By Richard Bell
The government of Tasmania reported on February 17, 2019 that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the government of Nova Scotia at the conclusion of the visit to Tasmania of a fishing industry delegation led by Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture Keith Colwell. As of February 23, 2019, there was no information available on the Fisheries and Aquaculture website about this MOU or any other trip results.
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By Tammy DeWolfe
Still the MPA remains a hot topic among residents and nationwide. The threats it poses to the fishing industry have been made very clear.
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Team Nova Scotia competitors from White’s Taekwondo in Porters Lake won gold and silver medals at the 20198 National Taekwondo championships in Quebec City in January, 2019.
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By Richard Bell
In any democracy, it’s always a fair question to look at whether the government is being reasonably responsive to requests from the public.
Now what is “reasonably responsive” lies in the eye of the beholder—so let’s take a look at whether the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development has been “reasonably responsive” in responding to questions about its plans for replacing Eastern Shore District High, which Minister Zack Churchill announced in the spring of 2018.
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By Richard Bell
There are at least two other efforts underway along the Shore to build more affordable housing.
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By Richard Bell
The Whale Sanctuary Project held six meetings along the Shore in its search for a location for a 40-hectare (100 acres) site to create a sanctuary for 5 to 8 beluga whales currently living in very confined tanks at marine parks. Opponents of the Eastern Shore Islands Marine Protected Area (MPA) raised questions about connections between the sanctuary and the MPA, a connection that the president of the WSP emphatically denied in a letter to the Cooperator.
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By Richard Bell
At a joint press conference in Porters Lake on January 24, MP Darrell Samson and MLA Kevin Murphy announced a joint federal and provincial investment of $663,000 to subsidize access to new affordable housing in Porters Lake.
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By Richard Bell
One of the issues at the heart of the debate over the proposed Eastern Shore Islands MPA (ESIMPA) is who would have the power to change the rules in the future. Under federal law, DFO is in charge of managing MPAs. In its presentations along the Eastern Shore, DFO officials have said that DFO would create an advisory committee with whom DFO would consult closely. But in the end, DFO would be in charge.
However, there are alternatives to this top-down model. In fact, among the thousands of MPAs around the world, community-managed MPAs (CM-MPAs) are common. Even a 30-minute Google search of academic research on CM-MPAs shows that not only are CM-MPAs common; within the first two or three paragraphs of research paper after research paper, the scientists note that the stronger community participation is in the management of an MPA, the more likely it is that that MPA will succeed.
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By Sean Fraser, Member of Parliament for Central Nova
Protecting nature should be a major priority for any government. However, it is important that any efforts to protect our environment are done in collaboration with local communities. The proposed Marine Protected Area (MPA) along the Eastern Shore provides a perfect example of the need to listen to the voices of local residents who have been effective environmental stewards of the area for generations.
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