Municipality of Argyle, group of residents, have different views on report's conclusions

The Municipality of Argyle and residents who have voiced concerns over the Aquaculture Development Area (ADA) process in the municipality have different takeaways from a review of the residents’ complaints.

The municipality, located in Yarmouth County, says the 209-page review, dated Oct. 2, puts to rest issues that have been raised. The group of residents says the review falls short.

The residents and the Association for Responsible Aquaculture in Argyle raised 16 concerns about the ADA process, including public consultation, industry access, and conflicts of interest.

The purpose of the ADA – carried out by the province through the Nova Scotia Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture and the Municipality of Argyle years ago – was to streamline the provincial lease and license application process for shellfish and marine plant aquaculture. Oyster farming is a big part of the ADA.

The ADA identified pre-selected sites that could be available for aquaculture development, as opposed to doing this same work on a one-by-one application basis.

When the 53 sites were announced by the province in April 2024, concern was raised by some residents who noted some of the water sites were in close proximity to homes.

The municipality said it was the province that made the ADA decisions.

Feeling stonewalled by the municipality, some residents filed freedom of information requests to learn more. Their 16 complaints were submitted to the municipality last year.

The municipality says it has concluded its review of the complaints.

In an Oct. 8 news release, it says an independent merit assessment conducted by a certified legal expert “has confirmed that all procedural and legal obligations were fully met and there was no merit to the complaints made under Section 12 (of the) Municipal Conflict of Interest Act.”

The municipality appointed lawyer Rick Dunlop from Halifax to conduct a thorough merit assessment of the 16 citizen complaints. The municipality announced this direction in September 2025.

The municipality funded the report. At the time this story was written, it had not yet received the final invoice. The municipality says the final cost will be shared publicly.

From the get-go, the residents weren’t in favour of the municipality’s assessment approach. They wanted the complaints to be forwarded to the attorney general’s office instead.

The municipality says the measured approach it undertook ensured that the complaints were “vetted by an unbiased legal authority to protect the integrity of local governance and safeguard employee rights.”

The municipality also says a Nova Scotia Ombudsman’s independent investigation, released months ago, “cleared the municipality of regulatory wrongdoing regarding the public engagement process for the ADA, confirming that Argyle met every standard mandated by the Municipal Government Act and the Municipal Planning Strategy.”

The municipality says utilizing an outside, certified legal professional is the “established, responsible standard for municipal risk management and governance,” saying the assessment process guarantees independence for three critical reasons:

• The appointed investigator is an independent officer of the court, bound by the stringent Code of Professional Conduct of the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society. Their licence, reputation, and legal standing depend on maintaining neutrality. They cannot skew findings to favour any municipality or client.

• The municipality established clear boundaries, giving the investigator unhindered access to all municipal files, emails, and staff, with zero administrative interference. The municipality had no control over its direction, scope, or final legal conclusions.

• It is the duty of local government to assess the legal validity of claims before escalating them. Passing unvetted complaints directly to the attorney general without a preliminary merit assessment represents an abdication of local responsibility.

“Our goal throughout the six-year ADA process has always been to support the province in building a system that supports local sustainable economic growth,” says Deputy Warden Ted Saulnier.

“We welcome the ombudsman’s feedback and are already actively implementing suggestions to enhance our public engagement policies, clarify stakeholder definitions, and improve direct communication with our residents,” he says. “Argyle is committed to ensuring our community remains deeply informed and engaged as we move forward.”

The two reports are available on the municipality’s website. The municipality is encouraging residents to read the reports to gain a full understanding of the process and findings.

The group of residents that raised complaints are not satisfied with the assessment report’s conclusions.

There is a lot of local conversation about whether the municipality has been cleared in the ADA process, the Association for Responsible Aquaculture in Argyle posted on Facebook.

In an Oct. 12 news release, the association says the legal review found that some conduct by elected officials and senior staff fell short of the standard expected. It also found the conduct did not reach the threshold for a formal inquiry.

“Residents who raised concerns about the Aquaculture Development Area process say the municipality’s own summary of the review overstates what it says,” the release states.

The association says the report concludes that the allegations it assessed do not meet the threshold for asking the attorney general to appoint a formal inquiry. But the association says falling below that threshold is not a finding that the conduct was fine.

“Some of the concerns raised bid-rigging and procurement fairness. The report did not review them. It says allegations under the federal Competition Act are outside the scope of its process,” states the association. “A below-threshold conclusion on the related conflict allegations is not a clearance on bid-rigging.”

The association notes the report says that turning away about 50 residents who asked to make presentations to council, while accommodating meetings with industry, “creates an appearance of asymmetric treatment.”

The association says the municipality’s news release states that all obligations were “fully met” and that there was “no merit” to the complaints. The association maintains the report doesn’t say that. It says 15 of 16 allegations were reviewed and the report says the facts “have not been the subject of the in-depth fact-finding process the complainants would have preferred.”

The association says residents do not question the reviewer’s good faith, but it notes the municipality paid for the review and its own officials are the respondents.

The residents don’t want to see things dropped. They want municipal council to hear from residents; refer the conduct of council members for assessment under its Code of Conduct; and review staff conduct under policies that govern staff.

“We welcome the commitment by Argyle’s deputy warden to improve engagement. We ask council to put that on a published timetable,” they say.

The residents have written to council, asking for a written response by Oct. 23.