This sub-sub-series is a rich body of record on life in Nova Scotia in the 1970s, from the perspective of Nova Scotian municipalities, towns and villages. More importantly, it is a reflection of Allan J. MacEachen's intimate connection with his constituents, and his activities on their behalf. It is also a record of politics, demonstrating the powerful influence MacEachen exerted in the area of arranging funding from Ottawa for local Nova Scotian needs. And it shows the authority which he possessed in the province, especially in patronage appointments, right down to the local level.
One municipality's files can serve as an example of this sub sub-series. In the case of Antigonish, where MacEachen attended Saint Francis Xavier University and where he owned a home, there are large general files, then specific single files on Federal Buildings, Indian Affairs, Canada Manpower Centre, postal routes and, finally, Water and Sewage Control. There are files, to cite another example, on Digby, Nova Scotia, on its Manpower Centre, its harbour, high school, its ferry service to St. John, New Brunswick, and wharf and postal contracts. From the largest of municipalities, such as Halifax, to the smallest of villages, such as Seal Island and Clyde River, the files in this sub-sub-series document MacEachen's attention to Nova Scotia.
Virtually all these files are requests for funding assistance of some sort or other, or requests for the Minister's intervention in the area of employment. Central issues for Nova Scotians were the funding of building projects -- wharves, breakwaters, local airports, bridges, schools, roads and highways, as well as school upgrades and senior citizens' homes, both to be built or upgraded. Assistance with jobs, or to obtain job contracts, are also a leitmotif throughout this sub-sub-series, with requests for mail contracts, federal building maintenance contracts, employment for boat crews, fisheries guardians, lighthouse keepers, and positions in Louisbourg and at Cape Breton Highlands National Park.
Not surprisingly, there is much documentary evidence related to the fishing industry in this sub-sub-series. There are files on fishermen's assistance, files on lobster fishing and files on fishing licenses, indemnities, training and so on. This then is evidence of MacEachen's attempts to assist his constituents in an industry undergoing serious decline. And to compensate for this, he strove to bring whatever development he could to his province, perhaps evidenced by the large number of files on the proposed Strait of Canso Oil Facility.
This sub sub-series addresses provincial and local issues, offering glimpses of a province that often experienced uneven economic growth, providing local evidence on how federal monies and subventions in various formats, were translated into benefits for citizens. The files also demonstrate how assiduously MacEachen worked on behalf of his province.
