Four historical Lessons for Nova Scotia

Offshore  oil and gas is a natural resource which belongs to all of Nova Scotians. It can be developed for the benefit of all Nova Scotia if we keep in mind the mistakes that have been made in the past.  
 

In the 18th and 19th centuries, Nova Scotia wealth was built around the North Atlantic. It had a successful fishing and whaling industry and in order to support that fishing and whaling industry it had a successful shipbuilding industry, with one of rhe largest merchant marine fleets in the world. However in the late 19th century, and early 20th century, Nova Scotians forgot that the natural resource was not bottomless and the fishstocks were overfished and the forests were overcut. Lesson one we must act responsibly in utilizing the natural resource given to us in the form of offshore oil and gas  
 

In the 19th and 20th centuries Nova Scotia had an abundance of coal. This also resource brought great wealth to areas like Pictou County and industrial Cape Breton, but once again it was developed insensitively with respect to the rights of labour and the environment once providing a lesson to be learnt for offshore resource development. Lesson number two,our oil and gas must be developed with great respect for the rights of workers and for the safety of workers and with respect to the environment.
 

Much of what we see in Nova Scotia, our towns and cities our universities and colleges, our public institutions in the form of museums,  concert halls and churches were built and developed by money provided by the development of these resources.
 

The current population of 1 million demands a continuation of the "East Coast lifestyle". They want support for health systems, education, the arts and the social safety net,  but this requires funding.
 

In the past much of the dividend earned from forestry, fishing, coal mining, and industrialization went offshore because these resources were developed with offshore capital.  I am in favour of a well-thought-out plan for the development of our offshore oil and gas. Lesson number three, both the federal and provincial government must ensure that a fair share of the profit remains here in Nova Scotia for the benefit of Nova Scotia.
 

There is ample evidence of overfishing the collapse of the cod fishery, the collapse of the salmon fishery, large Cosl slag heaps in Pictou County and Cape Breton, the Sydney tar ponds,  the Pictou landing settling ponds. Lesson number four, don't let this happen again; require the capital investors to file a bond or set aside funds to be used for any cleanup, and when the resource is  exhausted for the land and the shorelines to be remiated returned to normal. 
 

These are four historical lessons that can be learnt, and which must be used to ensure that this offshore resource is developed safely in a financially beneficial way to all Nova Scotia.

1  Use the resource responsibly in a sustainable way

2.  Protection of our workers and the environmemt is top priority

3.  Ensure that a fair dhare of the profit stays here

4.  Make the deveopers set up remedial funds and bonds before they even start   
 

if these four lessons cannot be applied then the development of our offshore oil and gas is not worth pursuing. But I think that both levels of government are quite capable of ensuring that these safeguards can be put in place.

I note that many of the members of the groups and associations who oppose this earn their livings from govermental or quasi governmental jobs, academics, teachets, doctors and environmentalists, and government funded mrmbers of thearts communities. I would welcome their thoughts on how they believe that Nova Scotia can continue to fund them at the level they expect.