as residents can no longer file those complaints directly<\/a>. They also want certain staff conduct formally reviewed, and a timeline on when Argyle will update its consultation policies.<\/p>\nArgyle Warden Nicole Albright said the municipality is already working to update those policies, and accepts both the ombudsman review and legal assessment.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople still didn’t see themselves necessarily in this process, and that is unfortunate,\u201d Albright said.<\/p>\n
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Warden Nicole Albright of the Municipality of the District of Argyle said the municipality is now working to improve its consultation policies. (CBC)<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the piece that we missed was I guess the expectation that people were listening, and people were paying attention.\u201d<\/p>\n
When asked about the comments from staff and councillors about residents, Albright acknowledged that some communications were \u201cnot necessarily the most measured,\u201d but lessons have been learned from those mistakes.<\/p>\n
But, she said it has been difficult to see the integrity of Argyle\u2019s staff and council called into question, when the municipality\u2019s support of aquaculture has been to diversify a local economy heavily reliant on the lobster industry.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was never the intention to disrespect residents or to make them feel like they weren’t heard,\u201d Albright said.<\/p>\n
In hindsight, Albright said the municipality should have asked the Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture to step in and respond to residents\u2019 concerns much earlier, rather than trying to problem-solve and answer questions about a provincial process.<\/p>\n
The legal assessment said multiple times that the development area process, and decisions on licenses, rest solely with the provincial fisheries minister and provincial staff. It suggested that residents\u2019 concerns may be \u201cmore appropriately directed to the provincial authorities who hold that decision-making power.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thibedeau said their group wanted to focus on their concerns with the Argyle municipality first, and bring emails and discussions to light at the local level that showed a \u201cbias\u201d in favour of the aquaculture industry over public interests.<\/p>\n
But Thibedeau said his group is now examining their legal options for appealing the development area itself.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe see the same activity happening in oil and gas, with windmills, with fracking, with uranium and lithium mining. Aquaculture just falls into that agenda to sell off Nova Scotia to the highest bidder,\u201d Thibedeau said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is the rural communities that are being exploited here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Edison Skinner, a spokesperson for the Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture, said the province has \u201cheard clearly\u201d through the Argyle process that people want information early and in plain language.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Skinner said that feedback is shaping the next steps in Argyle, including further engagement with municipal council, direct information for nearby property owners, and a public information session before any new license applications are accepted.<\/p>\n
Four aquaculture sites approved to date<\/p>\n
All aquaculture license applications include a 30-day public comment period, both inside and outside the development area.<\/p>\n
To date, four sites growing oysters and sugar kelp have been approved and licensed within the Argyle area.<\/p>\n
The Argyle development area is the only one of its kind in Nova Scotia, and Skinner said the department is not announcing any others at this time.<\/p>\n
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