What follows is a proposal for reforming our system of local government to create a modern, streamlined system of municipal services. It is not intended to critique or comment on the performance of our municipal officials, who I understand have been hard at work trying to secure the best outcome for Cape Breton.
I have been following the ongoing struggles of the provincial government and the CBRM to agree on a new agreement covering the provision and funding of municipal services. An agreement has not been forthcoming from either side, but I think the heart of the issue is the system itself, not the people operating within that system.
Nova Scotia still operates the same system of local government that was established in 1879. Some modifications have been made over time, but if a Nova Scotian from 1879 could travel through time to today, they would find the system quite familiar overall. And there is the problem — the CBRM and the Minister for Municipal Affairs are struggling to reach an agreement because the framework in which they are working was designed to serve the needs of Nova Scotians in the 1880s, not the 2020s.
It’s time for significant reform. The current antiquated system of local government is extremely inequitable. Nova Scotia’s most populous municipality has 439,000 people with 16 councillors or 1 councillor for every 27,438 people; Nova Scotia’s least populous municipality has 476 people with 5 councillors or 1 councillor for every 96 people. That is not equitable, and it needs to be fixed.
The provincial government should rewrite local government legislation, make fire, police, water, planning, and sewerage services the responsibility of the provincial government through province-wide commissions, and redraw the boundary of the province’s 49 municipalities so that 1) all Nova Scotians have relatively equal access to their municipal seat of government and their local councillor, and 2) each municipality is of equal population size. That would average out to municipalities with about 20,000 people each and would allow each councillor to represent about 3300 people if each municipality had 6 councillors – a much more equitable and reasonable number.
The new municipalities should be tasked with providing social and recreational services to their communities alongside basic services such as local roads and rubbish collection.
This is only one suggestion, but regardless of the system chosen, it’s time to bring Nova Scotia’s system of local government into the 21st century, it’s time to end the vast inequity in local government representation, and it’s time to ensure that Nova Scotians have relatively equal access to their local government regardless of where they live in the province.
This piece was originally published in the Cape Breton Post on Friday, 3 November 2023. Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay
