At a special meeting on Monday, Tantramar Town Council dismissed a code of conduct complaint against Councillor Josh Goguen in connection with his work as a moderator of the Facebook group “Sackville NB Community Chatter.”

In an e-mail to CAO Jennifer Borne, the unidentified complainant wrote that Goguen had failed to “to promptly address a thread in which I was subjected to repeated personal attacks, disparagement, and hostile commentary between April 29 and May 2, 2026.”

The complainant added: “These comments were not isolated or trivial. They included attacks on my mental health, character, family life and political or religious views.”

The complainant wrote that Goguen had failed to uphold “the standard of respectful interactions expected under the code of conduct,” adding that he lacked the “professionalism and decorum reasonably expected of an elected municipal official,” and that he had “undermined public confidence in the impartiality, professionalism, and integrity expected of elected officials.”

To read a condensed version of the full complaint, click here.

Goguen’s defence

Councillor Josh Goguen

During Monday’s council meeting, Goguen read a statement denying he had breached the council code of conduct and asserting that he had directed the complainant to other administrators because he was busy with his re-election campaign and other commitments.

“The Facebook group in reference in the complaint is a community-run discussion forum, not a municipal communication channel, council platform, or official municipal forum. It is not endorsed, operated, or funded by the municipality of Tantramar,” he said, adding that when one comment relating to the complainant’s children was drawn to his attention, he acted to have it removed.

“Out of an abundance of caution, to avoid any confusion between my role as a councillor and informal online spaces, I’ve posted a notice on this affected page stepping back as an admin and moderator.”

To read Josh Goguen’s full statement, click here.

“No merit’ in complaint

None of the members of council found merit in the complaint with Councillor Matt Estabrooks summing things up this way:

“Councillor Goguen didn’t author the [Facebook] comments himself. There was a delay, from what I can tell, in the timeline from when they were posted to when they should have come down,” he said, adding that the comments themselves should never have been made.

Estabrooks said it might have been wiser for Goguen to have stepped away from his moderation role before running for re-election and there might be a lesson there in future.

Mayor Andrew Black

“I do feel bad for the person who filed the complaint that they were suffering,” Mayor Black said

“That is absolutely not acceptable and I would call on the community to be nice to each other,” he added.

“Social media gives people the opportunity to say whatever they want, anytime they want, and it’s hugely problematic,” the mayor said.

“I would say to the community, to Tantramar residents, to just be nicer, be better to people and know that the words that you say have a huge impact on people’s lives.”