Elected reps ‘extremely dissatisfied’ with rural transition process

As elected Local Service District representatives in the rural areas of our region, we are extremely dissatisfied with the current transition process for Regional Service Commission 8 (RSC8). It is not democratic nor representative. It will not lead to a good result.

The province is downloading a whole new slate of responsibilities from provincial departments to RSC8. The decisions that are being made now will affect our communities for many years to come. It is important that rural voices be represented at the table in a democratic fashion.

Instead of democratic representation, a transition facilitator from outside the region has been hired by the province for $1200 a day to make these decisions about our economic development, tourism development, regional transportation, community development and recreational infrastructure. The transition facilitator has hand-picked four people to be on his advisory committee.

We have asked to have four additional representatives added to the advisory committee, representatives that are chosen locally. This request has been turned down repeatedly.

Further to this, our rural communities are already undergoing a major transition as our entire region is being amalgamated into four new entities. The transition process for the RSC8 should not be undertaken at the same time as these amalgamations. The RSC8 transition should be delayed until after the elections for the Mayor and Councils of our four new entities this coming November. Then the scope and budgets for the services that are being downloaded could be decided by a body that was elected by the people, instead of a handpicked group.

Yours sincerely,

Charity McDonald, Chair, Wickham Local Service District Advisory Committee
Carolyn Wright, Chair, Cardwell Local Service District Advisory Committee
John Sabine, Chair, Norton Local Service District Advisory Committee
Karin Boye, Chair, Upham Local Service District Advisory Committee
Mary Ann Coleman, Chair, Waterford Local Service District Advisory Committee
Rodney Gillis, Chair, Springfield Local Service District Advisory Committee
Tammie Spraggett, Chair, Hammond Local Service District Advisory Committee
Tony Raymond, Chair, Studholm Local Service District Advisory Committee