GUYSBOROUGH — Jaime Battiste says Ottawa’s new fast-track approach to nation-building infrastructure could be a game changer for eastern Nova Scotia – especially for wind energy and port development – if political leaders are ready to meet the moment together.
“I think what we’re seeing is a time or an era [when] this is going to require collaboration between provincial and federal governments for big investments,” the Cape Breton-Canso-Antigonish MP told The Journal in a wide-ranging interview last week.
“Let’s not kid ourselves about the impacts of [Donald] Trump and his tariffs. And so what we have to do is have the ability to strengthen our economies... to work together like never before.”
Discussing local economic priorities following Prime Minister Mark Carney’s launch earlier in September of the Major Projects Office (MPO) – a new federal body tasked with accelerating nation-building projects through streamlined regulatory approvals and structured financing – Battiste touched on everything from area ports and offshore wind energy, to regional cell service and health-care delivery.
Speaking about the area’s marine facilities – specifically, the Mulgrave Marine Terminal and the proposed facility at Melford in the Municipality of the District of Guysborough – Battiste offered that the federal government’s new infrastructure policy could create opportunities. “There’s some good news coming for some of these ports.”
At the same time, he said, “I think there’s more work to be done over the next six months to 12 months to be in the next [list] of potential ports to satisfy the [new policy] criteria... the projects have to be not only shovel ready, but shovel worthy.”
He also pointed to Wind West Atlantic Energy, the offshore wind initiative in Nova Scotia, as a key opportunity for regional development. “I’m very pleased to see [this] as one of the potential projects that could be improved in the future,” he said. “Not only because it’s creating jobs and opportunities in our area... it’s because of the renewable energy portion of it.” He added, “This is something that could create hundreds of jobs, if not thousands, in the near future.”
Noting that the project has the potential to supply more than enough clean power for Nova Scotia and still export to other markets, he said, “not only are we going to be making enough renewable energy for our province, but enough to sell to partners in Western Canada [and] parts of the United States.”
At the same time, Battiste acknowledged the longstanding gaps in cellular service that continue to hold the region back. “There was a lot of times when I was all over the riding and I couldn’t have a conversation with people because the fact that we don’t have good cell coverage…”
Battiste also emphasized the importance of health-care infrastructure, despite its jurisdictional complexity. “This is something that I continue to talk about,” he said. “I know that health is a provincial concern… but there are, you know, significant federal areas in the riding that do require health infrastructure.”
Asked what the new federal infrastructure plan means specifically for his riding — which includes the Municipality of the District of Guysborough, Antigonish town and county, and communities across Cape Breton — Battiste pointed to the importance of collaboration.
“We’ve got to figure out a way for us to work together in a way that’s never been seen before,” he said. “Not only because it’s the right thing to do, but it’s the necessary thing to do.”
