News Release Archive
PREMIER--COASTAL COMMUNITIES ----------------------------------------------------------------- Nova Scotia will fight to maintain federal support for coastal communities hurt by the downturn in the fisheries, Premier John Savage said today. The premier was responding to an Ottawa report which suggests communities with bleak futures should no longer receive support from government development agencies. "Nova Scotia rejects totally the notion that communities be abandoned just because they've fallen on hard times. To suggest otherwise is at the very least discriminatory. We will resist attempts to cut any community off from federal support programs." The federal report looked at 12 coastal communities in Atlantic Canada which were hurt by the 1992 fishing moratoriums. In Nova Scotia the communities studied included Lockeport, Shelburne, Canso and Louisbourg. "While the report does not specify which communities should be abandoned, I'm concerned about the report's assumption that its okay for government to turn its back on communities in trouble." Premier Savage said it is the Nova Scotia government's policy to support the province's rural and coastal communities. "That's the reason the provincial government is actively promoting community economic development. We've established Community Economic Development Authorities in every area of the province and we're encouraging investment in rural and coastal communities through tax incentives." The premier said in addition to supporting the development of new or alternative fisheries resources, the government is attempting to diversify local economies through the local development authorities. "Local communities, with assistance of government, are putting together their own development plans. Some of this activity will need time to produce results. In the meantime, we will press the federal government to ensure that communities like Shelburne, Lockeport, Canso and Louisbourg continue to receive the support they deserve," he said. -30- Contact: David Harrigan 902-424-6600 trp June 18, 1996 - 2:35 p.m.