Places where people want to live - and that are sustainable - do not happen by chance. They are the product of visionary thinking and commitment by skilled civic and community leaders, developers and professionals, with full engagement and support of local partners and communities. 

Having common a shared vision and common goals of 'sustainable communities' and a means of monitoring progress towards it is a good starting point. Successful delivery seems to depend on a clear understanding of who should lead on this agenda, what other organizations and individuals must be involved (partnership building), what sustainability means for the area (the vision), coupled with effective, open and transparent community engagement processes as well as efficient delivery processes. 

THE LEADERSHIP ROLE

Improving delivery processes starts with establishing who is responsible for what. We think it is essential to clarify who takes the lead in delivery of sustainable communities, and we believe this role should lie with local authorities municipal government) in full collaboration with all community stakeholders. Our reasoning is that no other institution has the same responsibility for the long-term success for our region of the province. No other institution is directly elected by and accountable to the residents of by the Town and County of Antigonish. A further factor is that the majority of the sustainable communities components can only be delivered at local authority levels. We acknowledge the importance of the regional context and consider that various regional agencies (AAP, ARDA, Chamber of Commerce, XEDC as drivers as regional economies) must be key partners in the delivery process.  

Integrated Community Sustainability Plan - Community Engagement Process

Communicate directly with the Mayor Carl Chisholm of Town Council regarding sustainability issues for the Town of Antigonish: click here

Communicate directly with the Warden Herb DeLorey of County Council regarding sustainability issues for the County of Antigonish: click here