Economy and Recent Development
CBRM has been undergoing an economic decline for several decades as the region adjusts from an industrial to a post-industrial or service economy. Large parts of Atlantic Canada were hard hit by the closure of the cod fishery in the 1990s, including the closure of several fish plants in southeastern Cape Breton Island. The CBRM also suffered as the coal and steel industry went into decline. Sydney Steel Corporation's steel mill was permanently closed in 2000, followed by the last of the Cape Breton Development Corporation's coal mines in 2001. Since this time, the federal and provincial governments have been attempting to diversify the local economy. Currently, the former Sydney Steel Corporation's site in Sydney has been transformed into the Harbourside Commercial Park, and is currently seeking tenants to occupy prime office and light industrial space. The Sydney Port Access Road or SPAR, links Harbourside Commercial Park to Highway 125.
Today, CBRM continues to deal with the environmental results of one hundred years of mining and steel making. The most significant is the cleanup of the Sydney Tar Ponds, a tidal estuary contaminated with a variety of coal-based wastes from coke ovens which created fuel for the steel mill. To date, much of the preliminary work on the project is completed, such as the dismantling of derelict buildings on the former Coke Ovens site, the re-routing of Coke Ovens Brook, and the construction of a coffer dam at Battery Point where the South Tar Pond empties into Sydney Harbour.
CBRM is home to a significant tourism industry. Nearby attractions such as the Cape Breton Highlands, Bras d'Or Lake and Fortress of Louisbourg have made Cape Breton Island a tourism destination for many years. A growing cruise ship business has been making use of the port of Sydney to give cruise passengers access to the area. The Joan Harriss Cruise Pavilion is a modern facility located on Sydney's Government Wharf and greets cruise ship passengers to the sight of a 50-foot high illuminated fiddle which plays celtic music. The Port of Sydney hosts 50 cruise ships per season, most notably the Queen Mary 2, Queen Elizabeth 2, and MS Maasdam.
The port also holds potential in any future offshore petroleum and natural gas exploration in the Laurentian Basin, southeast of Cape Breton Island; an area that has been touted as a potential economic catalyst for the industrial Cape Breton area. Light manufacturing and information technology are other sectors which governments are attempting to strengthen in the local economy.
In recent years, CBRM's retail sector has expanded and many "big box" stores have either been constructed or expanded. The Sydney Port Access Road has fueled this growth and has attracted retailers to expand their operations; Wal-Mart and Canadian Tire have relocated to the road, as well as a new Home Depot. The Mayflower Mall, Cape Breton Island's largest shopping centre, divided the old Wal-Mart location and added three large retailers, Winners, SportChek, and Future Shop. Burnac Corporation of Toronto, which manages the Mayflower Mall, also has plans to open the Sydney Power Centre across the street at the corner of the SPAR and Highway 125.
Read more about this topic: Cape Breton Regional Municipality
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