Bill 179, the Halifax Regional Municipality Charter, received Second Reading in the Legislature and was before Law Amendments on Tuesday, November 18th. Several members of the Association were present to speak on the Bill and many others submitted written comments. We would like to thank all those that assisted in this regard. We hope that we were heard more clearly this time.
Unfortunately, prior to First Reading in the Spring, the Province included a provision for "District Council's" in the Bill without any consultation with the Halifax Regional Municipality or other stakeholders. This was not what was asked for by the Association. We asked that the existing Community Council's be empowered with more financial and decision-making capabilities and allow for Community Council's to consist of only one District (ie. District 21 - Bedford) if requirements such as population, assessment base, etc. are met. Because of what the Province included in the Bill, considerable backlash resulted. We have been working tirelessly in our efforts to set the record straight but have met with considerable roadblocks. We are unfortunately still perceived as just a small group of special-interest Bedford residents and have been unable to get many people to see the reality! The existing governance structure of the Municipality doesn't work! Hopefully, what we said at Law Amendments will help set people straight!
We now must wait to see if the Province will consider our comments and ascertain the best way to deal with the issue at hand - how to get more say back into the communities!
We must all continue to make our voices heard and also attempt to clear up any confusion that still exists relative to our request for the empowerment of Community Council's. We must also ensure that the various Political Parties realize that this is not just a specific Party issue. This issue affects everyone! The smooth functioning of the Capital "City" of this Province should be of concern to all Parties! It doesn't matter who came up with this suggestion! If someone cares more about political infighting or "saving face" because they didn't raise this issue first - then perhaps they should not be in politics!
Now is the time for everyone to work together for a common cause - the smooth and effective functioning of the Municipality.
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The Bedford Community Council Association wants to assure everyone that it is still working towards a change to the existing governance structure of the Halifax Regional Municipality.
A brochure has been designed and is in the process of being printed and distributed to all residents of Bedford to ensure that everyone is aware of the issues affecting Bedford and the Halifax Regional Municipality as a whole.
We are also still in the process of contacting other communities and groups throughout the Municipality that are dissatisfied with the way things are presently being run. However, it still appears clear from recent articles in the paper that our collective voices are not being heard. Although some are suggesting de-amalgamation, that is not financially viable or forward thinking. The majority of residents are asking for communities to take back some say and control in what happens in their community. We need some financial and decision making ability to do this.
In this 250th Year of Democracy we no longer have a democratic system. We have a system where the Councillor you elect can vote for or against a development, program, etc., in his/her own constituency but then other Councillor's can be in opposition and override the desires of the community and Councillor. What is democratic about that? You cannot vote for or against the other Councillors!
It has been suggested that if the number of Regional Councillors were reduced and elected "at large", as they were in the former Town of Bedford, there would be considerably less (or no) infighting. We would no longer have one community trying to best another community or not willing to vote for something in the other community until they have the same! With this reduced Regional Council, Community Council's would come into play to assist with the day to day functioning of the various communities. We could then have everyone working together "for the common good" (again Bedford's former motto).
Your voice needs to be heard. When your Municipal and Federal election candidates come to your door - speak up! All levels of government should be concerned about what is happening (and not happening) in the capital city of Nova Scotia! Contact your MLA and MP and let them know you are not happy! We all need to work together to resolve this issue.
Please do your part.
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Although things have been fairly quiet recently because of summer vacations, etc., work is still progressing on ensuring that the existing governance structure of the Halifax Regional Municipality is changed. A dialogue has commenced with several other communities within HRM and with Citizens for Halifax. Everyone agrees that change is required and that residents need to become more vocal. A review needs to be undertaken and changes need to be made.
Your help is desperately needed. We need signatures on our petition. We need everyone to voice their concerns. We need people to become passionate about where they live and how they want to see it progress. This is no longer a Bedford issue, it is much bigger than us. Change is necessary to enable this great city to function properly, for things to get done, and for our quality of life to improve.
Please take a moment of your time and sign the petition if you have not already done so. Memberships ($5.00) or donations are also required so that we can pay for photocopying, meetings, paper, advertising, etc.
We need to speak up now so that changes can be forthcoming with the sitting of the Fall Legislature.
Please help by doing your part.
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The Bedford Community Council Association is pleased to advise that we will be preparing a monthly Newsletter to keep residents up-to-date on our efforts to ensure that Bedford, and other communities throughout HRM, return to some form of self-governance to bring communities back to the residents.
Our first order of business, however, is to announce our new Logo/Brand. Some of you may have already noticed our new Logo above in the upper left-hand corner. We were most fortunate to have Phil Otto and his team at Revolve to help us out in this regard. We would like to thank them for the wonderful job that they have done.
Our second order of business is to ask for your help. We will be working over the summer months in getting our word out and we could use everyone's help in asking people to check out our website, signing the petition and paying their membership fee if they have not already done so.
If you can't answer the question - Is the Halifax Regional Municipality governance model working as it stands now? - with a yes, then your voice needs to be heard! Once the Province realizes that this is not just a Bedford concern changes will be made. There is already happening in other provinces throughout Canada! The majority of areas amalgamated around the same time-period as the Halifax Regional Municipality have already realized that communities need more say and have undertaken changes to reflect this. Why are we, once again, lagging behind?
The Association members stand ready to answer any questions that you may have. We will also include a Question and Answer section in our monthly Newsletter to ensure that everyone is obtaining the correct information as, is usually the case, rumors do happen!
We welcome your questions and trust that the following may clarify a few points of contention or concern.
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Question: Was this Association formed just as a platform for Matthew Christie?
Answer: Short answer is NO! The fate of Bedford since amalgamation has been an ongoing discussion topic in various livingrooms of concerned residents for many years now. With the retirement of some active community residents and the issue of the Rocky Lake Commons rink construction reaching a boiling point, it was felt that this was an opportune time to stand up for what we believe in. Unfortunately, the timing could have been better but we were not aware, at the time of formation, that a by-election would be called or that one of the founding members would decide to run. However, it makes sense that someone concerned about what has been happening in Bedford would also be interested in becoming more involved.
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Question: Is this just a political issue?
Answer: NO! This Association is apolitical, non-partisan and consists of members of varying political stripes. We are concerned residents that believe that a change needs to be made to the existing governance structure to ensure that communities obtain more say on community centric issues and that Regional Council needs to deal with issues of a regional nature.
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Question: Would this result in yet another level of bureaucracy?
Answer: The only way this would result in another level of bureaucracy would be if the Province allows for the continuation of Community Councils without any spending power. The Community Councils need to be able to undertake community centric initiatives without having to go back to Regional Council, as they do now, for final approval. The Community Councils, as per our recommended Governance structure, would improve how things are done and ensure that Regional Council can then deal with issues of a Regional nature.
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Feel free to submit your questions for inclusion in upcoming Newsletters.
Bedford Community Council Association
