Business View Magazine | February 2020

218 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 2020 Act, there are six standards that have to be developed. One is Built Environment, covering everything from buildings to accessible washrooms, sidewalks, parks, and trails. I am a Rick Hansen Certified Accessibility Professional and I’m fortunate to be on the committee that’s writing the new provincial standard. So I will be focused on incorporating what we discuss at these meetings. That’s an advantage on the accessibility side, where we can be ahead of the curve from some other municipalities.” MacDonald: “Our current population is about 9,100. There are six smaller municipalities within the Pictou County region and because we’re the largest town, we have all the major commercial banks, all the retail service centers, the hospital, and many medical offices and clinics. So, a lot of residents from the neighboring communities have to come to New Glasgow to access those services. Back in the day, we used to have public transportation through the entire region, but that ended in the ‘90s and there’s been an increasing need for many citizens who don’t have the means to travel for education and employment, or to appointments or retail services. So we’re partnering with the Town of Stellarton to create a pilot initiative for a one-hour, fixed-route between our two communities. And we feel that will add to the amenities we provide for our citizens.” BVM: What are the major economic drivers for New Glasgow? MacDonald: “The hospital is the largest employer but we have a lot of medium- to small-sized businesses that are the bulk of our economy - companies that are doing business all over the world like Stright-MacKay Ltd. and J.J. MacKay Canada Limited (MacKay Meters). And Crombie Reit has their head office here. That’s a big deal for us because they’re doing innovative projects across the country but their home base is here in New Glasgow. Ensuring that our community has the amenities required for them New Glasgow’s Art at Night