The Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) announced some much-needed support for 23 organizations and businesses today in Queens, Lunenburg, and Shelburne counties.
In total, they are providing $2,487,885 of non-repayable funds to 23 recipients that will use the funds in varying ways to help the community.
Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor who oversees ACOA was in Liverpool to make the announcement and says they tried to ensure the funds could be utilized for a wide range of projects. “There are obviously some criteria that needed to be met as is the case with all ACOA funding but overall we wanted to let the organizations who have a demonstrated history of helping their communities decide for themselves what to use them on,” said Petitpas Taylor.
She went on to say they did look for projects that focused on accessibility improvements and upgrades to much-used community spaces.
The funding includes non-repayable contributions of $1,359,377 for 18 projects through the Canada Community Revitalization Fund (CCRF) and a total of $1,128,508 in non-repayable contributions through the Tourism Relief Fund (TRF) for five projects.
The recipients of the funds include local governments, community organizations, historical societies, businesses, and recreation groups.
Below you can find more details on each individual project;
| NAME | PROJECT | TOTAL |
| Town of Shelburne | The Town of Shelburne will renovate and modernize the King Street Family Centre to create a safe and healthy environment. Activities include structural renovations with a new roof, eaves, windows and insulation, accessibility upgrades to the ramp and entrance and upgrades to make the facility more energy efficient. | $187,500 |
| Mahone Bay Centre Society | The Mahone Bay Centre Society will convert an oil-fired heating system at the Mahone Bay Centre, which dates back to 1914, to a geothermal heating and cooling system to increase energy efficiency and reduce costs. | $145,966 |
| Broad Cove Community Association
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The Association will renovate Broad Cove Community Hall to create barrier-free access and new accessible washroom facilities. The project also includes increasing use of outdoor space and the addition of a meeting area overlooking the ocean. | $125,756 |
| Cape Sable Historical Society | The Old Court House, a community museum and municipal heritage property, will be renovated to improve safety, accessibility and energy efficiency. This will allow the Cape Sable Island Historical Society to safely store its vast collection, offer new exhibits, increase visitation, expand heritage and cultural programming and provide a comfortable space for year-round use for people of all ages and abilities. Activities include upgrades to the roof and structure, the addition of accessible doors and entrance, installation of a commercial chair lift and heat pump system. | $112,681 |
| Region of Queens Municipality and Autism Nova Scotia | A universally-designed play park and splash-pad for people of all ages and abilities will be constructed next to the Queens Place Emera Centre in Liverpool to foster participation in the community. Activities include the installation of a gated fence, wheelchair accessible raised platforms and merry-go-round, multi-generational swings, braille and audio elements, a wheelchair accessible splash pad, low slides and other fun, inclusive playground equipment. | $100,000 |
| South Shore Fieldhouse Society | South Shore Fieldhouse Society will complete facility upgrades at HB Studios Sports Centre, a multi-use centre serving Lunenburg County and all of the South Shore region, to make it more inclusive, accessible and safe. Activities include replacing the front entrance, upgrading emergency exits, installing sprinkler heads and a touchless automated controlled access system. | $94,736 |
| Chester Yacht Club | Chester Yacht Club will replace aging floating docks and boat lifting services to improve user safety and accessibility and its hosting capacity for large-scale events. | $90,000 |
| Liverpool Curling Club | Liverpool Curling Club will complete energy efficiency upgrades related to its ice shed. Activities include insulation of the ice shed walls and installation of new paneling, replacing existing ice shed double doors with larger, more energy efficient doors, strapping the existing ice shed ceiling and installation of an energy efficient low-e ceiling system and removing existing fluorescent light fixtures and replacing with more energy efficient LED fixtures. | $79,462 |
| Mahone Bay United Soccer Association
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The playing surface and facilities of Mahone Bay’s outdoor field will be upgraded to provide an accessible recreation environment. Project activities include levelling the field surface, installing a proper drainage system, backstop fences, reseeding the surface and adding a walking trail, storage facilities and a sports equipment library. | $77,700 |
| Queens County Fair Association | A 100-year-old pavilion on the Queens County fairgrounds will be renovated to improve safety and accessible washrooms will be installed. | $77,073 |
| The Forties Community Centre | The Forties Community Centre will install heat pumps to improve energy efficiency and will build an 80-foot-long outdoor patio.
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$60,677 |
| Medway Community Forest Co-operative Ltd. | Free, accessible recreational trails will be constructed between Annapolis Royal and Kejimkujik National Park, establishing a launch point to the backcountry of the Tobeatic Wilderness Area. The trails will host outdoor educational opportunities. | $53,369 |
| Shelburne Historical Society | The Shelburne Historical Society will complete efficiency upgrades at Shelburne County Museum. Activities include electrical improvements to support the purchase and installation of heat pumps, installation of electric wall panel heaters, and replacement of all windows and two exterior doors. | $43,729 |
| Bridgewater Tennis Club
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The Bridgewater Tennis Club will repair and resurface three outdoor tennis courts, improving paths and access to the courts. It will also repair the clubhouse/storage building and upgrade the LED lighting to improve safety and energy efficiency. | $38,500 |
| Shelburne Curling Club
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Shelburne Curling Club will complete accessibility, energy efficiency and other facility upgrades at Shelburne Curling Centre to enhance hosting capacity. | $31,413
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| Town of Clark’s Harbour | The Town of Clark’s Harbour will upgrade its community comfort centre. Improvements include: a well to provide drinking water; renovating to accommodate washers, dryers and showers; and the installation of a power-assisted door to improve accessibility. | $19,554 |
| Sable River Community Hall | Sable River Community Hall will upgrade its facility to improve energy efficiencies. Project activities include the installation of a heat pump system and new furnace. | $12,375 |
| Through the Years Day Care & Community Centre
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Through the Years Day Care and Community Centre will replace the asphalt surface on the court area used as a playground and for basketball and street hockey to make it safer and more accessible for children of all ages. | $8,886 |
| Total CCRF | $1,359,377 | |
| NAME | PROJECT | TOTAL |
| 2022 49er, 49erFX and Nacra 17 World Championships Host Society |
Sail Nova Scotia, in partnership with the Hubbards Sailing Club and the St. Margaret Sailing Club, will host the 2022 International 49er, 49erFX, and International Nacra 17 World Championship Sailing Regatta on St. Margarets Bay in September. This is the first time the event is being held in Canada and it is expected to attract more than 400 competitors from 40 countries. Required infrastructure upgrades along the Hubbards waterfront, including a publicly accessible wharf area and boat ramps, will provide a legacy for community use as well as enhanced capacity to host large-scale international sailing events. | $498,000
non-repayable
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| South Shore Tourism Cooperative Limited | Develop signature shoulder and winter-season events to safely draw visitors to the South Shore of Nova Scotia. The Cooperative will also engage expertise to work with tourism businesses to address labour shortages for workers in the industry. | $379,602
non-repayable |
| White Point Holdings Limited (operating as White Point Beach Resort) | White Point Beach has constructed a new Oceanfront Treehouse experience on the South Shore. Intended for couples, this new accommodation is to enhance the guest experience, and continue to contribute to job creation on Nova Scotia’s South Shore. | $100,000 non-repayable |
| Boxing Rock Brewing Company Limited
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Boxing Rock Brewing Company will complete infrastructure upgrades and embark on a digital marketing campaign to enhance the delivery of craft beer experiences for tourists. Project activities include the construction of a three-season outdoor space and indoor private event space as well as improvements to the visitor experience at the Boxing Rock Legendary Taproom. | $76,222
non-repayable |
| Sidanna Retreat Inc. | Sidanna Retreat is planning to add new private amenities to their properties, including barrel saunas, dome-shaped sunrooms and a heated pool. | $74,684
non-repayable
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