Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston attended a community meeting last night in Heatherton hosted by community group Let Antigonish Decide to discuss the current situation surrounding a proposed consolidation of the town and county of Antigonish.
Premier Tim Houston (Communications Nova Scotia Photo)
Houston said the crowd was engaged and informed, noting attendees raised or reiterated a number of points that should be discussed. One thing Houston said he continues to hear from residents is that they feel they have not been heard by their councillors. To that end, he said he was surprised there weren’t more councillors who initiatied the consolidation process at the meeting.
Houston said a number of questions were raised in the past about financial impacts of consolidation, noting this is why the province amended the Antigonish Consolidation Act to include requiring the Utility and Review Board to undertake an independent analysis and report back on whether consolidation is in the best interests of residents in both town and county.
As for when third reading of the Antigonish Consolidation Act might happen, Houston said the legislature is resuming tomorrow with things like the financial measures act and changes to the electricity act still on the order paper. He said consolidation is still an active file receiving a lot of government focus. Also attending the meeting with Houston were Guysborough Tracadie MLA Greg Morrow and Antigonish MLA Michelle Thompson.