Chéticamp’s Economic Council (CEC) held its annual general meeting on October 7th, 2020. Board members discussed budgets from 2018 to 2020 and projects the council has been working on over the last few years.

Outgoing president Scott Aucoin also shared the results of three recent reports commissioned by the council on how to increase its effectiveness. The first one, the Lamirande report said the council’s operational model is inadequate because it relies completely on the work of volunteers. All current 20 members work on a volunteer basis, which, according to the report, can only lead to exhaustion. The report indicates also that the CEC lacks the support of professional expertise. 

The Boudreau report, completed in March 2020, also concluded the council needed more professional help. It recommended that Chéticamp as a whole should crate a community development plan and have a leading organization work closely with all levels of government.

Finally, the Vienneau report, which was done in collaboration with the Conseil économique de la Nouvelle-Écosse (CDÉNÉ), provided recommendations on how to generate revenue from the Quai Mathieu. The boardwalk has been needing repairs for a few years, and as its sole owner, the CEC has been looking for ways to fund it.

The report looked at similar Maritime communities to see how they manage infrastructure. It noted that in other communities, either the municipality or the marina were responsible for maintaining and developing waterfront projects. The Vienneau report proposed developing activities such as water skiing to generate revenue and also working with the municipality to create a special tax to help fund it. Like the other reports, it recommended establishing a management committee of paid employees rather than depending completely on volunteers.

The CEC has also been working on smaller projects such as mowing, planting flowers, maintaining the Parc de pêcheurs playground, repairing streetlamps, and painting the Chéticamp Harbour lighthouse after receiving a donation from the Société Saint-Pierre. It has also received two land lots around the Mathieu boardwalk as a donation from a community member.

Last year, the council also organized DeBest, a community excellence awards ceremony. This year the event was suspended because of the pandemic.