Opinion Letter published in The Guardian on November 27, 2015.
“It’s time to put the 1800s in the history books and put solutions in place for the 21st century” – Bruce MacDougall, Federation of PEI Municipalities President
Keep reading HERE.
FPEIM news release, November 26, 2015.
The provincial government has announced its support to Island municipalities as they embark upon plans to explore new ways of working together in the future. Funding is now available for restructuring studies, as well as transition costs following boundary changes to create a larger, viable municipality.
This is vitally important and welcomed news. We know that currently in PEI there are 73 municipalities for only 100,000 people. Municipalities only cover 30% of the Island and one-third are smaller than 5 km².
As we work to create a stronger future, we owe it to the citizens of today and tomorrow to get it right. Communities need support, a collective vision and fact based criteria to guide the process. The Province has identified the following minimum viability criteria:
Each of these points address fundamental elements to consider when planning for the future development of our municipalities and we encourage all community and municipal leaders to talk with residents and for residents to get informed and get involved with the process.
We encourage all Islanders to get involved in the conversation; there is a bright future for PEI if we work together to Build PEI Communities.
Read FPEIM’s news release here.
CBC Article published November 15, 2015.
“The federation would like to see all of Prince Edward Island incorporated, but what we’d like to see is people in local areas have major input into who they’d like to group up with to make the larger units.” – Diane Griffin, vice-chair of the Federation of P.E.I. Municipalities
Full story HERE.
Strong municipal governments improve quality of life and help build local communities but the municipal system in PEI isn’t sustainable. A long term solution is needed.
To learn more about our vision for PEI, please watch our VIDEO.
Article by Chris McGarry in the Eastern Graphic, October 7, 2015. This article comments on the trend of amalgamation of other Canadian communities and highlights some of the benefits.
“A Three Rivers Municipality will enable local government to better provide services to residents at a more reasonable cost. A tax base of more than 6,000 residents will make it easier to fund infrastructure as well as the Cavendish Farms Wellness Centre and Atlantic Fitness East, which are used year-round by Kings County residents.”
Keep reading HERE.
This great article from CBC dated September 22, 2015 talks about the importance of communities working together towards amalgamation.
“Ashton said communities have to realize amalgamation will create better rural economic regions. He said it’s inevitable and municipalities have to start to work together towards a common vision for the future.”
Read the full article HERE.