An Election Issue: A New Library

There should be no swirl of mystery around a municipal application for funding for a new library.

Charlottetown, for example, paid for a consultancy report in 2016 that suggested that a new library replace the existing main branch of the Prince Edward Public Library. 

And it is now being built. 

CBRM paid for two consultancy reports on whether we could benefit from a new library, in 2012 and 2016. 

And Mayor Clarke in announcing his candidacy for mayor of CBRM for the third time promised, yes, a new library. 

Those of us who would welcome a new library in CBRM know that Mayor Clarke has had eight years to prioritize this project but has not. It would be useful for voters if Mayor Clarke could explain why this process went off the rails. 

Unfortunately, we can learn about how our council has suffered from dysfunction by looking back at what Mayor Clarke, Councillor Gillespie, and Councillor MacMullin had to say about the application for funding for a new library in May of 2019. 

Mayor Clarke: "What's perplexing is you have one government partner saying we need to hear from the province. We have the province willing to fund the operational review process and did it in December and the federal part not there. So we've got two processes that are out of sync."

Councillor MacMullin: "I am so disappointed...The application went in and absolutely no one from any level of government pointed out any issue. Came back just ... thank you for your application and then that was the end of it.” 

Councillor Gillespie took it up a notch: 

Coun. Steve Gillespie called the letter the federal government's way of politely turning down the funding application."I was really hoping that MPs Eyking and Cuzner were going to go out with a bang but it looks like they're going to go out with a fizzle.” 

I watched this process with concern as our Council seemed to have no idea how to apply for library funding. 

I wrote the Honourable Catherine McKenna, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities, to ask how CBRM would go about applying for funding for a new library and if they ever had: 

”I can confirm that Infrastructure Canada has not received a funding application for the proposed project. Under the Integrated Bilateral Agreement with Nova Scotia, proposed projects must first be prioritized by the Province before they are submitted to Infrastructure Canada for funding consideration. I would encourage the Cape Breton Regional Municipality to submit its proposal to the Province of Nova Scotia’s Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal so that it may determine whether the project should be prioritized under the Community, Culture and Recreation stream.

Once projects are submitted to Infrastructure Canada, they are reviewed against the terms and conditions of the funding program before they are sent to the Minister of Infrastructure and Communities, or to the Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Rural Economic Development, for decision. Please note that any decisions made on projects will be communicated by the Province of Nova Scotia to the ultimate recipients.

Thank you for writing on this important matter.

Sincerely,

Assistant Deputy Minister

Program Operations Branch

Infrastructure Canada”

Let’s be sensible in CBRM.

The drama around what should be a straight-forward funding request is frustrating for all. 

Let’s ask our candidates why in the eight years since a consultancy report recommended replacing the McConnell Library, no application for funding has been submitted. At least to the right place.