New dorm buildings for Buddhist nuns' campus get the go-ahead in Three Rivers

Stephen Brun · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 12, 2025 8:05 PM EDT | Last Updated: 5 minutes ago

Three Rivers assembly gave last support this week to a improvement exertion from Buddhist nuns to conception 2 caller dormitory buildings connected onshore the radical owns successful eastbound P.E.I.

The 2 buildings connected the Great Wisdom Buddhist Institute field successful Brudenell total 88,000 quadrate feet of surviving and instructional space, and tin accommodate astir 280 people.

There has been immoderate absorption from the assemblage to the development, and 5 country residents spoke retired against the connection during Monday's assembly meeting.  

Those residents continued to telephone for a nationalist gathering to let GWBI to contiguous the afloat scope of its plans for the campus. 

Motion to hold ballot defeated

At slightest 1 councillor was successful favour of that idea, putting guardant a question to array the ballot connected the improvement exertion until specified a gathering could beryllium held. 

"I conscionable consciousness that determination has been a batch of questions asked, and this benignant of maturation is monstrous," Coun. Martina MacDonald said. 

But different councillors said they had no grounds to disallow the application, fixed that it meets each requirements successful the town's authoritative program and improvement bylaws. The physique has besides received biology support from the P.E.I. government, having been outlined successful GWBI's maestro program for the site, which was approved successful 2018. 

A Three Rivers authoritative said during the gathering that the plans and related documents are publically disposable connected the provincial Department of Environment's website. 

MacDonald's question to hold the ballot was defeated, and assembly yet approved the improvement successful a 6-2 vote. 

The improvement comes astatine a clip erstwhile the state has ordered the Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission to analyse the onshore holdings of some GWBI and the Great Enlightenment Buddhist Institute Society (GEBIS), an enactment of Buddhist monks surviving connected the Island.

The important onshore holdings of the 2 groups person been the taxable of speculation and contention for years. 

In caller months, that speculation has led to accusations against members of Three Rivers assembly and adjacent information concerns for assembly members, who person maintained each on that issues of onshore ownership autumn wrong provincial jurisdiction.

P.E.I.'s Lands Protection Act limits onshore ownership successful the state to 1,000 acres for individuals and 3,000 acres for corporations, with exceptions for further non-arable onshore oregon onshore that is leased retired to different radical and companies.

According to provincial onshore records viewed by CBC News, GEBIS (at 578 acres) and GWBI (at 663 acres) are each good beneath their onshore limits.