Council downplays legal warning sent to woman who spoke out against Ingonish sewage system

Victoria County council members are playing down a letter threatening legal action against a resident who spoke out at a tense public meeting over a new sewage system being built in Ingonish.

At Monday's council meeting, councillors said the information session two weeks ago was a success, and that many residents opposed to the $15-million project had changed their minds after hearing from experts.

Tempers flared from the start of the March 11 meeting as residents spoke out of turn and Warden Jackie Organ shouted several times to regain control of the discussion.

"I think it went really well. I do," Organ said Monday. "I think the more that proper information gets out there, the better that the people will feel."

During the public meeting, resident Kathy MacPherson alleged the county and chief administrative officer Leanne MacEachen had "colluded" with a private developer on the sewage system. She suggested the developer stood to benefit from tax rebates under a county economic development bylaw.

Organ confirmed Monday that the county's lawyer sent MacPherson a cease-and-desist letter alleging defamation and calling her remarks "categorically false."

The warden said county officials are open to answering questions from the public, but they have to be reasonable.

"People have concerns and they have comments, but when it comes to personal attack, that's not right," said Organ.

"If they want to come and talk to us personally, I'm sure Ms. MacEachen's door is open to talk, and mine is too, if they want to make an appointment, but just don't make comments that hurt somebody."

In an emailed statement, MacPherson called the county's cease-and-desist letter "deeply concerning ... after expressing my opinion and asking questions at a public meeting."

"Rather than addressing the concerns I raised, the county responded with a legal letter — paid for, in part, with my own tax dollars," she said.

MacPherson said she was driven by a desire for transparency and accountability from the county, "principles that most current councillors campaigned on."

'Deep concerns for my community'

"Everything I expressed at the meeting was my personal opinion, formed based on my review of municipal records and understanding of the issues and out of deep concerns for my community, including the many seniors," she said.

MacPherson said since taking office last fall, councillors have voted to end livestreaming of committee meetings and cancelled the long-standing practice of hosting public questions after council meetings "and has been largely unresponsive to my inquiries."

"It is difficult to understand how these actions align with the promises made to improve transparency, accountability and accessibility."

This week, councillors voted to reverse their decision on the council Q&As.

Coun. Tim Donovan, who represents the Ingonish area, said the public information session two weeks ago went well, despite the legal notice sent to MacPherson.

"There are a few people who feel passionate about how they feel about issues, on both sides, and it's unfortunate that sometimes it escalates to the point where it probably shouldn't," he said.

At the meeting, MacPherson and others questioned the need for a sewer system, the potential long-term cost and the environmental safety of discharging wastewater into Ingonish harbour, which is an important location for recreation and the fishing industry.

Organ said no one would be required to hook up to the sewer system and taxes would not go up as a result of the project.

Experts at the meeting said the new sewer system would produce treated wastewater that was nearly identical to drinking water and said it would be monitored according to federal and provincial regulations.

Donovan said that information was helpful.

"The experts that were there, I believe, answered most of the questions that were asked," he said, adding that additional meetings were set up with the experts to answer any outstanding questions "on a more one-on-one basis."

"Even after the meeting in my own dealings in town, going to the store or what have you, most of the people that I met were in favour of the system," said Donovan.

Victoria County has previously surveyed Ingonish residents to see how many would hook up to the new system.

The county is planning another survey to see if more have decided to connect and will use that information to design where the collection system should go.

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