Tantramar Town Council reversed itself Monday voting against releasing the 20 recommendations in the 2021 Montana workplace assessment of Sackville Fire & Rescue.
The 6-2 vote came after a closed session in which council discussed a legal opinion from the town’s law firm that said releasing the recommendations could violate New Brunswick’s Right to Information and Privacy Act (RTIPPA).
Councillors Bruce Phinney and Barry Hicks voted against the motion not to release the recommendations while Mayor Black, Deputy Mayor Debbie Wiggins-Colwell and Councillors Allison Butcher, Josh Goguen, Matt Estabrooks and Michael Tower voted in favour. It appears that Councillor Greg Martin was absent.
The reversal came less than a week after council voted unanimously to release the recommendations “pending legal advice.”
It appears from the wording of Monday’s motion the lawyers warned that the penalty for violating RTIPPA could result in fines ranging from a minimum of $420 to a maximum of $10,200 for each member of council.
Instead of making the recommendations public, council instead authorized CAO Jennifer Borne “to release the implemented actions from the workplace assessment.”
In an e-mail to Warktimes today, Borne said that because the motion was discussed in a closed session, she wasn’t able to give further background information, but will be issuing a news release on “the actions that were implemented from the Workplace Assessment” either late this week or early next week.
In 2024 when Councillor Bruce Phinney went to court seeking release of the Montana recommendations, Mr. Justice Jean-Paul Ouellette ruled that under RTIPPA, the town could not release the them.
The motion passed on Monday, which was numbered #26-048, reads:
Moved by Councillor Matt Estabrooks and seconded by Councillor Michael Tower that following receipt of the legal opinion from motion #26-045 and review of Section 82(2) of RTIPPA, council authorizes the CAO to release the implemented actions from the workplace assessment of Sackville Fire & Rescue.
Aye votes recorded by Mayor Andrew Black, Deputy Mayor Debbie Wiggins-Colwell and Councillors Allison Butcher, Matt Estabrooks, Josh Goguen and Michael Tower. Nay votes recorded by Councillors Barry Hicks and Bruce Phinney. Motion carried.
To read my report on the dismal state of New Brunswick’s right to information law, click here.
Why am I not surprised?
The citizens of this town should know their place, and having information on how things run is clearly not it. That is something that should be left to their betters.
A very different decision was reached in this case:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/saint-john-police-chief-complaints-officers-public-judge-sealing-order-9.7133524
It didn’t deal specifically with the RTIPPA, but found that Charter rights trump privacy except in certain circumstances.
In the case of police, Court of King’s Bench Justice Kathryn Gregory stated that “Police complaints, even…in the context of employment related issues, are of concern and interest to the public.”
Oh wow, bravo Tantramar Council—truly acting like the responsible grown-ups we all know you are by “following the lawyer’s advice.” How noble.
Of course they totally didn’t already know exactly how this would play out long before the official email landed in their inbox. Pure coincidence, I’m sure. Shocking development.
But hey, at least they passed that super meaningful “feel-good” motion. Nothing says “we hear you, citizens” like a performative little gesture designed to make the complaining peasants finally shut up. Mission accomplished, I guess?
Now they get to smugly shrug and go, “Hey, it’s not us withholding the public report—it’s the third-party consultants! Our hands are squeaky clean!”
Masterclass in accountability right there. Smoke, mirrors, the whole Vegas production.
Voters once again left standing in the cold like the afterthoughts we apparently are, while the consultants laugh all the way to the bank on yet another layer of this never-ending circus.
Truly inspiring leadership. Gold star for Tantramar Council.
The councillors siding with the lawyers look absolutely foolish and hypocritical for going along with the decision not to release the Montana Recommendations, supposedly to avoid potential fines or legal risks, while happily spending way more than any such fine might cost on censoring Bruce Phinney and going after Debbie Wiggins over that ridiculous Sandpiper installation mess. We’ve already proven we’ll bleed cash and take big risks on trivial nonsense. That Sandpiper fiasco? We dropped $19,000 (plus all the drama, delays, and extra fallout) on something that was nowhere near as important as actual public safety, and the same crowd that now hides behind “potential fines” to keep the Montana Recommendations secret had no problem pushing forward or defending that expenditure back then. We absorbed the hit because it was deemed “necessary,” but when it comes to a serious public safety concern. like the workplace environment, harassment claims, volunteer resignations, and fire department management that the Montana report was commissioned to address. they’re suddenly ultra-cautious and compliant with lawyers, refusing to release the 20 recommendations that could shed light on whether this fine (or whatever they’re settling) is even justified.This is a serious public safety issue involving the Sackville Fire & Rescue, years of volunteer departures due to bullying, favoritism, and safety lapses, and ongoing concerns that have sidelined firefighters. Yet they’re prioritizing secrecy and lawyer advice over transparency, all while having no qualms about wasting far more taxpayer money on petty pursuits like targeting Phinney for pushing disclosure or pursuing Debbie Wiggins over the Sandpiper debacle. Where was the “potential fines” panic when those costs were racking up? It makes them look weak, selective, and completely out of touch, willing to spend big on censorship and vendettas, but too scared to release recommendations that address real risks to public safety.