Area cottagers want MLA Clarence Pettersen to show provincial lawmakers how cabin owners overwhelming, if not unanimously, reject the idea of joining Flin Flon.
North of 54 Cottage Association plans to ask Pettersen to present to the Manitoba legislature a petition opposing any Flin Flon effort to annex cottage country.
Dale Powell, a director with North of 54, said the petition bears over 500 signatures and he is personally not aware of a single cottager who declined to sign.
The petition, which went door to door over the summer, was always intended to go to the legislature.
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Powell said the traditional way for petitioners to get their message to the legislative chamber is to ask their MLA to present their petition.
After some discussion at their annual meeting last week, that is just what North of 54 members decided to ask of Pettersen this fall.
In May, Pettersen publicly said he would have “no problem” with cottage subdivisions being amalgamated into Flin Flon.
At the time, the city had asked the province to amalgamate cottage country with the municipality. Though this process differs from annexation, it would have had the same end result of cabin subdivisions becoming a taxable part of Flin Flon.
The province will not proceed on that request, opening the door for the city to formally apply for annexation, a step Mayor George Fontaine has very much kept on the table.
But Fontaine could lose his seat in next month’s civic election. And even if he does win, it’s possible his new council won’t be behind him on the possibility of annexation.
In any event, the provincial government has the final say over any annexation request. One of the factors that would be considered is the willingness, or lack thereof, of cottagers to join Flin Flon.
Pettersen was unavailable for comment.