When will HRM, province learn?

By DIANA WHALEN
The last HRM public meeting on the Mainland Common Recreation Centre was held in December 2005. It’s no wonder, then, that people are asking what is happening with the project because for the past month, drivers along Lacewood Drive have been watching as trees have come down and trucks and diggers are at work beside the Keshen Goodman Library.

This is the site proposed for the Mainland Common Recreation Centre, but surprisingly there have been no fanfare announcements and the community is in the dark.

The site preparation work is costing $1.8 million and yet HRM has not told the public what is included in the planned facility.

Inquiries from members of the public to HRM and to the provincial Office of Health Promotion have been met with a decided lack of information. We are told that the province and HRM are working closely, but the details can’t be revealed to the public.

The powers-that-be intend to meet with federal representatives to make their request for funding. This hasn’t taken place yet, so they contend there can be no discussion or consultation with the community.

Closed-door meetings and a lack of public information: Does this sound familiar? It has been just over a year since the Commonwealth Games bid collapsed. It appears as though HRM and the province have learned nothing from their mistakes.

The public demands and deserves no less than full accountability when their money is being spent. Recreation facilities are desperately needed in Nova Scotia, and the old-time attitude of "We know what’s best for you" coming from the two levels of government is not appropriate or acceptable in 2008.

Throughout the province, there are pressing community needs and growing frustration. A year ago, the province and HRM were each willing to put forward $300 million to fund the Commonwealth Games. We were chasing the Games because we have a serious lack of recreational facilities, and this was seen as a way to address that. In the meantime, our government has abandoned this commitment to recreation and we are back to Square 1.

One only has to look at the recent meeting in Bedford to see that people are impatient with the lack of consultation and progress on recreation needs. A basic premise of any successful project is citizen engagement, yet this is being ignored.

At the Mainland Commons, there is a chance to build a first-class facility that will serve the 200,000 people who live within a 20-minute drive.

The HRM report on the site work says that "final design details of the facility and a funding strategy are currently being reviewed with the provincial and federal governments."

Apparently, when a funding announcement is made, there will be an open house and the plans will be presented to the public. Consulting with the public after plans have been finalized behind closed doors is not good enough!

What meaningful level of input will the community have, once the funding is secured and the announcement is made? The father-knows-best attitude of both the municipal and provincial governments is patronizing and short-sighted.

Other municipalities have been open and accountable and won the support and commitment of their communities. Port Hawkesbury built an $18-million centre for its community and Bridgewater is working with the public to plan its $30-million centre; yet here in HRM, the people are not consulted.

A year after the collapse of the Commonwealth Games bid, we find the province and HRM still trying to manage public projects without public input.

Diana Whalen is the deputy leader of the Nova Scotia Liberal Party and the MLA for Halifax-Clayton Park.