Some residents of Gaultois are not pleased with the process in place to decide whether or not to accept a provincial government resettlement package for the south coast community.

The town voted against resettlement in 2015.

The deadline for voting this time around is April 6.

Martine Blue told VOCM Open Line with Paddy Daly that current residents are dismayed that people who have already abandoned the community are being allowed to vote on the fate of those who stayed.

She says it dates back to the Expression of Interest put out last year, and allows people who sold their homes since then to be eligible to the $250,000 compensation package being offered.

Derrick Hunt, who has lived and worked in Gaultois his whole life, says there are too many questions surrounding the process.

He believes people who have already left and sold their homes should not be permitted to vote, but those who left since the expression of interest was issued should be allowed to avail of the resettlement cash if the permanent residents vote in favour of resettlement.

Municipal Affairs Minister Krista Lynn Howell says the vote was community-driven and a date had to be set for residency requirements.

That was set as April 26, 2022 which was the date of the expression of interest.

Howell says a voters list will not be provided because of ATIPP Legislation to protect the privacy of residents. Howell says the process will be overseen by government officials, but she told VOCM Open Line she would be pleased to have a third party independent reviewer count the votes if that’s a concern for residents.

She calls it a “deeply emotional and very substantial decision” and the presence of an independent reviewer would “certainly be wanted.”