ANTIGONISH COUNTY: The warden of the Municipality of the County of Antigonish says it’s business as usual while they wait for the provincial government to introduce special legislation to consolidate the county with the town into one municipal unit.
Warden Owen McCarron suggested that will occur sometime during the spring sitting of the legislature.
“At this point now, really the next step is the provincial introduction of special legislation in the spring sitting. Right now, it’s back to work as two normal councils,” McCarron told The Reporter in an interview Nov. 18. “And that’s the way it’ll be for the next two years anyhow, because we’re both independent councils that are going to continue to function up until the point where a new municipality is created.”
Traditionally, the warden indicated, the spring sitting of the legislature usually starts sometime in early March, and while he hasn’t seen the schedule for the spring, he doesn’t know when it will be introduced.
“I suspect they probably have a calendar, once the legislature sits and they go through the budget estimates,” McCarron said. “We’ll wait and take our lead from the province on that.”
Since the vote to consolidate passed on Oct. 28, McCarron indicated, surprisingly, he hasn’t heard many comments either way on the matter.
“I think now, people say you’ve made a decision, it was a tough decision, now continue to operate your municipalities but prepare for the future,” McCarron said. “Not a lot of negative push back, I can tell you that; talking to a lot of different people quietly, people say it should have happened a long time ago, and then there’s others that are saying it’s probably the right time.”
McCarron believes people recognize they have to make decisions, the decision has been made and it’s time to move forward.
McCarron also advised they have let their provincial representatives, Antigonish MLA Michelle Thompson and Guysborough-Tracadie MLA Greg Morrow, know they have made the official request to consolidate.
On Oct. 20, during two separate special council meetings, county council approved a motion to consolidate 5-3, while councillors in the town narrowly passed the motion by a vote of 4-3.
A week after the vote, town and county CAO’s issued a press release speaking up regarding their concerns over the disrespect, taunting, intimidation, and threats shown towards town and county councillors, Warden Owen McCarron and especially Mayor Laurie Boucher.
Antigonish RCMP Sgt. Warren McBeath confirmed police have reviewed the messages forwarded to them by the Town of Antigonish, and while the messages are aggressive, rude, vulgar, and include swearing, he said none of the messages justify criminal charges.
While the Department of Municipal Affairs declined The Reporter’s request for an interview, they did provide a brief, written statement that the department received the request for legislation to consolidate into one municipal unit on Oct. 20 and the minister is currently reviewing the file.
“The minister received the letters from the town and county, via email, in the late evening on Oct. 20,” a spokesperson with the department confirmed in an email. “Once a decision is made on next steps, we will communicate that decision to the county and town.”
While the province wasn’t able to answer the questions of what their role has been, what happens next, or if there is anything that could derail the request to consolidate, they imply those discussions have taken place with the local municipalities.
“When municipalities are considering structural change, they typically reach out to the department to learn more about the options available to them, and the province’s role should they choose to move forward,” the spokesperson said. “The decision to consolidate is the sole decision of municipal council.”