Editorial: A Calm Presence

The announced resignation this week of Warden Jim Thurber surprised many, coming just halfway through his current term.

Thurber has been a calm presence on the Municipality of Digby council for a dozen years, 10 of them as warden. That calmness was tested numerous times by divisive issues, especially the proposed mega-quarry on Digby Neck and the current wind farm.

As council’s representative from the Islands and part of the Neck, he has been front and centre in both controversies and found that trying to improve his community is not always straightforward. That’s politics, and people can and do—disagree.

But the Warden has also been the point man on a broader issue—the Bay of Fundy ferry service between Digby and Saint John, and he has established strong contacts with governments, industries in southwestern Nova Scotia, and across the Bay in Saint John.

We’re hoping Thurber continues to play a part in the fight to keep the ferry. It would be premature to give a sigh of relief simply because the recent transportation study agreed with the ferry’s importance.

The study’s conclusions don’t automatically come with a guarantee of government financing, and there is still the matter of a new ship. Some calm heads would be welcome still in the battle for a ferry.