Cape Breton Post - Jan 15th, 2010
The interim chair of the Cape Breton Island Provincehood Campaign, Kevin MacDonald, has asked me to resume my leadership role with the organization. I have accepted.
The Province of Cape Breton Island was established in 1784 by an executive decision of King George III and the Privy Council.
The Privy Council formally proposed on May 10, 1784, that Cape Breton have its own executive authority and held much discussion leading up to its final order-in-council of June 18, 1784.
To date, this order-in-council has never been repealed.
What this order actually did was approve a report from the board of trade on the form and cost of the provinces of New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Cape Breton.
June 18 should be celebrated as Cape Breton natal day and the four municipalities of Victoria, Richmond, Inverness and Cape Breton County should form a quad-county commission to re-establish the island as a separate administrative district within Nova Scotia.
By the king’s grant and with our own seal so bestowed, Cape Breton has a royal right which supersedes Confederation to directly administer all its own tax affairs (akin to an independent district within Nova Scotia).
Premier Darrell Dexter favours decentralization, and devolution’s path is worthy of pursuit.
Mark Macneill
Big Pond