Municipality of the District of Clare
REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING
Wednesday, May 21, 2025, at 7:00 pm
Meeting held at 1185 Highway 1, Little Brook, NS

PRESENT: Council: Warden Yvon LeBlanc, Deputy Warden Eric Pothier; Councillors Réanne Evans, Danny Hill, Réanne Cooper, Carl Deveau, and Nadine Comeau
Staff: CAO, Stéphane Cyr, Executive Assistant, Ashley Hanks, and Communications Officer, Anique Dugas
Presenters:
ABSENT: Councillor Brian Comeau

1) Call to Order
The Warden called the Council meeting to order at 7:00 pm.

2)  Adoption of the Agenda
The CAO asked that the following item be added to the agenda:

• 9.6 Mr. Bobby Comeau – Clare Special Olympics

MOVED BY Councillor Danny Hill and SECONDED BY Councillor Réanne Cooper that the proposed agenda be approved with the above noted addition.
MOTION CARRIED          

3) Declaration of Conflict of Interest
None.

4) Presentations
None.

5) Adoption of the Minutes from Previous Council Meetings

5.1 April 16, 2025 – Regular Council Meeting

MOVED BY Councillor Carl Deveau and SECONDED BY Councillor Danny Hill that the minutes of the April 16, 2025, Regular Council Meeting be accepted as presented.
MOTION CARRIED

5.2 May 7, 2025 – Council-In-Committee Meeting

MOVED BY Councillor Nadine Comeau and SECONDED BY Councillor Réanne Evans that the minutes of the May 7, 2025, Council-in-Committee Meeting be accepted as presented.
MOTION CARRIED

6) Business Arising from Previous Meetings
None.

7) Warden’s Activity Report – Warden Yvon LeBlanc
The Warden’s activity report was deferred to June 18, 2025.

8) Official Statements from Members of Council
None.

9) Correspondence
9.1 The Honourable Kim Masland – Minister of Emergency Management
The CAO read a letter from the Honourable Kim Masland, Minister of Emergency Management. (See attached)

9.2 Mr. Pierre Potvin – Vice-President Taxation, BCE and Bell Canada
The CAO read a letter from Mr. Pierre Potvin, Vice-President Taxation, BCE and Bell Canada. (See attached)

9.3 The Honourable John Lohr - Minister of Municipal Affairs
The CAO read a letter from the Honourable John Lohr, Minister of Municipal Affairs. (See attached)

9.4 Mr. Colin Boyd – Regional Director General, Canadian Heritage
The CAO read a letter from Mr. Colin Boyd, Regional Director General of Canadian Heritage. (See attached)

9.5 The Honourable Becky Druhan – Attorney General and Minister of Justice 
The CAO read a letter from the Honourable Becky Druhan, Attorney General and Minister of Justice. (See attached)

9.6 Mr. Bobby Comeau – Clare Special Olympics
The CAO read a letter from Mr. Bobby Comeau of the Clare Special Olympics. (See attached)

10) CAO Report – Chief Administrative Officer – Stéphane Cyr
The CAO presented his report for the month of May. (See attached)

11) Committee Reports
None.

12)  New Business
12.1 Motion to Approve 2025-26 Capital Budget
Building on the discussion from the May 7, 2025, Council-in-Committee Meeting, the CAO presented the proposed capital budget for fiscal 2025-2026. Specific investments include the Clare Veterans Centre, accessible washrooms for the Joseph and Marie Dugas Park, necessary upgrades to the Municipal Office and the Clare Health Centre, as well as continued investments in wastewater infrastructure. Council made the following motion:

PROPOSED BY Councillor Carl Deveau and SECONDED BY Councillor Réanne Evans that the Council for the Municipality of the District of Clare approve the 2025-2026 capital budget for the Municipality of the District of Clare as presented.
MOTION CARRIED 

12.2 Motion to Approve 2025-26 Volunteer Fire Department Capital Funding Expenditures
The CAO presented the proposed 2025-2026 capital funding allocations for each of the seven fire departments within the Municipality (see attached). The total amount available this year for equipment, as generated by the uniform $0.05 area rate, is $220,000. Council agreed with the proposed distribution of funds and made the following motion:

PROPOSED BY Councillor Carl Deveau and SECONDED BY Councillor Réanne Cooper that the Council for the Municipality of the District of Clare approve the proposed 2025-2026 Volunteer Fire Department Capital Funding Expenditures as presented.
MOTION CARRIED 

12.3 Motion to Adopt the 2025 Fire Services Review
Council met with Lyle Quan of Emergency Management Group (EMG) on May 7, 2025. The purpose of the meeting was to provide Council with the opportunity to ask any remaining questions or offer any final comments they may have regarding the fire services review. With this latest meeting with EMG now concluded, Council made the following motion:

PROPOSED BY Councillor Nadine Comeau and SECONDED BY Councillor Carl Deveau that the Council for the Municipality of the District of Clare adopt the 2025 Fire Services Review as prepared by Emergency Management Group.
MOTION CARRIED 

12.4 Motion to Appoint Investigators – Code of Conduct for Municipal Elected Officials
The Code of Conduct for Municipal Elected Officials requires each municipal unit to appoint an investigator(s) to deal with prospective complaints submitted under the code. To facilitate this task, the AMANS has established a list of qualified investigators, following a request for qualification process that closed on January 17, 2025. Having reviewed the list, it is the recommendation of the CAO that Council appoint Burchell Wickwire Bryson LLP and Burchell MacDougall LLP. Council agreed and made the following motion:

PROPOSED BY Councillor Danny Hill and SECONDED BY Councillor Réanne Cooper that the Council for the Municipality of the District of Clare appoint Burchell Wickwire Bryson LLP and Burchell MacDougall LLP as its investigators, as required per the Code of Conduct for Municipal Elected Officials Regulations.
MOTION CARRIED 

12.5 Motion to Approve Funding – Side-by-Side, Volunteer Fire Service
The CFFA (acting on behalf of the Municipality’s 7 volunteer fire departments) has requested the Municipality purchase a side-by-side to bolster the list of equipment available to the local fire service. Among other things, the side-by-side would be used to access rough terrain, get equipment to isolated or hard to reach locations, and to extract firefighters or members of the public. Council sees value in this purchase (given the aforementioned uses) and after much discussion on this issue, tasked the CFFA with

providing detailed quotes for the side-by-side and clarification regarding insurance requirements and training. The CFFA, in conjunction with the local fire chiefs, have since provided the necessary information. Furthermore, they have all agreed that the side-by-side will be located at the Meteghan Firehall. Considering this, the CAO is recommending Council proceed with the purchase as requested. Council agreed and made the following motion:

PROPOSED BY Councillor Carl Deveau and SECONDED BY Councillor Nadine Comeau that the Council for the Municipality of the District of Clare approve up to $49,076 plus HST for the purchase of a side-by-side ATV (and related equipment) for the Municipality’s volunteer fire services.
MOTION CARRIED 

12.6 Motion to Approve Road Naming Request – Jeddry Maillet Lane
Municipal staff received a request to name a road in Hectanooga. Subsequently, letters were sent to the four property owners along this road asking whether they approved of the name that had been put forward for consideration. All four were in favour of the proposed name - Jeddry Maillet Lane / ruelle Jeddry Maillet. Whereas the proposed name meets the requirements of the Municipality’s Road Naming Policy, Council made the following motion:

PROPOSED BY Councillor Réanne Evans and SECONDED BY Councillor Danny Hill that the Council for the Municipality of the District of Clare approve the road naming request for the road shared by the PIDs (Property Identification Number) listed below, as follows:

In English: Jeddry Maillet Lane
In French: ruelle Jeddry Maillet

MOTION CARRIED 

12.7 Motion to Approve Municipal Tax Exemption – Centre communautaire d’la Baie Sainte-Marie and Clare Columbus Club
The CAO was asked as to the possibility of a tax exemption for the Centre communautaire d’la Baie Sainte-Marie. To clarify, the organization already receives a partial exemption but is requesting something more substantial.

The CAO presented three possible options for Council’s consideration with the caveat that any exemption granted the Centre communautaire d’la Baie Sainte-Marie also be extended to the Clare Columbus Club (given both organizations have a similar mandate and are taxed in a similar fashion). That said, Council chose the second option, wherein both groups are taxed fully at the commercial tax rate and then given a 50% tax rebate, and subsequently passed the following motion:

PROPOSED BY Councillor Nadine Comeau and SECONDED BY Councillor Réanne Cooper that the Council for the Municipality of the District of Clare approve a tax exemption for the Centre communautaire d’la Baie Sainte-Marie and the Clare Columbus Club wherein both groups are taxed fully at the commercial tax rate and then given a 50% tax rebate.
MOTION CARRIED 

13) Closed Session
None.

14) Date and time of the next Regular Council Meeting
The next Regular Council Meeting will be held on Wednesday, June 18, 2025, at 7:00 pm.

15) Adjournment
MOVED BY Councillor Réanne Evans to adjourn the meeting at 8:29 pm.

Submitted by:
Ashley Hanks
Executive Assistant