SYDNEY, N.S. — Cape Breton Regional Municipality’s former mayor John Morgan says problems facing the region are not always theirs to solve.
Morgan, who has mulled over a return to politics in the eight years since stepping away from council chambers, announced Wednesday he will be seeking the NDP candidacy for his hometown riding of Glace Bay-Dominion.
"The room to manoeuvre for the municipality is actually very limited no matter who the occupants of the mayor’s office are,” Morgan said in a sit-down interview with the Cape Breton Post.
“What I saw when I was in municipal government is that the municipality can serve in some respects as a bully pulpit to identify the problems, to ensure the people understand what’s happening demographically, and what’s happening with the infrastructure of the region, but it doesn’t not have the decision-making capacity to correct the situation.”
Morgan, a trained lawyer, has been working at various jobs since his tenure as mayor. He is currently employed at the Citizenship and Immigration office in Sydney where he helps process applications.
“I always, I think, aspired to return to politics at some point,” said Morgan.
“It’s why I didn’t open a law firm again after I left politics. I knew if I opened a law firm you can open them relatively easily, but they’re actually very difficult to close.”
A defining moment of Morgan’s time in office came in 2006, when he led the CBRM to challenge the fairness of the Nova Scotia government’s equalization system. A civil lawsuit and its subsequent appeals were dismissed.
Morgan said Wednesday that he stands firm on the notion that higher federal transfer payments would allow CBRM to offer taxation and services comparable with other municipalities around the country.
Morgan said he also understands a push toward Cape Breton autonomy but feels there is a better path forward that involves the whole province.
“I want Cape Breton to be a thriving part of Nova Scotia,” he said.
Throughout his time as CBRM mayor Morgan and NDP party members clashed over equalization funding. A private meeting with then premier Darrell Dexter in Sydney did little to bring the two sides together.
“What is different today for me is that (NDP leader) Gary Burrill has approached me and he says he wants to fix these issues,” said Morgan. “He wants to make a difference in Cape Breton. He wants to address the things that have been putting Cape Breton into decline.”
Burrill said Wednesday that the contest for the Glace Bay candidacy remains open but offered a strong endorsement of Morgan, who served as CBRM mayor from 2000 to 2012.
“What we’re celebrating today is the fact that John — one of the leading voices for fairness for Cape Breton — has indicated that he’s seeking that nomination,” Burrill said.
In an interview last month, Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil noted he likely won’t call a provincial election before the fall.
The electoral district is currently represented by Liberal MLA Geoff MacLellan who serves as both the province’s Minister of Business and Government House Leader.
MacLellan was elected to the Nova Scotia House of Assembly in a by-election in 2010 and was re-elected again in 2013 and 2017.
According to the NDP, a nomination meeting for Glace Bay-Dominion will likely take place in the spring after the house session ends.
