PORT HAWKESBURY - The incoming executive director of the Strait Area Chamber of Commerce (SACC) is praising the local business community for staying resilient during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, but Misty MacDonald says she and her colleagues know the hard work is far from over.

Days before Premier Iain Rankin announced the latest provincial lockdown for Nova Scotia, including its business community, MacDonald and her chamber colleagues got to hear how business owners at every level coped with previous pandemic-related restrictions during the 2021 edition of the chamber's annual State of the Strait Conference. 

The day-long event at the Port Hawkesbury Civic Centre featured an update on Cape Breton's tourism industry from the executive director of Destination Cape Breton Association (DCBA), Terry Smith, along with updates from business owners in fields ranging from real estate to forestry. 

"Right now, people are still in the position of 'hoping,' although everybody's managing to get through," MacDonald told TELILE 24/7 host Adam Cooke in an interview from her Port Hawkesbury office. 

"There are still a lot of [government] supports available, so businesses have been able to take advantage of that. But time will tell what happens when the supports run out...Still, I think that, overall, these local businesses have done well."

MacDonald also pointed out that the final panel of the day featured an optimistic tone as the participants took a look at recent infrastructure funding announcement for municipalities across Canada, a development that could have a significant impact for the Strait area and its business community. 

"It was great to see what projects could occur, and how that's going to play out," MacDonald enthused.