Published Apr 12, 2025 • Last updated 18 hours ago • 2 minute readThere was a very transparent and open eastern P.E.I. community gathering planned to be held on April 9. This meeting intended to inform and initiate a conversation with residents of both the unincorporated and incorporated areas, neighbours conversing with neighbours about the challenges associated with the 130-page, cumbersome, and unwieldy 2017 P.E.I. Municipal Government Act (MGA). Earlier community engagement discussed regional co-operation, and the advantages and disadvantages of regional government. Communities Minister Steven Myers publicly disparaged the efforts of these mayors and fellow residents with his authoritative, disrespectful message that residents “were wasting their time”? These preliminary discussions about future regional co-operation and governance options were absent in the failed, top-down amalgamations which divided neighbours and communities across the Island in recent years. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY.Subscribe now to access this story and more:Unlimited access to the website and appExclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcastsFull access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment onEnjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalistsSupport local journalists and the next generation of journalistsSUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES.Subscribe or sign in to your account to continue your reading experience.Unlimited access to the website and appExclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcastsFull access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment onEnjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalistsSupport local journalists and the next generation of journalistsRegister to unlock more articles.Create an account or sign in to continue your reading experience.Access additional stories every monthShare your thoughts and join the conversation in our commenting communityGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorArticle contentInstead of engaging in dialogue with mayors and their colleagues, encouraging the democratic process, what did Minister Myers do? He used the newspaper as a bully pulpit to exhibit his authority and arrogance with a one liner” “I will not entertain any papers that come by my desk. They will just be put in the shredder.” This organizing committee of “elected” and volunteer community leaders representing the region’s incorporated and unincorporated municipalities had a difficult task ahead of them. They were prepared to deal with a social media crowd who vowed to shut them down. They weren’t prepared for the bully minister of communities undermining local leadership who serve under the minister’s pleasure. The review of the MGA is long overdue, and the minister should not expect everyone to “stop wasting your time” and stand by just because he finally got around to it. As a past co-chair of the P.E.I. Rural Communities Council with the late Elmer MacDonald, we met with then premier Dennis King in 2023 and recommended his government was in an excellent position to legislate a provincewide land use plan. A well crafted, “bottom up” MGA supported by a provincewide land use plan would be valuable support for unincorporated and incorporated municipality administration. Mr. Minister, the leaders in eastern P.E.I. are miles ahead of you, but like most classic weak leaders, aka Trump, you have an aversion to democracy, undermining their efforts and portray them as the bad guys. Since we have a caretaker premier, he should take care of business; there is lots of room in the back benches.Gerry Gallant,Souris WestPast co-chair,P.E.I. Rural Communities CouncilArticle content
LETTER: Myers shuts down democratic process
