Queens Mayor Relieved Government Funding Comes Through

The Nova Scotia government is extending an olive branch to the Region of Queens. The province will pay an additional $500,000 toward renovations and improvements at Queens General Hospital. It's a welcomed gesture following the closure of the Bowater Mersey mill last June. The money will cover the municipalities final two payments to South Shore Health for the $16 million hospital project. Mayor Christopher Clarke says the provincial funding will lessen the blow on the region's tax rates.



Clarke says council made a commitment to the hospital project during better times when the Bowater Mill was still operating and the municipality was in a stronger financial position. The Queens General Health project will feature a new collaborative health care clinic and the redevelopment of 22 inpatient units. It's expected to be ready in the spring of 2014. The province indicates it will also offer support to the Municipality of Lunenburg to help offset it's lost revenue due to the closure of the Oakhill Sawmill.