Borden-Carleton pulls out of annexation process

The Town of Borden-Carleton, P.E.I. has taken its annexation proposal — which would have made surrounding areas like Albany and Cape Traverse a part of the town — off the table.

The Municipal Government Act, which looks to create larger townships across Prince Edward Island, was passed last year.

The act lays out minimum sizes for new towns and cities, and required services for municipalities: for example, community and emergency planning, and hours of operation for an office.

There was fierce opposition to proposed annexation by Borden-Carleton from neighbouring residents at a meeting Sunday night, and subsequently, council voted unanimously to remove their proposal on Tuesday.

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"I respect their decision and I understand their decision not to proceed," said Bruce MacDougall, the president of the Federation of P.E.I. Municipalities.

70 per cent of the Island is unincorporated

"I was at the meeting the other night, and I guess you could read from the crowd that there was a lot of unanswered questions at this time. So I believe they've done the right thing at this time."

Borden-Carleton isn't the only municipality that has pulled out of annexation or amalgamation talks.

Georgetown has also stepped away from amalgamation talks in the Three Rivers region in the eastern part of the province. Montague had also stepped away, but is now back in deliberations.

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70 per cent of the Island is unincorporated and the province wants to change that, but it's been met with intense opposition along the way, with many residents concerned about paying higher taxes.

'You have to do your homework'

The Federation of P.E.I. Municipalities says it wants to see strong municipalities throughout the province, but MacDougall explained it can be difficult to get people on board when municipalities begin the process without being able to provide community members with facts and figures.

There are lessons to be learned from what happened with Georgetown and Borden-Carleton, he explained: "You have to do your homework."

MacDougall believes that communities should hire a consultant to help answer questions, like how much the process will affect residents' bottom dollar. 

'Taxation is the smallest part of this'

Communities, Land and Environment Minister Robert Mitchell said collaborative discussions are the best way to go.

"If you can bring to the table why we're doing this, how it will make our community better, and have people open-mindedly think about those things — and it may take some time — certainly the results would be better."

As for concerns about paying more taxes, Mitchell said that's not what this new act is all about.

"This is about sustainability. It's about long-term vision.... It's about strengthening economies, it's about creating jobs for our youth to stay on our Island. Taxation is the smallest part of this."

Hoping for a success story

The province said about half of P.E.I.'s communities have requested information on restructuring.

Mitchell explained that moving forward it will be important to take things slowly and have as many discussions as are needed.

The Three Rivers region will be releasing its full report on amalgamation on Wednesday night.

Mitchell said he hopes to use that area as an example of what coming together could look like.

"I think this can be the success story down at Three Rivers."

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