Province Invests in Tourism with $750,000 Museum Design Study

The province is providing $750,000 for a design study to upgrade the Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic that will mean good jobs and more tourist activity in Nova Scotia.

The funding was announced today, Nov. 17, by MLA Pam Birdsall, on behalf of Communities, Culture and Heritage Minister David Wilson, as part of the province's new capital plan for making life better for families.

"The Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic is a significant draw for visitors to Nova Scotia and supports jobs and economic activity in the local community," said Ms. Birdsall. "It's important that we plan for future upgrades and maintenance of this important structure in the heart of historic Old Town Lunenburg to ensure those benefits continue to be felt."

The study will provide options to address future maintenance needs for the museum buildings on the Lunenburg waterfront. The consultants will consider the heritage streetscape of Lunenburg, one of two UNESCO World Heritage sites in Nova Scotia.

"Lunenburg's waterfront is a destination for visitors to Nova Scotia and enhancing the museum's ability to interpret our marine heritage adds to the reasons for people to make the trip here," said Angela Saunders, general manager at the Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic.

The museum serves as home port for the iconic Bluenose II and plays a leading role in interpreting Nova Scotia's seafaring heritage and is a major attraction for visitors to the province's South Shore.

This is the second time in the province's history that government is releasing some details of the capital plan before the spring budget. It sends a clear signal of what the province intends to do in the year ahead and gives the private sector greater opportunity to prepare for upcoming projects, meaning efficiencies and cost savings for the province.

The capital plan invests in projects that are most important to Nova Scotians like emergency rooms, schools, roads and hospital equipment.