Dear Minister MacKay,

I am writing this letter to express my support for the Bonavista Historic Townscape Foundation and its efforts to restore and reopen the Garrick Theatre as a venue for live theatre and cinema. I believe this to be a project with the potential to contribute significantly to both the economic growth and cultural vitality of the region, goals worthy of ACOA's consideration and support.

I moved to Bonavista in 2003 after accepting a job there. Having lived in St. John's and Toronto for twelve years, I felt some reservations about moving to a rural community still reeling from the effects of the cod moratorium nearly a decade before. I had expected a town economically depressed and spiritually demoralized but was surprised to find the pride and determination of the people there to be alive and well. I believe this to be due, at least in part, to the work of the Townscape Foundation which has helped to renew community pride and engender the belief that it is a town worth investing in. I, too, have come to believe that Bonavista has a future and have even purchased one of the homes restored by the Foundation. But the Foundation's work is not yet finished. A key component of its vision for the town, the Garrick Theatre, is incomplete. It is my hope that ACOA will reconsider its position on this project and lend the Foundation its support.

Sincerely,

Carla Wheaton
Bonavista, NL
Carla Wheaton
Bonavista
cwheatn@mun.ca

cc:
Hon. Loyola Hearn, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans
Hon. Danny Williams, Premier, Newfoundland and Labrador
Hon. Tom Hedderson, Minister, Tourism, Culture and Recreation
Hon. Kathy Dunderdale, Minister, Innovation, Trade and Rural Development
Scott Simms, M.P., Bonavista Gander Grand Falls-Windsor
Roger Fitzgerald, M.H.A., Bonavista South
Paul Mills, Vice-President (Newfoundland and Labrador), ACOA
Mayor Betty Fitzgerald, Town of Bonavista

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