| This 2nd series of special articles
to follow is printed with the kind permission of Eastern Shore
author and publisher Marike Finlay-de Monchy. |
 Not
Rocket Science
Part 1: April 2007
By: Marike Finlay - de Monchy
Promises, Promises?
Gee Whiz! A rocket launch pad for Cape Breton! Whooo hooo! Let's
think big! We, the citizens of Guysborough-Sheet Harbour should
feel cheated. All we got from the Conservatives during the last
provincial election was a promise for a huge factory in Sheet
Harbour to manufacture LNG canisters. This might happen, but I,
for one, am not holding my breath. Sure, it's fun to imagine,
but just like playing the lottery, the downside of such promises
is that we, the citizens of the Eastern Shore, may continue to
wait for the white knight, instead of becoming our own white knights
and doing what we can to improve our sort.
Over the next few weeks, in a several part series, I will outline
the social and economic challenges facing the Eastern Shore and
propose some low-capital strategies to improve things. Were I
an elected representative of this area, these would be the sort
of modest, realistic projects that I would try to co-ordinate.
Perhaps our community leaders could even rally to undertake some
of them regardless of any political high-flying promises!
Making Choices at the Crossroads
What we need is a recurring revenue base for the Eastern Shore.
While ultimately, certain significant infrastructural investments
will have to be made in the region by both public and private
stakeholders, I believe that a number of low-capital strategies
might first be employed to raise revenues in the region to levels
that make larger, more capital intensive investments more attractive
in the future.
We are at a crossroads in many of our rural communities in Nova
Scotia, and the Eastern Shore is no exception. Approximately half
of all Nova Scotians now live in urban areas; urban areas-particularly
Halifax-are the major drivers of our provincial economy. In this
situation, rural regions are beginning to feel the pinch of fewer
services, fewer tax dollars, and fewer person hours to accomplish
all of those things that sustain our communities, from school
and sporting activities to Volunteer Fire Departments, and church
and social organizations.
Indeed, it is no secret to those of us who live in rural Nova
Scotia, that rural economies in many parts of the province are
contracting, rather than expanding. Rural populations are aging,
and young people in search of work or higher education migrate
to Halifax or outside of the province altogether. As the population
shrinks, so do the revenues that a given region generates.
As revenues shrink, so too do the services that might otherwise
attract newcomers and their businesses. Hospitals, schools, and
churches close, vacant houses crumble on overgrown lots, and various
roadbeds, docks and bridges begin to suffer from a lack of repair.
A region of the province that does not appear to warrant investment
because of declining population, revenue, and employment rates,
finds it harder to argue for improved roads and services. Likewise,
for a community in such a state of apparent decline, neither government
nor private companies can be convinced to invest in those other
"roadways" that are increasingly important in the shift
to a knowledge-based economy: access to broadband communications,
the installation of cell phone repeater towers, and other essential
components of the 21st century work and education environment.
Such a downward spiral need not be inevitable in the rural regions
of Nova Scotia.
New growth and revitalization in the rural regions of Nova Scotia
requires vision and stringent attention to the sustainability
of our resources, as well a reassessment of what the strengths
and weaknesses of our communities really are. Rich cultural traditions
and abundant natural resources, pristine beaches and lakes, and
affordable land attract tourists as well as new investors to the
province. There remain a number of specific and concrete steps
that we could take towards the revitalization of one of the least-known
of Nova Scotia's rural resource corridors, the Eastern Shore.
My goal is to suggest a number of do-able low-capital solutions
that might reverse the declines of the region, stabilize the population,
and provide sustainable, recurring revenue streams.
Rural Depopulation: Tragedy or Opportunity?
The official count is in: rural economies in many parts of the
province are contracting, rather than expanding. Data from the
most recent census show that in Nova Scotia, our rural populations
are aging, and young people in search of work or higher education
are increasingly migrating to Halifax or outside of the province
altogether. Worse still, figures published by the CFIB (Canadian
Federation of Independent Business) suggest that overall rates
of employment in rural regions have also been declining, while
in Halifax, they have been rising. In some provincial regions
the decline was as much as 12-13% in the years 1995-2001. This
means that for those adults of working age who remain in these
rural regions of Nova Scotia, getting, having, or keeping a job
is considerably less likely than it is for those who reside in
urban areas.
Not only are talented individuals going elsewhere, and overall
entrepreneurial and skill pools shrinking in many rural communities,
but major sources of employment in rural Nova Scotia that consist
of resource-based enterprises such as the fisheries and forestry,
are also caught in this cycle of decline. Since the 1970s rising
levels of automation and efficiency in both of these industries
have meant that fewer people are required to harvest or process
these natural resources. Positive increases in individual skill
levels and corporate productivity have thus frequently not resulted
in increases in revenue stream available in a given rural community,
but rather, a net loss of jobs, income, and population. Such developments,
when combined with what appear to be rapid levels of deforestation
and the collapse of the ground fishery more than a decade ago,
threaten to strip many of our rural communities of the very resources
they might capitalize on, natural and human.
In these circumstances, what can be done? Are there alternatives
to such a cycle of decline for rural communities that can no longer
depend upon the rewards of fishing, forestry and mining for their
economic health? How might we imagine a sustainable growth for
the Eastern Shore, which stretches from Dartmouth to Canso, taking
in miles of extraordinary wilderness, including the many protected
bird sanctuaries that form part of the "Bay of Islands,"
several deep and well-protected natural harbours (such as Ship
Harbour, Sheet Harbour, Country Harbour, Isaacs Harbour), as well
as an important base for offshore oil and gas development in Guysborough?
In order to think about what might be possible along our own shore,
let us look at an example of coastal development elsewhere in
Canada, where rapid urbanization utterly changed the landscape.
1.2 Imagining Alternatives, Finding Examples
Forty years ago, the city of Vancouver was a sleepy place, surrounded
by rural regions afflicted by the boom and bust cycle that seems
to accompany a coastal life based on resource extraction-that
is, mining, logging, fishing, trapping and so on. The completion
of the Alaska Highway further diverted enterprises from the coast,
as it shifted movement inland, and away from the sea. No one then
could have predicted the remarkable transformation that has completely
altered the landscape within three hours of Vancouver in any direction
and driven real-estate prices through the roof, where they remain,
despite a bit of a provincial economic slump.
To be sure, the substantial influx of businesses, money, and people
from Hong Kong, and the significant attractions of major ski resorts,
an early spring, and spectacular mountains, gorges, and enormous
forests and trees are unique events and assets; we will not duplicate
these things on the East Coast.
But some of the phenomena that have fueled recent rural coastal
development in British Columbia are worth looking at more closely,
for they do have some bearing on how Halifax and its rural environs
might develop more strongly in the future. For example, eco-tourism
and adventure travel have been significant growth industries over
the last decade, and instructors, guides, outfitters, hotel-and
restaurant operators, and manufacturers and retailers of wilderness
gear now proliferate on the west coast. Many people travel across
the country to take part in such outdoor adventures, to visit
BC wineries, or to attend workshops or cultural gatherings at
Banff, or in the Gulf Islands. Lush gardens, the growing television
and film industry, ready access to schools, universities and cultural
institutions, fine dining-even in some "remote" coastal
spots, broad networks of public transportation, and the proliferation
of parks and play spaces near Vancouver and Victoria make these
cities and their rural environs look like especially attractive
spaces to live and retire.
Nova Scotia already boasts many similar or emerging attractions.
In addition, a far lower cost of living, and affordable house
and land prices may now help to work as substantial lures to keep
or bring new people to live or retire in our province. Indeed,
if we consider the example of Vancouver, we may decide that the
growth of Halifax is not all bad news for rural Nova Scotia, particularly
the Eastern Shore, where affordable coastal land is becoming scarce,
but has not completely disappeared. If we think carefully about
certain developmental problems, including support for small businesses,
resource management, waste disposal, and infrastructural maintenance,
we may, in fact, be able to ensure that the growth of opportunity
in the city is also a growth of opportunity for the rural shore.
Indeed, Jane Jacobs, one of the foremost writers of urban development,
has shown that a rising tide floats all boats; so a rising star
over Halifax should float some craft along the Eastern Shore.
(See her book, Dark Age Ahead).
Next week, in Part Two, I will count some of the assets of the
Eastern Shore that could nourish development.
Read Installments - 1,
2, 3,
4, 5,
6,
It's Not Rocket Science - Part
1
Coming in May - "Rocket Science"
Part II -
Marike Finlay - de Monchy taught Communications at McGill University
and abroad, practiced psychoanalysis, carried out development
work in Latin America, and managed an organic farm in Quebec.
Marike sailed to the Eastern Shore and loved it
so much that she has since settled in West Quoddy where she runs
a small writing, editing and publishing business.
Marike and Karin Cope are co-authors of "Casting a Legend
- The Story of the Lunenburg Foundry".
"Casting a Legend - The Story of the Lunenburg Foundry"
Buy the Book Now!
Buy Karin Cope's book
"Passionate Collaborations: Learning to Live With Gertrude
Stein"
|
Where
on Earth is
