A twin for the Valley?

Over the past three years, one of the most animating issues has been how to conceive of the future of the Valley and the Fundy Coast.

Having a picture of where we wish to go in the region is very useful, both as a guide for planning and as a means of developing a common sense of purpose. It’s increasingly clear that economic and political development in Nova Scotia is indeed regional and that having a regional picture of the future is useful as a basis for lobbying governments and inducing investment and population to the region.

I’m a long way from an expert in such matters, as you will soon see. But sometimes it can be helpful if some of us just think out loud on such issues and the column this week is offered in this spirit.

Diversity of (sometimes) competing anchors

The most obvious fact is our current economic basis relies on diverse and sometimes competing economic anchors. We have a considerable investment in the Michelin plant; we have the expanding industrial base in and around Hantsport; the Berwick pork rendering industry; and the ACA poultry industry, the latter two the basis for some of the marketability of regional agriculture.

The agricultural sector is situated in one of the friendliest climates for growing in Canada. However, some agricultural practices of the region compete with the attempt to protect and expand our tourist base, leaving our rivers and air quality too often less than attractive.

We are proximate to some terrific seafood harvesting, with an associated culture distinct from that found among the traditional practices of agriculture in the Valley, offering tourists bed and breakfast opportunities that are unique and appealing. We are developing fruit and wine crops that are unique also, housed in environs that make tourists want to get off the beaten track.

We enjoy a regional, highly regarded university, bringing cultural and intellectual opportunities within an hour drive for much of the Valley. We have been ahead of the curve on access to informational technology and we boast local music, craft and artistic communities that rival the best in the country.

We have a reasonably robust political culture, where folks are publicly minded and communitarian, even though it’s plain that some of our communities are conservative and others liberal in their conception of the good life. (Across both of these camps, we find an interest in the environment.)

Finally, we enjoy access to some of the best vistas in the country, along the Bay of Fundy and on North and South Mountains.

The Eastern Townships

The diversity of our political economy, alas, is one in which our industry and some agricultural activities are in conflict with our ambition to further develop and sustain our tourist and retirement attractiveness. We have seen this in issues of converting agricultural land to residential opportunities, played out against an international backdrop of the increasing demand for agricultural goods and a growing alertness to the demands of the global environment.

Now one way of thinking about how to proceed from these putative facts is to attempt to limit and transform the anchors of the past, realigning the Valley to the prospects of the future. Frankly, this likely makes the most sense, but it’s a high-risk strategy because we don’t know enough about what the future will indeed value.

Another is to find a way of moderating the force of our different anchors, seeking to govern all with a better eye to the interests of others.

I have long thought highly of the part of the Eastern Townships in Quebec, from Lake Champlain to Cowansville, indeed to Magog, along the Vermont border. It too has weaknesses and strengths.

It is within an hour’s drive or so, except during rush hour, to the cultural and intellectual vibrancy of Montreal. It houses some of the most productive agriculture activity in the country, including vineyards that are world class, with what appears to be great attention to avoid agricultural practices that make visitors’ eyes water.

It has a diverse political culture, strong progressive art and cultural communities, a political vibrancy, and the similarities don’t stop there.

I know it’s not a good idea to encourage our elected officials to spend our tax dollars, but perhaps it’s time for some twinning of regional bodies, simply to compare notes on best practices?