First test of new government relocation policy fails as Francois residents vote against resettlement

A strong majority of residents of François, a tight-knit and remote community on Newfoundland's south coast with no cars and no roads, have voted against resettlement in the first test of the government's new relocation policy.

"We'll be here for a while yet," Austin Fudge, chair of the local service district committee that runs the community, told CBC News when contacted by telephone Thursday.

Of the 53 permanent residents over the age of 18 who took part in the anonymous vote, 42 said no to relocation, convincingly putting an end to any debate over whether Francois will become the latest community to disappear from the map.

"Most of the people are comfortable here. They've lived here all their lives. All they have they own. This is their home," said Elizabeth Savoury, another member of the committee.

In October, the provincial government unveiled a modified relocation policy for isolated and shrinking communities like Francois.

The updated policy reduced the voting threshold to trigger resettlement from 90 to 75 per cent support from permanent residents, with government assistance of up to $270,000 for a family of three to relocate.

And the government will fund relocation only after an analysis showing a net savings to taxpayers of $10 million or more over a 20-year period.

It's the latest chapter in the long and controversial history of resettlement in Newfoundland and Labrador as the financially strapped Liberal government grapples with the question of how to provide services to a small population spread throughout hundreds of communities and a large land mass.

The government spends more than $80 million annually on an intraprovincial ferry network that includes more than a dozen routes, with a subsidization rate of about 92 per cent.

Francois is one of Newfoundland's most isolated communities, located on a mountainous coastline roughly halfway between Hermitage in the east and Burgeo to the west.

First settled in the late 1700s, it has been resisting resettlement for more than half a century, and that stubbornness was on display once again on Monday, when the votes were counted.

Savoury said a government payout was not enough to entice her to vote in favour of relocation.

"It may seem like a lot, but when you have to pick up and leave your home and leave everything behind, that means nothing to me," she said.

CBC News spoke with one resident who voted in favour of relocation, but who asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter, and a desire to not inflict any division on the community.