Cape Breton economic development organization dissolves

An economic development organization in Cape Breton has quietly folded, as the provincial government insists on a new approach.

Business Cape Breton ran out of funding from the Cape Breton Regional Municipality on March 31.

The organization'schair confirmed the four staff have been issued layoff notices, and the landlord of the Charlotte Street office has been given notice.

"It was a hard business decision," said Parker Rudderham, the chair of the Business Cape Breton board. "We decided not to seek any other funding.We decided to dissolve."

CBRM Mayor Cecil Clarke said the group received about $400,000in the last fiscal year.

New organization starting

The municipalityplans to issue a request for proposals for economic developmentto be provided through a regional enterprise network, or REN.

But Rudderham said the Business Cape Breton board is not interested in submitting a bidbecause they don't believe the REN approach will be effective.

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"I don't know of any tangible results from it.There may be;I'm not aware of any.It's just very cumbersome, very bureaucratic, and it's gonnabe a bunch of people sitting around drinking coffee and chatting, which nobody on our board was interested in doing," said Rudderham.

In contrast, Rudderham defended Business Cape Breton'srecord, saying the agency's focus on small, community-based projects was successful.

On its website, the agency claims it helped 134 clients in new business development from April 1, 2013, to April 1, 2017, with a projected job potential of 292.

Province insistson new network

Clarke said he's sorry to see Business Cape Breton fold.

But Clarke said the provincial government is insistent that the CBRM tender its economic-development needsand incorporate them into anREN.

He said the province indicated it would provide funding for economic development initiativesonly if such a process were in place.

Clarke said he believed Business Cape Breton was very successful, and it is "uncertain" what will replace it.

In an email, an official with the Department of Municipal Affairs saidthe department has been working closely with the municipality to address issues that impact the long-term viability of the municipality.

The email goes on to say that the two parties agreed on a number of initiatives, including the possibilityof engaging in the RENprogram.