The Small Craft Harbours Program is a $100-million-a-year fund the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans manages to ” to accelerate harbour repair and maintenance, as well as undertake dredging projects.” But, as with just about every penny the federal government spends nowadays, any expenditures out of this fund are sold as “Canada's Economic Action Plan.” Fair enough. To the fishers and others who use these harbours, it most likely doesn't matter what you call it, so long as the work gets done. On the weekend, two regional ministers announced more than $50 million worth of projects for PEI and Nova Scotia.
Over the weekend, Fisheries Minister Gail Shea (left) announced $13.9 million worth of projects in her native PEI and, next door in Nova Scotia, Defence Minister Peter MacKay put his name on a fisheries press release to make sure he gets a little political credit for the $40.2 million Shea's department will spend fixing up harbours in his province.
Here's the Nova Scotia projects:
- Major harbour development projects currently underway will be accelerated this year at Arisaig, Margaree, Newellton, Pictou Landing and West Head. New major projects will be starting at Canso, Centreville, Dennis Point, Falls Point, Lower East Pubnico, Lower Sandy Point, and Saulnierville. Planning for future major projects will take place at Caribou Ferry, Cheticamp, Havre Boucher, Louisbourg, Murphys Pond, Neils Harbour, Port Bickerton East and Wedge Point.
- Wharf repairs and improvements are planned for Abbots Harbour, Bush Island, Caribou Ferry, Cribbons Point, Delaps Cove, Fox Point, Halls Harbour, Hampton, Indian Point, Ingomar, Jones Harbour, Little River (Digby County), Lower Prospect, Lower Wedgeport, Mabou, Marie Joseph, Meteghan, Mill Cove, Neils Harbour, Owls Head, Port Morien, Shag Harbour, Skinners Cove, Sonora, Toney River, Wallace, West Green Harbour, West Head and Westport.
- Dredging work is scheduled for Dennis Point, Dingwall, Pleasant Bay, Little River Harbour, Port Morien, Skinners Cove and Toney River.
- Breakwater construction and repairs will take place at Baileys Brook, Bay St. Lawrence, Cripple Creek, Ingonish Ferry, Margaree, Pleasant Bay and Port La Tour.
- The construction and repair of launching ramps will be undertaken at Battery Point, Bay St. Lawrence, Big Bras d'Or, Canso, Central Port Mouton, Little Liscomb, Margaree, Owls Head, Peggys Cove, Pictou Landing and West Berlin.
- Electrical service improvements will be carried out at Cheticamp and Bay St. Lawrence.
And here's the PEI projects:
- Major harbour development work is well underway at Alberton while new major harbour projects will be starting at Tignish and West Point. Planning work for future large, harbour development projects will be starting at Machons Point and Nine Mile Creek.
- Wharf repair and reconstruction projects are slated for Bay Fortune, Beach Point, Covehead, Georgetown, Graham Pond, Howards Cove, Launching Pond, McAuleys Shore, Montague, Murray River, Naufrage, New London, Miminegash, North Rustico, Red Head, Seacow Pond, Skinners Pond, Tracadie and Wood Islands.
- Dredging is scheduled for Covehead, Malpeque, Miminegash, Naufrage, North Lake, Skinners Pond, Tracadie and Victoria.
- Breakwater reconstruction at Seacow Pond will protect harbour facilities while armourstone will be installed on the west entrance breakwater at Naufrage. Shore protection is planned for Miminegash while the slipway at Graham Pond will be reconstructed.
Quickly glancing through the location of these projects, it seems to me that money is being spent in ridings held by government MPs (Tignish and West Point in Shea's riding, Pictou Landing and Caribou Ferry in MacKay's riding) as much as it's being spent on wharves held by Liberal MPs – Cheticamp and Louisbourg in NS and Murray River and Montague in PEI, for example — but if you think these projects have a partisan slant to them, I'm all ears.