SYDNEY, N.S. — It was all business when candidates for the mayor’s chair in the upcoming Cape Breton Regional Municipality election debated at the Membertou Trade and Convention Centre on Tuesday.
The Cape Breton Regional Chamber of Commerce member-exclusive lunch event was organized to give chamber members a chance to hear directly from 2020 mayor candidates about their vision, platform, plans regarding business and economic development for the future of the municipality.
Equalization, municipal tax reform and the proposed Novaporte were all discussed at an earlier debate. Those subjects and others related to the business community were again up for discussion at Tuesday's forum.
Candidates for mayor in the Oct. 17 municipal election are Chris Abbass, incumbent mayor Cecil Clarke, Kevin MacEachern, District 8 councillor Amanda McDougall, John Strasser, and Archie MacKinnon. MacKinnon was absent from Tuesday's event for personal reasons related to his wife’s surgery.
Each on hand was asked about their first 90 days as mayor, actions they will take, results they want to see, and the relationship they will you seek to form.
Strasser noted the thousands of people lost to outmigration over the past 30 years and felt that job creation was a means to get them back. He’d also call on talent outside of the council chambers as it relates to recovery.
A task force on child poverty would be the first thing Abbass would tackle. He’d also look at municipal finances.
MacEachern planned to speak to all concerned citizens and groups in the municipality on an open and honest basis.
McDougall’s first 90 days, should she win, would see new council members properly prepared and briefed on the job ahead. A strategic plan for the next four years would also be developed.
Should he be re-elected, Clarke said his standing practice of an open-door policy for all members of council and staff would be continued. A new municipal planning strategy and work with the province on red tape reduction in terms of municipal modernization, planning and development would also be part of his first 90 days.
The candidates were also quizzed on their thoughts on a new waterfront central library in Sydney.
Abbass suggested it become part of a wellness centre he hopes to build as mayor, while MacEachern suggested renovating the current facility would be a more feasible option that would also create jobs as part of the renovation process.
McDougall reiterated her support for the construction of a new central library, calling it an important piece of social infrastructure for so many people but specifically the volatile communities within the municipality.
Clarke said he was very much behind a new library idea and its construction was just about getting the partners to the table.
Strasser bluntly stated new construction of a library wouldn’t be among his top five priorities.
The mayoral candidates all expressed their support in a variety of ways for the revitalization of the rail line from Port Hawkesbury to Sydney as it relates to port development.
The proposed charter for the CBRM became a topic of discussion by the candidates when they were asked about the capped assessment program (CAP). The business community asked about adjustments to the commercial tax rate and other ways to encourage investment and promotion of economic activity.
The CAP is provincial legislation, Clarke said. A charter would give the CBRM authority to make decisions on both commercial and residential taxes, he added.
The mayor also noted his task force on commercial tax rates that features business people, but they are finding out there are no quick fixes to these tax issues.
Strasser said the CAP rate is a good thing for all the people who have the CAP but very unfair from a business viewpoint and suggested finding a compromise should be an immediate priority.
As for Abbass, he believes the province will remove the CAP whether the people of the CBRM like it or not and wondered why it was taking so long for the CBRM to establish its own charter to deal with the matter.
In his opportunity to speak on the issue, MacEachern noted he had heard nothing of the mayor’s task force and said that any solutions could come from work with all council members.
McDougall said the charter negotiations cannot be rushed, because that could lead to errors that the taxpayer can’t afford.
The Nova Scotia Association of Realtors, a debate sponsor, asked for the candidate’s thoughts on the potential changes to the deed transfer tax and for other ideas to encourage first-time home buyers.
Strasser said more opportunities for young people will keep them here in the CBRM and help to grow the tax base, while Abbass stated development of a new system of taxation — one that is easier for the average person to understand — is needed.
More jobs, stated MacEachern, and an increased minimum wage are necessary.
McDougall said more talk is needed on how to take some of the revenue from the deed transfer tax and re-invest it to help newcomers and welcome people back to Cape Breton.
The deed transfer tax alone — from a revenue source – is going up, noted Clarke. He also called it a ‘contrary’ tax’ because it is holding back development. It is currently provincial legislation and Clarke noted how a CBRM charter could help them look to change it.
Questions on municipal downtown cores and the importance of international students were also on the agenda.
