Residents in North Sydney are upset and angry over the proposed sale of the Archibald Wharf.
Hundreds packed the North Sydney Seniors and Pensioners Club, demanding answers on plans to sell the municipally owned wharf.
The shipyard company, Canadian Maritime Engineering, is prepared to buy the land which lies next to their current operation for $200,000. It would create nearly 100 jobs in the area, but would mean losing the popular waterfront property.
“I’m not against jobs, but this is not the place to start,” says area resident Martha Ross. “Go somewhere else on the Northside. There are lots of other places.”
The company’s president says the area is the place that makes the most sense for the company.
“Right now we have a railway system we want to expand and we need that foot print to do that,” says CME President Tony Kennedy. “So we can have multiple vessels at one time. Currently we only we have one vessel.”
Today the area’s councilor, Charlie Keegan, was surrounded by angry constituents.
He says the island is in desperate need of the jobs that the shipyard company is promising.
“Cape Breton is in a tsunami,” says Keegan. “We have an eroding hospital. We have tracks and no trains, schools and no kids. Our unemployment rate on the Northside is 35 per cent.”
Residents will have a chance to have their say once again. A separate public meeting is scheduled for Friday in Council Chambers.
With files from CTV’s Kyle Moore
