Municipal Government Act Amendments

A number of amendments to the Municipal Government Act were introduced today, Nov. 9, by Jamie Muir, Minister of Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations.

"The Municipal Government Act provides municipalities with the legislative framework to carry out their responsibilities," said Mr. Muir. "As a result, government regularly receives requests for amendments to the act from the Union of Nova Scotia Municipalities. Points of clarification are regularly required as things are noted from the day to day working with the legislation."

Among the changes is a request from the Union of Nova Scotia Municipalities and Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM)to enable municipalities to levy charges to recover the capital costs of new or expanded solid waste management and new or expanded transit facilities.

Other changes include giving municipalities the power to regulate or prohibit access to controlled access streets, making it easier for council to determine the length of office for a warden or deputy mayor and providing the authority for a development officer to discharge a site plan.