Strait Talk Episode 16

In episode 16 of Strait Talk, Iaian Langley tells Civic Journalist Jake Boudrot why he wants to be a Port Hawkesbury Town Councillor.

Langley began the interview by reflecting on his time in the offshore oil and gas industry, working off Sable Island, the Grand Banks, the North Sea, the Gulf of Mexico, and Southeast Asia.

“I’ve had a career at sea, I’ve been educated at the Nova Scotia Nautical Institute in Port Hawkesbury, as well as other marine schools in Europe, Newfoundland and Prince Edward Island,” he said. “Primarily in support of the offshore, as master on offshore support vessels, leading a competent crew on modern, powerful vessels.”

Langley said he is a Marine Pilot in the District of Cape Breton, which includes the Strait of Canso, the Port of Sydney, and the Bras d’Or Lake.

“Since coming ashore in 2014, it’s given me the opportunity to get involved in the community, in a greater capacity and those have been good experiences,” he said.

Langley is a board member of the Strait of Canso Superport Corporation and the Green Energy Committee chair.

“That’s supporting staff and making sure we’re ready to support the industry as it emerges in the region,” he said.

Over the past four years, Langley served as a member of the Town of Port Hawkesbury’s Economic Development Committee.

“The timing was pretty amazing,” he said. “Shortly after joining that group, there was a developer that came to the Strait and he spoke of the design for foundations for offshore wind.”

Realizing the local potential for wind energy production, Langley then visited municipal councils in Mulgrave, Richmond County, and Guysborough County, as well as the Chief and Council of Membertou First Nation and became a founding member of the Strait of Canso Wind Task Force.

“I’d say the biggest achievement of that task force was to have the province set a goal of 5 Gigawatts of offshore wind,” he said.