News Release
Mayor Kelly Says New Premier and Cabinet Must Focus
Immediate Attention on Several Key Issues
(HALIFAX, N.S., February 24, 2006) -- Mayor Peter Kelly offered his congratulations to Nova Scotia’s new Premier and provincial cabinet today, saying that there are some key municipal issues that need their immediate attention.
“I would like to extend my most sincere congratulations to Premier Rodney MacDonald and his new cabinet,” says Mayor Kelly. “The combination of seasoned expertise and newcomers with fresh ideas in this cabinet should be extremely beneficial for the province as a whole.”
Now that the players are in place, Mayor Kelly says it is time to immediately begin working together on some of the major concerns facing municipalities in this province, with particular emphasis on three key issues.
The first task is to develop a new Municipal Government Act, says Mayor Kelly. “Our current MGA is woefully outdated and needs to be modernized, bringing it in line with legislative developments in other provinces.”
Changes to the MGA should include allowing municipalities to more effectively govern themselves with the powers of a mature government; better compete with other major global centers; and establish a healthy balance between the need for greater autonomy and the financial tools to carry out those responsibilities.
The second issue that needs to be addressed is new provincial guidelines that are needed to control the flow of waste between municipalities. “The current provincial regulations do not adequately legislate how solid waste is legally allowed to flow across municipal borders in Nova Scotia,” says Mayor Kelly. “If this issue is not resolved, it places HRM’s world class solid waste and resource management system at risk, and would increase the cost of Solid Waste Disposal substantially. ”
Halifax Regional Municipality, as mandated by the Province, has invested over $100,000,000 since 1996 to implement the solid waste and resource management system. The flow of waste across municipal borders without a Provincial requirement for reciprocal agreements between municipalities risks the sustainability of HRM’s system. By extension, the Provincial solid waste/resource management system would also be at risk.
“The municipal and provincial systems have both received world-wide recognition,” says Mayor Kelly. “To protect them, I encourage the Premier and his new cabinet to support Private Members Bill No. 221 introduced at the 59th General Assembly of the Nova Scotia Legislature last spring.”
The third key concern for municipalities is the Fair and Equitable Funding Project, developed by the Union of Nova Scotia Municipalities (UNSM). This project sets out the principles for fair and equitable funding for municipalities, identifies the gaps that currently exist for Nova Scotia municipalities, and provides a comprehensive analysis of municipal financing in Nova Scotia. UNSM commissioned a study in 2005 to be used as a guideline for implementing future decisions pertaining to municipal finance and taxation in Nova Scotia.
“With the recent increase in property taxes in HRM,” Mayor Kelly says. “This issue is very important to our residents and needs to be one of the first items on the new cabinet’s agenda.
Mayor Kelly and Halifax Regional Council are prepared and eager to sit down with members of the new provincial cabinet to update them on these and other municipal issues and begin taking the next steps to move them forward.
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Mayor Peter Kelly
(902) 490-4010
