WESTVILLE – If the provincial government had limitless dollars, Clarrie MacKinnon’s wish list for Pictou East would be much longer.
As it is, the MLA wants to see the province spend some cash on the region when the house resumes sitting on Thursday.
MacKinnon wants to see some of those dollars flowing to the Riverview Adult Residential Facility. Although the home is getting an addition – three group homes, which will house eight residents in each, are under construction and should be complete in the near future – that still won’t solve all of the overcrowding problems that exist at Riverview, he said.
“The facility itself still has some service requirements that have to be met,” MacKinnon said.
Those requirements include major renovations to the existing structure, including adding a “good sized” wing to the building.
“Some people actually believe the facility is too old to spend a lot of money on,” he said. “I’m very anxious to see the plans and costing involved with the facility – we need to look at the best way to meet the needs of the residents.”
Roads are another priority for MacKinnon. Although he’s happy with the recent announcement that the twinning of Highway 104 through his riding would continue, along with improved lighting at Exit 26, it’s the rural roads he wants the province to address.
Last year, approximately 10 kilometres of road in Pictou East were paved – at the tune of about $400,000 per kilometre – and he’ll be lobbying for at least that much again this year.
He also plans to urge the province to focus on supporting the primary resources – fishing, farming and forestry.
“These are not sunset industries,” he said. “Without investment and encouragement for those sectors, we will be worse off as a province.”
The House of Assembly will go back into session on Thursday.
Watch The News this week for profiles with Ross Landry and Charlie Parker.
