District 3 includes Eskasoni First Nation as well as all or parts of Balls Creek, Barrachois, Beaver Cove, Beechmont, Benacadie, Blackett’s Lake, Boisdale, Castle Bay, Christmas Island, Coxheath, East Bay, Edwardsville, Georges River, Gillis Lake, Grand Narrows, Ironville, Islandview, Leitches Creek, Long Island, MacAdam’s Lake, North West Arm, Northside East Bay, Pipers Cove, Point Edward, Scotch Lake, Upper North Sydney, Sydney Forks, Shenacadie and Upper Leitches Creek.
The resulting district is shaped liked…a sausage dog with a beard under a blanket?
The incumbent councilor, Esmond “Blue” Marshall has served multiple although not consecutive terms and is re-offering. Last time out, 3,360 of the district’s 6,520 electors cast ballots and Marshall won with 1,189 votes. He faced five opponents then and will face three this time, one of whom — Cyril MacDonald — finished a distant second in 2016.
Cyril MacDonald
Cyril MacDonald
Why do you want to be a CBRM councilor?
I want to be a CBRM councilor because I want to be the change. Many of our current councilors have become complacent and it’s time for fresh perspective. Often times I hear, “I wish we had sidewalks,” “I wish we had better internet access,” or “Why do we pay so much in tax?” but “There’s no point calling my councilor, he/she won’t respond anyway.” When elected, I want to be a councilor residents can call on, no matter the concern, and know it will be dealt with to the best of my ability. As a resident of the CBRM who is quite involved in many aspects of community life, I feel I am well connected and well versed on the issues of CBRM and district. I believe my community connections and experience have set me up for success and have instilled in me what it takes to be the most effective councilor.
What is one issue of concern to you and what is your plan to address it?
Out migration is a huge concern for me. With so many people moving away for better work, better education or better opportunity, it is really putting a damper on the CBRM as a whole. Our property values are falling, our economy is sinking, our industry is lacking and our development is at a low, thus creating many issues, particularly, poverty, mental illness, addictions and more.
As a CBRM councilor, I would look to market some of the things we are good at, and work towards a better Cape Breton. We need to capitalize on international students coming and keeping them here, do a better job of keeping tourists in the downtown, providing incentives for business startups, rewarding innovation, and incentivizing development. We also need to figure out this tax cap system ( no, I’m not saying remove it) to protect seniors and those who have been in their homes for many years, while also allowing young people to buy homes and start families and allowing seniors to sell their homes and downsize.
Although it is now 25 years old, the CBRM doesn’t necessarily function as a single entity. Do you have any ideas for bringing our “community of communities” closer together?
Many would argue amalgamation was a bad thing, however, I think we have simply done a bad job of amalgamating. Although I’m not much older than amalgamation, from what I see, we still have our own communities that operate as such. We all need a parade, we all need a rink, we all need a school, etc. While I may not agree with “everything goes to Sydney,” it’s partially true.
I believe our council and our municipality have done a bad job of providing opportunity for outlying communities. Rural internet is poor, rural roadways are the last thought of, poverty rates are at an all-time high, and the list goes on and on. Although Sydney is the center of the CBRM, we need to start recognizing the rest of the municipality, and ensuring we are making decisions in the best interest of the municipality, and not the best interest of Sydney. I’ve often thought of community focus groups that would service areas of the municipality, maybe it’s by district, that can offer input and ask questions to their councilor, or perhaps the entire council, in an informal manner, but allow residents the opportunity to voice concerns on a regular basis. Would it be a bad thing if the mayor visited some of rural Cape Breton once in a while?
What is one place in your district you always bring visitors?
It’s so hard to pick just one place…I love to take visitors swimming in Northside East Bay, for ice cream in George’s River, hiking in Coxheath, a cultural experience at Goat Island in Eskasoni, and we can’t forget, square dancing in Boisdale.
What is one question you wish I’d asked you?
I wish you would have asked, what makes me the best candidate? As a life-long resident of the CBRM, and a young person who intends to never go away, I feel I am invested in the island and the municipality. Over my young life, I’ve held various jobs, such as recruitment, working with persons with disabilities, facilitating, career counselling and now sport and let’s not forget the lawns I’ve been mowing since the age of 12. They have all provided me varying skillsets that I think are all directly related to the role as a councilor.
I’ve learned how to public speak, offer presentations to large audiences, work with diverse and vulnerable populations, manage my way through difficult situations and conversations, as well as the ability to manage and facilitate grants, and partake in strategic planning sessions. In my 1,000s of volunteer hours, I’ve learned how to budget my time and energy in an efficient and effective manner, I’ve learned how to balance many things at the same time, never giving anything less than 110%, and networking abilities far superior to any profession I could have had as a young person. I’ve gained the respect of professionals from many walks of life and feel I have the communal respect and backing to make my role as councilor nothing but a success. My reputation speaks for itself, and I think those that have worked with me in the past know I’m in this to make a difference in the CBRM and the district, and I’m in this for the residents, not myself. After all, I’m running for you!
Glen Murrant
Glen Murrant
Why do you want to be a CBRM councilor?
Since moving back here in 2008, I’ve been watching CBRM’s slow decline. Long before COVID, we had record high unemployment, atrocious poverty rates, out-migration and a shrinking/aging population. We’ve slipped into a mental health and addictions crisis. Meanwhile, some of our elected officials were focused on their political careers, their salaries, their expenses — or were preoccupied with noisy roosters and doggy daycare issues. There are a few really good councilors in CBRM — so we need a few more. I have no political aspirations. I just want to do my part to make things better.
What is one issue of concern to you and what is your plan to address it?
The most dire issue facing every district in CBRM is the economy — which I realize sounds both vague and grossly oversimplified. But connect the dots — employment, poverty, healthcare, education, policing, social services, roads, rural internet, railways, shipping — the economy of CBRM is a web of which all these things are interconnected. Each one can have a profound influence on the other.
So, my plan is to look at ways for CBRM to generate revenue, which will lessen the tax burden on residents and stir the economy. I’ll give you just two short examples:
1) MOPC (the Municipality of Pictou County) covers roughly the same area as CBRM. Like us, they’ve been struggling to connect their rural residents with high-speed internet. So MOPC is investing in their own fiber optic network — treating it as municipal infrastructure like sewer and water. Once the lines are in place MOPC will lease network space to internet service providers like Bell, Rogers, Eastlink, etc. These leases will generate revenue for the municipality and will connect rural residents so they can do things like work remotely and operate businesses from rural locations.
2) The City of Summerside, PEI, has tapped into federal and provincial funding to build two solar PV (photovoltaic) power-generating stations with a combined output of 31 megawatts. This will create hundreds of jobs and economic spin-off during the 2-year construction phase. When complete, 62% of the city’s power will be coming from the sun — dramatically lowering energy costs which translates into lower taxes for residents. Lower taxes, in turn, combined with lower residential energy costs will create more disposable income per household; money that will make its way back into the local economy.
Although it is now 25 years old, the CBRM doesn’t necessarily function as a single entity. Do you have any ideas for bringing our community of communities closer together?
Unifying communities that have historically been distinctly separate is a universal problem — especially among the older demographics. Since amalgamation we’ve gradually lost almost all official recognition of place names. Only in conversation do we mention North Sydney, Sydney Mines, East Bay, Coxheath, and so on. The municipality has created a real social disconnect between these places. CBRM had been providing limited support and recognition to some community festivals — Bartown Festival, Coal Dust Days, etc. — but I think we can do more. We have the marketing resources to drive traffic between each of these communities throughout the year for various events. As people rediscover their communities and reconnect, the bonds will grow.
Where is one place in your district you always bring visitors?
I don’t get that many visitors, but a swim in Boisdale and a walk on the beach is always well received. The Bras d’Or is such a gem. Still, we take it for granted. I often remind my kids that people come here from around the world because there really is no other place quite like it. And we live here!
What is one question you wish I’d asked you?
My question: How will your professional skills and experience make you an effective councilor?
As a marketer, it’s my job to assess every project on its strengths and weaknesses, and to develop strategies that will result in favorable outcomes. I study problems, research solutions, and present viable options. An important part of this process is communications; being able to effectively gather information and present ideas. These are all 100% portable skills that are essential to being an effective, productive, and supportive councilor.
John Whalley
Why do you want to be a CBRM councilor?
Our democracy is completely reliant upon individuals being willing to offer for elected office and I think it is important to try to contribute to improving our local government. As well, I am very interested in the economic development of the region.
What is one issue of concern to you and what is your plan to address it?
Population decline has plagued/characterized our region for six decades. With the success of Cape Breton University in recruiting international students and their obvious success in impacting the regional economy, it is now possible to see a path to growing the island’s population and strengthening the economy. It is very important that the Cape Breton Regional Municipality dedicate resources to the development and implementation of an immigration strategy. Without a stable/growing population, it is very difficult to improve the island economy and very difficult to strengthen the financial position of the CBRM.
Although it is now 25 years old, the CBRM doesn’t necessarily function as a single entity. Do you have any ideas for bringing our community of communities closer together?
CBRM has come a long way in 25 years even though, throughout that period, it has been consistently under-funded and even though key industries collapsed and placed the region under tremendous financial stress. I think the vision of the CBRM was to retain and promote community diversity while enhancing the planning and administration of municipal services. I believe this has been successfully accomplished. In a few instances in recent years, CBRM Council has appeared to place economic development ahead of the legitimate concerns of community residents and this tends to erode the confidence that residents have in their local government. Although economic development is important, community consultation is vital to a successful local government and the community response to consultation must be respected and given more consideration and priority than sometimes appears to be the case.
Where is one place in your district you always bring visitors?
I would always show visitors the Bras d’Or Lakes.
What is one question you wish I’d asked you?
How are the issues associated with municipal financing in the CBRM best addressed? How should the CBRM engage Senator Dan Christmas, as well as other municipal governments and First Nation governments, on the issue of Cape Breton self-governance? How should CBRM proceed with respect to port development? How does CBRM best support the Marconi development to revitalize the urban center of Sydney? How does CBRM change its approach to the development of its annual capital budget to more appropriately address the capital needs of the more rural communities across the CBRM? How does CBRM assist in the transition of the local economy to a carbon neutral and environmentally sustainable region within the next decade?
All are important questions and all require quite detailed answers. The big issues facing CBRM all require research and evaluation and planning. This capacity to conduct research and evaluation and planning must be viewed as a priority for the CBRM if the region is going to be able to thoughtfully address the many significant challenges that lie ahead. Hiring consultants once a year to evaluate issues is often both very expensive and not very productive.
Still to come:
Esmund “Blue” Marshall
A note on this feature:
I decided to send candidates questions by email because, while speaking to each in person would be preferable, I knew I wouldn’t have time to conduct (and transcribe) 55 phone interviews.
I will update these pages continuously as responses roll in and send out notifications on Facebook and Twitter announcing new answers.
And finally…
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