CBRM mayor, opposition politicians object to minister's comments during passage of bill

Cape Breton Regional Municipality Mayor Amanda McDougall says she's angry over the way CBRM has been treated by the Nova Scotia government during passage of the Municipal Reform Act.

McDougall was in the legislature on Thursday, where she heard Municipal Affairs Minister John Lohr call CBRM's opposition to the bill a "distraction" and said he and his staff would meet CBRM officials to offer suggestions on better financial management.

"To have a minister make comments like 'we're going to come up there and help them with financial management,' saying more or less we can't handle our own jobs," McDougall said.

"Politics is one thing. The theatrics that happens in the legislature are quite remarkable at times, but, I don't know, this process has really brought out an ugly side of politics."

In addition to her objection over those comments, the mayor said she was still upset after the minister sent a letter to all municipal chief administrative officers outside Halifax — except CBRM's.

All of that left McDougall searching for words.

"I just, I don't get this type of politics. It's quite, it's quite, it's just rude."

During final reading of the bill on Thursday, Lohr said the legislation would provide financial help to all municipalities outside of Halifax, which has its own charter and is not subject to the new act, and that it was supported by a lengthy list of municipalities.

"While there's been much distraction in recent days and weeks, our focus has been undeterred," he said.

"I was given a strong mandate to renegotiate the service exchange agreement with municipalities and this is what we have done."

Lohr also said his department would begin talks on CBRM's long-standing request for its own charter, or at least a separate deal as the second-largest municipality in the province.

"In the short term, I and my staff will meet with CBRM to discuss immediate pressures and provide suggestions on better management of their finances," the minister said.

Opposition politicians from Cape Breton also objected to Lohr's choice of words.

Derek Mombourquette, the Liberal MLA for Sydney-Membertou, said the outcry over the minister's letter to chief administrators should have provided the government with the opportunity for a pause.

"I thought after that misstep that people would take a second look,but when I heard the word 'distraction,' I'm sitting there going, 'Really?' We're still there."

Savings of $4.5M touted for CBRM

Kendra Coombes, NDP MLA for Cape Breton Centre-Whitney Pier, said she was angry over the minister's dismissal of CBRM's concerns and called out the PC government MLAs based in CBRM for supporting that.

"The residents of the CBRM are not a distraction," she said. "How anyone can sit here and have their residents called a distraction should be absolutely ashamed of themselves."

The minister says the legislation will save municipalities money by removing the need to tax residents for provincial housing and corrections, amounting to about $4.5 million a year for CBRM alone.

The Nova Scotia Federation of Municipalities supported the deal.

But CBRM has argued the bill will cost it more money in the long run, because it does not remove the need to tax residents for provincial education costs, an amount that climbs every year.

In addition, the legislation will also continue to freeze CBRM's provincial capacity grant and then cut it by about $2 million dollars five years from now.

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