On November 28th the Municipality of the County of Antigonish was served with a notice that an application will be filed on behalf of residents from each district in the County of Antigonish. By taking legal action through the Nova Scotia Supreme Court the group intends to quash the recent motion made by County Council requesting consolidation with the Town of Antigonish.
Since the concept of consolidation was introduced to residents of the county of Antigonish there have been repeated attempts by residents to obtain facts on the pros and cons of consolidation from council only to have their requests denied. Without a democratic mandate and a lack of a plebiscite vote to determine where residents stand on the matter many people in the county and town believe and have expressed publicly that their direct input on the issue is a right that was denied to them.
The lawyer for the County accepted service of notice under subsection 512 (3) of the Municipal Government Act. This notice indicates that an application will be filed in the supreme court to reject the resolution made by the Municipal Council on October 20th of this year that stated “Municipal Council requests the provincial government consolidate the Municipality of the County of Antigonish and the Town of Antigonish into one municipal unit through special legislation” The Claimants state that the resolution wasn’t legal and it was reported that the motion wasn’t authorized by the Municipal Government Act.
Town of Antigonish Mayor Laurie Boucher issued a statement in response to the legal action. “We asked the province for special legislation to consolidate both municipalities after a positive vote from both councils. I trust the province will take a good look at it and decide what is best for the community going forward”
The claimants will be organizing public meetings on the matter in Heatherton on December 12th, Lakevale on December 14th and Antigonish on December 16th. They will be organized with the support of Let Antigonish Decide a group that is a vocal supporter of having a plebiscite vote on consolidation.
