‘People project’

By DOUG BOUDREAU
The Mainland Common Recreation Centre has been a hot topic of conversation for the residents of Halifax for many years. We are getting closer to a resolution, but more work needs to be done.

In order to get the level of financial support we need, HRM needs to allow the community to work with it in the lobbying effort - as full partners. HRM needs to empower the community to take full ownership of this project and bring the other two levels of government to the table as full funding partners.

When you have legitimate community ownership and citizen involvement, financial commitment will always follow.

Port Hawkesbury opened an $18-million civic centre in 2004 with a catchment area of 20,000 people. Summerside, P.E.I., with a population of 14,500, just opened a $30-million wellness centre. Both projects show what can happen when municipal governments turn a plan into a "people project."

With a community of over 200,000 people in close proximity to the Mainland Common, and with easy access by the rest of Nova Scotia and Atlantic Canada, we should be just as aggressive as Summerside and Port Hawkesbury in refusing to compromise our vision - a vision based on our needs.