Canada: Ship repair business gets attention

The loss of another major employer in the Shelburne area would be a "serious matter," the local warden said. Sherman Embree of the Municipality of Shelburne was lamenting the potential long-term loss of Shelburne Ship Repair. The province owns the repair yard, one of the largest employers in the area, and Irving Shipbuilding Inc. operates it under a lease agreement.
The yard has laid off its workforce of over 50 because parts of its wharf and rail slipway are in dire need of upgrading and no longer insurable.
"What makes it particularly ugly is about 10 years ago we lost Canadian Forces Station Shelburne, which employed a couple hundred military and couple hundred civilians, and that has not been replaced," the warden said. "We also lost the Nova Scotia Youth Centre in Shelburne, which again was another large employer."
Provincial government officials, including Economic and Rural Development Minister Percy Paris, were in Shelburne last week to discuss the issue and talks have been lengthy.
Sarah Levy, spokeswoman for landlord Nova Scotia Business Inc., said Friday that negotiations on the required repair work and phase-out of the old equipment have been going on for at least a year. She couldn’t say why the talks appear to be taking so long.
"It (repair work) is a significant undertaking," she said. "When it comes to taking a lot of time or costing a lot of money, it takes some time to negotiate. There are a number of players involved and a number of things that have to happen. It always takes time."
The cost of doing the repairs, which has not been determined, is part of the discussions.
"It is becoming very critical," Mr. Embree said. "There has to be a timely resolution."
Getting the ship repair facility back into operation is instrumental in pursuing conceptual plans to transform Shelburne County into a marine centre of excellence, the warden said. The county has an active fishery, a boat-building industry, fish processing, a school of fisheries, aquaculture and a fibreglass plant in addition to the ship repair yard.
Next month, Shelburne may be able to add "cruise destination" to that list as the 1,200-passenger cruise ship Balmoral, from the Fred Olsen Line, will make a call in Shelburne on Oct. 25. It will be the first visit by a cruise ship to Shelburne in several years.
Mr. Embree was quick to point out that the concept of the marine centre of excellence includes not only Shelburne but also Lockeport and Barrington.
"We see enhancing and paying attention to all of our marine industries and their potential so they can grow, develop and create jobs," he said.
The five mayors and wardens in the county have to discuss how they will transform the concept into a business case so it can become reality, he said.