Amherst MP says historic Armoury building should be saved
Historic building serves as museum, was declared surplus in federal budget
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Dr. Stephen Ellis, MP for the Nova Scotia riding Cumberland-Colchester, is worried the historic Amherst Armoury could be torn down to make room for housing projects.
Ellis said Friday he would like to see the building renovated into housing units, preferably for veterans.
Ellis said this week’s federal budget names the Amherst Armoury as one of 14 surplus properties that have the potential for housing.
“The Amherst Armoury was built in 1915 and served as the home for the North Nova Scotia Highlanders, who contributed more than a thousand fighting men to Canada’s role in the Second World War,” Ellis said in a news release. “These men, many of whom hailed from Colchester and Cumberland counties, stormed Juno Beach, fought the Waffen-SS in Normandy, and participated in the Liberation of the Netherlands. 486 of the men never returned home.”
The brick armoury building is in the centre of Amherst. It is home to the North Nova Scotia Highlanders Regimental Museum and is used for cadet training and by the public for community gatherings.
Ellis, who lives in Truro, served in the Royal Canadian Air Force for nine years and was an Honorary Colonel of the Nova Scotia Highlanders.
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