Rally for democracy
Government’s plan is to create 20 to 25 municipalities right across the province
You would think by now that the government of Premier Wade MacLauchlan would have understood that rural P.E.I. and many small incorporated communities are dead against the amalgamation process which is now possible under the new Municipal Government Act (MGA).
Right now, the area under siege is 3 Rivers and a proposal is before the Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission (IRAC). If IRAC approves this proposal, it will go back to government and the new 3 Rivers municipality will be created. Oh well, that’s just 3 Rivers. Wrong. The government’s plan is to create 20 to 25 municipalities right across the province. All rural areas will belong to some municipality, somewhere.
How can this happen? The government has created the new Municipal Government Act specifically to make these annexations easy.
The Minister of Communities, Land and Environment is allpowerful under this act which came into force in December 2017. The timing is no coincidence. It was to make sure that the 3 Rivers amalgamation process, begun in 2015, would not fail.
They had good reason to worry by 2017 as there was overwhelming
You would think by now that the government of Premier Wade MacLauchlan would have understood that rural P.E.I. and many small incorporated communities are dead against the amalgamation process which is now possible under the new Municipal Government Act (MGA).
objection to this process by the residents in the affected areas. The new act now allowed five little incorporated communities (total population 2,500), to push the proposal forward. This now affects 7,000 residents. Of the 2,500 people in those five communities, only 308 voted.
Look at the numbers. Of the 308 who voted, 200 of those votes were in Lower Montague and Valleyfield. Their residents voted 2 to 1 against amalgamation but their councils overturned their democratic votes. Montague and Georgetown councils voted against amalgamation.
The bottom line is that about 150 residents are pushing 7,000 residents toward an amalgamation they don’t want, thanks to the new Municipal Government Act. Why the Rally for Democracy? People from all over the Island are beginning to realize that this government-crafted amalgamation process is an Island-wide threat. We must stop it now and that means we first have to stop the 3 Rivers amalgamation process before it threatens all rural Islanders. We are going to let IRAC and this government know that this process is unacceptable and undemocratic and will not be tolerated.
We are asking Islanders to mobilize for this rally, from all corners of the province. When the proposal is posted on the IRAC website, we are asking Islanders to fill out the objection forms which are made available and demand to be heard at the IRAC hearings, when they are scheduled. We will keep people posted on these developments.
3 Rivers is the canary in the coal mine. Everyone should take notice and fight this unjust process vigorously.
The Rally for Democracy will be held on Tuesday, April 10, at 6:30 p.m. in front of the Coles Building at 175 Richmond St. in Charlottetown.
Come from all over the Island, come with your neighbours. Your way of life depends on it.