About 500 people took in a community meeting at the New Waterford and District Community Centre on Aug. 19 to discuss the community’s ongoing issues with drugs and crime. Photo by NICOLE SULLIVAN /CAPE BRETON POST FILEArticle contentOn Aug. 19, a packed New Waterford and District Community Centre bore witness to a meeting of concern attended by local residents, police, politicians and others, all sharing a concern for what is the growing drug and crime problem in that community.THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY.Subscribe now to access this story and more:Unlimited access to the website and appExclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcastsFull access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment onEnjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalistsSupport local journalists and the next generation of journalistsSUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES.Subscribe or sign in to your account to continue your reading experience.Unlimited access to the website and appExclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcastsFull access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment onEnjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalistsSupport local journalists and the next generation of journalistsRegister to unlock more articles.Create an account or sign in to continue your reading experience.Access additional stories every monthShare your thoughts and join the conversation in our commenting communityGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorArticle contentArticle contentMeetings of such concern may often be approached with a skeptical, if not cynical eye. Manifestations of seeming populist discontent often bring with them a degree of dubious legitimacy. We see them as lacking sound factual and rational bases and instead being mere demonstrations of irrationality and emotional outburst. While one may have entered this meeting expecting something of the same to occur, such was not the case. This meeting was entirely well-founded and provided an accurate portrayal of the sense of despair, and at times disgust, clearly felt by many of this storied town’s residents.Article contentArticle contentIn writing of this meeting, I must first confess to a bias on my part. While not from New Waterford, I did come to know it well. In doing so, it became and remains my favourite of all places. That is neither to dismiss the fine characteristics of other communities or to embrace a narrative of New Waterford that is without most of the less than desirable forces unleashed from Pandora’s box. Yet there is a uniqueness, a special quality about this community, clearly found in its people who for generations have demonstrated it again and again. Perhaps it springs from that special sense that flows from an acquired empathy and sympathy for the underdog. Add to this what I have seen demonstrated as a sense of community, a willingness to help those down on their luck, a special something that says to one, relax, leave your worries at the door, we will help you.Article contentThis is why seeing her people experiencing the ravages of drug abuse, addiction, street level crime and all of it threatening their sense of community and basic safety takes on an especially dire meaning. It is as if one can hear in unison the cry from her people, bellowing this is not us, why is this happening, what can we do to stop this and get back to who we are and what we are all about. This refrain was heard repeated in a variety of appeals and personal testaments at the meeting. They sounded the call saying, we have had enough of this, and we want our community back.Article contentArticle content Cape Breton Police Chief Stephen MacKinnon, second from right, answers a question from the audience during the three-hour long community meeting in New Waterford on Aug. 19. MacKinnon spoke about recruitment strategies, police patrols returning and frustrations police share with residents when someone arrest for a crime is out of jail shortly after arrest. Photo by NICOLE SULLIVAN /CAPE BRETON POSTArticle contentThe meeting itself was as well organized as any gathering of this sort could be. In this respect I give full marks to Coun. Darren O’Quinn who spoke sincerely and without guile. He also moderated the discussion fairly, emphasizing community participation and not with the usual lectures from public officials. Anyone who had something to say was invited to the microphone, allotted five minutes, another fair consideration, and permitted to question the public officials there present. In addition to O’Quinn these included, Mayor Cecil Clarke, Deputy Mayor Glen Paruch, local MLA Kendra Coombes and four Cape Breton Regional Police officers, including interim Chief Stephen MacKinnon, himself a New Waterford native.Article contentArticle contentThere was no problem in locating questioners. A long and continuing-to-grow line emerged, diminishing in neither size nor intensity of opinion for the more than two and one-half hours allotted for the meeting. The commentaries focused primarily on public safety. Account after account of persons relaying incidences of break-ins, the presence of drug houses on their streets, thefts and the like resounded. Most of the inquiries were directed to police Chief MacKinnon, who handled them all forthrightly and with respectful directness. He did not pander to the gathering. This rendered his responses all the more real. Likewise, Mayor Clarke, often accused by his detractors of being too glib, spoke pointedly and to specific measures meant to ameliorate the issues voiced.
OPINION: Community concern in New Waterford
