Town of Tignish
New municipal status takes affect today
Tignish becomes Prince Edward Island’s newest town today.
The Community of Tignish made an application for the change in status in February and was approved effective April 1.
The change in status will not add any new costs to residents, council chair Alan McInnis said Friday, the day before his role changed to that of mayor. But McInnis believes being the northernmost town in P.E.I. will bring new benefits to Tignish through tourism marketing and could mean more power for negotiating larger transfer payments from government.
“That’s my mandate before I leave,” McInnis said.
Tignish’s elevation to town status comes 65 years after it was first incorporated.
April 1 is also Chancey Gaudette’s first official day as municipal office manager. That position has been in the works since last year.
She was answering the phone
with, “Community Office, hello,” on Friday but admitted she will have to employ a new greeting starting next week. She will also have to change the letterhead the next time office stationary is ordered.
The timing for the status change was right, McInnis said. Tignish gets town status with a population of less than 1,000 people. The new Municipalities Act, when it is proclaimed, will require new applicants for town status to have around 4,000. “We got in under the wire,” he said.
McInnis noted Tignish already has many of the services generally provided by towns, including sewer and water. It’s also a business and recreation hub for many surrounding communities.
Asked if there will be a chain of office ordered for the mayor’s use, McInnis said that would be up to Council to decide, but suggested, if one were made it would have to incorporate symbols representative of the new town, such as its connections to fishing and to the co-operative movement.
In celebration of Tignish’s new status, Tignish Legion is hosting a reception today, starting at noon, with entertainment and cake from 2 to 4 p.m.