The province’s proposal to merge Nestor Falls and Sioux Narrows is a sign the government’s amalgamation picture is a big one, increasing the pressure on other municipalities to find a local solution.
“The way I feel about it is that it’s a different situation. They don’t have any organization to participate in a lot of the services but it could be the start of bigger things,” said La Vallee Reeve Ken McKinnon.
“And God only knows what that is,” he warned.
“It’s something that can’t be avoided. Something like this is going to happen in Fort Frances,” agreed Leona Forsyth, chair of the Nestor Falls Local Services Board.
The proposed merger also would pull Nestor Falls out of Rainy River District–and out of the local DSSAB, which means it will lose a substantial tax base.
Alarmed, the DSSAB approached the commission and asked that the lines not be drawn any further into Rainy River beyond Nestor Falls.
“We asked him to pull the boundaries back,” Fort Frances Mayor Glenn Witherspoon noted.
It came as a surprise to many that the lines would cross over the Kenora/Rainy River District border.
“Yes, very much so,” agreed Mayor Witherspoon. “If we see erosion, we’d like to put a stop to it and that’s what it is, erosion.”
Emo Reeve Brian Reid said he doesn’t think the change is necessary but if it’s to go ahead, a provincial appointee may be the only one who can do it.
“You pretty much have to have someone from outside draw the structure because it’s hard to have three councils come together,” he reasoned.
“I don’t think anybody wants one of these commissions but unfortunately if push comes to shove, it could come down to an outside decision because nobody can agree,” Reeve Reid said.
Chapple Reeve Cecil Wilson said he’s prepared to talk in the hopes of keeping district municipalities together.
“My feeling is we should be keeping all our offices on the corridor here,” he remarked. “I think it’s going to happen eventually. Right now we’ve just opened our doors and are ready to talk.”
In fact, as previously reported in the Times, Alberton, La Vallee, and Emo have launched a merger study while Fort Frances is going through an operational review–all progressive steps but much slower than the two-month process that’s reshaping Nestor Falls and Sioux Narrows.
But everyone seems to agree discussions are proving to be the difficulty.
“Our philosophy, at the moment, is we have a lot of things to offer our municipalities–ambulance, libraries–but eventually surrounding areas will realize that and we’ll talk to them,” said Mayor Witherspoon.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
