CCN Back Issues Vol 7 Issue 1

It was the early 1980s, and Sally and Rob Langille were looking for a community in which to raise their growing family. They both loved the ocean, so they were looking around coastal communities within hailing distance of Halifax, where Rob, an auto-body specialist, could find employment. They looked at properties on the east side of Saint Margaret's Bay, but real estate prices around Tantallon and French Village were rising fast, as new subdivisions were being created to house the growing numbers of people working in Halifax. So, they looked over to the other side of the Bay. There, they found a nice, modest home that was in their price range. In fact, it was such a bargain that, even with the mortgage payment, Sally could stay home to raise her two growing daughters. Within a couple of years, they had made a cozy little home within sight of the ocean. Soon, the two young girls were joined by a baby brother.

In the years since then, the Langilles have made themselves an integral part of the community of Northwest Cove, which is about fifteen kilometres from Hubbards, along Highway 329 on the Aspotogan Peninsula. Next door to their home stands the Ocean Swells Community Centre, where people in the community gather regularly for card nights and occasional community suppers. Both Sally and Rob take an active part in the Centre's upkeep and organization. (When people in this area speak of the "community," they include Northwest Cove itself as well as the next cove over, which, to the confusion of some, is called Southwest Cove.)

Northwest Cove is less than an hour's drive from Halifax, and recent years have seen an increase in the number of people commuting to jobs in the big city. But the fishery is still the lifeblood of the community. In fact, it was the fishery that brought the very first settlers to the area in the 1760s. Then, in the 1840s, fishing families that had been based on the other side of Saint Margaret's Bay, in the French Village area, moved over to Northwest Cove. The settlement continued to grow throughout the nineteenth century. (At one point in its early history, Southwest Cove was the largest community along the shore between Halifax and Chester.)

In the boom years of the 1960s and '70s Northwest Cove was a thriving fishing community. Today, there is a lobster operation that runs out of the community, as well as two other fishery businesses. One of these sells salt fish and other fish products to the European market, while the other enterprise ships much of its catch to the Boston market. Local fishermen harvest mostly mackerel and tuna in the summer and lobster in the winter.

Retired historian Alan Wilson and his wife, well-known writer Budge Wilson, both grew up in the Halifax area, but they both knew the area around Northwest Cove from childhood. "In the 1930s, some Halifax families would devote a weekend to 'doing the Aspotogan,'" Alan remembers. "We would drive to Hubbards on Friday night and stay in the old Gainsborough Hotel there. Then we'd get up early enough to go on to Bayswater Beach for lunch and a swim, then on through Blandford and Deep Cove and back to the old main road again at East River." Budge's family would also come from the Halifax area to "do the Aspotogan." They both loved the area, and, in 1954, after they met and married, they bought property in Northwest Cove.

Today the loop around the Aspotogan Peninsula can be done in less than two hours, but it wasn't always so. "When I was a kid, the road was a narrow one-laner," Alan tells me. "Every so often, you would have to stop at a lay-by and let cars through that were coming in the other direction. And there was this one rickety old bridge at Deep Cove made of birch poles. Whenever we got there, my mother would always say, 'George, you can drive this thing across that bridge if you want to, but the boys and I are going to walk!' And we did."

This summer, the Ocean Swells Community Centre hosted a pictoral exhibit, "Wayve of Life," that celebrated the heritage of Northwest Cove and area. "We were fortunate to receive a $1,000 grant from the Aspotogan Heritage Trust," says Jan Shilletto, a key exhibit organizer. "People from the area brought in their old photographs, and we did up quite a display. More than 600 people came from near and far to view a way of life as remembered in photos, paintings, and stories." The $2,500 raised by the Centre through the exhibit will go towards the cost of much-needed new bathroom facilities.

One issue has dominated kitchen-table discussions in Northwest Cove for much of this year. Last year, an application was made to run a large aquaculture operation near Horse Island,right at the entrance to the Cove. Although Ottawa approved an environmental assessment for the operation, most people in the community were opposed to it. The local municipal council, the Northwest Cove Harbour Authority, the Aspotogan Heritage Trust, and a community group formed around this single issue all expressed their objections. "Currently, lobsters are penned in Northwest Cove during the winter season," says Northwest Cove resident Patricia MacCulloch. "This seven-acre operation will involve 240,000 animals that will foul the bottom of the Cove. There are rich lobster grounds nearby as well, not to mention the threat to human health."

Last winter, people in the community erected a prominent sign in opposition to the proposed fish-farm that included this quote from Premier John Hamm, made during the last provincial election: "Politicians and bureaucrats cannot make decisions for communities as effectively as the people who live in them." Local people later came to Halifax to display the sign in the city streets, and a letter-writing campaign to politicians was launched within the community. In early August, about 75 people from the Northwest Cove area demonstrated in front of the offices of provincial Agriculture and Fisheries Minister Ernie Fage's office. Despite all these efforts, shortly after the last protest a spokesperson for that Department announced that the province had approved the aquaculture application.

Most people in Northwest Cove were very disappointed with the province's decision, and some, like Patricia MacCulloch, are not about to give up. She has recently filed legal papers suing Premier Hamm, Minister Fage, and the province over the decision. The final outcome of this action is yet to be determined, but most people in Northwest Cove seem to support the spirit of Patricia's legal challenge.

About ten years ago, a German company began building a luxury spa at Coleman's Cove, just south of Northwest Cove. However, a series of bankruptcies left the project unfinished and local contractors unpaid for their services. The site was recently taken over by another group of investors that has recently announced the upscale facility will open its doors next spring. This would bring welcome jobs to Northwest Cove and area, but people here have heard similar pronouncements before, and not many people are holding their breath. But, if it does happen, it would be welcome news for most people in the area.

Aside from some coverage about residents' fight against the aquaculture operation, Northwest Cove and area rarely hits the headlines. One tragic exception was in September of 1998, when Swiss Air Flight 111 plummeted into the sea just off Bayswater Beach. For days, local fishermen and other volunteers combed the sea for wreckage and the grisly remains of the 229 people who perished. It was a traumatic experience for people in communities on both sides of Saint Margaret's Bay, and many people are understandably reluctant to talk at length about their experience. Nevertheless, many have applauded the volunteer efforts of the hundreds who responded with courage and dignity to the disaster. Today, near Bayswater Beach, there is a very tasteful memorial to both those who perished and those who dropped everything else and did their sad part in the recovery and clean-up.

Northwest Cove is a gem, a comfortable mixture of relative newcomers, mostly commuters or retired people, and established fishing families. It has been witness to tragedy, to struggle, but most of all to success: it is a wonderful community in which to raise a family, and what can be more satisfying than the success of raising a family? Okay, it's confession time: Sally Langille is my sister, and, in judging her household and her kids I can quite rightly be accused of bias. But, my own bias aside, Sally and husband Rob have three wonderful children and a warm household in a tightly knit and supportive community.

It's far from the only place in this wonderful province for which this may be said, but the people of Northwest Cove and area have a treasured and valuable resource: the community of which they are all a part.

For more information about the Ocean Swells Community Centre, or about local residents' efforts to forestall the aquaculture operation near Horse Island, call Sally Langille at 228-2647 or e-mail salnrob56@hotmail.com.

From Disaster to Opportunity

For many years, farmers in the western part of the Annapolis Valley relied on the provincially owned Middleton Grain Centre to dry their crop. But, in 1997, the province transferred the operation (along with two others, in Kentville and Tatamagouche) to a private company, East Coast Commodities (ECC). Although mandated by an agreement with the province to meet the needs of local grain and forage producers, in the spring of 1998 ECC closed the Middleton Centre and centralized operations at its Kentville facility in an effort to maximize profits.

Local farmers were outraged, and they banded together to try to keep the Middleton facility open. They proposed running the Centre themselves, as a subsidiary of ECC. When this idea was rejected, there were major protests in the western part of the Valley, including a 100-tractor demonstration that saw farmers travelling from near and far to support the cause. The issue was hotly debated on the floor of the provincial Legislature, as allegations of conflict of interest on the part of government were raised. The Western Valley Development Authority (WVDA) put together an economic-impact assessment that showed that the region would lose up to $6 million as a result of the closure. The future of family farms in the area was seriously threatened. Said Wilmot grain and livestock producer Lloyd Evans "The closure threatens the viability and livelihood of farmers." David Banks, owner/operator of a family farm in Annapolis County, added, "This may mean my children will never get to farm."

The WVDA assessment also noted that, with the anticipated decrease in farm-gate revenues and farm spending, along with defaults on loans, the Middleton closure would have negative repercussions throughout the region's economy. Also, the transportation industry was dependent on a commercial weigh-scale station at the Middleton Centre, which served more than 2,600 trucks each year as the only government-approved station in the region. In all, the value of the agricultural sector dependant on the Middleton Grain Centre was estimated at close to $49 million.

Despite all the protests and lobbying, ECC closed the Middleton Centre. Local farmers, though, remained in a state of protest for some time afterwards, firmly believing that the government had a "moral obligation" to reverse the closure, or to build a new facility. As the debate continued about the financial viability of the Middleton operation, the WVDA and local farmers were coming to believe that a grain centre could be operated profitably by a community-based, farmer-managed structure. The WVDA began to work with local farmers on a plan to build a new, community-owned grain centre.

A site was chosen in Lawrencetown, just fifteen kilometres west of Middleton, for a number of reasons. It was adjacent to Highway 101, the main transportation link through the Annapolis Valley, and it was close to the Annapolis County Exhibition Grounds and Cattle Auction where farmers naturally gathered. The land was owned by the regional waste-management authority, which operated a transfer station there, and the authority offered the land at a very reasonable price, because of opportunities offered for cost-sharing. (The two facilities now share road access, security fencing, a staffed access gate, weigh-scales, three-phase power, and lighting.)

August 8, 2000 saw the official opening of the West Nova Agro Commodities Centre. The new Centre was financed through the creation of a Community Economic Development Investment Fund (CEDIF), an innovative provincial program that allows community members to buy shares in a local business through a self-directed RRSP and also receive an additional provincial tax break. The WVDA prepared a submission to the Nova Scotia Securities Commission that allowed the new company to raise financing through the CEDIF program. Close to $130,000 in equity was raised from the community, together with other loans from the Royal Bank and the federal Farm Credit Corporation. The overall cost of the project was between $320,000 and $350,000.

West Nova Agro Commodities Limited, the company set up under the CEDIF, has a ten-member Board of Directors – eight farmers and two business people. All are local people who live between Berwick and Annapolis Royal. Jean Ward, the former representative for the provincial Department of Agriculture in Annapolis County, was hired as full-time Manager, while up to five other local people also find work at the new Lawrencetown Centre.

Grain has not traditionally been a large-scale crop in the Western Valley, but it plays an important role in crop rotation and provides straw for berry crops and grain for on-farm use. The new Centre gives local farmers a valuable opportunity to expand grain operations. The Centre now offers grain-drying services at competitive cost. It has a grain drier, a wet tank, a cooling tank, and two large storage silos. (An additional tank is being added this summer so different grains can be handled at the same time.) There is also a forage component to the operation, with an emphasis on developing the export market for local hay, particularly in New England. This is a sizable market, but growth is being controlled to encourage top-quality production.

Development of West Nova Agro Commodities Limited has meant increased grain and forage production in the area. Three times as much winter wheat is growing this year compared to last few years. American customers are reportedly extremely pleased with the quality of Western Valley timothy hay, while local customers are also very happy with the quality of grain.

The Lawrencetown Commodity Centre was very much a creative "local response to a local issue." After the 1998 closure of the Middleton operation, area farmers came to realize that a solution developed by and for farmers themselves could work. Farmers underwent a major shift of perspective, at first feeling that government owed them something, but later developing a real sense of empowerment as they took control of the situation on their own terms. Because the farmers and the surrounding community were investing their own money to make the Lawrencetown Centre a reality, there was a vested interest in making it work. The new Centre was built on a manageable scale and was designed so that new developments and expansions could be phased in as demand warranted. Farmers, who have been meeting at least once a month on the issue for some three years now, started out being upset, frustrated, and helpless over losing critical infrastructure. They have since become a focussed, disciplined, and well-organized group that is able to define what it wants and get results.

Close to 100 community members invested in the project, as farmers and other people in the community developed the vision to pursue the development of the new Centre. Farmers provided between 6,000 and 10,000 hours of volunteer labour to make the new Centre a reality. Valued at a modest $15 per hour, farmers' investment of time alone was worth between $90,000 and $150,000. The WVDA provided more than $50,000 of in-kind technical support. Human Resources Development Canada invested $30,000 in financing to help staff the Centre in its first year of operation. Repayable loans were provided by the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, the Farm Credit Corporation, and the Royal Bank, totaling approximately $250,000.

The Lawrencetown Centre became a reality because local people saw a local problem and worked together toward a local solution. Its success will encourage others in our coastal and rural communities to do the same.

The author wishes to thank Phil Roberts of the WVDA for assistance in preparation of this article. For more information about the West Nova Commodities Centre, call the WVDA at 665-4083. For more information on Community Economic Development Investment Funds, call 424-6013.

Rural Communities Impacting Policy

Every day, our communities feel the impacts of policies put in place by various levels of government, business, and community organizations. Good public policies help our communities operate for the benefit of all. But what happens when a policy doesn't serve a community well? In such a case, there's a need to change the policy or develop a new one. How can such policy changes be achieved by organizations in rural and coastal communities across Nova Scotia, and elsewhere?

A new project is trying to answer this very question. Rural Communities Impacting Policy (RCIP) is a recently funded project with the goal of increasing the ability of rural communities and organizations in Nova Scotia to access and use social science research to in-fluence and develop policy. To meet this goal, RCIP has the following four objectives:

RCIP is a $600,000, three-year project funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada through the Community-University Research Alliance (CURA). The goal of the CURA program is mutual learning and collaboration between community organizations and universities in order to contribute to the social, cultural, and economic development of communities. To date, 37 projects have been funded in Canada through the CURA program. The RCIP project was awarded funding in January.

The alliance of community and university for RCIP includes two major partners: the Atlantic Health Promotion Research Centre based at Dalhousie University and the Coastal Communities Network (CCN). In addition, the alliance includes several other Canadian universities, provincial and federal government agencies, private sector groups, and community organizations.

The RCIP team consists of two co-directors, approximately 40 team members, a Coordinator, an Administrative Assistant, and technological support. In addition, four to six student employees are hired each year. A Management Committee and four working groups guide the project's activities. The four working groups, each of which corresponds to one of the RCIP objectives, include Rural Indicators, Rural Policy, Rural Training, and the Private Sector.

On April 21-22, a "kick-off" meeting was held at Stonehame Chalets in Pictou County. It provided an opportunity for team members to get acquainted and to lay the groundwork for the project. Since that meeting, three of the working groups have met and developed initial work plans.

Three students were hired for the summer to help carry out the year-one work plans, which include the development of the following tools and activities:

There are many ways CCN members can become involved with RCIP. People can stay informed about the project through articles in Coastal Communities News and by reading the information distributed on CCN's e-mail list. People can provide input during community consultations and rural dialogues. As well, individuals can join one of the four working groups, which meet approximately four to six times per year. Members unable to attend working group meetings in person can take part through tele-conferencing. Your input and support are needed to help the RCIP meet CCN's goal of providing "A Large Voice For Small Communities" across Nova Scotia.

For more information call Steven Dukeshire at 494-6498 or Liz O'Neill at 494-2240.

The Atlantic Health Promotion Research Centre was established in 1993 with the primary goal of conducting and facilitating health promotion research that influences policy and contributes to the health and well-being of Atlantic Canadians. It conducts a wide variety of health promotion research projects, coordinates health-promotion events, conferences, and workshops, and provides research-training opportunities for students. For more information, contact Renée Lyons (494-1152) or Lynn Langille (494-6316).

The Coastal Communities Network is a volunteer association of over 220 organizations whose mission is to provide a forum to encourage dialogue, share information, create strategies, and undertake actions that promote the survival and development of Nova Scotia's coastal and rural communities. For more information, contact Scott Milsom at 445-7168.

Finding Connections in Colchester's Digital Economy

Industry in Colchester County has always remained traditional, dominated by manufacturing and agriculture, slow to adopt digital technologies. High-tech, knowledge-based economic activities and opportunities have remained low profile. In this climate, there are few opportunities for individuals skilled in Information Technology (IT) fields to find employment that offers reasonable pay good benefits, and an acceptable level of security. And so most people educated in this sector tend to locate to other areas, such as Halifax, Toronto, Ottawa, and the United States. Local IT practitioners have had little incentive to stay in Colchester County. Occasionally, those with very strong ties to the region have remained to operate single-person or other small business organizations. But these IT ventures have faced limited opportunities, have tended to remain small, and have struggled with high employee turnover.

With all of this in mind, the Colchester Regional Development Agency (CoRDA) is aggressively pursuing a strategic initiative to "Grow the Digital Economy" in the region. It began in April, when CoRDA pulled together a group of local people interested in the local IT economy. They quickly formed an IT Committee and agreed that local growth in the industry would only be possible with co-operation among those working in the various branches of IT. Therefore, it was imperative to learn who in Colchester County is working in these fields and just what expertise they have. "Before we can look at growth, we need to know who is out there working in digital technologies, what expertise they have, and the challenges they face in the local economy," says Jo Ann Fewer, Chief Executive Officer of CoRDA.

An on-line IT Registry for the County was launched at the end of May. It was generously hosted by Sandy Rudolph of DataSpeak Inc., and was promoted, with CoRDA's help, through e-mails, radio, flyers, and print. The registry identified 32 previously unidentified IT workers with a keen interest in the local digital economy.

On June 28, CoRDA hosted the first-ever Colchester IT Think Tank. Committee members and on-line registrants were brought together to network, discuss challenges, and share ideas on how to strengthen the local IT sector. With 40 people in attendance, the event was a huge success. Among other things, it uncovered a common interest in exploring the idea of establishing an IT co-op in Colchester County. "Too often, we turn away projects because we may only be able to do 60 percent of the contract," says Chuck McGuire, an IT instructor at the Truro campus of the Nova Scotia Community College. "Why aren't we looking to our colleagues to help provide the other 40 percent, in order to keep these opportunities in our area?"

Before the IT Think Tank adjourned, a small group of attendees agreed to meet the following week to devise a survey to further explore the interest in establishing an IT co-op. Group member James Shand graciously organized and launched the County-wide IT survey on July 17. It revealed that 95 percent of IT practitioners surveyed weren't satisfied with the local digital economy as it now functions, and that 85 percent were interested in pursuing more active partnerships. These results were discussed at a meeting in early August, where it was unanimously agreed that people in the County's IT sector should work together as a vehicle for further study and discussion of how IT growth can be achieved in the region.

"It's obvious that the digital economy is an area of great opportunity for the Colchester region," says Fewer. As Colchester County's IT sector continues to seek ways to develop closer working relationships, CoRDA is looking at ways to help grow the IT sector in the area.

Sabrina McGee is a Communications and Office Assistant for CoRDA. For more information on the IT sector in Colchester County, contact CoRDA at 893-0140.

Strong Partnership Lands Local Jobs

- Since it began its work in 1993, the Strait-Highlands Regional Development Agency (S-HRDA) has played a major role in fostering and supporting community economic development initiatives. Its ultimate goal is to help communities build competitiveness to take advantage of market opportunities. The federal Department of Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC), works closely with the S-HRDA in this work. The strength of their partnership was recently demonstrated when their efforts attracted a major employer to the Strait of Canso area. -

A decision by a high-tech American firm, Electronic Data Systems (EDS), has led to the establishment of a 400-employee Client Interaction Centre in the Town of Port Hawkesbury. This decision came about as a result of a creative partnership of the HRDC office in Port Hawkesbury, the S-HRDA, the Strait Area Chamber of Commerce, and the Strait Area Community Enterprise Network.

The four partners were given less than two weeks to obtain information on the area's workforce. "When the request came in, there was limited current data on our workforce," says Lisa Dobson, Economic Development Officer with the S-HRDA. She adds that the information EDS asked for was very specific and it would have taken a tremendous effort to get it if not for the assistance provided by HRDC.

"I contacted HRDC in Port Hawkesbury and explained my dilemma," Dobson says. "I needed to access labour demographic information quickly and efficiently, and the only way possible was to put together a quasi-job fair, where employment seekers have the opportunity to complete a skills survey and submit their resumés."

Because the information had to be gathered within such a short time frame in order to help EDS decide whether the Strait area was the right location for the new operation, the partners used several methods to get people to fill out the survey and submit their resumés. Information technology was creatively developed to find out the skill sets that existed in the area.

As vital as it was to measure the skills of local people, it was also important to tap into the skills of those who had moved away but were considering coming back to the area. The four partners developed a detailed survey to determine who was seeking employment, where they lived, their age range, their educational background and work experience, and so on. The survey and resumés were put on the internet for a period of time that allowed individuals from anywhere in the world to provide input. A two-day job fair was held at the local Community College, while several Service Canada sites in the region were used to encourage people in more rural areas to provide the needed data.

Results from the survey indicated that the Strait-area workforce was both available and educated. Of the 600 respondents, 93 percent had at least a Grade 12 education, while 61 percent had a college diploma, a university degree, or both.

Dobson says the HRDC office in Port Hawkesbury was helpful in providing project assistance to promote and coordinate the data collection on the local workforce. She adds that, without its partnering on this critical initiative, the data simply would not have been collected in time to meet EDC's timetable.

The information gathered has assisted in human resource planning for the Strait area, and is a valuable resource for both the S-HRDA and other prospective employers who may follow EDS to the area.

This article, in slightly modified form, appeared in the April/May 2001 of the HRDC publication Making a Difference. For more information on this or other projects the S-HRDA is involved in, phone 625-3929 or 1-800-546-3390.

"Allow Us to Retain Our Faith"

We wish to thank your Department for making David Hansen, Executive Director for Licencing and Compliance for your Department, available to speak to our membership earlier this month. However, his presentation about proposed changes to lobster buyers' regulations caused serious concern among our membership.

As you know, the Coastal Communities Network (CCN) is a voluntary association of community-based organizations "whose mission is to provide a forum to encourage dialogue, share information, create strategies, and undertake actions that promote the survival and development of Nova Scotia's coastal and rural communities." In this context, CCN members review and discuss any proposed changes in provincial policies to see whether the net impact will improve, or hinder, the health of our small coastal and rural communities.

Looked at in this light, the proposal to increase the required holding capacity for lobster buyers from 1,000 to 12,000 kg will decidedly work against the interests of people in coastal communities across Nova Scotia. Although a "grandfather" clause will allow current licence holders to continue their operations, those wishing in future to sell their enterprise, or to pass it along to their children, will be prevented from doing so unless they increase their holding capacity through major capital investment. Over time, this proposed regulatory change will force small buyers in small communities out of business. As fewer and larger buyers come to dominate the market, the trend will inevitably be to lower prices to fishermen and raise prices to the consumer.

The nature of how lobster are caught allows many Nova Scotian families to make a living and run small businesses harvesting the resource. These small businesses play a vital role in the economies of innumerable coastal communities. A lowering of prices brought on by the dynamics mentioned above will only hurt those communities as a whole.

Another concern expressed by CCN members is that, if a significant proportion of current licencees increase their holding capacity in order to sell or pass on their businesses, this will inevitably create economic pressures to increase the rate of harvesting. These pressures will work against those who have built a sustainable lobster fishery in the province and who want to see that fishery remain sustainable over the longer term, allowing the resource to be there for generations to come.

At our meeting, Mr. Hansen presented a number of rationales in defence of the proposed increase in holding capacity. One was that it was designed as a "quality enhancement" measure. CCN members feel that the current system, which allows many small buyers rather than a few large ones, is most likely to assure a high-quality product: large buyers with large storage capacity often hold lobsters for protracted periods of time, thus leading to a decline in quality. The licencee who runs a small business with a more limited holding capacity has an economic interest in moving product into and out of his or her holding facility with less delay, thus assuring the consumer a fresher, higher-quality product. Also, if poor-quality product is discovered at the user end of the system, current record-keeping practices make tracing that product back to the buyer a relatively simple task.

Another argument Mr. Hansen made in favour of the proposed regulatory changes was that it would help combat the illegal trade in lobsters. CCN members argue that, as the effects of the changes impact the lobster industry over time by creating fewer and larger buyers who work together to lower prices, the incentive to sell to illicit buyers, who may offer a slightly better price, will only increase.

A third argument Mr. Hansen made was that the current minimum holding capacity of 1,000 kg allows buyers into the industry who have "insufficient commitment" to both the industry and the community. This argument is particularly rankling to CCN members. Its implication is that the only yardstick to measure commitment to community and industry is capital investment. The presence of the children and grandchildren of small lobster buyers on school buses in our coastal communities would seem to us a far more meaningful yardstick. Small lobster buyers run small businesses all across this province. Study after study shows that small businesses are the engine of our economic and employment growth. The future viability of these many businesses should not be threatened by short-sighted regulatory changes.

In some smaller communities, far less than 12,000 kg of lobster are harvested during the course of the season. The current system allows harvesters working out of these communities to conveniently sell their catch. As the effects of the proposed change in minimum holding capacity take effect, many harvesters will have greater difficulty in finding a convenient market for their catch.

The various fisheries are vital to the economic well-being of our coastal communities, none more so than the lobster fishery. Over the past several years, those in the fisheries have struggled to stay afloat in the face of ill-thought-out government policies. Almost universally, these policies have been designed and implemented by the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO). Your Department, in contrast, has often been seen as an ally in the struggle to correct and improve DFO policies. The industry is not at all used to looking on your Department in an adversarial manner. We trust that you will allow us to retain our faith in your Department, Minister Fage. Please, do not implement any significant increase in the minimum holding capacity for licenced lobster buyers.

A delegation of CCN members would be happy to meet with you at your convenience to discuss the concerns outlined above.

Of Democracy and Determination

If you find yourself in Bay St. Lawrence, it can't have been by accident. It's not on the way to anywhere else, so there can be no "just passing through." To get there, you have to go to the northernmost point of the Cabot Trail, at the community of Cape North, then turn onto a road that goes even farther north, following the steep twists and turns that hug the rugged hills of the most northern part of Nova Scotia. If it's a clear and sunny day, as it was when I made my way there on a blue July morning, you come down over the last major hill, and the village is spread out before your eyes. A narrow channel leads into the harbour where fishing boats bob in the breeze, and the community lies spread out on all sides of the deep-blue water.

As the boats suggest, fishing is the lifeblood of Bay St. Lawrence, although in summer tourism is important as well. Depending where you draw the line, between 500 and 800 people call this community home, although the numbers swell in the summer months, largely because people who grew up here come back to visit family and enjoy "home" for at least a few days or weeks of balmy summer. As well, a smaller number of purely "summer people" come from away each year, simply to share the natural beauty of this place.

As I come down that last major Highland hill, I have one final chance to miss Bay St. Lawrence. Just as I approach the village, I could take a left along a road that turns to gravel as it makes its way to Meat Cove, the farthest north any road worthy of the name will take you in Nova Scotia. But, I have an appointment to keep at the Bay St. Lawrence Community Centre. I'm here to meet Meril Rasmussen, who I'd first met this past spring at the Annual Meeting of the Coastal Communities Network (CCN) in Tatamagouche. Meril was there on behalf of the Community Centre because it had been nominated as a finalist for CCN's 2001 Proud Community Awards.

I'm a few minutes early, but I walk in the main door anyway and am greeted by two women behind the counter at a teashop near the entrance. I take my "cuppa" and go sit outside, and it's only a matter of a few moments before Meril pedals up on his bicycle, disembarks (no need for bike locks here, where everyone knows everyone else), and invites me inside. Meril, in his late 20s, grew up in Bay St. Lawrence and works as an on-deck helper during the lobster season. Much of the rest of his time is devoted to the Community Centre. We chat briefly in a small office off the teashop, and then Meril offers me a tour of the place.

I learn that the building served as a community school from its construction in the early 1960s. In its early years of operation it was owned directly by Victoria County, but in the 1970s it was given over to the Northside-Victoria School Board with the provision that the County would have first option to take it over when it was no longer needed. In the fall of 1999, the province announced that it would be closed after the 2000 school year, and students would then be bussed to a new school being built on the road between Bay St. Lawrence and Cape North. With other old schools in Dingwall and and Ingonish slated for demolition, the possibility that the bulldozers might also be called into Bay St. Lawrence was a real concern.

Not surprisingly, this didn't sit too well with people in Bay St. Lawrence. Over the winter of 1999-2000, community activists, with the help of the local Parent-Teachers Association, began meeting at the school to see what might be done. The idea of converting the building to a community centre made a lot more common sense to people than simply razing the structure. Local people formed the Bay St. Lawrence Community Centre (BSLCC), a provincially registered non-profit society. But for months afterward, the title to the building was lost in a bureaucratic maze.

"At one point, "Meril explains, "the School Board changed the locks without telling us, so we simply met on the steps. When spring rolled around, we planted flowers around the building, in order to give us a sense of ownership."

As planned, the School Board closed its doors in June of last year. "At the time," Meril remembers, "most people were pretty busy with fishing. But, over the course of the summer, we managed to get our hands on a key to the building. Then, we simply moved in and occupied the place."

Despite this occupation, legal ownership was still in limbo between the School Board and the County, so it was a dicey situation, to say the least. " It took a while," Meril recalls, "but over the course of the next six to eight months, the BSLCC managed to get the deed to the property. "The County had legislation that said if it wasn't using the building itself, it should be offered for the use of the community. So we took it. Our local Councillor, Robert McLellan, was a steady support, as were the folks in the Baddeck office of the Victoria County Recreation and Tourism Department."

In the fall of 2000, even before it gained title, the BSLCC started some major renovations to the building. Among the things in most obvious need of repair were many broken windows. After the School Board announced the planned closure, sticks and stones seemed to find their way through glass. But, once the building became a local community resource, things changed immediately. "Since we repaired those windows last fall," Meril says with just a hint of pride in his voice, " there hasn't been a single window broken."

But it wasn't just some new windows that the BSLCC needed. "There was a fair bit that needed to be done," Meril says, "and we were pretty well shameless in asking for support from local residents and businesses." The "shamelessness" paid off. It had been a pretty good fishing season, so, when asked, local people ponied up to the tune of $10,000. Businesses in the area helped out too. "The Cheticamp Co-op gave us a $200 gift certificate, the Canadian Tire store in Sydney donated a shop-vac, we got a VCR from Schwartz, a Sydney furniture store, and other businesses pitched in too," Meril says.

Our tour of the freshly painted building is a room-by-room affair. One is a meeting place for toddlers up to six years of age. Another serves as a Youth Room, where kids of up to sixteen or so can play pool and ping-pong, listen to music and hold dances. There is a Wellness Room, where clinics are held for cholesterol and blood-pressure readings, where a visiting nutritionist gives talks to people in the community, and where a local weight-management group holds regular meetings. Other rooms offer a gym where exercise programs are held (equipment courtesy of "shameless" fundraising), a Community Access Point for local people to use the internet, and a small independent library for the use of the community. All this is in addition to the tearoom where I acquired the "cuppa" I finish up just as the tour ends.

After the tour, Meril speaks about a subject he and everyone else in the community takes very seriously: developing democracy within the BSLCC. "Though there is a fourteen-member Board that takes care of administrative matters," Meril tells me, "the real decisions are taken at open meetings we hold every Sunday. Anyone who uses the facility, or who volunteers or works in it, is considered a member. There are no membership fees. Every decision that's taken is public, out in the open. Sometimes, we might make a stupid decision, but when that happens it doesn't take long for us to see our mistake and to fix it."

The BSLCC has been a success because it has received the support of local residents and businesses, and also because it is obviously of the community. It has also received welcome support from Human Resources Development Canada, and from the provincial Departments of Health, Community Services, and Housing and Municipal Affairs. Renovations planned this fall will be done with funds set aside by the provincial Sport and Recreation Commission specifically for the conversion of old buildings into new community centres.

At the time of my visit there are six people employed at the Centre, most of them summer students hired through the Provincial Employment Program and a similar Community Services Program. But by fall, these positions will disappear, leaving just one paid position. So, where does the Centre go from here? "Staff aside, volunteers do a lot of the work around here," Meril says. "Kids as young as eleven years old are coming here to volunteer their time, and a lot of the people who use this place seem to develop the idea that volunteering here is the natural thing to do. We've received some funding that should allow us to establish a year-round bakery operation here that will provide people with permanent jobs and help keep this place going all day, all year long."

And with that, the Centre will be able to offer more to its community, and therefore receive more from its community. After a visit here, it's easy to see that this will happen. When a community organization is rooted in community, community provides fertile soil for the growth of deep roots.

Canso Peninsula Open for Business

Imagine an unspoiled wilderness, a place to unwind, relax, and just enjoy the many natural beauties that abound there. That's what a group of tourism operators and community-minded people on the Canso Peninsula want more people to do, so they created the Canso Peninsula Marketing Association (CPMA). The group aims to promote growth in the area's tourism sector through joint marketing initiatives such as co-op advertising in The Nova Scotia Doers & Dreamers Guide. It has also created a website and CD-ROM for visitors, people in the community, and tourism operators.

A meeting of local tourist operators and other interested people was held last fall, where a strategy was developed to promote the Canso Peninsula to visitors. (The Canso Peninsula is in eastern Guysborough County, mostly outlined by Route 16, from Cook's Cove to Canso, and along to New Harbour via Route 316. It is bound on the north by Chedabucto Bay and on the south by Tor Bay and the open sea.)

Encompassing two of the province's newly protected areas, the Bonnet Lake Barrens and the Canso Barrens, the natural beauty of this area speaks for itself. There are trails, both wonderfully groomed and ruggedly natural, all over the Peninsula, and more are planned. The area is an eco-tourist's paradise, still largely undiscovered. A wide variety of accommodations are available to meet almost any need.

The CPMA is excited about its region's presence in this year's Doers & Dreamers Guide. "Our "lure" pages in the Guide, designed by James LeBlanc, have already made quite an impact," says Association President Steven Rhude. "And I think local photographer Joe Murphy caught the essence of our coastal geography – rugged and exciting, yet also very subtle." The CPMA also received a three-year commitment from Parks Canada to advertise Grassy Island Historic Site in the publication.

In order to achieve its objectives, the CPMA applied for and received funding through Human Resources Development Canada for a Project Coordinator, Lynn Jelleau, and a multi-media technician, Cory George. "Lynn and Cory have been great assets to our group," says Steven. "They've worked with our community to develop a cutting-edge website that highlights the diversity of the Peninsula."

The website includes pages of accommodations and attractions, a section on the Peninsula's communities (including history and visual images), and virtual-motion tours of features such as Fogarty's Cove. There are also links to various tourism agencies and regional sites of interest. Finally, the site offers essential visitor information, such as how to get here, the arts and culture scene, area wharves and lighthouses, and also highlights other attractions.

"'Soft' adventure and the physical attributes of a region are the major drawing card for urban vacationers, and the unspoiled wilderness and unique geography that the Canso Peninsula offers make us a perfect destination," says Steven. "There are tourism operators, and attractive land and seascapes, all along the shore from Cook's Cove to New Harbour. We offer accommodations that range from wilderness camping to an elegant country inn. There are well-groomed, accessible trails, along with rugged back-country hiking. There's wildlife, history, and a unique culture."

On the Canso Peninsula, Mother Nature provides a landscape of rugged, natural beauty in any season. Craggy granite outcroppings, forested trails, silvery sandy beach – the Canso Peninsula offers a diverse wilderness where visitors can revel in the great outdoors all day, then spend restful evenings in an ocean-side cottage, a country inn, or a cosy bed and breakfast. There are hearty meals of fresh seafood to be had – maybe something the visitors have caught themselves. Relaxation and the full enjoyment of nature are the hallmarks of a Canso Peninsula vacation.

The CPMA's website marries the traditional print media to newer forms of marketing. The established industry trend is for the traveller to find a web address in print, then go on-line to make their vacation choice. The CPMA site is designed to accommodate this consumer behaviour.

"We've got some great assets here," says Troy Greencorn, CPMA's Vice-President and Artistic Director of the Stan Rogers Folk Festival. "This Association can help give us a greater share of the tourism pie. It's a matter of vision, community involvement, and putting all the pieces together."

The short-term funding for the CPMA will wind down soon, and then the hard work begins of getting busy volunteers to give of their time to devote to further the aims of the Association. Each Association member brings certain strengths to the operation – entrepreneurial, technical, and computer skills, financial and clerical knowledge. They all contribute to the group's ability to prepare proposals and make presentations to the community, government, and the private sector, and to keep track of the 101 details involved in maintaining a presence in the world of tourism marketing. This past spring, the CPMA began marketing products devised and designed by the group: a set of four greeting cards and a T-shirt, all featuring original work by Steven Rhude, a well-known local artist. Any profit generated from sales of these items will go toward the CPMA's day-to-day operations.

After being in the swing of things for a year, the CPMA is making great strides in promoting the many wonderful features of the Canso Peninsula. Its future plans include building more trails and some carefully planned nature-based development. With all that it has going for it, the Canso Peninsula is on its way to becoming a prime eco-tourism destination.

A Word of Thanks

The Nova Scotia Association of Regional Development Authorities Collectively formed in 1999, the Nova Scotia Association of Regional Development Authorities (NSARDAs) works collaboratively to identify key provincial economic issues and coordinate regional development initiatives to create an overall environment conducive to economic growth and business support.

Consisting of 13 regional development authorities (RDAs) across the province, the NSARDA is governed by a community-based board of directors and funded by municipal, provincial and federal government departments.

The NSARDA's approach to regional economic leadership combines community economic development, community enterprise development, human resource development, and communication development.

The Nova Scotia RDA model is recognized as a leader in Canada. It boasts a unique three level of government partnership that is closely tied to the community. In the future the RDA Association will continue to work on the challenges that face them and will work with funding partners to improve their process.

This Toronto-based company chose Bridgewater as the site for its new call centre over four other locations across the country. Watts is an international business servicing Fortune-500 companies worldwide. Its doors opened in August 2000, creating more than 400 jobs in the community

Opened in 1998, this large park offers 4,200 hectares of beautiful coastline.Volunteers, community groups, and businesses worked as one to create the park and operate it through the Cape Chignecto Park Management Board. They earned the Nova Scotia award for Excellence in Cooperation

Women, Martians, and Equality

I recently attended a Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO), consultation in Moncton about fisheries management in Atlantic Canada. I was there with Mary DesRoches, representing the Nova Scotia Women's FishNet. Our presentation covered issues in a DFO discussion document that would affect women in coastal communities and women employed in the fishery. After our presentation and many others, a representative of a New Brunswick draggers' association delivered a heated stream of negative comments. He ended with an outburst of anger that was apparently brought on by our presentation: "And then," he sputtered, while a woman's voice in our headphones politely attempted to simultaneously translate his frustration, "And then, there are some people who think that women – women! – should sit at the decision-making table. Well, if this is the case, we might as well invite the Martians to have a seat as well!"

Later in the discussion, we were talking about the economic and social viability of the fishery and how the term "stakeholders" should be defined. Mary and I both said that anyone who is directly or indirectly affected by the fishery, or who has a historical attachment to the fishery, should be involved in policy decisions. We added that this would obviously include women, who are key stakeholders in the sustainability of coastal communities and fishing families, and who have always participated in many aspects of the fishery. We were then told by a member of DFO's Policy Review Committee that he was now aware of our opinions, but that DFO was proposing something different in its discussion document.

At that point, I seriously considered leaving the room to take a quick drive down to the local costume shop for a "Martian" outfit. I would then return to ask the same question, as a Martian representing Martians, and suggesting that Martians are also stakeholders and so they should have a say in fisheries policy. After all, I'd tell the meeting, Martians could have a lot to gain if the fishery continues to be privatized and professionalized. In future, when inter-planetary travel becomes easier, Martians might well want to buy some boats and quota, enroll in some training and safety workshops, and head out to make some money. We might even give the Martians some seed money, if they promised to buy a lot of quota and hire a small percentage of local earthlings for a few months to show them the ropes.

Needless to say, I didn't leave and then return as a Martian. But I do think that within this consultation framework, a Martian might quite rightly have been given the same response Mary and I received: "Thank you for your opinion, but we are not proposing that Martians have a significant role at this point in time." Which leads me to the question: Are women and Martians, in fact, similar? I know that I don't think we are, and I know that most women, and many friends and families of women, don't think we are, but what about the general opinion, the status quo, the majority, the – "average Joe"? What about the average politician or bureaucrat?

This question only becomes really interesting when we consider what the answer's consequences are. I suppose that if women are like Martians, we might not need to be treated as humans or be given similar opportunities to men. This could save the government a lot of money. We, as a nation, could certainly save on Employment Insurance, training, salaries, health care, and education. We could simply ensure that every woman/Martian got paired off with a husband, and as long as he was well looked after, she/it wouldn't starve, and might even have a nice life. On the other hand, if women are humans, we might want jobs and training, and we would probably want to make some decisions about what's best for our families, our communities, and ourselves. We might even get together and brainstorm about how we could influence policies that were unfair to women and fishing families, or that were detrimental to community sustainability. Now and then, you might even see a woman presenting some of these ideas at a policy consultation.

But before I get too far ahead of myself, getting into details about how women in coastal communities are affected by fisheries policies, Employment Insurance regulations, or the accessibility of training programs – and before I outline any of the ideas or solutions that women have proposed to build community sustainability and social and economic development – we need to ensure that the framework exists for women to be acknowledged as full and equal participants and decision makers in our communities. What is frightfully depressing is that we don't yet seem to be in agreement about the basic fact that needs to be understood before we can go any further – the fact that women are not like Martians.

Perhaps, if we can all agree to this, we'll start to see the need for some changes. In Nova Scotia's coastal communities today, many women are not given the same opportunities as men. Many women are unfairly excluded from benefits such as Employment Insurance and training opportunities, and from participation in key policy decisions that affect our lives. Women's work, both paid and unpaid, must be recognized as contributing to the economic stability of our communities. Women's voices must be considered as relevant and important when we are exploring solutions to the many challenges our communities face.

Because it was at a DFO policy consultation that I was forced to question my identity as a human being, I will end by throwing the resulting questions back out for the consideration of our government representatives: Who are you representing? Are you representing equally both men's and women's concerns? What is guiding you to represent an industry as a closed circuit of "professionals" and corporations rather than as environments, communities, and the people really affected by the fisheries? Also, who are you willing to discuss these questions with, and how will you consider all the different points of view seriously? I hope we can answer some of these most basic questions soon, so we can start working together to discover solutions to some of the more interesting and meaningful challenges facing our coastal communities.

The Nova Scotia Women's FishNet was established in 1995 as a provincial network of women and women's groups concerned about the sustainability of coastal communities and the impact of recent changes in the fisheries on women, on their families, and on their communities. Ariella Pahlke is the Coordinator of the FishNet's "Strategies for Action Project," which is working to identify policy issues affecting women's economic stability and independence, and to advocate for change. To find out more about the Nova Scotia Women's FishNet or about the Strategies for Action Project, contact us at (902) 425-4525 or at 2099 Gottingen Street, Halifax, N.S., B3K 3B2.

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.

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.

— 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.

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

Gem Across Saint Margaret's

From Disaster to Opportunity

Rural Communities Impacting Policy

Finding Connections in Colchester's Digital Economy

Strong Partnership Lands Local Jobs

"Allow Us to Retain Our Faith"

Of Democracy and Determination

Canso Peninsula Open for Business

A Word of Thanks

Women, Martians, and Equality

Coastal Communities News

Join the Coastal Communities Network

Our Mission Statement

"A Large Voice for Small Communities"

How to Become Involved
in the Coastal Communities Network

Gem Across Saint Margaret's

From Disaster to Opportunity

Rural Communities Impacting Policy

Finding Connections in Colchester's Digital Economy

Strong Partnership Lands Local Jobs

"Allow Us to Retain Our Faith"

Of Democracy and Determination

Canso Peninsula Open for Business

A Word of Thanks

Women, Martians, and Equality

Coastal Communities News

Join the Coastal Communities Network

Our Mission Statement

"A Large Voice for Small Communities"

How to Become Involved in the Coastal Communities Network

How to Become Involved
in the Coastal Communities Network