Digby, Pictou mayors 'blindsided' by visitor centre cuts

Two Nova Scotia mayors are angry with the provincial government after they were caught off guard by the closure of the visitor information centres in their communities.

Joe Hawes of Pictou and Ben Cleveland of Digby said they had no idea the cuts were being considered, and they found out through the media.

"My initial reaction was shock," said Hawes. "Pictou is one of the gateways to Nova Scotia, coming from the Island. I don't know how they missed that."

Natural Resources Minister Zach Churchill made the announcement Friday, saying the Digby and Pictou offices cost 17 per cent of the provincial budget for provincial centres, yet they account for 6 per cent of the traffic.

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Hawes says despite the numbers, the decision doesn't make sense. He thinks the province is playing favourites, investing in Yarmouth instead.

"They say they're saving about $400,000 around our area, and yet how can they justify saving that, yet spending millions of dollars and I don't deny Yarmouth a ferry but it looks like they're propping up one and closing down another."

To add salt to the wound, Hawes says Pictou is in the process of realigning the rotary into the town. Part of that realignment was planned to make it easier for tourists to access the information centre. He says the project was planned in consultation with the province.

"Tourism is very important, pick up the economy in rural Nova Scotia and then we get blindsidedwith something like that. Tourism were involved with this realignment," he said.

Looking for answers

In Digby, Mayor Ben Cleveland is also dismayed by the decision.

"If we're going to move things along in the province, we've gotta work together," he said. "But just don't arbitrarily make decisions without coming to the community."

He says he was very upset that he was told by a reporter about the cuts.

"We just recently announced our new ferry, there's improvements at the terminal, we've had some improvements with our harbour but we didn't expect to be looking over our shoulders to see what surprises are coming. We've been looking ahead."

Cleveland says he has called the department repeatedly to try to talk about ways to modernize the facility. He says he understands tourists don't drop in for pamphlets any more, but he wanted to add computer access and offer booking systems to encourage visitors to stay. He says that will open the door to conversations with staff.

"It still doesn't replace a person that can talk about the nuances of the area."

Cleveland believesthe numbers are just an excuse. He says the visitor information centre (VIC) receives comparable visits to the one in Yarmouth, which is staying open.

"Digby's a point of entry to the province from Saint John, N.B. You drive off the ferry with the Nova Scotiagovernment VIC sign saying closed, it's not a good message to send out."

Cleveland believes eight people will lose their jobs in Digby, while Hawes estimates two full time staff and four summer employees are now out of work.

Hawes says he'll be asking about Yarmouth as soon as he speaks to the minister.

"How they can justify spending all the money there at one end on something that it looks like will always have to be subsidized, for now and the near future. And we're talking millions. Yet $400,000? How can they justify that? That's what I want to know."