'Unbelievable' turnout for Three Rivers amalgamation plebiscite

Turnout has been high for a plebiscite for unincorporated areas in the Three Rivers area to have their say on amalgamation. 

One of its organizers expects by the end of Monday more than 800 community members will have voted.

Amalgamation of the Three Rivers area has been under study since 2014 and would include the communities of Brudenell, Cardigan, Lorne Valley, Lower Montague, Montague and Valleyfield. Georgetown voted to pull out of the talks last fall.

"Totally beyond my expectations, just unbelievable," said Sylvia Teasdale, the group's spokesperson.

Saturday, 545 voters cast their ballots, most of them in person, she said. Monday morning, people were lined up outside a polling station at Poole's Corner, Teasdale said. 

"It's been non stop, we're running out of sign-in sheets," she added. "It's absolutely overwhelming. I had no idea people wanted to express themselves so much on this issue." A 96-year-old woman even turned out to have her say, Teasdale said. 

The group has also been accepting email votes from Islanders working out-of-province. 

The group had publicized the vote with flyers left at every civic address that looked inhabited, Teasdale said. 

Polls close Monday at 7 p.m. and Teasdale expects the votes will be counted by 9 p.m. The results will be posted on the groups' Facebook page, Unincorporated Islanders. 

I had no idea people wanted to express themselves so much on this issue.— Sylvia Teasdale

The group is not sure exactly how many eligible voters there are in the area, but Teasdale estimates to 800 to 1,000 voters who will have voted represent about half of all eligible voters.

"If they [government] want to disregard the wishes of that many people — well, I suppose they can, but it's going to come back and bite them at some point," Teasdale said. 

Low turnout in Lower Montague

A vote in Lower Montague last week did not galvanize voters, however — only 141 eligible voters out of 400 cast ballots.

Those who did cast ballots voted overwhelmingly against amalgamation — the vote was 95 against, 46 in favour.

"I was actually shocked — I thought it would have been a lot closer," said Scott Annear, chair of Lower Montague's community council. He's personally in favour of amalgamation.  

Lower Montague's council had stipulated for the vote to be valid, half of the municipality's eligible voters had to cast ballots. Annear isn't sure why turnout fell short. 

Our say isn't being honoured.— Mary Condon

Council must now decide whether or not it will accept the results of the vote at its next meeting, Feb. 7.

That has some residents upset.

"Our say isn't being honoured," Mary Condon said. 

"I put in the time and effort to attend the public meeting, I put in the time and effort to read the information on the website, I put in the effort sharing a couple posts to remind people to get out and vote ... all of that was just a waste of my time." 

"Why did I bother?" 

Valleyfield had also voted to reject amalgamation, said Annear, while Montague, Cardigan and Brudenell voted in favour in November. 

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