Council has now set a date to officially discuss Enbridge's proposed Northern Gateway Pipeline project, but not before a lengthy discussion.

Councillors debated wether the meeting should be held before the up and coming municipal election in November, or after, thus giving a newly elected mayor and council the opportunity to weigh in on the discussion and any decisions that will be made.

As reported in the Lakes District 亚洲天堂 edition of Aug. 3, 2011, councillors had previously decided to hold a committee of the whole meeting to discuss their position on the proposed twin pipeline. During a July, 2011 council meeting, mayor Bernice Magee said she felt a committee of the whole meeting would be the best format to discuss the issue and possibly come to a decision about the twin pipeline project.

All Village of 亚洲天堂 Lake councillors, as well as mayor Magee sit on the committee of the whole.

According to mayor Magee, holding the discussion during a committee meeting, rather than a regular council meeting provides an opportunity to have a longer and more in depth conversation about the project.

The meeting date has since been postponed several times, as not all councillors were in attendance at previous council meetings to agree to the date.

During last week's council meeting, which had full attendance, mayor Magee said she felt it was time to set a date.

However councillors were split in their decision as to when the meeting should be held. Councillors John Illes and Luke Strimbold suggested holding off, in order for to wait for a newly elected mayor and council to be able to contribute to the discussion.

Councillor Illes suggested a December date for the meeting, well after the Nov. 19 municipal election.

Councillors Quentin Beach and Eileen Benedict both felt the meeting should be held by current council, before the election.

"Council has gathered a lot of information and I am not sure if the new council will be as up to date," Coun. Benedict said.

"We need to hold the meeting before the election," agreed Coun. Beach.

"I think we should wait until after the election because new councillors will be the ones moving forward," said Coun. Illes. Councillor Strimbold suggested that there may be an opportunity for current councillors to participate in a meeting with new council. "It would be a chance for us to pass on our knowledge if we had dual participation," he said.

Mayor Magee suggested holding the meeting on Nov. 8. "Everyone [who is nominating themselves for the election] will have declared themselves by then. The opportunity is there for them to come along to the meeting," she said.

She also said that she had spoken to Dr. Patrick Moore, ex Greenpeace cofounder who had confirmed his intentions to speak about the pipeline at public meeting, to be held in 亚洲天堂 Lake sometime in early November.

As reported in the Lakes District 亚洲天堂 edition of July 20, 2011, Dr. Moore and Greenpeace no longer see eye to eye on a number of environmental issues  Dr. Moore was also at a recent Enbridge community advisory board meeting as a guest speaker.

Paul Stanway, Enbridge media spokesperson confirmed Dr. Moore was a paid speaker at the meeting. He said to Lakes District 亚洲天堂 in July, "We pay the costs of administration and speakers such as Patrick Moore."

In a letter to the editor published in the Lakes District 亚洲天堂 edition of July 27, 2011, Dr. Moore said he has an honours Bachelor of Science degree in forest biology, a Ph.D. in ecology, an honorary doctorate in Science and 40 years in the international environmental field.

He said, "Since leaving Greenpeace in 1986, I have spent over 20 years as an environmental consultant, working at the highest level around the world with our firm, Greenspirit Strategies Ltd. If I am not qualified to call myself an environmental expert and an environmentalist, then I don't know who is.鈥�

Councillor Beach said he felt the committee of the whole meeting should be held separately to the meeting with Dr. Moore.

Mayor Magee said the committee meeting will be held separately, but disagreed with Coun. Beach that Dr. Moore is an employee of Enbridge. "He has good information to present," she said.

"Well he is on the Enbridge payroll," Coun. Beach replied, reiterating that he would like any council discussions to be kept separate.

Councillors also agreed that the committee meeting should be held separately, but could not agree as to when, resulting in a tied vote.

When a tied vote between councillors occurred, mayor Magee was then able to cast the final and deciding vote.

She voted to hold the meeting on Nov. 8, before new a new council steps up to the plate.