Unincorporated communities would have stronger voice in Opposition bill

PC MLA Brad Trivers is hoping to give Prince Edward Islanders living in unincorporated communities a bigger and legislated voiceafter how the amalgamation process has unfolded in Three Rivers.

He's tabled a private members bill to make changes to the Municipal Government Act.

If unincorporated areas want to form a municipality, they are required to have 30 per cent of the residents sign a petition before they can move forward.

But the same is not true when an amalgamation is initiated by the minister, or when a municipality tries to annex an unincorporated area.

"We just want to have the unincorporated areas have a voice. The bill doesn't debate whether amalgamation is good or not," Trivers said.

"We think forced amalgamation is not correct, and by giving unincorporated Islanders a voice, this means that everybody will know when it's being forced and when it's not."

The amendment would require the petition for annexations and minister-initiated amalgamations as well. It also outlines the option for a plebiscite so IRAC can find out how unincorporated areas feel.

In addition, the amendment would make an optional public hearing mandatory in the case of objections to the amalgamation.

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