The law amendments committee has finally set a date and location for the hearing that will be held in the Shelburne area on the much debated electoral boundaries final review but the small venue may come as a disappointment to many.
The hearing will take place at the Sandy Point Lighthouse in Sandy Point starting Thursday Nov. 15 at 7:00 p.m. and continuing on Friday beginning at 9:00 a.m.
It is uncertain whether or not the venue will be sufficient enough to hold the number of people expected to attend the hearing.
“There are going to be a lot of aggravated people when they realize that there won’t be room to get in,” said Karen Mattatall mayor for the Town of Shelburne.
She said that she wanted to emphasize that having thousands of people go to the hearing to show support will not have an affect on the law amendment committee.
“This is not the commission committee,” she said.
She explained that when thousands showed up to protest the boundary changes it was in front of the commission committee and not the law amendment committee that will be coming to the area.
“The only thing that is going to impact the law amendment committee is the presentations. Thousands of people showing up won’t change anything but what will change things is what people have to say,” she said.
People are encouraged to register to speak through the Nova Scotia Legislative Councils office by calling 902-424-8941.
Each speaker will be given 10 minutes to speak so to fit in as many speakers as possible.
Hundreds of people were present at a recent meeting held in Barrington to protest the boundary proposal that recommended a split to Shelburne County’s provincial electoral boundaries.
The proposal would see Barrington, Clark’s Harbour and the rest of the western part of the county added to the formerly protected Acadian riding of Argyle to form an Argyle-Barrington constituency.
The rest of Shelburne County east of the Clyde River would amalgamate with Queen’s County to form the new Queens-Shelburne constituency.
The hearing is expecting representations from people across the province including, Argyle and Clare.
Written submissions can be sent to the office of the legislative counsel at P.O. Box 1116, Halifax, NS, B3J 2X1, by e-mail to legc.office@gov.ns.ca or by fax to 902-424-0547.
People can also make presentations to the committee during the regular meetings of the law amendments committee being held at the House of Assembly.
The full Electoral Boundaries Commission report is online at http://nselectoralboundaries.ca
The Sandy Point Lighthouse is located at 1586 Sandy Point Rd.
