-Tom Beaton, Glenora Falls
There is no better feeling than crossing the causeway after a 2,300 km drive to the island. The Welcome to Cape Breton Island gives you a lift and lowers your blood pressure just to think we are close to our seasonal residence once again to meet up with family, friends and neighbors.
Our first ritual is to stop at the Port Hastings VIC to see what is new and browse the gift shop. How disappointing it was to see what’s happened to the VIC. Even though I knew, by way of The Oran, in Ontario, it was a shock to realize the reality of the situation.
The sign on the door reads, “Permanently Closed.” It almost reads like and amounts to a sign of accomplishment for the PC government. Like it is bragging rights that they have legislated something with everlasting consequences. Good job.
We went into the gift shop instead to buy something for our grandchild to realize that when I went to pay, my debit card was missing. I immediately returned to the truck and called CIBC to cancel it. We sat in the parking area for over an hour trying to accomplish this. This is when we saw the reality of the shortsightedness of the PC government.
How sad, on a busy Friday during tourism season, there are no washrooms available. We watched a father and his daughter having to go out behind the gift shop to relieve themselves. The father had to stand guard at the corner of the building to protect his daughter for the little bit of privacy she was afforded. She came around the corner to face others waiting to do the same with a look of shame on her young innocent face.
Other people started lining up to do the same, three teenagers were next. Other adults were doing the same. On and on. Welcome to Cape Breton Island, will be an embarrassing memory for everyone who was so moved to relieve themselves.
We had no choice but to witness this from the parking area. I was afraid to lose my signal while being on hold for so long, with CIBC, by moving anywhere else.
I see the province of Prince Edward Island jumped right on this misfortune; watch their most recent tourism commercials. They boast the fact that real people manage their tourist visitors and not Google as is suggested tourists do here. Prince Edward Island gets it.
Suggesting that Google can satisfy tourist needs is a joke. That might work if you come here knowing exactly what you want, where you are going, and what you are going to do. Google cannot take what knowledgeable staff, friendly faces, and the understanding of places to go that aren’t represented by Google. Try using Google Maps, you just might experience a trip across Cape Mabou that you weren’t planning to do, as happened to a friend of mine looking for my place experienced. Blame the tourists for not using Google to find the nearest washrooms.
In 2018, Tim Huston was elected leader of the PC party of Nova Scotia. He was sworn in as premier of Nova Scotia on August 31st, 2021, and started his second term in office in December 2024. On November 2nd, 2020, he was awarded his profession’s highest mark of distinction, the Fellow (FCPA) designation, by Chartered Professional Accountants of Nova Scotia. You would think that he would understand return on investment. Without getting into all the details, a return of $700M on an investment of $2.8M makes very good investment sense to most people and something that should be rewarded not dismantled.
When Destination Cape Breton offered to fund the operation of Port Hastings VIC, they were refused. Excuse me? In Ontario, I have chaired the Canadian Tire Mitchell’s Bay Open International Professional Bass Tournament for the last 15 years. All revenue from this highly regarded tournament are pumped back into the community, partnering with municipal, provincial and federal agencies. Our mission statement is: Dedicated to the lifestyle of residents and visitors to Mitchell’s Bay, to protect and promote the area’s natural environment. Bottom line here, we don’t have any agency refusing to work with our partnership and donations.
Cape Breton is recognized as the number one island destination in North America, according to readers of Condé Nast Traveler, a luxury and lifestyle magazine. The Condé Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards are considered the longest-running and a prestigious recognition of excellence in the travel industry. Many other accolades have been awarded Cape Breton Island. Is this the reason that the PCs don’t support tourism? Do they think their job is done?
So, sadly, the MLA Kyle McQuarrie stands in lockstep with the premier? That is what politicians do. Follow at all costs.