Mayor Andrew Black addressing council yesterday on the proposed Rogers cell tower
Tantramar Mayor Andrew Black says he’s firmly opposed to the construction of a 65-metre (213 foot) telecommunications tower next to one of Sackville’s stormwater retention ponds.
In a letter to Rogers Communications, Black asks the company to reconsider the location at 14 Crescent Street across from the Armtec pipe plant and near homes on Beal Heights.
“We are deeply concerned about the potential negative impacts this tower would have on the health of our residents, their property values and their overall quality of life,” his letter says.
It encourages Rogers “to hold a public meeting to address resident concerns and consider a more suitable site for this project.”
‘Beautiful gem’
During Monday’s town council meeting, Black said he had received about 50 calls from concerned residents.
He noted that all levels of government have spent $17 million on the flood control system that also serves as an extension of the Sackville Waterfowl Park with walking trails and natural flora and fauna.
“[It’s] a beautiful gem that will only continue to get better as more and more trees grow and more animals move in,” Black said.
“We will have a…Rogers tower right next to it, which I personally find offensive.”
Black said that Town Planner Lori Bickford told him the municipality can’t do anything because cell towers are under federal jurisdiction and the province does not have rules preserving view planes around them.
Under federal rules, the company is required to submit a plan to the town, notify nearby residents and consider the community’s views.
Rogers response
When asked for comment today on Mayor Black’s letter, a Rogers spokesperson e-mailed the following response:
“We are committed to delivering a reliable, consistent wireless experience and are looking to enhance our network in Sackville to provide more seamless coverage for residents, businesses and emergency responders. We want to ensure our services, equipment and design meet local needs, and we will continue to work with the community.”
The company also said that it works closely with the federal regulator to make sure its products and services meet rigorous safety standards including Health Canada’s Safety Code 6.
Rogers says the public can provide written comments by the end of the business day tomorrow, February 26th. (For contact information, click here.) NOTE: THE DEADLINE HAS NOW BEEN EXTENDED TO MARCH 12TH.
To read the mayor’s letter, click here.
it is ironic that sight lines are now an issue when something is proposed beside a municipal property….perhaps hypocritical as well. Where were the concerns for the downtown core, the waterfowl park or even when the “Cube” was built in the Industrial Park? They all altered the skyline and sight lines of the Municipality. Perhaps focus on the other valid issues but the Mayor and many on this council have no credibility when it comes to the Sackville skyline.
Literally everyone loves The Cube. What are you talking about?
The Cube is an iconic piece of real estate.. agreed.
How on earth did the regulator even think a tower like this can be just plopped down willy-nilly without a proper environmental study? We don’t need any
more smart things beaming into the community. In case you didn’t notice, World War Three has started and we sure do not need any communication targeted sites.
Out on the marsh with you. . Great for the Mayor to say he is insulted, but this is how a no-name disenfranchised council gets circumvented by appointed bureaucrats. Where is the application for this project?
They all talk about the process, the mandate they have, well let’s see this come before council which should demand an end to these supposedly smarter than council appointees.
Mayor Black gather your council and walk into the federal regulator’s offices and then the premier’s if need be. Take your community back. The councillors elected in that downtown Sackville ward should advocate and rally behind their constituents.
Bruce – I’ve emailed you an idea / plan / solution for this this perceived problem.. feel free to republish it here with permission and credit to me.. thanks .. and I have also left a message at Town Hall to get a phone back from Andrew Black to discuss this idea with other interested and invested local people. Isn’t it interesting that the more obvious spot for the Rogers tower at the old CBC International Radio Towers site – now Fort Folly Property – was not part of this discussion? Wondering why that might be.. anyone have any ideas at all? Have also emailed my ideas to Michele Klein out in Calgary and will follow up with her with a phone call too.
The old CBC towers site was ideal for transmitting signals around the world by bouncing shortwave off the ionosphere and past the horizon. The Rogers tower is different. If it’s 5G, it needs to be closer to your phone to give a good signal and bandwidth, so a high point close to the centre of town would be ideal. Putting it outside town would give a weak signal, and poor coverage for parts of town.
Thank you for your thoughtful response Jon.. After speaking with Andrew Black last night by phone I feel encouraged about the direction this whole situation could go.. stay tuned.
Since May, 2011, the World Health Organization/ International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has classified radio frequency electromagnetic fields as possible carcinogenic to humans (Group 2B), based on an increased risk for glioma, a malignant type of brain cancer associated with wireless phone use. https://tinyurl.com/5n7xctyk
There are countless studies that show the harms of cell towers on people and animals. If we’re concerned about our health, it’d be a really good idea to make sure towers are no where near homes, schools or hospitals, unlike this proposed location.
This study from 2022 shows three types of effects by base station antennas on the health of people: radiofrequency sickness, cancer and changes in biochemical parameters: “Evidence for a health risk by RF on humans living around mobile phone base stations: From radiofrequency sickness to cancer” https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35843283/
A study from 2024 shows chromosomal changes in residents living near cell phone towers : “Evaluation of oxidative stress and genetic instability among residents near mobile phone base stations in Germany” https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0147651324005621
Lots more studies can be found on the Physicians for Safe Technology site: https://mdsafetech.org/cell-tower-health-effects/
If you visit the skatepark bowl in Dieppe right next to a school there is large tower directly over top of the play area — now is it possible they don’t know about the harm of these things? Surely they wouldn’t put that there if it was unsafe.. would they?