The Cape Breton Regional Municipality corporate services committee has approved a $2-million contribution to dredge Sydney harbour, provided the project receives capital support from Nova Scotia and Ottawa.
During a regular committee meeting Monday (May 3), chief administrative officer Jerry Ryan said while there is no defined budget for the $38-million dredging, staff anticipate a surplus of approximately $2 million for the last fiscal year, mostly attributed to the reduction of interest on short-term capital borrowing.
“It’s an easy recommendation from my point of view, because we have identified the source of funding,” said Ryan.
Deputy Mayor Darren Bruckschwaiger said the Sydney Marine Group’s venture has seen widespread support throughout the municipality.
“People are really depending on this one for our future,” he said. “The Sydney Marine Group’s ports master plan indicates the harbour can actually produce 6,500 more jobs and generate over $120 million in tax revenue.”
Bruckschwaiger said time is of the essence in moving the project forward. He also suggested including a condition that the municipality would only fund the project if the other two levels of government are on board.
Mayor John Morgan supported the amendment and motion, later put forward by acting chair Derek Mombourquette, and approved unanimously by the eight committee members.
Before the vote, Coun. Wes Stubbert said he understands the importance of the harbour proposal but added he also knows the poor financial state of Cape Breton’s economy.
“The harbour, and so on, should be the responsibility of a higher level of government,” said Stubbert. “And apparently they’re not going to do it without dragging us into it, dumping another bill on us. I reluctantly support this, but I certainly am in disagreement with the government’s approach.”
Ports stakeholders say dredging is the first step to opening the harbour channel to post-panamax vessels.
Further plans include the development of a proposed $200-million container terminal, which would potentially act as the shipping hub for North American markets.
A Dutch-based company was selected as the preferred bidder for the dredging and has given the marine group until May 14 to accept the bid.
In addition to the CBRM contributions, stakeholders are asking province to commit approximately $15.2 million to the project and for Ottawa to contribute $19 million.