Federation of P.E.I. Municipalities offers to step in to mediate Park Street dispute
A court challenge is not the answer, says federation president Bruce MacDougall
The Federation of P.E.I. Municipalities is willing to step in as a mediator between the province and the City of Charlottetown when it comes to the future of the emergency overnight shelter and Community Outreach Centre on Park Street.
There have been heated political debates recently about whether the shelter and outreach centre should continue operating at their current location near the Hillsborough Bridge in P.E.I.'s capital.
Last week, city council voted to reject the province's request for a zoning change that would have let the operations stay on Park Street.
Two days later, P.E.I. Housing Minister Steven Myers said the province would use its powers under the Planning Act to set up a special zone in the area that would remove any city role in planning decisions, effectively overriding the Charlottetown council's decision.
Mayor Philip Brown has told CBC News he would be talking to the Federation of P.E.I. Municipalities about the possibility of taking the province to court over the issue.
"We're never interested in launching a court challenge, because that costs everybody," said the federation's president, Bruce MacDougall, who has been a city councillor in Summerside for three decades.
"We have been talking with our member of Charlottetown, and we need to come together, talk with the City of Charlottetown, talk with the province, and come up with a solution for the vulnerable people that this issue is all about."
MacDougall said the federation will reach out to the province to discuss a mediation process.
"I'm sure they'll be willing to accept a mediator," he said. "Collaboration is the way forward. Confrontation gets nobody nowhere."
MacDougall said the federation has previously helped municipalities resolve issues involving the province, often working behind the scenes to facilitate solutions.
'A precedent-setting issue'
MacDougall said he's concerned over the province's decision to create a special zone, effectively overriding Charlottetown council's authority.
That represents an unprecedented intervention that could set a precedent affecting municipal decision-making, he fears.
His concern is that the province could simply bypass established municipal planning processes and impose special planning zones at will.
Typically, the creation of a special planning area by a municipality involves a thorough process, including council meetings and public consultations, MacDougall said.
"It doesn't sit well, you know, when you do a precedent-setting issue like this," he said. "We're not in favour of that."
With files from Jackie Sharkey