P.E.I. cabinet approves West River amalgamation

P.E.I.'s cabinet has given final approval for five municipalities south and west of Charlottetown to amalgamate to form the new Rural Municipality of West River.

When the municipality comes into being Sept. 1, it will become the sixth-largest in the province, with a population of approximately 3,200 and a property tax base worth close to $300 million.

The communities of Afton, West River, New Haven-Riverdale, Meadowbank and Bonshaw have been working toward amalgamation for the past four to five years, according to the person tapped to serve as interim mayor of the new municipality.

"It's easier to go it as a larger municipality than it is to go each person, each municipality to their own," said MeadowbankMayor Helen Smith-MacPhail, who will lead the new municipality as mayor until the next round of municipal elections is held in November2022.

"It did make sense to come together as one larger municipality."

Smith-MacPhail said the five rural municipalities share much in common, including the challenges they were facing.

One of those was finding people to serve on each individual council. But the municipalities were also warning of significant increases in tax rates in order to pay for services they're now required to provide under P.E.I.'s Municipal Government Act, proclaimed in 2017.

Under that legislation, all municipalities in the province must have an approved emergency management plan, enact a land-use bylaw and maintain a municipal office open 20 hours per week.

But Elizabeth Wilson, a long-time Afton council member who helped guide the amalgamation process, said she's concerned the smaller municipalities may regret giving up control to a regional council.

"Each municipality has their own council and their own agendas, their own priorities and those might not necessarily move forward into the new council," she said.

"We hope that it does."

Recommended by IRAC

A spokesperson for the Department of Fisheries and Communities said the proposed amalgamation was supported by Minister Jamie Fox. The proposal was reviewed by the Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission, which recommended the amalgamation go forward.

The department said "as there were no written comments or [objections] to the proposal, IRAC decided to proceed without public meeting."

However, the province said a petition was submitted against the proposal, bearing 84 signatures representing 43 households, which was forwarded to IRAC.

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