Antigonish consolidation motion legal: Supreme Court

ANTIGONISH, N.S. — The Nova Scotia Supreme Court has ruled that Antigonish town and county councils acted within their authority when they passed motions asking for special legislation from the province to consolidate into one municipality.

On Tuesday, Justice Peter Gabriel issued his ruling on an application by three Antigonish County residents to have the Oct. 20, 2022 motion by the Municipality of Antigonish County quashed.

“Does a municipal council, bearing the powers and obligations conferred upon it by the (Municipal Government Act), whose actions are presumed to be legal, whose statutory powers are to be interpreted generously, have the ability to legally ask the province to enact enabling legislation to permit it to do something which it plainly acknowledges that it presently has no power to do on its own?” reads Gabriel’s decision.

“The answer, in these circumstances, is ‘yes.’”

The three applicants — Anne-Marie Long, J. Therese Penney and Alicia Vink — had argued through their lawyer, Donald MacDonald, that the town and county councils had overstepped their authority by seeking to bypass existing processes to amalgamation via the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board.

They were backed by the concerned citizens group Let Antigonish Decide, which has called for a plebiscite to be held to judge support for the proposed consolidation.

The group has held its own public meetings, erected signs around the municipality and engaged Mainstreet Research to poll residents.

The firm found in April that 70.4 per cent of residents believed the matter should go to a vote after conducting a telephone poll, which had a 5.3 percentage point margin of error with 95 per cent confidence.

Gabriel found that issue to be outside the purview of the courts.

“Should a municipal council, as described above, go ahead and make that request without a plebiscite or vote of the affected populations? That question is a profoundly political one,” reads Gabriel’s decision.

“For a court to even attempt to address it, in my view, would be inappropriate.”

Antigonish County Warden Owen McCarron said Wednesday that the town and county would continue to seek the special legislation from the provincial government.

“Both councils voted in favour of consolidation,” said McCarron.

“We said from the outset that we will respect the decision of the court. That delayed it a bit. It is our full intention to seek special legislation.”

Neither he, Long nor The Chronicle Herald have been able to get the provincial government to say whether the legislation will be coming.

While Department of Municipal Affairs staff provided guidance to the municipalities on the process it followed to seek consolidation, the provincial government has not followed up with the requested legislation.

No comment has been offered other than a written statement in October of this year that no such legislation to amalgamate the two municipalities would come this fall.

McCarron is holding out hope that now that the court has ruled on the legal challenge, legislation may come in the spring sitting.

For her part, Long doesn’t see that happening.

“I believe the premier gets it and some of the members of his government get it,” said Long.

“This whole process has been so unfair.”

Neither Antigonish MLA Michelle Thompson nor Guysborough-Tracadie MLA Greg Morrow, who represent the town and county, have taken a position on consolidation.