Province, Municipalities Discuss Roles

What are the most important issues facing municipalities today? Are there areas of public policy in which municipalities are not currently involved but should be? These are some of the issues municipal and provincial officials will be discussing in a round of consultations this month and next.

"We've reviewed local government before," said Wayne Gaudet, Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs. "But municipal issues are not static. They change as peoples' expectations of government change. We need to get a look at the lay of the land again."

In April, the province and the Union of Nova Scotia Municipalities (UNSM) concluded a memorandum of understanding to work toward a more co-operative relationship between the two levels of government. At that time, they agreed to undertake a joint review of municipal/provincial roles and responsibilities.

"The first step in this process is to hear what municipal leaders believe are the problems," said UNSM president Mayor Walter Fitzgerald of Halifax Regional Municipality. "This will define the agenda of future negotiations between the province and the UNSM."

Following this Issues Identification Phase of the review, a steering committee consisting of provincial cabinet ministers and UNSM table officers will begin reviewing the issues of highest priority. Working committees will be established to make recommendations regarding these issues to the steering committee. The steering committee will then make recommendations to the provincial government. The intended result will be a system of government that is more efficient and logical for the citizens of Nova Scotia, the minister said.

Rick Ramsay, former chief administrative officer for the Municipality of the County of Kings, will facilitate a series of issues identification meetings across the province. He will report the findings of these sessions to the UNSM fall conference Oct. 21-23 and to the minister of housing and municipal affairs. This report will then form the basis of the review of provincial/municipal roles and responsibilities.