Trout River Mayor Horace Crocker is in high spirits after finding out his town will receive federal government funding for small craft harbour infrastructure work.
On Friday, Gudie Hutchings, Memorial of Parliament for Long Range Mountains, announced that the Government of Canada is investing $7 million in harbour infrastructure in a number of communities throughout her riding.
Trout River is one of the communities who will benefit from the federal investment that is designed to improve the life of those connected to the fishing industry in the riding.
Crocker isn’t sure of the funding amount the town will receive, but he expects it will hover in the $1.5-2 million range and calls it good news for people in the town.
“We’re fisher people that had an extremely hard summer trying to get their boats in and out of the brook because you go out on high tide and come in on high tide because if not the boats run aground in the river,” Crocker said Friday.
The mayor said the money will be used for improvements to dredging of the river and doing repairs to the broken wharf that was damaged by heavy flooding back in January.
He said the large amount of water that was in the river washed out around the bottom pylons so it’s got to be removed and the wharf straightened out with some new bedding put back in place.
Furthermore, he said, the riverbed is two or feet higher than it was before the flood because the pebbling from upstream is all washed down the river.
“It’s quite a job,” he said.
He’s happy to see the federal government recognize the need for improvements and he’s hoping the town will avail of other federal funding sources down the road because he knows there is a need for more work to be carried out.
Hutchings said is always happy to see the federal government invest money in the people she represents in her vast Long Range Mountains riding.
Small craft harbours are important to Hutchings because she represents 10.1 per cent of all the small craft harbours in the country, she said. She knows how important it is the economy of those pockets of people who depend on the fishery to make a decent living so seeing money spent in her riding will always be welcome.
She said the fish that comes in over the wharfs at these small craft harbours last year was equal to $1.6 million dollars so she knows the money is being invested wisely.
“The fishery is so important to us so when we can get money to fix and upgrade our wharf structures for the small boat fishermen in my riding it’s a great day,” Hutchings said.
Fact box
Communities receiving funding
- Fischells
- Fox Island River
- Parsons Pond
- Port au Choix
- River of Ponds
- St. David’s (Crabbes River)
- St. George’s
Other communities will be announced once they have been confirmed
