Whalen slams premier's 'paternalistic' attitude

Clayton Park MLA calls for full disclosure of Mainland Common plans

JON TATTRIE
The Halifax West Clayton Park Weekly News

Fed up with the secrecy surrounding the Mainland Common plans, and fearing a rerun of the Commonwealth Games debacle, MLA Diana Whalen is calling on the Progressive Conservatives to pass a bill that would force governments to be open about major projects they are funding.

At a press conference at Province House last week, the Liberal Party's deputy leader slammed the "paternalistic" attitude Rodney MacDonald's government has taken over the Common project, pointing out that there hasn't been a public meeting on it since 2005.

"The trouble is the province and municipality think that this project is 100 per cent decided upon, but they have neglected the most important component - the public. The secrecy surrounding this project should not be tolerated," Whalen said.

"If public money is going into a project, then people have a right to know what is being planned."

Her private member's bill would compel public consultation on all community-facility projects that the provincial government is funding to the tune of $250,000 or more, either by itself or in partnership with other levels of government. That would include recreational centres, schools, libraries and medical centres.

"We know that a lot of work has happened on the site, but we don't know what any of the plans are - the building footprint, or the components of the recreation centre," she told The Weekly News in an interview. "We know it's going to have a field house as part of the Canada Games, but I think it's shameful that as a host city for the Canada Games, we don't know the details for the Games."

HRM is set to host the 2011 Canada Winter Games.

Whalen thinks the government wants to make one big announcement when the project is done, and not involve the community. "They'll just say, 'Here it is, you should be happy.'"

But she says a project the size of the Mainland Common - which will be within a 20-minute drive for 200,000 Nova Scotians - needs public participation.

"The community ... is getting frustrated with the deafening silence coming from HRM and the province."

Barry Barnet, the Tory minister for Service Nova Scotia and municipal relations, did not reply to an e-mail request for comment by press time.

jon@jontattrie.ca