Cape Breton MLAs Size Up Hurricane Fiona

CAPE BRETON - As they assess the varying level of damage to their ridings across the island, MLAs from either side of Province House have differing opinions about the supports provided to their constituents by the provincial and federal governments.

While Richmond MLA Trevor Boudreau acknowledged that his riding escaped most of the heavy damage and sustained power outages that plagued many Cape Breton communities, he added that he is having conversations with Nova Scotia Public Works officials to address road washouts in St. George's Channel, West Bay Road and Oban. The first-term PC MLA is hopeful that his government's recently-announced relief packages will help ease the financial burden his constituents are experiencing as they attempt to remove downed trees from their property and stock up on groceries to replace food supplies destroyed by delays in electricity reconnection.

However, Northside-Westmount Liberal MLA Fred Tilley and Cape Breton Centre-Whitney Pier NDP MLA Kendra Coombes both suggested that these financial measures - including $100 to replace spoiled food and $250 to assist in the removal of trees - do not reflect the true costs of such services. Tilley is also disappointed that the province has not heeded his calls to set up an emergency comfort centre in the community of Florence, which the rookie Grit MLA describes as a void that has left thousands without the proper care. 

Meanwhile, Coombes pointed out that several of her Whitney Pier constituents have had difficulty leaving their community due to fallen trees that have blocked access to the main roads through such areas as South Bar, Scotchtown and River Ryan. She is calling on Nova Scotia Power to provide the infrastructure upgrades to allow its systems to withstand storms of increasing severity, and the two-term NDP member also feels the time may have come to consider subsea or underground electrical cables instead of the current systems that are so vulnerable to major storms and their aftermaths.