Life in the bike lane: Some Halifax councillors want premier to butt out over municipal issues
Some members of Halifax Regional Council are taking issue with the province weighing in on municipal issues.
Last week, Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston sided with the city’s mayor on his motion calling for all bike lane construction to be halted.
Now, some are wondering how far provincial overreach will go between Houston’s government and Mayor Andy Fillmore.
Coun. Shawn Cleary said it feels like “the premier wants to run Halifax,” while others call it “undemocratic.”
“It’s really an undemocratic development because many of HRM’s plans were developed with the public, at public hearings or doing public consultations. So, when the province steps in and overrules, they’re really overruling residents of HRM,” said Coun. Kathryn Morse.
Dalhousie University political scientist professor, Lori Turnbull, says don’t expect the province to slow down when wanting its say on the happening in Halifax.
She says watching Houston weigh in on the mayor’s bike lane motion wasn’t surprising.
“He sees someone he can do business with with Fillmore and a sense of like-mindedness around some of these development issues and an understanding that, you know, we might be good partners,” she said.
In a statement on Monday, Fillmore didn’t express concern with the province being involved in municipal issues.
“Since taking office in 2021, the premier has intervened on some municipal matters in order to advance our collective objectives of building a stronger municipality,” he wrote.
When asked to comment on concerns raised by councillors on possible overstepping, Houston reiterated in a statement his support for Fillmore’s motion on bike lanes.
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