On the Proposed Amalgamation of Antigonish

On October 20, 2022, the Municipality of the County of Antigonish and the Town of Antigonish passed resolutions asking the province to introduce special legislation to amalgamate them. In the County, Councillors Mary MacLellan, John Dunbar, and Gary Mattie voted against the proposition, Councillors Shawn Brophy and Harris McNamara abstained, and Warden Owen McCarron, Deputy Warden Bill MacFarlane and Councillors Donnie MacDonald, Hugh Stewart, Remi Deveau voted for it. At the time of the vote, Hugh Stewart was Deputy Warden and Bill MacFarlane was a Councillor. The Town also voted in favor of the resolution. Mayor Laurie Boucher, Deputy Mayor William Cormier, and Councillors Andrew Murray, Mary Farrell, voted for the motion while Councillors Sean Cameron, Donnie MacInnis and Diane Roberts voted against it.

This decision came over a year after both councils voted unanimously to explore consolidation. On May 15, 2022, a Town Council motion to have a plebiscite was defeated. In response to the previously mentioned October Resolution, a lawsuit was filed against the County, claiming the council had acted illegally. On December 6, 2023, Justice Gabriel declared that it was legal for the County to ask the province to pass special legislation. He said the issue of a plebiscite was not for the courts to decide.

On January 24, 2024, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing John Lohr wrote a letter to the mayor and warden, asking them to reaffirm the council’s resolution. Both councils are set to vote via Zoom on January 30, 2024. Even though Justice Gabriel’s ruling is currently being appealed, Lohr promises that if the councils renew their ask, “The Province is prepared to introduce special legislation during the next session of the Legislature, commencing on February 27.”

 Ironically, it was on February 27, 2018, that future Premier Tim Houston gave an impassioned speech critiquing the Minister of Municipal Affairs, at the time, on the proposed amalgamation of Houston’s riding of Pictou: “This government is obsessed with amalgamation. First it was the Health Authority, then it was the school boards, and now they're pushing the concept of municipal modernization... the heart of the problem is amalgamation itself. In a 2016 plebiscite the people of Pictou County made their feelings very clear, Mr. Speaker - two-thirds of the voters rejected a proposal for municipal amalgamation in the county. Any change to our governance structure should start with the people - what the people want. It shouldn't finish there... [the Minister could] just reiterate that he will not dictate terms or force amalgamation on Pictou County or any jurisdiction in this province.” Six years later, it is Houston’s own Minister of Municipal Affairs that is planning to pass legislation to amalgamate the County and the Town of Antigonish without a plebiscite. Has Premier Houston been in Halifax so long he’s forgotten that Antigonish County is also a jurisdiction in this province?  

This trajectory would mirror the process that created the West Hants Regional Municipality in 2020. If the legislation passes, the municipal elections in the Town and County scheduled for October 2024 will be postponed until the Spring of 2025. During that period, the Municipality of the County of Antigonish would be governed by a “Transition Committee” consisting of the mayor, the warden, and other municipal officials.

The Municipal Government Act (MGA) provides two avenues for municipalities in Nova Scotia to amalgamate, Parts XVI & XVII. There are some differences between the two processes, but both require the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board (NSUARB) to take a prominent role, order studies and reports to determine if amalgamation will be in the best interest of the residents, and to hold hearings before rendering a decision. In Part XVII, the NSUARB must organize a plebiscite (a vote on amalgamation). In Part XVI it is not mandatory to order one. The plebiscite held in Antigonish in 2006 was ordered through Part XVI. The vote failed.

The proposed special legislation will circumvent the existing MGA, will not require a study to be done by the NSUARB to determine if it is in the best interest of the Town and County, and will not require a plebiscite. Simply put, the Government of Nova Scotia would pass legislation to join the Town to the County.

 The NSUARB approach and the special legislation approach are referred to as ‘Amalgamation’ & ‘Consolidation,’ respectively, by the Town and County of Antigonish. According to Antigonish.ca: “Whereas amalgamation or dissolution is a process where the NSUARB makes the decisions. With consolidation, the province would create special legislation to empower the “Transition Committee” that represents both municipal councils. The Transition Committee would have the authority to determine what the new Municipality would look like. The [NSUARB] would still be involved in reviewing elector district boundaries, but much of the detailed work of the merger would be coordinated locally.”

This definition is unique to municipalities in Nova Scotia. The difference between consolidation and amalgamation varies depending on where and in what context it is being used; the Canadian government’s definition of both terms as relates to business mergers is not synonymous with the definition on the Antigonish website.

Kevin Latimer, Coordinator for the Windsor-West Hants Consolidation, wrote an article, “Nova Scotia restructuring offers new model for consolidation”, which was published in Municipal World in September of 2019. This article was shared with the Town Council before they voted to explore consolidation. In the article, Latimer uses both consolidation and amalgamation without explaining any difference between the terms.

On September 12, 2021, Glen Horne, Chief Administrative Officer of Antigonish County wrote an email, in which he says, “Good morning Ross & Nick- We have identified the need to clearly distinguish between amalgamation and consolidation as we prepare our early communications.” Ross MacDonald, Municipal Advisor, and Nick Barr, Director Governance & Advisory Services, employees at the Department of Municipal Affairs and Housing (DMAH) and report to Minister Lohr.

That same day Nick Barr wrote back, “Glen, the truth is that we started to use the word “consolidation” because, to your point, the word “amalgamation” has a very negative connotation for many residents [emphasis added]. That said, my advice is not to get too caught up in a debate over terminology but focus on process.” Here Barr admits to changing the terminology the government uses to inform the public because of its negative political connotation.

The next day at 8:43 a.m., hours before both councils voted towards exploring consolidation, Glen Horne wrote, “We can draft something ourselves [about consolidation vs. amalgamation] if necessary based on our understanding of the processes, However, I thought it would have greater standing and avoid some criticism from opponents if it came from the DMAH, as the authority on municipal reform and a neutral party in our ongoing conflict [emphasis added]... I hope I have made my request more clear.” The Oxford Dictionary’s definition of the word ‘propaganda’: “information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote or publicize a particular political cause or point of view.”

StFX students who live in the Town of Antigonish may be surprised that the town might no longer exist when they come back to school in September. An analogous situation would be if the StFX Students’ Union, which we elect every year, passed a resolution asking the province of Nova Scotia to dissolve it and join another union. Now, the U holds referendums yearly on particularly important issues, but imagine they decided against letting students vote on joining another union. That is in essence what the Town of Antigonish is asking the province to do.

Town of Antigonish Mayor Laurie Boucher highlighted in our interview, and on other media, that one of the benefits of special legislation is that it allows the Transition Committee to work on consolidation without the NSUARB. The Antigonish website states that, “The Transition Committee would have the authority to determine what the new Municipality would look like... much of the detailed work of the merger would be coordinated locally.” Critics of this process argue that this means a small group of people will create the municipality with far less oversight compared to what they would have under the traditional MGA process.

Warden Owen McCarron of the Municipality of the County of Antigonish said he’d be in touch for an interview but did not get back to me.

Mayor Boucher also pointed out that the Town and County conducted an extensive consultation process with residents in the Spring of 2022, as well as setting up a website, Antigonish.ca, which explains to the residents the benefits of consolidation. The website is easily accessible. Notably, in 2006, the NSUARB recommended amalgamation as a measure that would benefit both the Town and County of Antigonish.   

The consultations that were had with the public were concerning the creation of a Regional Municipality, like Halifax. However, the councils voted for the dissolution of the Town into the County to save money on policing costs. The mayor argues that in practice the difference is purely superficial, and all the core ideas remain the same; amalgamation will still follow the Town and County’s “7 Guiding Principles regarding Consolidation” (available on Antigonish.ca).

 One key difference between a Regional Municipality and a County is that a Regional Municipality (Class A) is given priority in applying for grants compared to a County (Class B). Grants are vital for the economic wellbeing of the Town and County. According to the mayor, “There might be something that would affect [grant application] but it wouldn’t affect it that much.” Councillor Sean Cameron disagrees: “If we were a Regional Government, it wouldn’t have an effect. But if we’re a Municipality of course it would.”  

It rubs some Antigonish residents the wrong way that amalgamation was not an issue on which the mayor, the warden, or any of the councillors campaigned. It was not a part of either council’s strategic plan. A petition with over 4000 signatures was circulated among the residents of Antigonish demanding a vote on amalgamation. A Mainstreet Poll was conducted in the Spring of 2023 as well, and had 70.4% of Antigonish residents in support of a plebiscite.

Assuming that Antigonish is dead set against using the MGA and having a plebiscite, there are still municipal elections scheduled for October, which would allow the mayor, warden and councillors to make their position on consolidation known to voters and ensure the new council had a democratic mandate. Councillor Cameron argues that even if the councils pass another resolution, the province shouldn’t introduce special legislation until the residents of Antigonish have a vote on the matter.  

Kat Muth, a third-year Nursing student at StFX, moved to the Town of Antigonish in May of 2021. She was excited to vote in the upcoming municipal elections and would be severely disappointed if she didn’t get the opportunity, “The fact that they're trying to pass the legislation when they should be listening to the people that actually live here is wrong.” Muth is concerned by the possibility that the town she calls home, which has existed for over a hundred years, will be dissolved without a vote or the consent of its residents.

In an op-ed from April 28, 2023, the mayor and warden wrote, “Historically, plebiscites have a low participation rate that undermines the legitimacy of the outcome.” It is important to note that both councils were elected with less than a 35 per cent turnout in 2020, amid a pandemic. In a report, Brighter Community Planning & Consulting, who were hired by the Town and County, wrote “Plebiscites are a blunt tool to engage the community, they may polarize residents instead of listening to their concerns and addressing them effectively in the decision making process.” This notion, that voting is somehow an ineffective way of practicing democracy, is something all Canadians should pay attention to. The mayor pointed out to me that plebiscites are not typical in Canada, especially at a municipal level. This is true, but should it be?

Antigonish residents may be split on whether they want to amalgamate, or how they want this amalgamation to take place, with either the NSUARB or the Transition Committee taking a central role in this process. But it doesn’t really matter. Whether the Town of Antigonish will dissolve and join the County is not an issue residents of either municipality will vote on. If the councils pass another resolution, the only Antigonish residents who can vote on Antigonish’s future are MLA Michelle Thompson (902-863-4266) and Greg Morrow (902-424-4388), MLA for Guysborough-Tracadie. Mr Morrow represents the eastern part of Antigonish County, including Tracadie, Linwood and Havre-Boucher.

Edit: This article has been edited for accuracy. The previous version inaccurately described Michelle Thompson as the only MLA from Antigonish.