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Da Bus is a valid and legal notforprofit society. A society can legally hire or contract with a service provider to do work for them.
Kathleen's Shuttle and Tours is a legal.and licensed small business and is permitted by the URB to do shuttle service, charters and tours. Charters are where any individual or organization charters the van and driver to perform work for them.

The Da Bus society is an existing local organization with a board of local community members. It wishes to provide subsidized transportation to its own citizens of the area.

Transport de Clare is situated in another district of its own, which has its own governance structure. The T de C society was originally created, presumably, to provide wheelchair service in that district and was content to do so until recent times. The head of that organization then declared "he wanted" Digby County: Digby, Digby Neck and Islands and Bear River. And that he wasn't going to restrict himself to wheelchair people. He was going to serve the general population AND remain subsidized.

Don't you see a problem with this?

Da Bus wants to start subsidized service in your area immediately and can do so with some funding. It has asked both town council (Digby town would also benefit from the service) and municipal council (which represents Digby District, not Clare) for funding. The society is applying for other funding and seeking donations to purchase its own bus, which will be wheelchair accessible.

Over 150 signatures on a petition to get Da Bus to provide the service was collected in less than 5 days part-time, in your area, and more have come in. Council has ignored the direction and wants of its own communities, and is fixing to bring in an operation from another district entirely.

Do you question that? When *there is already an existing operation* in their own community? Are your hard-earned tax dollars going to go to the District of Clare?

I, Kathleen Gidney, owner/operator of Kathleen's Shuttle and Tours, am not on the board of the Da Bus society. I, however, know the area and many of its people, my family has been here for over 200 years. I already have a service that operates in the area, which can easily be contracted for my shuttle bus to do society work until the society gets its own bus. I am willing to do this.

So what's the problem with councils? They are stalling. Or bewildered. Or something we don't know about is in the picture and "they ain't sayin'".

Number one: Municipal councilor Randal Amero is on the board of Transport de Clare. This councilor tried to "rip me apart" at a recent council meeting, and tried to tell me my own licensing body would not allow me to do what was proposed. I knew I could and dutifully checked with the Utility and Review Board and what Mr. Amero was saying was wrong. I felt "attacked" during Amero's interrogation, and we can imagine why he did that.

But why was he allowed to speak (and attack me) in the first place? Don't you wonder about that and why council allowed him to speak?

Number Two: It may be that you will lose locally-operated subsidized transit in the area because: Councilor David Tudor of the Islands did not appear to want it. He was opposed to door-to-door subsidized transit because: "some people don't have phones".

Number Three: Warden Gregory, "representing" most of Digby Neck appeared to oppose the society's proposal to provide subsidized transit for you. Why? Why don't you ask her? and tell me. My email address is goingwithkathleen's@gmail.com or goingtodigby@gmail.com

Question authority, folks. It's a great bumper sticker and also a great practice. Question your representatives about their right to "represent" your area. Make your views known and that you are tired of them NOT representing you but making their own decisions together-themselves-without hearing you-behind closed doors.

The question of who should run your lives, and the question of whether they will turn to a locally operated and community-run service hangs in the balance and needs your help. Make donations. Phone Linda Gregory 245-2616 or put it in writing (even better, they can't ignore it) at lgregory@municipality.digby.ca Write a letter to the editor of both the Digby Courier and the Halifax Herald. Write to Greg Kerr.

Tell both or all of your "representatives" that their time to rule this way will not be supported if they don't support local organizations and local businesses and stop sending the money-your money-elsewhere.

After all the above, TdeC shouldn't get to do this-TdeC proposed the same thing.
Da Bus should be funded as it is an existing local organization.
My opinion and my say. Without predjudice: Blogger