think "lucky" would describe what I am to be doing this work for CCN. There's also one final thing I've learned over the last year. When I started this job, I think I had at least a basic understanding of the vast difficulties facing the province's rural and coastal communities, an understanding that has been modified somewhat by what I've seen over the course of the past year. And, when I started, I had, at least theoretically, an understanding of the strength and resourcefulness of the people who live in coastal and rural Nova Scotia. I knew that, when given a half-decent chance, they could work together to bring positive changes to their communities. That understanding has, in the past year, been greatly enriched by getting out and meeting, in the flesh, many of those amazing people who are exerting tremendous efforts, and who, through those efforts, are improving the lives of thousands of Nova Scotians. I hope I get to continue to meet, and work with, those amazing people for a good while yet. Coastal Communities News Acknowledgements Coastal Communities News is published bi-monthly by the Coastal Communities Network, a non-profit society registered in the province of Nova Scotia. Coastal Communities News is made possible by the generous efforts of many volunteers, and by financial contributions from Human Resources Development Canada, and by donations and in-kind contributions from the Nova Scotia Department of Education and Culture, as well as from member groups and organizations. We welcome all articles and submissions, from individuals and groups, with content in keeping with the role and nature of this magazine. We reserve the right to edit all submissions. Except where additional credit has been given, all articles are prepared by the Editor and Editorial Board. Join the Coastal Communities Network Our Mission Statement The Coastal Communities Network is a volunteer association of organizations whose mission is to provide a forum to encourage dialogue, share information, and create strategies and actions that promote the survival and development of Nova Scotia's coastal and rural communities. "A Large Voice for Small Communities" CCN is made up of organizations rooted in Nova Scotia's coastal and rural communities, and it is the diversity of its membership that gives it strength. Your organization, and your community, can help CCN determine its direction and strengthen its voice still further. Join the Coastal Communities Network today. How to Become Involved in the Coastal Communities Network CCN's strength lies in its membership, which is made up of organizations rooted in Nova Scotia's coastal communities. The range of member organizations is very broad, including churches, fish harvester groups, municipalities, community and regional economic development agencies, unions, universities, and local community groups. CCN welcomes the participation of any organization that represents the interests of a coastal community or issue and is interested in working together with similar groups across the province. Your organization can become involved in a number of ways: — by participating in regular monthly meetings of the CCN membership. These are held in Truro (usually on the first Tuesday of each month), and allow representatives from member organizations to review what is happening in coastal communities across the province, plan actions on issues of common concern, and review progress on CCN-sponsored projects; — by getting on our mailing list to receive regular copies of Coastal Communities News. Send us your name and address by mail or fax, or call us directly; — by contributing written articles to Coastal Communities News, and so letting everyone know what's happening in your community; — by taking part in CCN workshops and information sessions. Special events like this are held on topics of importance to coastal communities (for example, community economic development, co- management in the fishery, etc); — by inquiring about CCN's resource library, which includes information, reports, and studies on topics that affect the future and sustainability of coastal communities. You may contact us at: CCN Coordinator: PO Box 1613 Pictou, N.S. B0K 1H0 Phone:(902)485-4754 Fax:(902)445-7134 e-mail:coastalnet@ns.sympatico.ca CCN Communications Office: Phone: (902) 445-7168 Fax: (902) 445-7134 e-mail:ccnews@ns.sympatico.ca back to top

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