In a decision released Wednesday afternoon, Justice Timothy Gabriel denied an application by three Antigonish County residents asking to quash a resolution made by Antigonish County Council to merge with the Town of Antigonish into one municipal unit through special legislation.
Last year, three residents representing local community group Let Antigonish Decide served notice to the Municipality of the County of Antigonish that the group intended to file an application with the Nova Scotia Supreme Court to quash the October 20th motion of council to move forward with the consolidation of the town and county of Antigonish.
Back in July, Justice Gabriel heard legal arguments from Donald MacDonald, representing three residents on behalf of Let Antigonish Decide, and Robert Grant and John Shanks, representing the municipality of the county of Antigonish.
Antigonish County Courthouse
In the decision, Justice Gabriel stated the county has the ability to legally ask the province to enact enabling legislation. As for whether the county should make the request without a plebiscite or vote of the affected populations, Justice Gabriel stated that is a profoundly political decision that would be inappropriate for the court to even attempt to address.
In a release issued shortly after the release of the judge’s decision, Antigonish County Warden Owen McCarron stated he is pleased with the judge’s decision and thankful the matter is behind them.
A post on the Let Antigonish Decide Facebook page states based on initial review of the judge’s decision, the likelihood of an appeal is very high. The release stated they will take a brief time to fully evaluate the judge’s decision with legal counsel