'The Forgotten People'

It took a little while for calls to be answered at Little River's Quarry Start Central after the news Nov. 20. That was the day provincial environment minister Mark Parent announced he would not approve Bilcon’s plans to develop a mega-quarry nearby.

Proponents of the proposed basalt quarry said it would have injected about $1 million into the local economy for each of its 150 hectares during its half-century lifespan.

For Cindy Nesbitt, the news was devastating. She's been a vocal advocate of the project since first joining an information committee sponsored by Bilcon of Nova Scotia. She says she's tired of the steady departure of people from the Neck because there are few jobs.

The 36 jobs promised by the company would have provided more security than the tenuous fishery, she argues. "To me, this project and many other projects of diverse natures, are needed down here and to my way of thinking, minister Parent took away another option," she said. "Maybe Mr. Parent, (MLA Harold) Junior Theriault and (MP) Robert Thibault have something up their sleeve for job creation and alternate employment for people down this way. If they don't, we'll know for sure we're the forgotten people."

Nesbitt said the region has been good at turning things down since 1969 and she believes industry will never settle on the Neck because this is just one more rejection. "With the decision that was made today, the big bang you heard was the door being shut on economic development in all of Nova Scotia," said Nesbitt. "I'm very upset with the decision minister Parent has made. I think he's let this area down and I think he's let Nova Scotia down."

Bilcon made only an official terse statement following last week’s announcement, but Nesbitt said core staff already in place would probably lose their jobs.

MLA Harold Junior Theriault says there are options. "We'll have jobs," he said in an interview just after Parent's statement was issued. "We're going to be one of the biggest power-producing regions in Nova Scotia with the Bay of Fundy and the North Mountain. The North Mountain has been picked as one of the best places to generate wind and the Bay of Fundy is the best place to generate hydropower. We've got aquaculture and we've got a traditional fishery we could bring back if Ottawa would listen to us. There's so much we could do, but we just continue to fight off these destructive things."

Digby County warden Jim Thurber puts his faith in the community finding its own way back. He said people need to have jobs and the county will do its part to find them. "They've been able to cope with whatever's thrown at them for years," said Thurber. "I'm also putting a lot of faith in our new RDA, and I think with the cooperation of the community and government that we can make a strong effort to rebuild the economy."