On April 4 three members of the citizens’ group Guysborough Communities Coalition, presented a petition to the Municipality of the District of Guysborough (MODG) council requesting the establishment of an open, town hall-style meeting between municipal constituents and council members.
George Nahrebecky, Holly Nahrebecky, and I, made the presentations, stating that we believe this type of open, public meeting, outside council chambers, would make for a more inclusive dialogue between constituents and the council.
In the past, we argued, the council has been perceived as being inaccessible, secretive and unwilling to engage with the taxpayers it serves. This has been a sentiment shared by many voters across the municipality. In my presentation I said “You are our elected officials. You represent a municipality of approximately 4600 residents according to the 2016 census. I appreciate you have many duties as councillors, not the least of which is to listen and communicate with your constituents. Taxpayers have the right to ask questions and for you to hear their concerns, and when appropriate, to challenge your opinions as well as your decisions.”
“We want to be people working together, building a strong, stable community, sharing goals and common purpose. We believe we can make the impossible, possible. We need to embrace change, not fear it. We need to think differently and approach challenges in a fresh, new light. We need to work together honestly and openly. We need to listen, respect one another, and think anew. We need to act now. This is called democracy,” I said.
Holly Nahrebecky echoed similar thoughts addressing council “You have been elected to represent your area’s constituents and to make decisions based on what direction the people you represent want to go. There are decisions where councillors have a responsibility to find out what the majority of their constituents think about these issues before a decision is made… to give the information to people and ask what they would like you to do as their representative.”
Nahrebecky further cited a section from the Guide to New Municipal Councillors prepared by the Province of Nova Scotia: “Not all voters will necessarily agree with your votes on the council or the decisions of the council as a whole. As an elected official, it is your role to listen and understand these opinions. While you may disagree or feel this is a fringe opinion, remember that you represent all members of the community. They have elected you to serve them and as a result, you should do your best to hear the opinions of all community members, not just those who support you. Depending on your municipality, you may have increased visibility and recognition as an elected official. Being respectful and polite when dealing with members of the public will be helpful as an elected official and a public face of local government.”
Nahrebecky went on to add that council should consider holding council meetings in the evening, not in the afternoon, to increase public attendance, add a Q&A period after a council meeting, consider quarterly information meetings across the municipality, and introduce live streaming like other municipalities, for those unable to get into town.
Following the presentation, George Nahrebecky asked Warden Pitts when the council would make a decision on their petition. Initially Pitts said that council did not meet outside council chambers, stating it met only for scheduled monthly council meetings or for Strategic Planning- never outside those parameters. The 40-plus supporters in the audience protested, speaking up, verbally challenging the council and the warden. Finally, Warden Pitts indicated they would take a look at the petition and get back to the coalition. George Nahrebecky, not to be deterred by Pitts’ comment asked why in this public forum, council could not make a decision now. More cries and protests from the audience, as Pitts delayed his answer.
In between were the council members protesting the fact that they were not inaccessible. Miles McDonald, District 1 councillor pointed out he always talked to people. Talked with them on the street, at any event, in a store, etc. Holly Nahrebecky pointed out that perhaps people were not really interested in getting into an issue about the municipality, talking about fracking, raising taxes, lack of doctors, etc., while lining up at the checkout. And that was why, she explained again, an open forum such as a town hall meeting was preferable. Another council member, Blair George, District 4, a 30-year veteran, in rambling remarks said he would never hold town hall meetings in his district.
Almost drowned out by the noise in the room, Council member Fin Armsworthy from Canso, District 8, made the motion to hold a town hall-style meeting with all of council and constituents, saying “I know what my constituents want.”
His motion seemed lost in the confrontation Warden Pitts was having from the outraged audience members. Pitts threatened to have one constituent removed because of her loud remarks directed towards the council. Completely frustrated with the proceedings and the council’s lack of either understanding or care with the subject at hand, she stomped out of the chamber. Councillor Armsworthy repeated his motion after CAO Barry Carroll had to remind Pitts there was a motion on the floor. Warden Pitts finally acknowledged Armsworthy and asked for a seconder on the motion, there was none and the motion died. There were objections from the three coalition members. All of which were confronted with Pitt’s “out of order” remarks.
Once the public’s innuendos, cries and protests died down and the council moved to the next order of business, the audience in disgust, walked out of council chambers. In the hallway outside the chamber, audience members lingered, comparing notes and the embarrassment and distrust they felt for their council’s complete inaction and ignorance. Patricia Bates a long-time resident said, “The only way to sanction the actions of this council is to not have any of them elected or acclaimed next time around. Sure hope we can last until then.”
Mary LeBlanc a constituent from Canso, who was there with her husband Edmund, said after the meeting, “It is apparent that MODG councillors are not willing to listen to what constituents want, nor act on any requests. An opportunity presented itself to respond positively to a well presented brief. Only one councillor reacted because he was aware what his people wanted. The lack of a seconder to his motion is unbelievable. Very disappointed that the Warden tried to minimize discussion and had to be reminded by the CAO that a motion was in order. MODG constituents have to get more involved and put pressure on Council to do what its ratepayers want. Consider contacting their councillor directly and lobby for community input, planned rather than accidental!”
In some ways, democracy lived and died at the council meeting. It lived through the articulated and informed presentation supported by the constituents who filled the council chambers. However it died, although shortly after, through the councillors’ refusal to support Fin Armsworthy’s motion in support of the public town hall-style meeting. All of which was underlined by the complete lack of any sense of democratic leadership exhibited by the MODG council members and its warden.
The Guysborough Communities Coalition are not deterred by the outcome of the meeting. Organizing continues across the 8 districts of the municipality for additional coalition membership, with an eye on the next election. In addition, inquiries are being made to the Nova Scotia government’s Office of the Ombudsman to determine whether the council’s action, was in fact, legal and fits within the guidelines of the legislature’s mandate over local municipal councils.
Read the full presentations by Holly Nahrebecky and Alexander Bridge.
See also: Guysborough residents say no to municipality’s pro-fracking position at town hall meeting
If you can, please support the Nova Scotia Advocate so that it can continue to cover issues such as poverty, racism, exclusion, workers’ rights and the environment in Nova Scotia. A paywall is not an option, since it would exclude many readers who don’t have any disposable income at all. We rely entirely on one-time donations and a tiny but mighty group of dedicated monthly sustainers.
I also attended the MODG council meeting of Wednesday April 4. The presentation (and the audience) were calm and respectful until it became apparent that they would be stonewalled by the council. The council not only refused to vote but also refused to give any information as to when a decision might be expected in the future. The warden and at least one councillor made it clear that “that’s not the way we do things around here.” In short, there would be no town hall.
Our Warden Vernon Pitts explained how the typical MODG council meetings are poorly attended. As he said, “In order to get information, you have to be there to get it.” What he did not explain is that:
a. The meeting agenda is not available until the day before the meeting – and is only available if specifically requested from the municipal office. The agenda is not publicly posted so most people are unaware of what is being discussed or decided.
b. If one is proactive enough to secure an agenda, then it is too late to petition the council to ask questions or present information on a particular issue because the agenda is already fixed and it’s too late to add any items.
c. The public is not allowed to interrupt, ask questions, or comment under any conditions during the Wednesday meeting.
Warden Vernon Pitts says you can attend the meeting to find out what the council already intends to do, but there will be no input and no questions allowed. We were never consulted on the decision to issue that infamous “lift the ban” fracking letter. This is why we were unaware of the letter and its province-wide distribution until 2 weeks after the January council meeting. We found out because we read it in the Guysborough Journal. This is not how government should work.
We’re embarrassed that our municipality has gained a province-wide reputation by calling for a lifting of the ban. This is not what we want to be known for. And now we are doubly embarrassed by the hard-nosed, circle-the-wagons, stonewalling attitude of our council.
In a recent CBC interview, Warden Vernon Pitts was not accurate when he said, “We were just asking to start the conversation.” The letter clearly called for a lifting of the ban. Pitts has gone on record that he is not opposed to fracking. And out CAO, Barry Carroll, regularly retweets statements from the gas and oil industry.
Warden Pitts did unwittingly start the conversation. So here we are.
Of course, the councillors now feel they were bullied at the meeting. (If you listened to CBC Mainstreet today, you may have heard the interview with Vernon PItts). Yes, we’re upset because there is no conversation. They make decisions; we attend and listen. That’s the council ideal meeting that Warden Pitts wants.
What a surprise! You don’t need to dig deep in the history of Nova Scotia to discover, that the art of patronage and nepotism has been invented and cultivated here and there is no way to get rid of the corrupt to the bone politicians running the government on all levels. I applaud the attempt of Mr. Bridge & Co to fight the “System”, and I too strongly believe in Bertolt Brecht’s view: “If you fight you might lose, if you don’t you have already lost.“