Advocacy group seeks relief for the poor as NB Power pursues 4.75% rate increase

Posted on March 8, 2026 by brucewark

Human Development Council warns that one in four households that heat with electricity can’t afford their payments

by John Chilibeck, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter. Source: Telegraph-Journal
March 6, 2026

Researchers Heather Atcheson & Liam Fisher. Photos: Human Development Council

Energy poverty in New Brunswick is deepening, just as NB Power is heading into hearings to ask for another big hike to people’s electricity bills, warns an advocacy group.

The Human Development Council has released its annual energy poverty report just ahead of the public utility’s general rate application hearings that begin in Fredericton on Monday.

“Even though electricity rates remain among the lowest in Canada, incomes are also among the lowest, and they are not keeping pace with rising energy costs,” states the report, written by council researchers Heather Atcheson and Liam Fisher.

“As a result, many New Brunswickers are unable to afford essential needs, from heating to running medical devices, and are pushed into arrears or face the risk of disconnection.”

NB Power is seeking a 4.75% increase to the rates of its more than 400,000 customers, both residential and commercial. It is a jump much higher than inflation and following three years of successive rate hikes that totalled 23% — increases that have led to an outcry from the public and businesses alike.

If granted, the latest hike would tack on $10.90 a month to the average household bill, or a little over $130 a year.

Energy poverty

The regulator overseeing the hearings – the New Brunswick Energy & Utilities Board – must examine thousands of pages of evidence filed by NB Power and listen to testimony from its executives, who will also be formally questioned by intervenors such as the Human Development Council during hearings in Fredericton.

The council relies on a formula to calculate how many people in the province are “energy poor,” widely used by researchers and advocacy organizations across Canada. Energy poverty is defined as households spending 6% or more of their after-tax income on home heating.

By the council’s measure, one in four New Brunswick households (26%) that rely only on electricity for heating, spend more than 6% of their income on energy – the second-highest rate in Canada. Only Newfoundland and Labrador is worse at 29%,  the Canadian average is 11%, less than half of New Brunswick’s energy poverty rate.

It’s a problem that’s been getting worse. Taxfiler data shows that the average increase in family income in New Brunswick has been about 3% annually from 2015 to 2023, the latest year for which data is available. NB Power rate hikes have far outstripped those increases.

Strictly speaking, the Energy & Utilities Board cannot legally do anything to help poor people on their own. It can advise the provincial government about policy concerns, but its primary duty is to ensure NB Power, a monopoly electricity provider, is doing everything it can to keep rates affordable for everyone, without jeopardizing reliability or safety.

Affordability program

The council has been demanding that the provincial government create a permanent low-income electricity affordability program, which so far has fallen on deaf ears.

The Holt Liberal government says it provided relief to all of NB Power’s residential customers by providing a 10% rebate on bills, a move the opposition Green party criticized for helping some of the richest customers, such as upper-income households that have the biggest houses and often use the most electricity.

“Payment-related distress is now a permanent feature of the electricity system,” the researchers noted. “The introduction of a winter disconnection moratorium is an important step, but it does not resolve the structural affordability gap.”

The report notes that one in seven of NB Power’s customers are behind on their bill payments each month. The Crown corporation disconnected 4,297 customers in the fiscal year 2025 alone, typically after arrears reached levels that were impossible for low-income households to pay, the researchers said.

In March 2025 the average amount owing at the time of disconnection was $1,159.

Interim rate hike on April 1st?

NB Power says it has no choice but to ask for a higher rate.

“Aging infrastructure, an increased demand for electricity and stronger weather systems due to climate change mean rate increases continue to be necessary,” it states about the general rate application.

“As a cost-of-service utility, we only charge what we need to cover the cost of delivering electricity to New Brunswickers. We go to great lengths to ensure New Brunswickers pay the lowest electricity rates possible, and we look at every opportunity we can to reduce our own costs and increase our internal efficiencies before we raise rates.”

The decision on rates is expected to take several weeks, if not months. Last week, in a special, half-day hearing, NB Power asked the regulator to approve an interim rate hike before a final decision is made, warning that it needed the money as of April 1 or risk hurting its finances over the long term. The board still hasn’t ruled on that application.

Still, the council warns that energy poverty affects “everything from respiratory illness to household food security. Reducing it will improve quality of life and strengthen household financial stability,” it states.

“New Brunswick must implement a program, such as a low-income electricity rebate or a percentage-of-income payment plan, that ensures bills are affordable based on what people can actually pay.”

To read the Energy Poverty Report, click here.

This story was written by John Chilibeck, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter for Brunswick News.

Posted in LJI stories, NB Power, New Brunswick government | Tagged | 2 Comments

Counting culverts and costs: Tantramar councillors question single-source $43K AMP contract

Posted on March 6, 2026 by brucewark

Treasurer Michael Beal

Town Council spent over 20 minutes Monday discussing whether to award a $43,200 contract to a company from London, Ontario to create Tantramar’s first asset management plan (AMP).

Treasurer Michael Beal explained that the federal government requires municipalities to have asset management plans in order to qualify for money from the Canada Community-Building Fund (CCBF) — formerly known as the gas tax fund.

The CCBF provides more than $2.5 billion each year to over 3,700 communities across the country to help pay for capital projects such as roads, bridges and culverts, drinking water facilities, storm and sanitary sewers and parks.

This year Tantramar is getting $606,709 from the fund as its share of the more than $50 million that New Brunswick municipalities are receiving.

Beal said that asset management plans are a tool that helps municipalities calculate the value and costs of their assets, keep track of how much they’re depreciating and figure out how much money to set aside to maintain, repair and replace them.

He recommended that at its meeting next week, council award the $43,200 contract to PSD Citywide, the firm that created Sackville’s first asset management plan in 2018.

He noted that Dorchester’s plan was created by Crandall Engineering that same year.

More quotes

Councillor Barry Hicks

“I’m wondering whey we didn’t get three quotes on this,” Councillor Barry Hicks said. “I know we had them do it last time, but we don’t know what the prices are coming in at from other companies if we don’t get extra quotes.”

“We chose them again because we selected them in 2018 to implement it,” Beal said.

He added that it’s unlikely that other quotes would be any cheaper.

“They have all our data, our data is in the cloud with them already and that’s why we chose them,” he said.

“They had written Sackville’s AMP, which does make it cheaper because out of all the assets that we have within the software, Sackville’s represents 80 to 90% of the assets that are in play.”

Councillors Matt Estabrooks and Bruce Phinney also expressed concern about the lack of multiple quotes.

Beal pointed out that it’s not required under provincial rules to get multiple quotes for procurement contracts under $134,000, but said it would be council’s prerogative to ask for more quotes.

Plan needed by fall

Municipal assets that would be included in PSD Citywide plan

Beal said,  however, that the London, Ontario firm had agreed to start creating the plan in March and have it completed by the end of August when it will be needed to help draft the capital budget for next year.

He said he wasn’t sure the August deadline could be met if there’s a delay while he solicits other quotes.

At council’s suggestion, he agreed to seek information from other municipalities on the recent costs of their asset management plans and present the information to council at its meeting next week.

During the public question period, Beal explained that the plans need to be redone every three years because the cost of maintaining and reconstructing assets changes over time as does the asset mix.

He noted, for example, that in 2018, Sackville did not have the water retention ponds that are now in place for flood control.

“They were a brand new asset,” he said, “that would need to be included in future asset management planning.”

‘Fingers on the pulse’

Mayor Andrew Black

Mayor Black acknowledged that the federal government forced asset management plans on municipalities.

“I would argue that the asset management plan is a good thing,” he said, “in the end because it shows us what we have, what is depreciating…so kind of keeping our fingers on the pulse of what we should be addressing as far as infrastructure replacement within the community.”

To read Beal’s written presentation to council and the proposed AMP contract, click here.

For previous coverage in 2018, click here.

Posted in Town of Sackville, Town of Tantramar | Tagged | Leave a comment

Mayor rejects council meeting with sidelined firefighters as investigation continues

Posted on March 3, 2026 by brucewark

Councillor Bruce Phinney (L) and Mayor Andrew Black discussing why council won’t meet with 12 Sackville firefighters

Tantramar Councillor Bruce Phinney quizzed Mayor Andrew Black for more than six minutes on Monday about why a dozen Sackville firefighters, who turned in their pagers on January 5th, will not be allowed to meet with town council.

“I’m asking on behalf of the residents and the 12 firefighters and maybe some of the councillors that don’t know exactly your reason for not wanting to meet with the firefighters,” Phinney said.

“What meeting?” Black asked.

“Well, they’ve asked for, requested a meeting as a matter of fact,” Phinney answered. “From your response, it’s ‘no’ and I would love to meet with them. You’ve already heard me saying that and I think a couple of others as well. We would like to meet with the 12 firefighters that have requested to get together,” Phinney said.

Black responded that it was “inappropriate” for Phinney to ask the question because the e-mail from the firefighters requesting a meeting was a private one. He then explained his reason for turning down their request.

“The response that I gave is that we have an investigation ongoing,” he said, referring to  the town’s announcement in January that it had hired a Saint John law firm to investigate allegations that included workplace harassment and favouritism in Sackville Fire & Rescue.

He  went on to say that CAO Jennifer Borne had responded to the firefighters’ concerns about the limited scope of the investigation; that the Saint John law firm had re-issued letters to the 12 firefighters outlining the investigation’s full scope and that they now seemed satisfied.

Legal concerns

Black also suggested that the town’s legal firm would advise against meeting with the firefighters because if such a meeting had a negative effect on the investigation, someone could sue the municipality at considerable cost to the public purse.

“This is risk mitigation,” the mayor said. “Our legal counsel would say that it [a meeting] is not a good idea or advisable to do so.”

“You said, ‘our legal would probably say that we shouldn’t meet with them or whatever,'” Phinney replied.

“That’s your opinion,” he added.

Phinney argued that a meeting with council would have no effect on the investigation.

“That’s completely separate,” he said.

“The people in the community, they’re asking me every day, ‘why aren’t you guys willing to meet with them’ and I said, ‘I don’t know,'” Phinney added later in the exchange.

“Anyway I asked my question, you’ve answered I guess, so thank you,” he said.

Public safety

Former Sackville councillor Ken Hicks

During the public question period, former Sackville councillor Ken Hicks expressed concerns about public safety now that the Sackville fire department’s staffing is hovering around 40% of full complement.

“To ensure community safety and alleviate the pressure on remaining personnel, it is imperative that leadership initiates an immediate dialogue with the 12 members who have stepped back,” he said.

“Will leadership commit to an immediate sit-down with the 12 sidelined members to negotiate a return-to-work agreement that protects their rights while restoring our frontline response strength? ” he asked.

“I can’t answer that question,” Black said.

“The CAO is the person who is responsible for HR and this case dealing with the fire department members and the investigation. So it would be up to the CAO to answer that question Mr. Hicks. I can get her to send a response to you.”

Montana recommendations

Hicks also pushed for the release of the 20 recommendations that the Montana consultants made when they submitted their workplace assessment of the fire department in 2021.

The mayor said they would not be released during the current investigation, but seemed open to that possibility later.

However, when Councillor Phinney tried to obtain the recommendations in 2024, Mr. Justice Jean-Paul Ouellette of the Court of King’s Bench ruled that under the law, the town could not release the results of a personnel investigation.

Earlier, Mayor Black said the current investigator’s report would not likely be made public either because of the need to protect confidential information from those interviewed.

He did say, however, that the results of the investigation might be made public.

“I’m not sure about that piece if it would be public or not, but I can get the CAO to get back to you,” he said.

NOTE: CAO Jennifer Borne wasn’t present at Monday’s council meeting.

For earlier coverage, click here.

Posted in Sackville Fire & Rescue, Town of Sackville, Town of Tantramar | Tagged , | 5 Comments

Premier Holt draws a line: money for health care or smaller schools?

Posted on February 27, 2026 by brucewark

by John Chilibeck, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter. Source: Telegraph-Journal
February 25, 2026

Trish Wells has started a petition to save Dorchester Consolidated

Michelle Porelle says it would be a terrible mistake for the province to close smaller schools.

The mother of two children, who attend McAdam Elementary School in the village close to the American border, says she had an excellent education at the same modest brick building.

“You know everyone in your class, and the teachers have more time to work with you one-on-one when you’re struggling with something,” she said in an interview Wednesday. “Or if you excel, they have a bit of extra time to give you more to work on.”

The Liberal government is facing a deficit crunch of $1.3 billion, a growing figure Premier Susan Holt says she wants to shrink in the second year of her term.

As part of the discussions in the lead-up to the provincial budget March 17, her government published a document called Difficult Decisions that floats the idea of closing schools with fewer than 100 students.

In a list supplied to Brunswick News on Wednesday, the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development showed 33 of more than 300 schools across the province fit the bill.

Most of them, like McAdam Elementary (92 students enrolled) and McAdam High School (88 students), are in rural areas, far away from cities. Shutting those smaller schools would likely mean long bus rides for children to attend schools outside their home communities.

“It would be very hard,” said Porelle, who is the village clerk. “You’d probably have to get your kid on the bus at 6 or 6:30 in the morning, and they wouldn’t get home till 5 in the evening. That’s a long day, especially for elementary kids.”

Dorchester’s school

Some parents have already taken matters into their own hands.

Trish Wells, a parent at Dorchester Consolidated School, has started a petition to save the school on change.org that’s already garnered more than 300 signatures.

“The children will be put into bigger classes and the ones that need extra help will fall between the cracks and their education will suffer,” Wells wrote, adding that she had recently moved her child with a disability to the school in the small community to get more personalized instruction.

“Since transferring to Dorchester, she has been thriving because of lower numbers in the class.”

Susan Holt speaking in the NB legislature in November

Holt told reporters Tuesday at a collaborative care clinic announcement in Blacks Harbour that her government had to prioritize spending.

“We are double checking and triple checking every dollar we spend, so that New Brunswickers can know that this government is making careful decisions.”

She added that no stone would be left unturned in the effort, underlining that her government’s number-one priority was restoring the crumbling health-care system.

“New money for health care means you got to find it somewhere.”

She added that the province has a long-standing policy of reviewing schools that have fewer than 100 students.

“We’re taking the opportunity to check that, you know, are we on top of reviewing schools at the frequency that we should? And are we making the best use of every dollar and every piece of infrastructure?

“Every single one of them isn’t up for closure. Because some of them were just reviewed a couple years ago, whereas others, including schools in my riding, have seen new schools built around them and haven’t had a review in a while.”

‘Attack on rural New Brunswick’

Ian Lee, the Progressive Conservative education critic, said as a former teacher, he was deeply concerned whenever a government talks about shutting schools, especially with the population growing so much in the last few years.

“Small schools in rural areas tend to be the hubs of their communities,” he said in an interview. “Closing those rural schools would hurt communities and families.”

In his riding of Fundy-The Isles-Saint John Lorneville in southwestern New Brunswick, three schools would be at risk of closure: Back Bay Elementary School (44 students), Deer Island Community School (41) and Fundy Shores School (73).

“You’d have a lot of parents wondering where their kids are going to go. If you have to go to a school farther away, that means more busing and it would impact family activities. Small communities would be up in arms and protest against that.”

The rookie MLA argued the Liberals should be able to slay the deficit without cutting education.

“I see education as an investment, and it should be a priority,” Lee said. “If you look at the previous government, it had balanced budgets, paid down debt, cut people’s taxes, while at the same time, made investments. It comes down to financial and fiscal prudence.”

Megan Mitton at Tantramar Town Hall

The small opposition Green Party was also troubled to see school closures floated as a trial balloon.

“A lot of rural communities are really feeling stressed and wondering what’s going to happen,” said MLA Megan Mitton in an interview.

Dorchester Consolidated School, with 92 students, is in her riding.

“A lot of the items in the Liberals’ document is an attack on rural New Brunswick. We’re seeing the threat of closing small schools, potentially closing smaller heritage tourism sites, ending funding to small nonprofits, and not taking care of certain roads, which would probably be in rural areas. So, I’m really concerned by what they’re floating.”

Rural schools, she pointed out, are often used for other important community events, such as public meetings or recreational activities in the evenings and on weekends.

‘Careful with every dollar’

Holt, however, promised there would be no surprises come budget time.

“We don’t want people to wake up on budget day and go, ‘what just happened?’ without having been part of the conversation.”

The premier said she understood the special place smaller schools had in people’s hearts.

“I love hearing from communities that tell me how special their school is, the history associated with it, the fact that their rural community has fought for the school in years past, and there’s lots of reasons why we’ve invested in its maintenance, why it doesn’t make sense to move students hours down the road to another overcrowded school nearby, but we are being careful with every dollar.”

To read a recent letter from Tantramar Mayor Andrew Black to Education Minister Claire Johnson defending the Dorchester school, click here.

This story from Brunswick News was written by Local Journalism Initiative Reporter John Chilibeck.

Posted in Dorchester, LJI stories, New Brunswick government, Town of Tantramar | Tagged , | 5 Comments

Mt. A faculty union president calls proposed gov’t cuts ‘preposterous’ & ‘ludicrous’

Posted on February 26, 2026 by brucewark

MAFA President Laurie Ricker. MAFA represents about 150 full-time and 60 part-time academic faculty, librarians, and archivists at Mt. A.

The President of the Mount Allison Faculty Association (MAFA) says she agrees with MLA Megan Mitton that the government’s proposals for cutting university and community college budgets are ludicrous.

“I mean it was everything but the kitchen sink thrown into a two-page memo,” Laurie Ricker said Wednesday during an online interview with Warktimes.

“As far as the privatization of Mt. A. is concerned, it’s simply not feasible, not something that would happen overnight,” she said.

Ricker added that as a longer-term proposal, it would not solve the government’s immediate deficit problems.

“So, whether it happens or not, it’s still preposterous and ludicrous,” she said.

“I think the government is grabbing at ideas without any serious study as to how this will work or how viable it will be,” said Geoff Martin, a Mt. A. politics professor who serves as MAFA’s executive director.

He said the university would probably need endowment funds of at least half a billion dollars to generate enough interest to replace the $27 million annual provincial grant.

“And where’s that money coming from?” he asks.

(According to CBC, Premier Holt made comments on social media posts Tuesday indicating that the government would not privatize Mt. A., but Warktimes hasn’t been able to confirm this.)

Gov’t proposes 10% cut

Ricker said that the 10% across-the-board cut for all universities and colleges that the government is proposing would mean a loss of $2.5 million for Mt. A. at a time when the university is already running a deficit.

She also questioned why the government seems to be putting so much emphasis on skills training in its two-page document.

Ricker, who teaches mathematics and computer science, said students at Mt. A. spend their first two years learning how to write computer programs and solve problems.

“They learn to be resilient in the face of ‘Oh, I’ve never seen this kind of problem before. How do I solve it?'”

MAFA Executive Director Geoff Martin

Martin noted that community college students can complete their two-year computer technology programs and continue their studies at university.

“There are pathways to getting both vocational training and higher education,” he said.

“Education is about being trained, but it’s also about coping with future change and coping with being able to move from one profession to another or one job to another, being able to make the adjustments, having the numeracy and literacy skills and the knowledge of history and things like that, that can help you see patterns and help you adjust and then, not need retraining,” he said.

“At universities, we make decisions based on evidence, studying reports and weighing information,” Ricker says, “and these were two pieces of paper with no evidence behind them or any grounds for making those decisions. Ludicrous.”

Students call for meeting

Meantime, New Brunswick’s seven students’ unions issued a news release on Tuesday calling for a meeting with government officials to discuss the proposed cuts.

The release points out that tuition for full-time undergraduate students is getting close to $10,000 per year, among the highest in the country.

The students add that cuts of $35-$50 million would have consequences for communities across the province:

Reductions of this scale typically lead to tuition increases, program closures and job losses. When a campus shrinks, local housing markets, small businesses, research participants, and community services shrink with it. In a province already struggling with low enrolment and graduate retention, contraction does not solve the problem; it risks hollowing out the very institutions that sustain our workforce, our regional economies, and the future of our communities.

NOTE: Tantramar Treasurer Michael Beal says the province pays municipal taxes on behalf of Mt. A. This year, the town will receive about $2,782,500 from the province amounting to 16.28% of Tantramar’s total tax revenue.

To read the students’ news release, click here.

Posted in Mount Allison University, New Brunswick government, Town of Tantramar | Tagged , | 4 Comments

Green MLA calls government proposals — including privatizing Mt. A. — ‘ridiculous,’ ‘shocking’ and ‘outlandish’

Posted on February 24, 2026 by brucewark

Tantramar MLA Megan Mitton in Tweedie Hall at Mt. A. in 2025

Tantramar MLA Megan Mitton is speaking out against the New Brunswick government’s suggestions for cuts to universities and colleges.

“I think the idea of privatizing Mount Allison is just one of the many terrible ideas the Holt government is floating right now when it comes to budget cuts,” the Green MLA said today in a telephone interview.

She was referring to a two-page document presented last week to New Brunswick university and college presidents that included a proposal to eliminate the provincial grant to Mt. A., but provide a “transition trust fund” so that it could become “an independent Canadian Premiere University.”

“Not having a profit motive for post-secondary education is one of the ways that public institutions stand out,” Mitton says.

“Ideally, we would be moving to make our public institutions more accessible as is the case in other countries where there’s lower tuition and in some cases, it’s even basically free.”

No final decisions

Post-Secondary Education Minister Jean-Claude D’Amours told reporters in Fredericton yesterday that the government is seeking post-secondary budget reductions of $35-$50 million, but he said repeatedly that no final decisions have been made.

The government’s two-page document says that the province’s priority sectors are health, skilled trades, early childhood education and schooling from kindergarten to Grade 12.

“In addition, meeting the needs of the labour market remain front and centre, as well as increasing productivity, and the important role of research and innovation,” the document adds.

“We don’t need to take away from say, liberal arts education versus more vocational. We can have both,” Mitton says, adding that community colleges need public support as well.

Post-Secondary Education Minister Jean-Claude D’Amours

The government document suggests closing some college campuses and merging others with universities.

“There are 20+ campuses in NB for 860,000 people,” it says. “Do we need them all?”

It also suggests reducing provincial grants for post-secondary education by 10% with no tuition increases and giving student aid only to New Brunswick students.

Mitton says such steps would make things much harder for students.

“We’ve seen a long-term trend of decreasing public financing for post-secondary education quite significantly,” Mitton says.

“Students who are among the least able to be able to pick up that slack financially are the ones doing it, which translates into significant debt for these often, young people who are looking to go out into the world after school and are saddled with tens of thousands of dollars of debt.”

Short-term thinking

She accuses the Holt government of engaging in short-term thinking in its pursuit of big budget cuts.

“Some of the things they’re proposing are going to have very negative impacts on our economy and our society,” she says, “especially on rural New Brunswick where they’re threatening to close smaller schools and things like that.”

Mitton says she finds some of the things in the government document “ridiculous” and “shocking.”

I would almost think that it wasn’t real because some of the things it mentions are so outlandish,” she adds.

“I’d say they really need to back away from this and take more time to really think through solutions at the table with the universities and the colleges rather than sort of springing this on everyone right before the budget’s tabled on March 17th.”

To read the government document, click here.

Posted in Mount Allison University, New Brunswick government | Tagged | Leave a comment

Province considers turning Mt. A. into a private university

Posted on February 23, 2026 by brucewark

Mount Allison convocation procession. Photo: Mount Allison University Facebook

Mount Allison could lose its provincial grant and become a private university under a range of options the New Brunswick government presented last week to university and college presidents.

“There is nothing specifically on the table,” Post-Secondary Education Minister Jean-Claude D’Amours told CBC today, adding the government’s ideas are a subject for discussion.

Other possibilities include merging St. Thomas University with the University of New Brunswick and closing Université de Moncton’s satellite campuses in Edmunston and Shippagan.

Mount Allison President Ian Sutherland sent an e-mail today to students and staff seeking to reassure them that the government hasn’t made any final decisions.

“To be crystal clear, to date, the government has not communicated any specific decisions, budgetary or otherwise, to Mount Allison, nor any other post-secondary institution,” he wrote.

Noting media reports about the province’s $1.3 billion deficit and possible implications for public education, Sutherland added: “should the government wish to discuss significant budgetary, policy, or structural change, such discussions cannot be responsibly carried out with short notice, a few weeks before the Government presents its budget.”

That budget will be brought down on March 17th.

Mount Allison’s latest financial statements show that the university received $27.5 million from the provincial government in 2025 with an additional $3.9 million in federal grants.

Student fees totalled $43.9 million.

Last year, Maclean’s magazine named Mt. A. the #1 undergraduate university for the 26th time.

A university news release in October credited Mount Allison’s continued success to its “small class sizes, close-knit community and hands-on learning opportunities.”

To read CBC coverage, click here.

Brunswick News has published a screenshot of the two-page document presented to university and college presidents listing questions for them to consider. Among other things, it asks whether the province could provide a “transition trust fund” to Mt. A. so that it could become “an independent Canadian Premiere University.”

Posted in Mount Allison University | 13 Comments

Tantramar council approves $3.3m tax breaks for housing projects

Posted on February 23, 2026 by brucewark

Councillor Bruce Phinney voted against tax incentives for two planned housing developments

At its meeting on February 10th, Tantramar Town Council voted to approve more than $3.3 million in tax rebates for two planned housing developments.

Council OK’d Artie Kenny’s application on behalf of Salem Properties Inc. for a rebate of $1.5 million. The company is planning to build a total of 87 residential units on its property at 112 Queens Road at an estimated value of $20 million.

Council also approved Eric Tusz-King’s application on behalf of Freshwinds Eco-Village Housing Co-operative for a rebate of more than $1.8 million. The co-op plans to build 68 residential units on its property at 64 Fairfield Road with an estimated value of $24 million.

Under the incentive program adopted by Sackville Town Council in 2020, developers pay half of the property tax they would otherwise owe over a 10-year period.

Phinney votes no

Councillor Bruce Phinney voted against the tax breaks explaining later that the program is far too generous.

“We need to review it and tone it down,” he said. “It’s much too extravagant. Do we need to give them that much?”

Phinney pointed to the $1.1 million rebate that developer John Lafford received for his six-storey, 72-unit apartment building at 131 Main Street and the $1.5 million Lafford and partner Mike Wilson received for a building currently under construction at York Street and Ford Lane with a total of 97 apartment units and about 10,000 square feet of commercial space.

“They’re going to develop anyway whether we give them an incentive or not,” Phinney said.

Stable rents

Freshwinds Eco-Village Co-op co-chair Sabine Dietz

Earlier, Sabine Dietz, co-chair of the Freshwinds Co-op, told council the tax breaks were justified for non-profit housing because they decrease operating costs.

“That means the rents for the co-operative can remain way more stable for 10 years,” she said.

“It’s not the same for a for-profit developer,” she added. “You will not know what this money is going to, you’re simply decreasing the tax income for the community.”

Dietz said the co-op is planning to start building this summer and hopes to complete the Freshwinds project by December 2027.

Co-op seeks changes

Meantime, Freshwinds is seeking council approval for an increase in the number of housing units it plans to build on its 21-acre site from 62 to a total of 68.

A planning report from the Southeast Regional Service Commission says that among other things, the co-op is proposing to add another apartment building while shifting from semi-detached to townhouse dwellings and changing the layout of the site.

Planner Sam Gerrand told council earlier this month that the co-op will provide more affordable housing including three-bedroom units suitable for families as well as some barrier-free or more accessible units.

Councillor Barry Hicks

“I’d like to say that I fully support this development, but I do not agree with adding any more units unless this has a proper street into it that is up to municipal standards and taken over by the municipality once the street is done,” said Councillor Barry Hicks.

He added he feels the roadway is too narrow for that number of units making access for fire trucks a safety issue.

Town Engineer John Eppell said he and the fire chief noted about a year ago that the site has an additional emergency exit.

He added that staff will examine the plans in more detail when the co-op applies for building permits.

In the meantime, town council will hold a public hearing on March 10th to hear any objections to the changes in the Freshwinds plans.

To read the background report on the tax incentives council approved for the two housing projects, click here.

Posted in Housing, Town of Sackville, Town of Tantramar | Tagged , | 2 Comments

EUB hears closing arguments for & against 400 MW gas/diesel plant on the Isthmus

Posted on February 20, 2026 by brucewark

NB Power lawyer John Furey addressing the EUB

The New Brunswick Energy & Utilities Board heard a wide range of closing arguments for and against the proposed gas/diesel generating plant near Centre Village Thursday during a hearing in Saint John that lasted about six-and-a-half hours.

“This matter, at its heart, is about energy security for the province of New Brunswick,” NB Power lawyer John Furey told the EUB.

He was referring to the utility’s “tolling agreement” with the U.S. firm PROENERGY to supply, own and operate eight combustion turbines that would generate up to 400 MW of electricity.

Furey said evidence showed that the utility needs the 400 MW starting in 2028 to meet rising demand and to avoid electricity shortages that could lead to rolling blackouts.

“The evidence supports the conclusion that combustion turbines are the preferred option, and indeed, in this case, the least-cost option,” Furey added.

While he acknowledged that the 25-year contract with PROENERGY might cost more than NB Power owning and operating the gas plant itself, he argued the American company would bring its expertise to the project and assume many of its risks.

Furey rejected arguments the EUB heard last week that battery energy storage systems (BESS) backed up by wind and solar could be cheaper and more efficient.

He maintained that it would cost more to install enough batteries to supply the electricity NB Power needs partly because batteries would not be as efficient as combustion turbines.

EUB Chair Christopher Stewart asked Furey what weight the board should give to environmental concerns as it considers the financial prudence of investing in a big gas plant.

“It emits greenhouse gases, batteries do not,” Stewart said. “And what weight should the Board put on that?”

“I’m pretty sure that the evidence establishes that actually the RIGS facility will lead to a decline in emissions,” Furey replied, adding that it would reduce the need for the fossil-fuel burning plants at Coleson Cove and Belledune.

The NB Power lawyer suggested that the EUB is an economic regulator that must also weigh the reliability of the electricity system.

“When you’re getting into the environmental considerations, I’m not saying they’re irrelevant from a societal perspective, but they are just that — they are a societal perspective, not, I would submit, a regulatory perspective,” Furey said.

To read NB Power’s closing brief, click here.

Financial concerns

Economics Professor Andrew Secord

St. Thomas University Economics Professor Andrew Secord highlighted financial concerns in his closing arguments.

“The consequences of this hearing are significant for NB Power’s customers, with the evidence suggesting that the revenue requirements over the 25-year period may be as high as $3.5 billion,” he said.

Secord added that NB Power will be required to pay guaranteed monthly payments to the PROENERGY subsidiary RIGS Atlantic to cover capital and operating costs in addition to a specified rate of return on the company’s investment.

“The question remains as to whether the tolling agreement as currently negotiated, sufficiently reduces the financial exposure of NB Power and its customers,” he said.

Secord suggested that he could not judge that for himself because almost all of the financial details in the documents have been redacted (blacked out) to protect NB Power’s commercial interests.

He added that, as an economic regulator, NB Power’s financial risks have to be a “primary concern” for the EUB.

To read Andrew Secord’s closing arguments, click here.

Unnecessary project?

Public Intervener Alain Chiasson

In his closing arguments, Public Intervener Alain Chiasson pointed to evidence from an expert witness he had hired.

Florida-based consultant Jeffrey Palermo testified last week that his review of the RIGS project showed that NB Power’s forecasts were wrong and the utility would not need electricity from the gas/diesel plant, known as the RIGS project, until at least 2030.

“If the board approves what turns out to be an unnecessary project,” Chiasson warned, “then NB Power’s customer will bear several billions of dollars in cost of that project for the next 25 years, eroding NB Power’s financial integrity, increasing customer rates, and potentially rendering costs to NB Power’s customers unaffordable in the long term.”

The public intervener, hired by the province to represent the public interest, took issue with an NB Power planning document showing looming electricity shortages.

“It is eight pages in length, including the cover pages, and is intended to support a commitment of several billions of dollars over 25 years,” Chiasson said. “It was done two years ago and much has changed since then.”

He urged the EUB to withhold approval for the gas plant giving NB Power more time to investigate alternatives such as battery energy storage.

“The lights will not go out if the RIGS project is denied. A denial allows the board more time to direct NB Power to provide a fully vetted proposal, including all possible alternatives,” he said.

No ‘social licence’

Economist Gregor MacAskill also pointed to the eight-page document that NB Power is using to justify the gas plant project in his closing arguments on behalf of the Protect the Chignecto Isthmus Coalition.

“PCIC submits that if this level of evidence is sufficient for NB Power to proceed with a 25-year, $3.5 billion project, it is no wonder that NB Power finds itself in financial difficulty and appears unable to avoid large capital project challenges,” MacAskill said.

Economist Gregor MacAskill

“Tantramar, as a community, only became aware of RIGS just before this process began, and we responded in very short order as best we could while holding full-time jobs and other commitments.”

MacAskill suggested that PCIC arguments against the gas plant could have been even more forceful if the Coalition had the time, staff and expertise available to others at the EUB hearings.

In its detailed, 48-page brief, PCIC recommends that the EUB provide help to interveners without legal representation to guide them through its complicated procedures.

“Centre Village is only a convenient site for RIGS, not for local residents who were never consulted before NB Power signed the contract with PROENERGY,” MacAskill said as he read from the PCIC brief.

“PCIC submits that this project does not have social licence, something NB Power representatives have said is important for the relationship it wants to have with communities across the province,” he continued.

“The dual site criteria involving the intersection of power and gas lines for RIGS is not a requirement for batteries, thus opening up a much greater range of suitable sites in the province for NB Power to deploy battery technology,” he said.

“Proper framing of environmental benefits would have comparisons of alternatives to meet the system needs, and batteries would have clear advantages as they do not emit GHGs, other air, water, or land pollutants, and do not require large volumes of water to operate.”

The brief adds that even if NB Power receives environmental approvals for its project, it would still face risks because of “issues with the site regarding air, water, and land resources.”

To read the PCIC brief, click here.

‘Rushed decision’

In her closing arguments, Konstantina Northrup, representing the Conservation Council of New Brunswick (CCNB), said electricity projects that rely on traditional sources of energy can’t be the standard in the province for very much longer.

“Not in the face of the climate emergency, which is acknowledged throughout New Brunswick Power’s evidence, including in the 2023 Integrated Resource Plan, and not in the face of the industry transformation that is happening globally and domestically to meet the challenges and the needs of our time,” she said.

Konstantina Northrup of CCNB

Northrup pointed to testimony from CCNB expert witness Toby Couture that global prices are falling rapidly for battery energy storage systems and she added that the prices for combustion turbines are trending upwards.

She argued that NB Power failed to consider lower-cost options in its rush to procure the 400 MW RIGS project which would produce an effective load carrying capacity of 360 MW.

She compared that to grid-scale batteries coupled with demand-response programs to reduce consumption.

“If we take 200 MW of battery storage and we add to that roughly 70 or 75 MW of demand response potential,” she said, “that gets us close to 300. It’s not all the way there, but it’s at least an option that is worth considering and exploring.”

Northrup said NB Power’s selection of the RIGS project was flawed because it was “a rushed decision-making process” and the utility fell back on “familiar choices and technologies.”

She noted that NB Power is now planning for an additional 600 MW of generating capacity.

“CCNB respectfully requests that if the Board determines this project is prudent, that the board set some clear directions, clear guidance to NB Power, that would help ensure that a rushed decision does not occur again,” she said.

“NB Power cannot continue through a sense of urgency to fall back on what is known and familiar when the realities of our time require transformation in the electricity system.”

Note: EUB Chair Christopher Stewart says the Board will make a decision on whether to approve the 400 MW gas plant project “as promptly and effectively as we can.” Meantime, the EUB has scheduled additional hearings in late March and early April on NB Power’s proposal to expand the 400 MW plant to generate an additional 100 MW for sale to Nova Scotia.

Posted in NB Power, Town of Tantramar | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

What did the Montana consultants recommend for Sackville Fire & Rescue?

Posted on February 19, 2026 by brucewark

While the Montana Consulting Group’s full workplace assessment of Sackville Fire & Rescue is cloaked in secrecy, its 20 recommendations are almost an open book.

The recommendations have not been officially made public, but former Sackville CAO Jamie Burke told Warktimes in 2022 that most are reflected in the new fire department bylaw passed by town council nearly four years ago.

In 2021, firefighters also received an oral briefing on the recommendations and several, including Kevin Scott, took detailed notes.

“We know what the 20 recommendations are. We know how many recommendations were implemented. We know how many haven’t,” he wrote on his Facebook page on February 7th.

Scott, who now volunteers with the fire department in Point de Bute, has been posting what he calls “A Daily Dose of Montana” on Facebook ever since.

His “daily doses” along with changes in the bylaw make it clear the consultants recommended shifting power and control away from the volunteers while placing it in the hands of the fire chief and CAO.

Key recommendations

—firefighters became part-time employees with higher wage rates.

— as employees, they are subject to the town’s social media use policy which bans any commentary that would reflect badly on how the town is run.

—firefighters must refer any media requests for information or comment to the fire chief.

— Montana also recommended that the town clarify the fire chief’s roles and duties.

Judging by his Facebook posts, Kevin Scott is especially concerned about a recommendation that under the town bylaw, all personnel issues would fall under the sole jurisdiction of the fire chief or the CAO.

“Let that one sink in for a minute!” Scott writes.

“Who does a firefighter go to when the issue is with both the CAO and the chief? When the two have each other’s backs, it makes for frustrating situations!” he adds.

“It’s frustrating to know how many issues that have been going on at the fire department over the last 10 years or more, that council has never been made aware of.

“Why is the position of the CAO so powerful that they don’t have to inform council of issues going on with the town?” he asks.

Other recommendations that were followed

—the old fire department constitution and internal bylaws, which gave firefighters the right to elect their own officers as well as a say in the hiring of new members, was eliminated and a formal hiring process was put in place.

—standard operating guidelines developed over the years by the firefighters were replaced by policies and procedures written by the chief in consultation with firefighters and the CAO and approved by town council.

—the grievance committee, which had never been set up, was replaced with a complaint procedure requiring volunteer firefighters to discuss their complaints with the chief and then, with the CAO.

Recommendations not followed

Kevin Scott points to one Montana recommendation that appears to be based on the consultants’ interviews with firefighters.

“This recommendation talks about following up during meetings on issues that were brought up through the chain of command or directly to the fire chief or the CAO to ensure accountability,” he writes.

“As a firefighter at Sackville Fire & Rescue, quite often we would bring up issues that would never get resolved or followed through and this recommendation was to help prevent that from happening,” he adds.

“Problem is, it hasn’t been implemented yet, which means the accountability is not there. It is one of the most important components of a fire scene, yet not important enough for the fire station?”

Scott says a key recommendation on favouritism within Sackville Fire & Rescue hasn’t been implemented either.

The Montana Consultants called on the town to revise the bylaw to establish formal rules to apply to all firefighters equally and if a complaint arises, there should be a meeting to discuss how to proceed with an investigation.

“Considering how many firefighters publicly stated this was happening within the fire department, I am disappointed that this recommendation hasn’t been implemented,” Scott writes.

“In my opinion, one of the more important recommendations from the Montana report was that the CAO should get feedback from firefighters, officers and other town employees who regularly interact with the fire chief. It was also considered that it should be done at least every three years. Many firefighters first met the CAO, who’s been in that position for over three years, after the 12 dropped their pagers off at town hall last month,” Scott writes.

“This is one of the easiest recommendations to implement and one of the more important ones. Had this been done, we probably wouldn’t be having this conversation,” he adds. “Could have saved the taxpayers a lot of money had this recommendation been implemented.”

For previous coverage, click here.

Posted in Sackville Fire & Rescue, Town of Sackville, Town of Tantramar | Tagged | 2 Comments

Former Sackville councillor calls for release of Montana report & suspension of fire chief pending results of investigation

Posted on February 16, 2026 by brucewark

Former Sackville Town Councillor Ken Hicks says he hasn’t heard yet whether Tantramar will release the 2021 Montana Report on the turmoil within Sackville’s fire department.

Hicks wrote to town council and CAO Jennifer Borne on January 21st formally requesting the release of the report after a dozen firefighters turned in their pagers on January 5th taking themselves off active duty.

That brought the number available to respond to emergencies to about 18, well under half the department’s full complement of 43.

Sackville commissioned the Montana Consulting Group to conduct a workplace assessment after Warktimes reported in April 2021 that about 17 volunteer firefighters had resigned over a five year period and that their resignation letters complained about persistent bullying, favouritism, harassment, sexism and safety violations in Sackville Fire & Rescue.

Public statements

Hicks also posted two public statements on his Facebook page, one of them, an open letter addressed to the mayor, council and administration, calling for the immediate suspension of Sackville’s fire chief pending the results of an investigation being conducted by a law firm in Saint John.

The town announced on January 16th that it had hired VanBuskirk Law to investigate the fire department workplace:

Hicks says he worries that the investigator will only be looking into breaches of the Workplace Harassment and Violence Policy of 2023 and that therefore, the investigation might be too narrow to deal with issues in the years before that policy was adopted.

In his Facebook posts, he accuses the town of failing to act on recommendations in the Montana report. The report itself and its 20 recommendations have never been made public on the grounds that New Brunswick’s right to information law prohibits the release of records and recommendations made by an investigator “in relation to a harassment investigation or a personnel investigation.”

New Brunswick’s Ombud and a Court of King’s Bench judge both agreed the town was right to withhold the report and its recommendations.

“We already paid for a workplace audit in 2021, and we already had the roadmap to fix this,” Hicks wrote, adding that Mayor Black now says that the Montana Consulting Group did not conduct a full-scale investigation in 2021 only a workplace assessment.

“The decision to start an actual investigation only now, after losing twelve firefighters, points to a catastrophic delay in leadership and a failure to act on known information,” Hicks writes.

In his open letter, Hicks says town council needs to play a more direct role in overseeing the fire department.

“I suggest a council led fire service oversight committee made up of three councillors and a firefighter representative to track and ensure implementation of the outstanding [Montana] recommendations,” he writes.

More managers

“Adding more management layers and ‘People and Culture’ managers now is just an expensive way to build a wall of protection around the Fire Chief and the CAO,” Hicks says, referring to the town’s announcement on January 13th that it had added a new position called Tantramar Fire Service Manager of People & Culture to its management ranks and would be recruiting a Director of Protective Services to oversee Tantramar’s three fire departments.

“We don’t need more six-figure salaries, we need accountability for the individuals who poisoned the well in the first place,” Hicks writes.

“The 12 firefighters are the solution, not the problem. These firefighters didn’t step away because they stopped caring about their neighbours, they stepped away because the toxicity at the top made it impossible to do their jobs safely.”

To read Ken Hicks’s open letter to mayor, council and administration, click here.

This is the first in a series on the crisis within Sackville Fire & Rescue. Next, what we do know about the Montana recommendations.

Posted in Sackville Fire & Rescue, Town of Sackville, Town of Tantramar | Tagged , , | 8 Comments