No legislation coming to consolidate Antigonish town and county

Legislation to consolidate the town and county of Antigonish won’t be introduced during the fall sitting.

The Nova Scotia Department of Municipal Affairs confirmed the decision in a one-sentence emailed response to The Chronicle Herald on Wednesday.

No explanation was given.

Antigonish town Mayor Laurie Boucher and county Warden Owen McCarron had written to Municipal Affairs Minister John Lohr within the past month asking for the legislation. They hadn’t received a response.

The push to consolidate the two municipalities by asking the provincial government to pass special legislation rather than going to a plebiscite, as is called for during an amalgamation under the Municipal Government Act, had drawn significant opposition.

The concerned citizens group Let Antigonish Decide held public meetings and protests, erected signs along roadways and commissioned a polling firm in the spring. Mainstreet Research found 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 per cent margin of error with 95 per cent confidence.

A legal challenge to the process by the group was heard by the Nova Scotia Supreme Court in July. A decision is pending.

“(The Department of) Municipal Affairs gave us guidance throughout,” said Boucher on Thursday regarding the process that was followed.

“We believe we did everything required of us for the legislation to have gone through in the spring. Both councils voted unanimously to explore consolidation. We held two years of extensive consultations and then both councils passed motions seeking legislation.”

Those opposed argued that the consultation process, which included public meetings, pop-ups, a phone line and online availability, was actually designed to sell consolidation. Let Antigonish Decide called for a plebiscite on the matter.

Asked Tuesday about whether she expected legislation to be forthcoming, group organizer Anne Marie-Long said the provincial government “has bigger priorities than this. I think the town and county councillors that voted for this, they want the province to wear their mess. They should have done this correctly by doing it under the (Municipal Government Act, which would have required a plebiscite). It’s their issue, not the province’s.”