‘We have absolutely no voice’

Opposition MLA Steven Myers tables petition signed by 500 people urging the province to hold a vote

Calls were made in the P.E.I. legislature last week for a plebiscite to be held for residents of unincorporated areas affected by the proposed Three Rivers amalgamation. Opposition MLA Steven Myers tabled a petition signed by 500 people urging the province to hold a vote for those who have chosen to live outside of the communities and municipality in this area of eastern P.E.I.

He accused government of giving greater weight to the voices of municipalities like Montague, Cardigan and Brudenell, which did hold plebiscites earlier this week on the idea of joining the Three Rivers amalgamation process.

All three saw a majority vote in favour but with low voter turnout. Meanwhile, more people have signed the petition from unincorporated areas than the total number of people who voted in all three of these plebiscites, Myers said Thursday. “Why has your government put no thought into how you’re going to hear the voice of thousands of Islanders who live in unincorporated areas?” Myers asked. Communities Minister Robert Mitchell said the department is still waiting to hear from a few of the other municipalities in the area to determine how to proceed with the amalgamation proposal.

After that, government will move to hear from the unincorporated areas, Mitchell said. Myers called this process “completely ridiculous and completely unacceptable.” He called on Mitchell to commit to holding a plebiscite for unincorporated residents to have their say.

Mitchell made no such com- mitment. He says he first wants to ensure all 7,700 people affected by this proposed amalgamation fully understand the benefits of what is being proposed.

“This is about the virtues of a larger region. It’s about building economic development, a strong local voice, better consistent land use measures, funding improvements and, most important, ensuring a sustainable future for our children,” Mitchell said. “Everybody should have the opportunity to hear about the virtues, to discuss them openly and then have their say, absolutely.”

A group of residents who sat in the public gallery to listen to the debate Thursday were not happy with what they heard from the minister about their request for a vote.

“We are almost 3,000 people in the unincorporated area that’s affected and we have absolutely no voice, none,” said Sylvia Teasdale of Burnt Point.

“We can’t have that. That’s not democracy. That makes us second-class citizens.”

Teasdale is personally against the idea of amalgamation, but she says she would accept the decision of the unincorporated residents if a majority voted in favour.

That’s why a plebiscite is so important, she said.

So far, the residents say they have not received a response to their request for a vote, but Teasdale says this will not deter them from continuing to push for one.

“We’re going to look at absolutely everything possible,” she said. “The problem now is we’re not getting anything that looks like democracy.”