I am shocked at how little the government ministers know about the Shubenacadie Canal Commission. The commission is a provincially mandated board of volunteers who are responsible for maintaining the canal, reconstructing it where appropriate, and maximizing opportunities for tourism, recreation, flood control, and active transportation. The department responsible for the commission is Natural Resources.
I found out last night during budget estimates that the commission would not get a grant they asked for to reconstruct two locks which are crumbling into the canal.
In fairness it was a big ask - $500,000. But it would've been matched by the federal and municipal governments (those commitments had already been received). It could have been paid out over multiple years. Most concerning was the fact the minister met with the commission members but did not even supply the commission with a response to their request.
Today the premier stated during question period that the province doesn't have a staff member on the commission so how could they have known of the ask - wrong. It does. The premier also stated the commission never filed a formal application. Not only have they never had to file an application previously for capital funding, but more importantly the commission met with the minister and he never said anything about filing an application. The NDP are making up the facts as they go along. It's unfair to the hard working volunteers, who really just want an answer.
While I was happy to hear the third party (PCs) ask a question on this issue today following up on my grilling of the Minister of Natural Resources last night, it was almost laughable as they wouldn't even meet with the commission during their last two years in government. I guess it's more of an effort by the PCs to rewrite history.
Hardworking volunteers, working to meet government mandates, need responses from the departments they report to. Ministers cannot defer issues to other ministries hoping to not be forced to answer difficult questions.
