Province Responds to HRM Advertisement

SERVICE N.S./MUNICIPAL RELATIONS--Province Responds to HRM Advertisement

Municipal Relations Minister Angus MacIsaac is calling a newspaper advertisement placed by Halifax Regional Municipality "strange and bewildering."

The ad in the Nov. 15 issue of the Daily News said that the Nova Scotia government has a plan to take property tax revenue from the regional municipality and give it to other municipalities. Mr. MacIsaac said this is a distortion of a good-faith proposal made by the province last February.

"Everyone involved in municipal government knows that the February proposal is dead. I find it strange and bewildering that HRM seeks to breathe new life into an old issue," he said.

Mr. MacIsaac said on Oct. 19 he invited the new executive of the Union of Nova Scotia Municipalities (UNSM) to meet with him to discuss a new approach to municipal fiscal exchange, which includes equalization among municipalities. On Nov. 2, the new president of the UNSM, Halifax Regional Municipality deputy mayor Jerry Blumenthal, and its executive director met with Mr. MacIsaac and department staff to begin discussions.

"We're serious about reaching an agreement that will help struggling municipalities. It is very difficult to conduct meaningful and productive discussions when the province's largest municipality is more interested in fighting old battles," Mr. MacIsaac said. "I don't know what HRM's agenda is, but it obviously does not include working with the province and other municipalities to resolve this issue.

"The other 54 municipalities in Nova Scotia and the provincial government want this issue resolved," he said. "I strongly urge Mayor Kelly and HRM to look at the calendar and realize that time and this issue are passing them by. They owe it to the people they represent to be part of the solution, not re-enacting past battles."