Councillor Barry Hicks

Tantramar Town Council voted unanimously Tuesday to authorize the public release of the recommendations in the Montana report on the Sackville fire department.

Councillor Barry Hicks moved the motion, seconded by Deputy Mayor Debbie Wiggins-Colwell, to authorize release of the 20 recommendations “pending legal advice.”

Hicks’s motion also requires CAO Jennifer Borne to provide an update on the actions the town has taken to implement each of the recommendations.

The vote came after council met in closed session for about 15 minutes at the end of its regular meeting.

The town of Sackville commissioned the Montana Consulting Group to conduct a workplace assessment of Sackville Fire & Rescue in April 2021 after Warktimes published articles about allegations of persistent bullying, harassment and favouritism that had led to the resignations of at least 17 volunteer firefighters over a five year period.

After the town had received the $31,500 Montana Report in September 2021, the consultants gave oral briefings on the recommendations behind closed doors to volunteer firefighters and to members of town council.

When Warktimes attempted to get a copy of the report, the town refused to release it under provisions of the Right to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (RTIPPA).

Section 20 of the Act states that the town clerk “shall refuse to disclose information that would reveal…the substance of records made by an investigator providing advice or recommendations of the investigator in relation to a harassment investigation or a personnel investigation.”

Warktimes appealed the decision to the New Brunswick Ombud arguing that:

I feel the town is violating the spirit of RTIPPA, which is that information should be public with specific exceptions. In this case, the town is refusing to release any part of the Workplace Assessment including any of its 20 recommendations. This is a matter of considerable public interest since local taxpayers pay almost a million dollars per year for the fire protection provided by volunteers. Aside from the complaints from the firefighters themselves, there are safety implications for the town, especially when firefighters are quitting the department. The town CAO has said all of the recommendations will be implemented, but it won’t be possible to judge that if they are kept confidential. The CAO is also in a potential conflict of interest since several current and former firefighters complained that neither he nor his predecessor responded to their concerns.

Timeline

• April 2022: Ombud Marie-France Pelletier sides with the town’s refusal to release the Montana report and its recommendations. To read her letter, click here.
• August 2023: The town denies Councillor Bruce Phinney’s request for a copy of the report and its recommendations.
• October 2023: Town council votes against Phinney’s motion calling for release of the Montana report.
• March 2024: Phinney takes his case for release of the 20 recommendations to the Court of King’s Bench arguing that: “Sackville Town Council did not authorize the hiring of Montana Consulting to conduct a harassment or personnel investigation, but to investigate complaints about how the town’s fire department was being managed, especially to understand the environment and circumstances that had led to the resignations of so many of its volunteer members.”
• April 2024: Mr. Justice Jean-Paul Ouellette rules against Phinney saying the town could not release the recommendations because they were part of a personnel and harassment investigation.
• January 2026: 12 firefighters turn in their pagers at town hall.
• January 2026: The town announces it has hired a Saint John law firm to investigate the fire department workplace:

For a report on what we know about the Montana recommendations, click here.