Stronger infrastructure will help population grow

To the Editor:
For a town that claims to be steeped in historical Scottish-ness, maybe it’s time somebody started listening to the piper before we have to start paying her, too. When Statscan released the census this month, it showed that Nova Scotia was the slowest growing province in the country and that the population of Pictou had dropped by 10 per cent in the last five years. Every five days, we’re losing another person. At this rate, the population of the town will be down to 0 in my lifetime.
People like to say, “Oh well, what can you do? We have an aging population.” Or there’s some other excuse. But New Glasgow grew during the last five years and they’re not very far away. In fact, during the last five years, local industries such as Michelin and Sobeys have been hiring. Even more local industries such as Aecon Fabco and our own success story – Advocate – have been growing. Other major employers, such as the health sector, have been stable. But let’s face it: people are choosing not to live here.
The fact is, the answers aren’t that hard to find. Our Nova Scotia government has made life difficult for families by raising the price of everything when they hiked the HST. Its policies have made everyday purchases such as power more expensive. In this town, our taxes and service fees have been on a steady rise as well. Credit where it’s due… our town is more liveable now because we have proper sewage treatment. But still, our taxes are going up and an ever smaller group of people is paying them.
Our community has a couple of options at hand. We can start looking at developing a stronger infrastructure that makes it more attractive for young families to live here. This has to include recreational activities, school programs and, of course, employment opportunities. Or, we can keep pointing the finger at each other and letting the trend continue. In that case, would it be too much to ask… Could the last one out please turn off the light?
Luke Young
Pictou