FALL RIVER: Councillor Cathy Deagle Gammon was disappointed in the letter Premier Tim Houston sent the Halifax Regional Municipality regarding its Morris Street bike lane decision.
She wasn’t surprised, though – this Premier had a history of involving himself in municipal decisions, she said.
“At first I was disappointed to see that kind of a letter come from our Premier, and then the second thought was, I wasn’t surprised because this Premier now has a history of involving himself, his government into municipal governance,” Deagle Gammon told The Laker News in an interview on Thursday afternoon at her home in Fall River.
“He’s done so in terms of development, the special planning areas, and now there’s Bill 24.
“So, it is not surprising, but it is disappointing.”
Deagle Gammon voted in favour of Coun. Laura White’s motion that pushed for a faster, cheaper alternative: keep the one-way street design with a two-way bike lane, but use tactical, removable infrastructure instead of something permanent and more expensive.
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She said she has received a lot of emails about the issues, some concerned with what they perceive as political over reach and others that have been in favor of the Premier’s action and supportive of his right to do so.
“The municipality exists at the behest of the province and so the Premier can let any municipal unit know when he is or his government is displeased with a decision of a municipal council,” she said.
The Morris Street decision had been a compromise – a temporary pilot project instead of the permanent change some wanted.
“The decision that council made on Morris Street, I felt was a compromise to what was the original plan, which was a permanent change,” she said. “Council decided to make it a tactile, which is temporary, with a two-year horizon to evaluate it.
“Was it the best decision or not? It was a good compromise in the moment. There is a lack of information, and I said that at council, and we’re waiting to see what the provincial government has done with the report from the Joint Regional Transportation Authority now Link Nova Scotia.”
She mentioned they had been waiting for a report on that for quite some time.
“When we’re talking about traffic and congestion and what’s happening and how goods and services and people move within the municipality, I feel that that is a piece of the puzzle that is still missing,” said Deagle Gammon.
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She said the decision that was made, as everyone knows now, based on the Premier’s letter, will be discussed again.
That discussion will take place at the council’s meeting on Aug. 5.
“I stand by the vote that I made at the last meeting in July. “But if there’s new information that needs to come forward around Morris Street, then we need to consider that new information.”
Houston added in his letter that this spring the provincial government passed Bill 24, which provides order-making authority with respect to transportation projects in municipalities.
“If HRM Council proceeds to make Morris a one-way street, the provincial government will be forced to act,” he said.
“I remain hopeful that common sense will prevail, and Council will reverse this decision.”
Deagle Gammon said she too hopes that “common sense, mutual respect and working collaboratively will prevail.”
“I would hope very much that we can find a solution that meets everybody’s expectations,” she said. “What we want is an HRM that people can move about in a safe way and move about in your car, on a bicycle, as you walk, people with accessibility needs and those using motorized vehicles.”
“We want everybody to be safe. The short answer is I wish common sense prevails at both levels of government.”
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Deagle Gammon was asked what she thought of what Premier Houston had done by issuing the letter.
“I think he’s told the residents of HRM and the province the kind of premier that he is, and so that speaks to him and his kind of leadership,” she said.
She was also asked about the discussion regarding strong mayor powers for HRM. That is something she emphatically said first and foremost is not in favour of.
“In saying that; what has been so uncomfortable and so disappointing is the absence of clear information on what Strong Mayor Powers may or may not be, which is really why the motion passed at council to request that the provincial government have conversation with municipalities across this province about what strong mayor powers may or may not be,” she said.
“People are arguing in the absence of good evidence and valuable information. There are different levels of strong mayor powers, and we need to know what those are and what they’re not.
“When you think about good leadership, I think that good leadership from any level of government comes from collaboration, from evidence-based decision making, and from engagement with the general public.”
Deagle Gammon said Strong mayor Powers was not on the election ballot.
“If it had been on the election ballot, then I think that even as a voter, then I would have looked at candidates in a different way than I do without strong mayor powers,” she said.
“Strong mayor powers as a municipal government I believe, erodes the local councillor who knows their districts well. Yes, a mayor is elected across all, but the local councilors know their districts well.”
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She said she was elected with 66.9 per cent of the vote so she feels the communities she represents also gave her a ‘strong mandate’.
“On the campaign promises that I would have brought forward included the issues for District 1 such as a lack of services, water, wastewater, transit, as well as recreational options” she said. “Those are big issues for people in district one. We still have gravel roads that should be paved.
“There are a lot of things in district one that I and will advocate for. However, with strong mayor powers I believe that voice is lessened.”
Deagle Gammon was asked if the governance model with strong mayor powers is in effect for HRM, what that would mean for her, she responded.
“If the governance model for HRM was strong mayor powers, then I would not put my name forward as a candidate for councilor,” she said. “That’s just a personal choice so it is no disrespect to anyone else who would put their name forward.
“It’s just not something that I would do. I believe that it would also make me look more seriously at the candidates that put their name forward for council and for mayor. I would look at a different skill set.
“For me, it would also be like party politics and that’s not something I want to be part of.”
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Deagle Gammon ended the interview speaking about what a loss CAO Cathie O’Toole stepping down will mean for HRM especially at such a critical time.
“I think that she has been instrumental in the positive changes within HRM in her short time with us,” she said. “My deepest thanks to her and appreciation for all her hard work on our behalf.”
“I completely understand her reasons for making the decision that she did, but I also think that it’s at one of the worst times for HRM.
“With all of the things that are going on right now, the next CAO that we hire will have to have her (Cathie’s) skill set and more to be able to run a municipality of our size and in these very trying times.” That person will be difficult to find!