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PORT HAWKESBURY - The Strait Area Chamber of Commerce (SACoC) is about to set up a not-for-profit organization to stimulate housing development for both residents and businesses in the region. 

And the chamber's new executive director, Tanya Felix, couldn't be happier. Felix, an Antigonish County native, assumed the post in April with housing as one of her top priorities.

Her experience in community and economic development has covered such fields as newspaper reporting, immigration and settlement and several years at the Antigonish Womens' Resource Centre. She hopes to work with her chamber partners and the local business sector to address a province-wide gap in affordable housing. Local businesses attempt to attract professional workers but often find themselves unable to house these employees once they arrive in the local area. 

While she is positive about the current economic outlook for the Strait of Canso, Felix describes the local business scene as "a mixed bag of tricks" that still has its challenges to overcome. However, she is hopeful that a recent wave of green hydrogen developments in western Richmond County will combine with the natural strength of the Strait's economic community to make the region a renewable energy hub for Atlantic Canada. 

"The world is looking for these types of solutions, and to be one of the leads in that would be amazing," said Felix.

Also appearing on Roundtable is the new project coordinator for the Centre of Rural Aging and Health (CORAH) that recently set up shop at the Nova Scotia Community College (NSCC) Strait Area Campus in Port Hawkesbury.

Michele MacPhee, who worked for several years as the Seniors' Safety Coordinator for Richmond County, took on the one-year pilot project after seeing its success within the NSCC Middleton Campus in 2021. She is hopeful that the local CORAH's combination of intergenerational gatherings, seniors' cafes and learning experiences will provide a unique experience for those over 60 and break social isolation trends that worsened during the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic.