Striking CUPW workers picket on Main St. as rural post offices face uncertain future

Posted on October 3, 2025 by brucewark

CUPW pickets outside Sackville’s post office. L-R: Cynthia Oulton, Margaret Seguin, Lori Domingue, Shelly Haley, Alyssa Greene

Alyssa Greene says she’s worried about the future of the post offices in Sackville and Dorchester.

Greene, who is a member of the striking Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW), made the comment today as she walked the picket line on Main Street outside the Sackville post office.

“I’m worried about making sure that there are jobs here,” she said one week after Joël Lightbound, the minister in charge of Canada Post announced he was lifting the 30-year moratorium on closing rural post offices.

“The rural moratorium was imposed in 1994 and covers close to 4,000 locations. It has not evolved in 30 years, but Canada has changed,” Lightbound said in a statement on the same day that CUPW members launched a nationwide strike in response to a number of measures that the minister said would save Canada Post $420 million per year.

Aside from closing rural post offices, those measures included ending daily mail delivery requirements and converting residences that still receive door-to-door delivery to community mailboxes.

Howard Winston, first vice president of CUPW’s Moncton Local 078, told Warktimes in a telephone interview that he doesn’t know which rural post offices could be closed.

“Minister Lightbound is now allowing Canada Post to arbitrarily deem whichever ones they want to close across the country where they feel they might not be making as much money,” he said as he was preparing for a noon-time rally and barbecue outside the Canada Post processing and distribution centre in Dieppe.

“Unfortunately, even if they had a list, they’re not really making it known, at least to us right now,” he added.

Job security

Members of the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) holding French signs reading, “We support CUPW” rallied in Dieppe today along with the striking postal workers. Photo: PSAC

Winston says the main issue for CUPW is job security because the proposed cost-saving measures, including closing rural post offices, would lead to job losses and an increasing emphasis on part-time work.

“By 2030, they want to have 80% of Canada Post employees working part-time,” he says, adding that since nobody can live on a part-time wage, workers would be forced to get other part-time jobs.

Yet he says Canada Post wants to create a system called “part-time flex.”

“So you might come in for three hours, but if they need you, you have to work eight hours, you can’t turn it down.”

That means, he says, it would be hard for a part-time worker to hold another part-time job.

“They want to get rid of the union and privatize Canada Post,” he says.

In an e-mail statement late today, Canada Post’s Public Relations officer Genevieve Joly responded to Warktimes’s request for comment with the following statement:

Minister Joël Lightbound has given us 45 days to outline our plan to implement the series of measures the government presented on September 25. Until our plan is presented and reviewed by the government, we will not be providing details on any of the elements. I invite you to review our CEO Doug Ettinger’s Letter to Canadians for information.

To read Minister Joël Lightbound’s statement, click here.

For a CBC report on today’s Canada Post offer, click here.

For a summary of Canada Post and CUPW positions on all outstanding issues see the Executive Summary and Recommendations in the Kaplan report of May 15, 2025.

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As work begins on access road, neighbours worry about PROENERGY’s proposed gas/diesel plant on the Isthmus

Posted on October 1, 2025 by brucewark

Road construction starts for access to gas plant site. Photo: Terry Jones, Facebook

There was a strong “security” presence today as contractors working for the US company PROENERGY began clearing brush and trees for a temporary access road to carry out water source testing on the site of its proposed 500 MW gas/diesel generating plant near Centre Village.

Rte. 940 was reduced to one lane as the work continued with the well-marked security vehicle parked to one side in recognition of strong local opposition to a fossil-fuel-burning plant on the ecologically sensitive Chignecto Isthmus.

The new access road was needed after local resident Cory Estabrooks closed one nearby that NB Power had been using to get to its 50-acre site.

“They lied through their teeth,” Estabrooks told Warktimes today, adding that the power corporation asked him just over a year ago if they could use the road to take some soil samples for a substation they wanted to build.

“So I assumed the substation would be the same as what we see on King Street in Sackville,” Estabrooks adds.

“So I told them yes, they could use my road,” he says.

“But now I come to find out, it’s not a substation, it’s this 10-turbine-freaking-power-generating facility up there. So, they weren’t  forthcoming right from the very get-go. They lied through their teeth,” he says.

“If I’d have known what was going on, they never would have used my access road and then, they came to me again and wanted to use the road, but now that I know what they’re doing , I’ve told them to stay off my property, not to come back.”

Cory Estabrooks stands on the road that runs near his home at 1551 Rte. 940 and into his 85-acre property. Note the “PRIVATE PROPERTY NO TRESPASSING sign on the right

“I’m concerned about our properties here, our wells, the pollution,” Estabrooks says, noting the big gas plant would be about 1.5 kilometres from his home.

They say it’s supposed to be green energy, but 10 turbine plants when they fire up, how green is that? he asks.

“Yeah, I don’t like it. I  don’t like the way they’re doing it. I think it’s all backyard shady deals between PROENERGY and government.”

Estabrooks says he’s frustrated that Tantramar Town Council voted against sending letters opposing the gas plant.

“If it was closer to town, I’m sure town council would have had an issue with it, but now that it’s out here, they don’t care,” he says, adding no one from the town, not even his local Ward 4 Councillor Matt Estabrooks has bothered to visit.

“We pay town taxes, but they don’t care about us out here.”

Katie Hess with her 3-month-old son Tatum today at Howling Creek Farm across the road from where contractors are building the access road

“I’m trying to run my business here and teach kids how to ride,” says Katie Hess who operates the 300-acre Howling Creek Farm just across the road from where machines are clearing the woods for the PROENERGY access road.

She says she worries about the dangers of giving riding lessons and working with horses with all the noise and disruptions.

Her farm has about five kilometres of trails and the barn can board and feed 18-20 horses.

In her online comment to the federal Impact Assessment Agency, Hess says she has extreme concerns about the proposed gas plant.

“When I hear of the amount of water to be used and its potential impact on the water table around us and that spent/treated water will be dumped in our ditches with high concentrations of iron and other materials that will potentially run right directly into our spring-fed well and local water table, it is very concerning, to say the least,” she writes.

Hess says her family has invested more than $1 million over the last 11 years in the farm and equestrian centre and she worries that a big, polluting gas plant would threaten the farm’s existence.

“And, I’m definitely not super thrilled to be raising my three-month-old next to a power plant,” she says.

To read the Howling Creek Farm online submission to the federal Impact Assessment Agency, click here.

Posted in Environment, NB Power, Town of Tantramar | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Mt. A. prof calls Chignecto Isthmus gas plant a ‘done deal’

Posted on September 29, 2025 by brucewark

Politics professor Mario Levesque in a Mt. A. classroom

Mount Allison University Politics Professor Mario Levesque says it’s increasingly evident that the proposed gas/diesel plant on the Chignecto Isthmus is a “done deal” and the only thing that could stop it would be massive protests similar to the anti-fracking ones in 2013 against shale gas exploration in Kent County.

“This will not happen,” he predicts, “as First Nations communities are part of the ongoing negotiations for benefits to their communities.”

In its latest update on the project, the US company PROENERGY says that on September 17th, it made a presentation to the nine Chiefs and Mi’kmaq Elder of Mi’gmawe’l Tplu’taqnn Inc. (MTI), the non-profit organization that represents Mi’kmaq First Nations communities in New Brunswick.

It says the presentation was followed by “engaged dialogue” and that the Chiefs understand PROENERGY will continue with its Environmental Impact Assessment process as well as supporting a Mi’gmaq Rights Impact Assessment to gauge potential effects on Mi’gmaq Aboriginal and Treaty Rights.

“This allowed the MTI technical team to visually see and walk the grounds as well as have the Elder conduct a tobacco offering while at the site,” the company update continues.

“After the visit, it was agreed that resources will be made available in support of MTI technical team members providing traditional knowledge and environmental monitoring oversight as the site investigations technical work continues to advance.”

Levesque responds

“Yes, I figured the Mi’kmaq would come on board,” Levesque wrote in an e-mail to Warktimes after reading the PROENERGY update.

“It is too bad our leadership (governments red or blue) bypass and give short shrift to local communities,” he added.

New Brunswick’s lobbyist registry shows that earlier this year, former Liberal Premier Brian Gallant met with both the infrastructure minister and the CEO of NB Power on behalf of Aecon Group Inc., a big Ontario-based company that handles the construction of energy projects including natural gas plants.

Gallant’s lobbying was raised in the legislature in June by Opposition Leader Glen Savoie.

Levesque notes that current Premier Susan Holt was one of Gallant’s senior advisers when he was premier and he predicts she would not interfere with a project that Gallant would benefit from.

Is Aecon part of the project?

Neither NB Power nor PROENERGY would say whether Aecon is involved in building the gas/diesel plant. In an e-mail, NB Power said that since PROENERGY is in charge of the project, “we encourage you to reach out to them.”

The American company e-mailed to say: “At this time, PROENERGY will not provide direct comment or interviews during this phase of the process.”

Gallant himself did not respond to a telephone message from Warktimes.

Aecon Group Inc. is listed as a “gold sponsor” of a sold-out Indigenous-led Energy Symposium in October hosted by the North Shore Mi’kmaq Tribal Council, the sovereign wealth fund that has options to invest in the gas plant project.


“I knew this was a done deal from the get-go,” Levesque says. “Why? Token consultations after work on the site has begun! One does not consult the people then shut off environmental approvals or short-circuit them by doing ‘mock’ or ‘light’ environmental reviews.

“I have seen this again and again on different issues,” he adds, citing the Confederation Bridge to PEI, on which he wrote a chapter in his book Environmental Governance in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

He also cites the Alward government’s consultations in 2012 on lowering the hunting age to 12 after it had already been approved and advertised.

“It was a dog and pony show and the same thing is playing out with this gas plant,” Levesque says.

To read the PROENERGY September update, click here.

Posted in Mount Allison University, NB Power, New Brunswick politics, Technology | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Tantramar mayor cites differences between his letter to Rogers & the one council voted not to send to Premier Holt, NB Power & PROENERGY

Posted on September 26, 2025 by brucewark

Mayor Andrew Black addressing council on the proposed Rogers cell tower

Tantramar Mayor Andrew Black says there are two significant differences between his letter asking Rogers Communications to find an alternate site for its proposed cellphone tower and the letter Councillor Michael Tower wanted council to send to Premier Holt and various officials calling for immediate cancellation of the proposed gas/diesel plant on the Chignecto Isthmus.

In a narrow 5-4 vote Tuesday, council rejected Tower’s motion to send such a letter.

Black writes in an e-mail to Warktimes that the Rogers tower comes within the jurisdiction of the Town of Tantramar because it falls under the Antenna System Siting Protocol established  by the Southeast Regional Service Commission in 2018.

The Siting Protocol says companies should avoid placing towers within urban residential zones, on ecologically significant natural lands or on sites of natural or cultural prominence.

Black’s letter to Rogers last February expresses concern about “the potential negative impacts this tower would have on the health of our residents, their property values and their overall quality of life.”

It also points out that the antenna location at 14 Crescent Street would be next to the Lorne Street flood control pond.

“The motion from Councillor Tower is asking for a cancellation of a project, outright,” Black writes in his e-mail, while his letter to Rogers asked the company to consider an alternate location within Tantramar.

During Tuesday’s council debate, Black argued that taking a position on the gas/diesel plant falls outside the scope of council’s roles and responsibilities.

Cell tower may still be coming

Percy Best

Sackville resident Percy Best, who owns the land at 14 Crescent Street, says in an e-mail, he’s hoping Rogers “will do something next spring, but we will just have to wait and see.”

He says surveyors set orange corner markers on the property two weeks ago to comply with the planning department’s requirement that Rogers use a much bigger piece of land than the original contract called for.

“It has been around five years for Rogers trying to find a place and they have had a signed contract with me for about two years…

“It has been a loooong haul,” Best adds.

He and his partner Sharon Hicks sent an open e-mail today to members of council about the proposed gas/diesel plant. It asks council to write to NB Power demanding answers “for the multitude of concerns which have been raised by local citizens.”

To read their e-mail, click here.

To watch a CBC report on a march organized by Mt. A. students, click here.

Posted in NB Power, Town of Tantramar | Tagged , | 7 Comments

Opponents of NB Power gas plant project shocked & disheartened by council vote

Posted on September 24, 2025 by brucewark

A grim-faced Juliette Bulmer talks to reporters after last night’s meeting

Opponents of the big, gas/diesel generating plant that NB Power wants built on the Chignecto Isthmus seemed shocked Tuesday night after Tantramar Town Council voted against calling for the immediate cancellation of the project.

Midgic resident Juliette Bulmer told reporters that there seemed to be good support for the town opposing the project as Councillors Michael Tower, Bruce Phinney, Allison Butcher and Josh Goguen spoke out against it.

“And then all of a sudden it took a wrong turn,” she said, “and unfortunately, the majority ruled to support Mayor Black.”

During the meeting, Black moved a motion to delay the vote until the next regular council meeting on October 14th and when his motion was defeated, he argued that opposing the project was outside council’s jurisdiction.

“I hate to say it, but that’s not right,” Bulmer said, “because a lot of this will affect the health of community members.”

She referred to Councillor Tower’s statement during the meeting that when he wanted council to speak out against the threatened closure of Sackville’s hospital, he was told that was outside its mandate.

“If health isn’t part of the mandate of this municipality, then there’s a problem,” Tower said.

Bulmer agrees.

“What the hell is going to happen when this plant releases its toxic pollution, contaminates the water, emits greenhouse gases way above anything that should be and is acceptable?” she asked.

“What about the health of the community then?”

Councillor Martin explains his vote

Greg Martin, the only councillor who did not speak during the meeting, told reporters afterwards that he was following his mother’s advice to learn by listening to others.

He also explained why he voted against Councillor Tower’s motion to send a letter to Premier Holt with copies to other officials urging the immediate cancellation of the gas plant project.

“The reason why I voted against sending the letter is because I don’t know enough about the project,” he said.

He added that he wasn’t able to attend any meetings which would have included the two open houses that the American company PROENERGY held in Sackville during August.

“I don’t want to make a long statement,” Martin said, “about something that I don’t really  know a whole lot about.”

Coalition to protect Chignecto Isthmus

AWI Executive Director Barry Rothfuss talking to CBC reporter Erica Butler after last night’s council meeting

Barry Rothfuss, executive director of the Atlantic Wildlife Institute, said council’s lack of support for protecting the sensitive environment on the Isthmus is disheartening.

“We found out today that they’ve got the permits to start drilling wells to do the water testing which is the beginning of damaging the ecosystem,” he said, adding that he’s also heard that PROENERGY will start building a new access road next week into the 50-acre gas plant site.

“At the same time, we’ve got a premier telling us publicly that she’s concerned and taking our concerns to heart and telling us there’s a lot of questions that need to be answered,” Rothfuss said.

“She’s doing nothing to slow down the process and making it so that the questions that she potentially claims she’s asking are going to be answered after the fact and the damage will already be done.”

Rothfuss is co-ordinating a coalition of more than 15 groups to defend the Chignecto Isthmus.

He says the combined knowledge in the coalition will be used to inform decision makers at every level including the municipal one.

“Let’s bring it to them, bring it wholeheartedly to them with the voices of the people that have that expertise,” he says.

To read today’s news release announcing formation of the coalition, click here.

For coverage of the strategy meeting that led to its formation, click here.

To read a transcript of the town council debate, click here.

For CBC coverage, click here.

Posted in climate change, Town of Tantramar | Tagged , | 4 Comments

Tantramar council defeats motion to oppose 500 MW gas/diesel plant near Centre Village

Posted on September 24, 2025 by brucewark

Councillor Michael Tower

In a narrow 5-4 vote Tuesday, Tantramar Town Council decided against urging the immediate cancellation of the proposed, 500 MW gas/diesel generating plant near Centre Village on the Chignecto Isthmus.

The decision came after Councillor Michael Tower moved a motion, seconded by Councillor Bruce Phinney, calling on the town to send letters to Premier Holt with copies to other officials:

I move that Council send formal letters to Premier Susan Holt with copies to Minister Gilles Lepage and Minister René Legacy, MP Dominic LeBlanc, CEO of NB Power Lori Clark and NB Power’s Board of Directors and CEO of PROENERGY Jeff Canon, urging the immediate cancellation of the proposed Centre Village Renewable Integration and Grid Security Project.

The letter shall further request that NB Power prioritize the use of wind and solar energy generation, supported by the proven battery energy storage system, BESS.

Furthermore, council requests that Premier Susan Holt meet with council to discuss the project in person.

Lengthy debate

Members of council spent just over 48 minutes debating Tower’s motion as well as one from Mayor Andrew Black seeking — on procedural grounds — to delay a vote until the next regular council meeting on October 14th.

Black’s motion was defeated in a 5-4 vote clearing the way for the main debate on Tower’s urging the immediate cancellation of the proposed gas/diesel generating plant.

Here is a summary of some of the main arguments:

Councillor Tower said he spoke to many residents in town who were overwhelmingly opposed to the project, with only one person expressing support. He added that at their open houses, PROENERGY, the company that would build and operate the plant, did not have convincing answers when he raised the possibility of using battery energy storage systems instead of fossil fuels to back up renewable sources such as solar and wind.

Tower also expressed concerns that wells in Tantramar would be depleted and polluted by the gas plant potentially destroying the livelihoods of people in Midgic and he suggested that a fossil-fuel burning plant did not fit with the area’s United Nations designation as a Ramsar City wetland site.

Lack of Indigenous support

Councillor Allison Butcher. Note: Council cameras were not working, so this and the following photos in this report are from previous council meetings

Councillor Allison Butcher expressed concern that the proponents of the project had said there was Indigenous support for it when it turned out later that wasn’t true. She also said the project was being put forward as green energy when it’s about burning greenhouse gas emitting fossil fuels.

Butcher also pointed to NB Power’s decision to award the contract to an American company in a political climate in which Canada is trying to be more self-sufficient.

“Nothing about it feels right for our community and I don’t like to think that I am a NIMBY kind of person, not in my backyard. I don’t think this should be in anyone’s backyard but I am elected to look after this backyard and I do not want this here,” Butcher said.

Councillor Bruce Phinney said it really stuck in his craw that the proponents had claimed Indigenous support. He also objected to the contract with an American company and accused NB Power of not being honest while making costly mistakes and then raising power rates.

Councillor Josh Goguen said the vast majority of people he had spoken to were against the project and he questioned why solar power could not provide needed energy.

Experts should decide

Councillor Matt Estabrooks

Deputy Mayor Matt Estabrooks argued strongly against opposing the gas/diesel plant. He said no one on council had the expertise to pass judgment on the project and suggested it should be left to the federal and provincial experts to determine whether it would meet all the necessary environmental requirements.

Estabrooks also argued that council should wait until it had the chance to hear directly from PROENERGY about the use of natural gas turbines as “a proven environmentally conscious companion” to back up renewable energy sources.

“As councillors that is our job to listen, to understand and then make the best long and short-term decision based on the facts for the betterment of all residents. We are elected officials, we are not activists, we are not environmental experts. We must not be swayed by populist or perceived populist interest,” Estabrooks said, adding that the gas plant project would contribute between $350 and $400 million to the local community over the next 25 years.

In a brief statement, Councillor Barry Hicks said he agreed with Estabrooks and that council should wait for the results of the provincial environmental impact assessment (EIA).

Councillor Debbie Wiggins-Colwell agreed that council should wait for the results of the EIA and also speak to the premier and the minister of the environment.

No local jurisdiction

Mayor Andrew Black

Mayor Black argued that taking a stand on the power project exceeded council’s jurisdiction.

“This motion is urging the immediate cancellation of the project, a power that local governments do not have the authority to dictate,” he said.

“The motion also requests that NB Power prioritizes the use of wind and solar energy supported by the proven battery energy storage system. Local governments cannot dictate how a business, any business, handles their affairs. We do not have the power or authority to do this.”

While Black said he celebrated the work of local groups in bringing their concerns directly to Premier Holt, he added:

“The activism to stop this project or to advance it lies in the hands of our provincially and federally elected officials, not with local governments, without the power and authority to act.”

When the mayor called the vote on Councillor Tower’s motion, the majority voted against it:

Nays: Andrew Black, Matt Estabrooks, Debbie Wiggins-Colwell, Barry Hicks, Greg Martin.

Yeas: Michael Tower, Bruce Phinney, Allison Butcher, Josh Goguen.

Note: This is a preliminary report. My next one will include reaction from those opposing the proposed gas/diesel plant as well as a full transcript of the council debate.

Posted in climate change, Environment, NB Power, Town of Tantramar | Tagged , | 12 Comments

Town engineer cautions Sackville residents about water use, but says there’s enough for flushing the pipes in October

Posted on September 23, 2025 by brucewark

Town Engineer Jon Eppell

Tantramar’s town engineer says Sackville residents who are on the municipal water system should be cautious about how much they use as the current drought continues.

At the same time, Jon Eppell says he’s confident there’s enough water to conduct water-main flushing beginning on October 6th.

“If we could defer this for a year or two we would do so, but it is necessary to do it,” he said during Monday’s Tantramar council meeting.

“If we don’t flush the pipes, we get build-up on the inside of the pipe and sometimes that can break free and then discolour water at undetermined times and cause water quality concerns,” Eppell added.

“The data that we have from Sackville water well number three is that the water levels and the recovery time for that well have remained consistent since the beginning of July,” he told council.

“So we’re confident that we have the water in the aquifer in order to proceed with the unidirectional flushing despite the dry weather that we’ve had.”

Water well #3 is housed in this fibreglass hut. One of two big surface reservoirs is visible on the left. Sackville relies on the three wells, but has the reservoirs as back-up

During the public question period, Eppell explained that well number three has water-level sensors that have been in place for some time, while sensors were installed only recently in wells one and two and aren’t active yet.

“So, I don’t have levels for those two, but I do have it for well three and because I had good historical data for well three, I was able to rely on that information.”

Eppell also reported that workers have cleaned out one of two big lagoons in a fenced-in area near the water treatment plant.

At least once every day, water is blasted through huge filters inside the plant to clear them of manganese, iron and other particles.

The water is then discharged into one of the lagoons where the solids settle to the bottom.

“Every once in a while, we have to go and empty those out,” he explained.

“That material gets put up to the side and is allowed to dry and settle and then eventually, we take it and dispose of it offsite.”

Dry, fenced-in lagoon with dark solids piled around it [click photo to enlarge it]

In July, Eppell arranged a media tour of the Sackville water system. To read my report on it, click here.

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

Province rejects Tantramar mayor’s call for comprehensive environmental assessment of proposed NB Power gas plant

Posted on September 22, 2025 by brucewark

Mayor Andrew Black

Tantramar Mayor Andrew Black says the provincial environment minister has rejected his request for a comprehensive environmental impact assessment (EIA) of the proposed 500 MW gas/diesel generating plant on the Chignecto Isthmus.

During today’s town council meeting, Black said he had received a letter from Gilles LePage saying the province would conduct a less detailed, “deterministic” EIA instead.

He added the minister’s letter explained that a comprehensive EIA is used only for specific projects.

“The way that the regulation is written out is that the comprehensive EIA is only used for, you know, 0.01% of projects that would then trigger it,” Black explained during the public question period.

“And where they felt that this project didn’t fall in line with one of those projects that would trigger that, that it would be a deterministic EIA which is what is happening,” the mayor added.

He reported that Premier Holt had assured him during a phone call on August 19th that the proposed gas plant would go through proper provincial assessments.

Black said that Fort Folly Chief Rebecca Knockwood had forwarded a news release from Mi’gmag Chiefs opposing the gas plant project.

He also reported that e-mails he was receiving from Tantramar constituents and environmental groups were overwhelmingly opposed to the project citing a variety of concerns.

“So you know, water levels and gas emissions and light pollution and noise pollution and those kinds of concerns,” he said.

Posted in NB Power, Town of Tantramar | Tagged | 3 Comments

Strong environmental focus at Sackville Fall Fair with activists saying ‘no’ to big gas plant on the Isthmus

Posted on September 21, 2025 by brucewark

The three Red Rebels marched in the Fall Fair Parade while a fourth campaigner distributed cards calling for a a halt to investments in fossil fuels [click photo to enlarge]

Environmental activists had a strong presence Saturday at Sackville’s Fall Fair as many carried banners and rode bicycles in the parade while others distributed flyers and posters from booths run by organizations that included Seniors for Climate Tantramar, the Atlantic Wildlife Institute, Nature NB and the Coalition for Responsible Energy Development.

Cards distributed on behalf of the black-gloved Red Rebel Troupe said their costumes symbolized the colour of blood as well as the connections we all share.

“Solving the climate crisis is essential to the future of all life on Earth,” the cards read. “We know the solution —  stop investing in fossil fuels — invest in renewable energy.”

Proposed gas plant

Environmental activism was part of similar Canada-wide actions Saturday, but here there was a local focus on the big, gas/diesel generating plant that NB Power wants built on the Chignecto Isthmus within the Town of Tantramar.

Meredith Fisher at the Seniors Climate booth

“We shouldn’t even be thinking about doing a project like this here or anywhere,” said Meredith Fisher at the Seniors Climate booth on Dufferin Street.

“We don’t need any more of these fossil-fuel-burning projects that emit greenhouse gases,” she added. “It’s outdated technology.”

Fisher encouraged visitors to fill out postcards with their own personal messages for Prime Minister Carney and Premier Holt and also handed out a poster that pointed to alternatives to the high costs of using gas-fired turbines to generate electricity.

Photo of MLA Megan Mitton

Tantramar MLA Megan Mitton in the parade

Other parade participants

Aside from the traditional fire and police vehicles, the Fall Fair parade also featured farm tractors, the Shriners Mini Kar Unit, heavy equipment, a fleet of 18 all-terrain vehicles and a lone advocate for a free Palestine and an end to the genocide in Gaza.

Facebook photo: Tantramar ATV Club

Green energy storage

Caroline Doucet at the Maritimes Against Climate Change booth

Caroline Doucet, who was staffing the Maritimes Against Climate Change booth on Dufferin Street, said her group was trying to inform people about the alternatives to the 500 MW gas/diesel plant.

“We’re also giving information on what some other places have done like Summerside, PEI in terms of green solar energy and battery storage,” she added.

A poster on her table advertised a “Community Climate Strike” that begins outside the Mount Allison University library at 12:30 p.m. on Friday, September 26th.

Seven generations

Climate activist Quinn MacAskill

As the Fall Fair parade was ending, environmental activist Quinn MacAskill said she had an idea to share about the proposed gas plant based on traditional Indigenous wisdom.

“It’s the element of equity for future generations,” she explained, “because the decisions that we make now will have an impact on people who currently don’t have a voice.”

She added that she was referring to people who haven’t been born yet.

“As a young person, I think it’s very important that we think seven generations ahead,” she said.

“It’s the same thing for animals and ecosystems and biodiversity. There are a lot of stakeholders who don’t have a voice, but we still need to be considering them.”

Posted in climate change, Environment, NB Power, Town of Tantramar | Tagged , , | 8 Comments

Federal agency OK’s gas/diesel plant on the Isthmus; MLA calls for comprehensive provincial review

Posted on September 19, 2025 by brucewark

Tantramar MLA Megan Mitton addressing a meeting last month at the Midgic Baptist Church

Tantramar MLA Megan Mitton says she’s not surprised that the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (IAAC) has decided no further federal review is needed for the proposed 500 MW gas/diesel generating plant on the Chignecto Isthmus.

“The decision is not unexpected,” Mitton said today in a telephone interview, “but it certainly wasn’t what I was hoping for.”

She added that it’s now more important than ever that the province launch its own comprehensive environmental impact assessment (EIA).

“I really don’t get the sense that they want to do a comprehensive EIA,” Mitton said, referring to a letter she received from Environment Minister Gilles LePage in which he noted that “comprehensive reviews are generally required for large scale projects like mines, refineries, nuclear power, etc.”

“However, I strongly believe that they should do a comprehensive review that would include the potential impact on human health,” she added.

IAAC decision

In its decision released today, the Impact Assessment Agency indicated it was satisfied by the American company PROENERGY’s responses to concerns raised by Indigenous groups, members of the public and a wide-range of environmental organizations.

The company, that would build and operate the big generating plant, promised “to continue its engagement with Indigenous communities and organizations and provide responses to their questions and concerns.”

It also promised to incorporate a Mi’gmaq Rights Impact Assessment into the project and address concerns about potential effects on moose, black ash and bald eagles — species that the Impact Agency identified as culturally significant species for Mi’kmaq.

PROENERGY provided the following response to concerns about the potential effects on migratory birds:

Left-hand column outlines concerns noted by the IAAC with the right column listing PROENERGY’s responses

Barry Rothfuss, executive director of the Atlantic Wildlife Institute, says it’s disappointing that the Impact Assessment Agency ignored many of the concerns raised in 270 public comments that included detailed ones from organizations such as Birds Canada, the Conservation Council of New Brunswick, the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society and the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment.

Rothfuss himself filed a formal complaint with the Impact Assessment Agency over PROENERGY’s erroneous claim that the Mi’kmaq were co-owners of the project.

He says the IAAC responded that they have referred his complaint to their legal division.

“Even if it’s already been approved and moved on, they’re still accountable under the law for making false claims within their proposal,” he adds.

“So, that may catch up with them later on.”

Megan Mitton says she’s also concerned about the misrepresentation of Indigenous support for the project.

“I think that’s extremely problematic and is yet another reason that the premier should help pull the plug on this gas plant,” she says.

Posted in Environment, Indigenous affairs, NB Power | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Premier Holt says there are many unanswered questions about proposed NB Power gas plant on the Isthmus

Posted on September 16, 2025 by brucewark

L-R: Phyllis Wheaton & Juliette Bulmer presenting letters to Premier Holt today at the Pump House Brewery in Shediac

Premier Susan Holt says her government is asking many questions about the proposed gas/diesel generating plant that NB Power wants built on the Chignecto Isthmus.

“There’s tonnes of questions on this project,” Holt said today after talking with Phyllis Wheaton and Juliette Bulmer of the Stop the Tantramar Gas Plant group at the Pump House Brewery in Shediac.

“I mean, there are the historical questions we’ve been asking about the whole tender process and the competitiveness of it,” she said referring to NB Power’s decision to award the contract to build and operate the gas/diesel generating plant to the American company PROENERGY.

She said her government also has questions about the technology being used and possible alternatives as well as the timing requirements based on federal rules.

“We’re at the beginning of asking a long list of questions about this,” she added.

Lack of Indigenous support

During a CBC question and answer session last month, Holt said she was encouraged that the project “will be co-owned by a group of different First Nations,” but in Shediac today, she suggested she did not know at the time that there was no Indigenous investment.

Mi’maq Chiefs have since declared the project cannot go ahead without an Indigenous-led, rights impact assessment.

“I didn’t say I look forward to a project that has Indigenous investment,” the premier said, referring to her CBC comments.

“I say we think Indigenous investment is a good thing. That’s something I look for in a lot of different projects.”

Juliette Bulmer & Susan Holt with the letters presented to the premier

The three letters that Bulmer and Wheaton presented to Holt included two from Kathy Berry and a personal, handwritten one from Wheaton.

Bulmer said the premier accepted the letters and seemed open to a meeting with the group opposed to the gas/diesel plant suggesting that they get in touch with one of her executive assistants to set it up.

“My feeling is more positive than negative,” Bulmer said. “She seemed willing to talk to us.”

Posted in Environment, Indigenous affairs, NB Power, New Brunswick politics | Tagged , | 5 Comments