Municipal councillors in Antigonish Co. have voted to leave the Eastern Strait Regional Enterprise Network.
They unanimously passed a motion to withdraw from the REN at March’s regular municipal council meeting Tuesday night.
They submitted their one-year notice of intent to withdraw in March 2018, then voted to stay in January; that was before officials in the Town of Port Hawkesbury and the Municipality of the District of Guysborough voted to leave in February.
Officials with the Town of Mulgrave recently said they wouldn’t be joining; Antigonish town councillors voted to withdraw at their regular meeting Monday night.
After Tuesday night’s meeting, Hughie Stewart, the deputy warden of Antigonish Co., said they’re disappointed.
“We are not happy with what happened with the REN, to be honest with you,” he said. “We had no choice- we just had to make a decision.”
Officials in the Municipality of the District of St. Mary’s are the only partner left in the REN; they’re expected to hold a similar vote Wednesday.
Stewart said municipal officials remain committed to economic development in the region.
“We are looking at that, but we haven’t really had a sit-down to really discuss it,” he said. “We think, as a municipality, that we need stability there, we do need somebody- whatever it’ll be, we’re not sure.”
Stewart said they plan to meet with their partners to determine their next steps soon.
He said they feel they have some time to make a decision on how to move forward.
