North Island (Sober Thought)
North Island is one of the Coastal Provinces of Sober Thought, and in fact shares Bristle Island with the province of South Island.
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Contents
Geography and economy
North Island's terrain is rocky and bleak, its coast rippling with merloon-like fjords and several crenel-like peninsulas. The latter support an unchartered town serving as a regional service centre for the many outports accessible primarily or exclusively by sea.
The traditional fishing industry provides an uncertain and declining employment, while non-traditional ventures into tourism have been largely unsuccessful. However, the discovery of fossil fuels offshore near the coal seams of South Island has opened up a new industry which provides much needed money and jobs.
The population is skewed towards older members because many young single residents move to Drewburgh, S.I., or onto the mainland for employment. They sometimes return to raise families when they are older, and often return to retire because of the low cost of housing here. The capital city and metropolis is Paidrig.
Provincial property taxes, housing costs, income and wealth are all low.
Government
Federal government
The province has several single-member simple-plurality districts and a few at-large proportional-representation members in the House of the Federation.
The provincial Premier chooses one of North Island's members of the House of the Provinces while the Leader of the Opposition chooses the other.
Provincial government
The provincial House of Assembly has 40 single-member districts of somewhat uneven size, the constituencies in Paidrig being significantly smaller and more populous compared to peninsular regions and towns.
The MHAs collectively elect the leader of the majority party or coalition as Premier and the leader of the second largest party or coality as Leader of the Opposition, who is considered part of the provincial cabinet for parliamentary purposes.
Municipal government
Paidrig, the provincial capital and metropolis, is the sole chartered municipality in North Island. It is governed by a Mayor and ten City Councillors elected at-large.
Although have no formal constitutional powers, the provincial government has informally delegated much of its power to unincorporated peninsular towns and isolated outports.
Education
The province provides grants to graduates of North Island intermediate schools to attend secondary schools in Paidrig and the peninsular towns. Otherwise, outport children could not continue their education.
Similarly, the province invests heavily in tertiary education: all residents who qualify for admission to Paidrig University receive a twenty per cent scholarship in first year, ten in second and five in third. Scholarships awarded to those at higher levels are tied to academic performance and a commitment to remain in the province after graduation.
Privately, the Catholic University of North Island offers a religious education for those who can afford the tuition fees -- double that its public counterpart. Although each parish gets to send one student on full scholarship and the diocese ten, enrollment remains stagnated at half the level of PU.
