Municipalities in Nova Scotia’s Lunenburg County are debating the future of their anti-racism and anti-discrimination work, as some staff say the regional approach is no longer working.

In January 2024, five municipalities signed an agreement to form the anti-racism and anti-discrimination advisory committee and hire a regional co-ordinator.

They included the towns of Bridgewater, Mahone Bay and Lunenburg, along with the District of Lunenburg and District of Chester.

But on Tuesday, staff with the Municipality of the District of Lunenburg brought a report to council recommending the committee be dissolved because it has not been able to fulfil its mandate.

“It’s not easy to bring this recommendation forward. It’s certainly not the path of least resistance,” said Tom MacEwan, chief administrative officer for the municipality.

“But it is an acknowledgement that there’s a problem with the committee, there’s a problem with the structure, and that those issues have impacted the ability of the committee to move forward and achieve its responsibilities.”

Municipalities in Nova Scotia have varied in their approach to the province’s requirement to create anti-racism and discrimination plans. Some have made their own, while others have joined together in regional plans, including within Annapolis County and Pictou County.

MacEwan said the Lunenburg County committee has only met a few times since forming in the spring of 2025. The group was supposed to review and update the regional anti-racism action plan and make suggestions to councils, he said, but that has not happened.

Municipal contract ends this fall

He said the inter-municipal agreement for the work was originally scheduled to end this month but was extended to Sept. 30.

Given there are only a few months left in the contract, MacEwan said staff are not confident the committee has “the capacity or the expertise” to meet its mandate in the absence of a regional co-ordinator.

The staff report said that co-ordinator, Gem Roberts-Zwicker, has been on leave since late last fall and will continue to be on leave until the end of the contract. The report also said the regional approach creates an “untenable and unworkable employment situation” for the co-ordinator. 

Roberts-Zwicker said in a letter last week to the municipal councils that she does not believe that’s an “accurate reflection” of what happened.

In the letter, which was shared with CBC News, Roberts-Zwicker said she had attempted to return to work, but was instead removed from her duties. 

“To now suggest the work cannot continue because of my absence is not only misleading, it shifts responsibility away from institutional decision-making and onto an individual,” Roberts-Zwicker wrote.

During the public participation section of Tuesday’s council meeting, multiple residents urged council to keep the regional committee. They said racism and discrimination do not stop at municipal borders, and having community members on the group was key.

Brian Limoyo, who helped push for a regional committee as part of Bridgewater’s individual anti-racism task force, said he did not want to go backward.

“I see the cycle over and over again of asking people like myself and people in my community to be consistently put in places of absolute discomfort to speak to racism, and often I feel no one is really listening,” said Limoyo.

Coun. Alison Smith, a member of the regional committee, called on her colleagues to keep the committee until the contract runs out.

She said the group has been “grossly mischaracterized.” Smith said the committee wanted to meet more frequently, but was prevented due to staffing issues.

“I am shocked, frankly, by the lack of accountability coming from this report,” Smith said.

Council eventually passed the motion to dissolve the committee, with Smith and two other councillors voting in opposition. If the majority of the other municipalities involved do not vote to dissolve, council agreed the District of Lunenburg will pull out.

Mayor Elspeth McLean-Wile said it has become clear to her that something must change because the discussion on such an important issue should be about real initiatives to make a difference, and not governance structure.

But to Smith’s point, the mayor said accountability is needed and that will be part of what the municipality learns as it determines its way forward.

“We need to learn from the mistakes that have been made, and clearly there have been … a number of missteps,” McLean-Wile said.

“But we will make the commitment to continue the work.”

Staff said they will move ahead with an internal plan to improve equity and diversity within the municipal workplace.

Council will decide in the future how it engages with local residents to craft an update to its current regional anti-racism plan, which is required by the province to take place before April 1, 2028. 

Mahone Bay votes to keep committee

On Tuesday, Mahone Bay council voted to take a different approach.

It passed a motion from Coun. Penny Carver, an anti-racism committee member, to keep the group in place until September. 

Chester is set to discuss the issue on Thursday. The remaining municipalities will review the issue over the coming weeks.

MORE TOP STORIES