UPDATE: Tantramar town council discusses whether Farmers Market belongs in the Civic Centre

Posted on November 28, 2025 by brucewark

Just By Nature Bath & Body Care display at Farmers Market on the Civic Centre mezzanine level overlooking the hockey rink. Photo: Facebook

The following report contains updated information from Matt Pryde, director, active living and culture e-mailed to Warktimes on December 2, 2025.

Tantramar Town Council held a lively 18-minute discussion on Monday about whether the Sackville Farmers Market belongs in the Tantramar Civic Centre during the winter.

“Do I think it’s the right place for it? I really don’t,” said Councillor Debbie Wiggins-Colwell.

“I don’t think the market should interfere with our scheduling the hockey.”

Wiggins-Colwell was referring to the town’s request that the Tantramar Regional High School and the Sackville Minor Hockey Club avoid scheduling their home teams to play in the Civic Centre arena between 9 a.m. and noon on Tournament Saturdays when the Farmers Market is underway.

In his update to Warktimes on December 2nd, Matt Pryde, director, active living and culture says the town’s recommendation is not a blanket one, just during tournaments.

“It should be noted that for all Sackville Minor Hockey Tournaments, the Sackville Skating Club is on the ice from 9:00 a.m.-11:15 a.m. anyway, so Minor Hockey would simply need to schedule the Sackville Team to play at 12:45 p.m. rather than 11:30 a.m.  In the case of the Tantramar Titans, the Titan Boys have traditionally played at 1:00 p.m. anyway, as they did this year, and parking was a non-issue,” Pryde’s update continues.

In a two-page report to council, Pryde suggested that not scheduling hockey then would alleviate congestion in Civic Centre parking lots, although he also pointed out that on November 15th when people complained about lack of parking, there were spots available in both the paved and gravel lots and the overflow parking areas at the back weren’t used at all.

Tantramar recreation manager Jamie Ferguson

Pryde was not at Monday’s council meeting, but his report was presented by recreation manager Jamie Ferguson who explained that the Farmers Market had been considering using the activity centre at Bill Johnstone Park in the winter, but there were two problems.

“It’s much smaller to fit all the vendors inside and the second one is that in a winter storm, we couldn’t guarantee that it would be plowed and open for the market on Saturdays,” he said.

When Councillor Wiggins-Colwell expressed concerns about outside market vendors blocking fire lanes, Sackville Fire Chief Craig Bowser said his department does not use those areas as fire lanes at all.

Councillor Barry Hicks sided with Wiggins-Colwell.

“I don’t agree with changing the hockey schedules,” he said. “It is an arena, it’s not a farmers market.”

“I think it’s important for council and staff and the public to understand that the building is called the Tantramar Memorial Civic Centre,” said Mayor Andrew Black.

“It’s not an arena. It’s not a rink,” he added. “It’s a Civic Centre, meaning that it is open to the public and we get user groups from all over the place renting that for many, many different things,” he said.

“It just so happens that it has an ice surface that we play an awful lot of hockey on, which is wonderful, but we rent it out for birthday parties. We rent it out for all kinds of events upstairs.”

Councillor Barry Hicks

When Councillor Hicks suggested scheduling the bylaw officer on Saturday mornings to enforce parking restrictions in handicapped or accessible spots at the Civic Centre, Treasurer Michael Beal said that could be done because the officer is already on duty enforcing the overnight winter parking ban in Sackville that begins on December 1st.

Matt Pryde’s report to council concludes that the Titans hockey tournament co-existing with the Farmers Market was “a big success” on November 15th.

“Looking at security footage, we counted 104 tournament attendees crossing over to visit the Market as well, further strengthening the experience of the tournament attendee and revenue for the market vendors.”

Vanessa Blackier, who manages the Farmers Market, says she has noticed new people coming to the market in its new, winter location.

“There’s a lot of cross-pollination that’s been happening between Civic Centre users and also Farmers Market patrons,” she adds.

“I think there are a lot of positive things that are starting and we’re just at the beginning.”

Blackier says the Farmers Market pays $100 each Saturday to rent the Civic Centre space which is warm and well lit.

“One thing that’s really nice is there’s also room for customers to just visit with each other.

“A huge part of farmers’ markets is the social aspect and sometimes that doesn’t get touched on as much, but it’s really a place where community can come together,” she says.

” I really feel like it’s a very positive space.”

To read the full text of Pryde’s e-mail update, click here.

Sackville Farmers Market in the Civic Centre. Photo: Lara MacMillan, CHMA

Posted in Town of Tantramar | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Tantramar council hears about harassment, intimidation of elected officials

Posted on November 26, 2025 by brucewark

Deputy Mayor Matt Estabrooks

Tantramar’s Deputy Mayor says the harassment of public officials has become “alarmingly normalized with widespread verbal and online abuse creating fear, emotional fatigue and discouraging public service participation.”

Matt Estabrooks made the comment Monday during town council discussion of a symposium that he attended along with Mayor Andrew Black and Councillor Allison Butcher earlier this month in Fredericton.

The symposium on the harassment and intimidation of elected municipal officials was jointly sponsored by the Union of Municipalities of New Brunswick and the provincial Association of Francophone Municipalities.

“I have personally experienced several instances of inappropriate behaviour both from the public and unfortunately even from other elected officials as well,” Estabrooks said, “involving shouting and intimidation both in council chambers and at other municipal events, even so far as shouting at my family and I while at home in my own yard on a weeknight.”

The deputy mayor also mentioned receiving “reams of passive-aggressive e-mails to filter through, taking shots at you, questioning your morals or ethical positions on issues of the day.”

He added it’s no wonder that people who care about their communities are discouraged from serving as elected officials.

Estabrooks also said it’s wrong for members of council to spread gossip or hearsay about their colleagues.

“It is not okay to tear your colleagues down either when in conversation with constituents or with other elected officials even with other levels of government,” he said.

“I have had these situations arise and it is alarming. This behaviour is not okay. It is not acceptable and it needs to stop.”

Estabrooks responded to an e-mail from Warktimes asking what issues prompted the harassment he had experienced, by saying he would prefer not to comment further.

Survey results

A survey conducted for the symposium by the consulting firm Strategic Steps asked 48 English-speaking locally elected officials in New Brunswick and 30 French-speaking ones if they had ever experienced any kind of abuse/harassment in the course of their council roles:

Response Category Percentage Number of Council Members
Experienced abuse or harassment 64% 50
Did NOT experience abuse or harassment 33.3% 26
Not sure 3% 2
Total — 78

The elected officials were also asked how often they had experienced any type of abuse or harassment:

Frequency of Abuse or Harassment Percentage Number of Council Members
(out of 50)
Once 9.6% 5
A few times 75% 38
At least once a week 15.4% 7

More than 80% of those who had experienced abuse or harassment said it was verbal and came mainly from the public on social media or other online platforms, but just over 24% said it came from a member of council and 3.7% said it came from the mayor.

In its report, Strategic Steps says it’s difficult to manage abuse from the public partly because users of social media are able to comment anonymously and are not regulated by those online platforms.

It adds that “there is a strong undercurrent of elected officials abusing or harassing each other, which is something that is intended to be managed under the (Council) Code of Conduct, but the tools available to members of Council are often insufficient, particularly when abuse is framed as being part of political debate.”

The report points to legislation in Quebec that provides penalties for those who harass elected officials.

It says that Ontario and British Columbia also have external agencies and tribunals with the power to order compensation and other restitution for harassment of elected officials, but “the Atlantic provinces, including New Brunswick, have only basic complaint processes with little authority to hold violators accountable.”

To read the survey report, click here.

Code of conduct complaints must be dealt with in public

Tantramar Mayor Andrew Black

Mayor Black reported that during the symposium in Fredericton, the first day started by discussing harassment toward elected officials by members of the public, but on the second day the concerns shifted.

“We pretty much were only talking about harassment and incivility within our own councils, which was pretty telling,” he said.

Black said one mayor began discussing how code of conduct complaints were always dealt with behind closed doors.

Black said he stood up to say it would be better to deal with such complaints in public to give them a full airing.

“I said, it’s a real shame that we can’t do that,” whereupon, he said, a member of the new Local Governance Commission warned elected officials at the symposium that Code of Conduct complaints must be dealt with in public.

“I was shocked by that, and I think that pretty much every other single person in the room was shocked by that,” he said.

Black said the Commission, which has the power to investigate complaints and conflicts of interest, has since followed up with an advisory that states:

It has come to our attention that many local government councils are discussing and rendering decisions on code of conduct and conflict of interest complaints in closed meetings. The Commission has also viewed media reports about local governments classifying elected officials (mayors and councillors) as employees for the purposes of going into closed meetings to discuss and / or vote on alleged code of conduct by-law violations and alleged conflicts of interest provision violations. This is not permitted under section 68 of the Local Governance Act.

To read the full advisory, click here.

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Packed meeting hears objections to proposed gas plant & a suggestion from Mayor Black on how it may be stopped

Posted on November 23, 2025 by brucewark

About 130 people attended a public information session at the Sackville United Church on Sunday to hear about opposition to a 500 MW gas/diesel generating plant that the U.S. company PROENERGY wants to build on the Chignecto Isthmus.

“We’re using 20th century technology to fight a 21st century problem,” Beverly Gingras, executive director of the Conservation Council of New Brunswick (CCNB) told the standing-room-only crowd.

CCNB is a member of the Protect the Chignecto Isthmus Coalition which organized the information session.

“This plant is likely going to be out of date in the next few years if you think about how fast renewables are changing and getting better, how fast batteries are changing and getting better,” Gingras said, adding that the 10 noisy jet-engine-turbines at the plant would put immense pressure on wildlife as well as water supplies.

“They are looking to take out seven million litres of  groundwater a day,” she said. “Pretty scary when we’re still in a drought.”

Gingras questioned why NB Power and its partner PROENERGY were not coming to answer community concerns.

“Why isn’t the government coming if they’re so for this?” she asked.

Big numbers

Gregor MacAskill, senior economist, Gardner Pinfold Consultants

Economist Gregor MacAskill predicted that the gas plant would be costly in both financial and environmental terms.

Using publicly available figures, MacAskill said NB Power would pay annual fees to PROENERGY of more than $50 million or $1.25 billion over 25 years, an amount equivalent to $3,400 for every New Brunswick household.

Plus, he said, NB power would pay for the fuel which at today’s prices would amount to $3.5 billion over 25 years or $9,500 per household.

He said the capital cost of grid-scale batteries with the same capacity, such as ones being developed in Ontario and Nova Scotia, would be about $1.2 billion, similar to the capital costs of the gas plant.

But there would be no fuel costs, he said.

“I just think there is a lack of creative thinking. Why not have New Brunswick Power, maybe the Energy & Utilities Board, look at alternatives?” he asked.

Environmental costs

MacAskill went on to cite PROENERGY’s figure for yearly greenhouse gas emissions: 910,800 metric tonnes.

“The federal government has what’s called the social cost of carbon,” he said, “and if I put it in 2025 dollars, it’s about $308 per tonne. It’s really supposed to reflect what we’re paying for the damages of carbon emissions.”

He said that over 25 years, the social cost of carbon would amount to $7 billion or about $19,100 per household and more than 10 times the $650 million that New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and the federal government are planning to spend to protect the Chignecto Isthmus from flooding.

“This is going to lock us into future (environmental) costs that we all end up paying,” he said.

“How crazy is that?”

Health effects

Retired family doctor Harold Popma spoke about the gas plant’s potential health effects

Harold Popma, who is a member of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE), spoke about the potential health effects of a fossil-fuel-burning gas plant.

“The World Health Organization has said that global warming is a fundamental threat to human health,” he told the audience.

“They’re calling for the rapid reduction of burning of fossil fuels and a transition to renewable energy,” he said.

“And we know what the threats are to human beings worldwide: the fires. I talked to somebody recently anecdotally about living in an area where you have smoke in the air all the time, inside and outside. Where do you go to avoid the smoke when there’s a forest fire in your neighbourhood?” he asked.

“What about heat domes? Where do you go to get cooled off when it’s 45 degrees in some places around the globe? What about food insecurity? How do we manage poverty, people who have nothing to eat because there’s no crop, there’s no water? Or there’s a flood and there’s so much water that it’s all washed away?”

Popma said the gas that would be burned in the PROENERGY plant is methane that leaks out when it’s fracked and then emits greenhouse gases when it’s burned.

“It’s sort of a double-whammy,” he said. “Forget the word natural, use the F-word,” he added as people laughed.

“Fracked! Fossil! Fuel!” he said to applause. “Pardon my French.”

Popma praised members of the Anti-Shale-Gas Alliance whom he said had done so much to stop fracking in New Brunswick.

To read CAPE’s guide for NB doctors on the health risks of gas plants, click here.

‘No man’s land’

Tantramar Mayor Andrew Black answering questions during the information session

During the question period after the presentations, Tantramar Mayor Black responded to a query about whether the town could deny permits for the gas plant because people here don’t want it.

“No, the municipality would not have to issue any permits,” he said, “and the reason for that is zoning and permitting in former local service districts is a no man’s land. The provincial government has through their (municipal) reform process recognized that land planning had to be reformed as well and they dropped the ball on it and haven’t done anything.”

Black went on to point out that the rural Centre Village site is wide open for development unlike, for example, the Sackville industrial park where the municipality would have a say under the municipal plan and the Planning Act.

“If it got to the point where they could build it, it would go to the province to pass those permits and the municipality would have no say,” he said.

‘False information’

At the same time, Black drew applause when he suggested the gas plant project could be stopped because PROENERGY does not appear to have the Indigenous support they claimed they had when they filed a description of the project with federal and provincial regulators.

“They don’t have partnership with First Nations communities. They have a partnership with the Mi’kmaq North Shore Tribal Council, which two people who have unilaterally made a decision that PROENERGY has First Nation collaboration as an equity partner (and that) is absolutely false information in my opinion.”

Black added that the nine Mi’kmaq Chiefs have expressed serious concerns about the proposed gas plant.

“To me that shows that there’s not support,” he said.

“It’s something that I pushed on PROENERGY. They gave an answer which was not an answer, so I asked them to answer it again and I still haven’t heard anything.”

The mayor went on to say that the provincial minister of energy has the authority to cancel a tender agreement if there is false information in it. He added that First Nations participation was an essential requirement for the project.

“They don’t have it. That’s my opinion and I’m just waiting to hear from PROENERGY that they actually have that and I think with whatever answer they come back with, the next push will be to the minister of energy to say ‘Well, they don’t have it, I, we, are saying that they don’t have it, so we would look to you to pull this [proposal],” he said.

“I don’t think they have it and they have falsified that information really,” Black concluded.

Posted in climate change, Environment, NB Power, New Brunswick government, Town of Tantramar | Tagged , | 7 Comments

EUB schedules earlier hearing on NB Power’s 500 MW gas plant project

Posted on November 21, 2025 by brucewark

Heavy equipment working under the watchful eyes of security was working this week on a road into the gas plant site on the Chignecto Isthmus. Photo: Juliette Bulmer

As work continues building a road into the proposed site of a PROENERGY gas/diesel generating plant near Centre Village, NB Power appears to have succeeded in shortening the timeline to get approval for the project from New Brunswick’s Energy & Utilities Board (EUB).

During a meeting yesterday, EUB Board Chair Christopher Stewart agreed to five days of hearings in February instead of in March as previously scheduled.

Stewart did not act on his own, but withdrew from the meeting (conducted via Zoom) while NB Power and various interveners discussed the schedule in a closed session before recommending that the hearings be held from February 9th to 13th. Under the original draft schedule, they would have been held one month later.

Stewart said during the meeting that the EUB had been planning to hold the hearings in Moncton, but so far, the location has not been determined.

Power failure risks

In documents filed with the EUB this week, NB Power warned that its agreement with PROENERGY — signed on July 2nd — would expire in nine months, on April 2, 2026 and that it has been unable to persuade the American company to grant an extension.

Referring to PROENERGY as the Owner, NB Power says:

Market conditions for the combustion turbine engines being procured by the Owner have altered since the Tolling Agreement was entered on July 2, 2025, such that demand and pricing for the units have continued to increase, as production capacity for the units is limited. As a result, the Owner has an economic incentive to terminate the Tolling Agreement and obtain higher pricing elsewhere.

NB Power warns if that were to happen, there could be “significant delays” in procuring the generating capacity needed by 2028 to avoid power failures when demand is highest.

To read the NB Power document, click here.

Truck entering the new road. Photo: Juliette Bulmer

During yesterday’s hearings, the EUB accepted the Protect the Chignecto Isthmus Coalition (PCIC) and the Conservation Council of New Brunswick (CCNB) as interveners with the right to present evidence and question witnesses.

The PCIC intervener request states in part:

The Protect the Chignecto Isthmus Coalition (PCIC) works to ensure that decisions about the Isthmus prioritize ecological integrity and community well-being. By fosteringcollaboration across communities, governments, industries, and Indigenous Peoples, we are building a resilient and sustainable economy that honours and integrates the wisdom of traditional custodians of the land and waters. Through partnership, respect, and shared stewardship, we protect biodiversity, strengthen climate security, and uphold democratic due diligence in all significant developments. Our mission is to defend this landscape as a living bridge for current and future generations, ensuring its capacity to support life and livelihoods in a rapidly changing world.

To read the whole document, click here.

Environment minister says ‘no’

Meantime, New Brunswick’s Environment Minister Gilles LePage continues to deny the coalition’s demand for a full environmental review of the gas plant project.

LePage met for an-hour-and-a-half with coalition leaders Barry Rothfuss, Pam Novak, Juliette Bulmer and Terry Jones as well as MLA Megan Mitton yesterday in Fredericton as they pressed him to order a comprehensive EIA.

But in an e-mail response today that was copied to the premier’s office, LePage continues to defend the less-thorough process known as a “Determination review.”

To read his e-mail, click here.

View from Rte. 940. Photo: Juliette Bulmer

Posted in climate change, NB Power, New Brunswick government, Town of Tantramar | Tagged , , , | 12 Comments

Green MLA says there’s one word to describe the proposed Chignecto gas plant

Posted on November 19, 2025 by brucewark
Tantramar MLA Megan Mitton

Tantramar MLA Megan Mitton

Tantramar Green MLA Megan Mitton says there’s one word that keeps coming up when she talks to people about NB Power’s plan for a 500 MW gas/diesel power plant on the Chignecto Isthmus.

“That word is stupid,” she told about 50 people at a public information session Sunday in the Mount Allison University Chapel.

“This is so stupid. It doesn’t make any logical sense,” she said, pointing to what she called NB Power’s “history of stupid mistakes” including its $13 million investment in a Florida-based company that claimed it could convert seawater into industrial-scale hydrogen power.

Mitton also referred to the $30 million that both Liberal and Conservative provincial governments paid to companies trying to produce small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) in New Brunswick.

(In October, the current energy minister said the province was abandoning plans for locally produced reactors and was considering investing in ones made in Ontario instead.)

“We were never going to build the first SMRs in the world and it’s the most costly power we could produce,” Mitton said.

“And now we’ve got gas plants,” she added, “and I say gas plants because there are actually multiple gas plants being proposed in New Brunswick right now.”

She explained that the proposed data centre near Lorneville would use gas-fired turbines to generate 190 MW of power while also buying an additional 190 MW from the NB Power grid.

Mitton said it’s hard not to believe that the Lorneville and Centre Village projects are connected.

Trump connection

She also criticized NB Power and the Holt government for doing business with Trump-supporting U.S. firms at a time when the American president is threatening to make Canada the 51st state.

Doug Kimmelman. Photo: Facebook

Mitton mentioned Doug Kimmelman, who has donated hundreds of thousands to Trump and other Republican candidates’ election campaigns. In 2024, his firm ECP (Energy Capital Partners) acquired PROENERGY, the company that won the bid to build and operate the gas/diesel plant in Tantramar.

She was also referring to comments VoltaGrid CEO Nathan Ough made to the Wall Street Journal praising the U.S. president’s enthusiasm for fossil fuel drilling, his support for data centres and his high tariffs to encourage more companies to move to the U.S.

Ough’s VoltaGrid is one of the companies proposing to build the data centre near Lorneville.

“I don’t know why we want to empower Trump and his donors, but that’s NB Power’s plan and the government’s plan because they’re not stepping in,” Mitton said.

She mentioned that the U.S. defence department, now called the department of war, has invested $20 million in the Sisson mine north of Fredericton because tungsten is useful in producing armour-piercing artillery shells.

If the Sisson mine goes ahead, NB Power will build a new 138 kilovolt transmission line to supply up to 50 MW of electricity to the site.

Energy alternatives

Mitton argued NB Power should be investing in newer, cheaper technologies similar, for example, to the large energy storage batteries in Maine or small ones in homes, such as those in Vermont.

She said NB Power and the government should also be reducing electricity demand through energy retrofits and installing heat pumps.

“The current program for putting in heat pumps, just for the homes that are eligible for the low-income threshold, they wouldn’t be done until sometime in the 2050s, so we’re not moving fast enough. It’s like we’re not even trying,” she said.

Inspirational story

Mt. A. environmental science student Delphine Reid

“I’m from Philadelphia, but please don’t hold that against me,” said environmental science student Delphine Reid as audience members laughed.

“I would like to talk about the Oakwell campaign,” she added.

Reid went on to say that during her high school years in Philadelphia, she worked with many others to prevent local school districts from destroying a wild space.

“Oakwell is a 13.4-acre piece of land and is full of old growth trees and beautiful wildlife,” she said, adding that the school districts wanted to mow the trees down and turn Oakwell into a football field.

“So a group of local activists, much like all of the wonderful people here, held panels in protest to try and stop this. And in the end, we were able to save this beautiful land,” she said.

“I wanted to tell you this story because it is incredibly inspirational and it proves that change can happen,” Reid added.

She went on to say that the gas plant must be stopped too.

“This project is being rushed through with minimal community consultation,” she said, adding that members of the community who would have to live with this every day are being ignored.

“This decision reveals whose interests are being prioritized and it is definitely not ours.

“This affects all of us, not just environmentalists, but anyone who cares about economic fairness and having a say in the community’s future.

“We deserve to be consulted about decisions that will define our lives. We deserve to have our community prioritized and we deserve a safe future,” Reid concluded to a sustained round of applause.

Posted in Mount Allison University, NB Power, New Brunswick government, Technology, Town of Parrsboro | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Lukewarm, if not cold, reaction in rural community to ‘nation-building’ Sisson mine

Posted on November 18, 2025 by brucewark

By: John Chilibeck, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter. Source: The Daily Gleaner November 14, 2025

Mayor David Sweeney. Photo: Nashwaak Rural Community

Prime Minister Carney called the proposed Sisson mine in New Brunswick a nation-building project on Thursday, but the elected officials of the rural community nearby won’t take a stance on the controversial development, at least not yet.

David Sweeney, the mayor of Nashwaak Rural Community, told Brunswick News mere hours before Carney’s announcement that he talked to the other five council members the day before about what to say.

“What they’ve asked me to tell reporters is council is gathering up-to-date information on the Sisson Mine project, and we’ll provide comment once we’ve had the opportunity to review the information in full,” he said. “Protection of the Nashwaak River and Tay River valley remains our top priority.”

The neutral tone is in contrast to the enthusiastic endorsement of Premier Susan Holt and Natural Resources Minister John Herron, both of whom are gung-ho about Northcliff Resources’ plans to dig up the critical minerals tungsten and molybdenum.

The company, based out of Vancouver, and the provincial government say the mine will create hundreds of jobs and generate wealth, both in terms of incomes and tax dollars.

Community split

But the council’s lukewarm stance also reflects the split in the rural area and the ambivalence some people feel about a project that could dramatically transform their way of life.

“The people for and against the mine are about fifty-fifty,” said Samantha Szabo, the manager of Hillside Convenience in the old village of Stanley, who talks to locals every day.

“I’m on the side of those against it. We’re more concerned with environmental factors that come along with said mine. If anything happens to the let-out pond, all of us downstream could be in peril where our houses aren’t worth anything.”

Szabo moved with her two daughters and granddaughter from Cambridge, a busy city of southern Ontario, eight years ago to buy a piece of what she calls ‘a generational property’ that will allow her family to live on the land. They purchased a lot just outside Stanley with more than 100 acres and an 1892 farmhouse, with a creek running through it.

“I came here for the beauty of it. You don’t see garbage like when you travel down the 401,” she said of Canada’s busiest highway. “People here actually care about the environment, the animals, the water, everything.”

However, Szabo said she could understand the flipside, and what the mine would mean for local businesses, including her convenience store.

“People who support the project expect or hope the workforce for the mine will be from here in New Brunswick. Jobs are scarce around here.”

Northcliff says the mine will create about 500 construction jobs and more than 300 full-time jobs once the mine is running.

Toxic tailings pond

The Sisson mine would be built near the headwaters of the Nashwaak, the pristine river that meanders through several communities in central New Brunswick before draining into the St. John River at Fredericton. Photo by John Chilibeck, Brunswick News

Nashwaak Rural Community is a new local government created in the wake of provincial reforms that includes Stanley and parts of the local service districts of Stanley, Saint Marys, Esteys Bridge, and Douglas, extending close to Fredericton.

The mine would be built close to the northernmost reaches of the community, near the headwaters of the Nashwaak, the river that meanders through much of the rural community’s settlements, forest and farmland before draining into the St. John River in the capital.

The mine would include a large tailings holding pond, brimming with toxic waste but protected by an earthen berm, not far from the river whose water quality is still considered top notch.

Between 6,000 and 7,000 people live in the rural community that takes about 50 minutes to drive from end to end.

Big topic in town

Dana Trider, owner of Trider Excavation and Contracting, said the mine is the big topic in town. He owns three acres on the water in the heart of the old village.

“The tailings pond is what freaks me out because if that releases into the Nashwaak, it’s going to be bad,” the business owner said. “If they could truck the tailings out to Napadogan, where CN has a laydown yard, I think it would be perfect. But to have the tailings pond on the headwaters is a recipe for disaster in my opinion.”

Trider, 41, grew up in the area and said if the mine was “run right,” it could create a lot of jobs.

“There would probably be a lot of spin-off work for a guy like me,” he admitted. “But I think there are more people here concerned about the environment than jobs. We think it will just create jobs for people from other places.”

Like a lot of people Brunswick News interviewed, Andy MacNeil said he had two views on the mine.

“I’ve lived here my whole life,” said the owner of MacNeil’s Autohaus, a used auto dealer. “If they can do it safely without ruining the river, I’m all about creating jobs, I’m all about industry in the area. But I own a piece of ground on the Nashwaak River, and someday for my kids, that will be theirs, right? And if that is going to be destroyed because of that mine, I want nothing to do with it.

“But if they can safely run the thing, I’m not opposed.”

Henry Wall, a home builder who lives in the old Nashwaak Village, recently moved from Ontario. He recounted that one of his customers was talking in favour of the mine just a few hours before on Thursday morning.

They talked about people who fret about the environment and Indigenous protesters who put up an encampment several years ago and stopped heavy machinery from doing clearing and other preparatory work on the proposed mine site.

“It would be good for the economy, as far as that goes. New Brunswick is one of the provinces that’s the furthest behind in Canada, right? Second highest in taxes and 30 years behind Ontario when it comes to business. So, the mine might give us a little boost.”

He said it would be interesting to see a rush of people move in and build homes, similar to communities near Alberta’s oilsands.

Still, he could see the flipside.

“New Brunswick is a beautiful province. We moved here four years ago from Ontario to focus on family and relationships and not be running a rat race,” he said, chuckling. “But I guess that mine might not help that, right?”

Sisson Mine in last year of operation with approximately 145-hectare open pit, 370 metres deep. (Six hockey rinks could fit into a single hectare) and tailings pond of over 350 million cubic metres. Figures from Conservation Council of New Brunswick. Photo: Northcliffe Resources Ltd. promotional video via HDI mining

This story was written by Local Journalism Initiative Reporter John Chilibeck of Brunswick News.

To read the government of New Brunswick news release, click here.

For recent coverage from the NB Media Co-op, click here.

Posted in federal government, LJI stories, New Brunswick government | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Mt. A. students point to potential climate & health effects of proposed Tantramar gas plant

Posted on November 17, 2025 by brucewark

The booming voice of an American news anchor echoed inside the Mount Allison University Chapel on Sunday as 5th year biology student Nate Lesser showed a TV report from Tennessee.

“A proposed gas plant in South Memphis is raising concerns tonight. Fox 13 continues to bring you the latest coverage on our contaminated communities where people young and old have been exposed to pollutants for decades,” said anchor Bob Evans.

The story was about the Tennessee Valley Authority’s 2023 proposal to build another natural gas generating plant next to an existing one.

“We need something that we can turn on quickly when the sun’s not shining and then turn back off again,” said TVA spokesperson Scott Brooks while Keshaun Pearson, president of the Memphis Community Against Pollution called it “environmental injustice” adding:

“We continue to be flooded with opportunities to increase gas and archaic infrastructure, options that don’t help, that continue to hurt the community.”

When the news report ended, Nate Lesser, who is researching the proposed 500 MW Centre Village gas/diesel plant as part of a Religious Ethics and Environment course, said the citizens group in South Memphis has succeeded in delaying the gas plant there and maybe it would be possible to do that here too.

‘Imagine a better future’

23-year-old Mount Allison student Nate Lesser

“We can imagine a better future than gas turbines in our backyard,” Lesser said, adding that Canada is already a leader in developing grid-scale battery technologies.

Instead of investing in outmoded gas plants, he argued, we could imagine a brighter, more prosperous future.

“We have an opportunity to really get in on the ground floor of this very exciting next step of what energy would look like for the next century.

“But we’re building a gas plant,” he said. “So I think…

“No we’re not,” a woman called from among the 50 gathered in the chapel for a public information session organized by the Protect the Chignecto Isthmus Coalition.

“Maybe, we’re building a gas plant,” Lesser said.

“We’re not,” the woman repeated as people laughed.

Lesser smiled and said it was great to have a “real-time discussion” with the community as he urged people to talk to their friends.

“We can do better things, so let’s do better things,” he concluded to loud applause.

‘Climate anxiety’

22-year-old 5th year Mt. A. Honours English student Isabella Jones

Isabella Jones, who is doing an independent study of eco-poetry and climate change as part of her Honours English degree, spoke about growing up in St. George, 25 minutes from the Point Lepreau nuclear plant and 20 minutes from the Lake Utopia pulp and paper mill.

“I remember we would drive past the mill to get  to school,” she said, “and my mom used to call it Stinky Hollow. We’d plug our noses and hold our breath.”

She remembered how her parents, who were teachers, had colleagues who lived 10 kilometres from Point Lepreau.

Their two-year-old daughter developed a rare bone disease.

“The entire left side of her body, the bones don’t grow, but the right side does,” Jones said, adding that the girl will require bone grafts until she stops growing.

“Her family felt they couldn’t understand why this was happening,” she said, especially since there were no genetic markers among them and tests were inconclusive.

“They felt because they lived 10 kilometres from Point Lepreau, they were no longer safe in their home,” she added, “so they moved and our community lost some coaches and teachers because they no longer felt safe.”

Jones talked about other examples of illness in her community as well as severe floods and fires she linked to climate change.

“I think of how this affected me, how this affected my community — this climate anxiety, this health anxiety.”

She warned the audience that 20 years from now, some kid like her might ask why there is smoke in the air and why the air stinks.

“And I don’t want them to ask, ‘Did you oppose this? Is there anything else you could have done?'”

This is the first of two reports on Sunday’s public information session at the Mt. A. Chapel.

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

Sussex looking into permanent tribute to beloved singer Marg Osburne

Posted on November 16, 2025 by brucewark

A mural featuring Marg Osburne at Leonards Gate in Sussex is seen in a submitted photo. The mural was removed as part of the town’s public art program, with plans to add 14 new murals and remove some older murals. Photo: Town of Sussex

By: Andrew Bates, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter. Source: Telegraph-Journal November 14, 2025

The Town of Sussex says it’s looking into finding a permanent tribute for singer Marg Osburne after removing a mural featuring her and Charlie Chamberlain from Don Messer’s Jubilee, a national CBC TV program that ran from 1956 to 1969.

The town announced last year that it would begin updating its collection of murals, many of which were installed in 2006 and 2007. As part of the program, a panel considered whether to repair, replace or remove existing murals, and one of the murals that was removed was one installed at Leonard’s Gate on Main Street in 2018 featuring Marg Osburne.

Osburne, who died in 1977 at age 49, had been a Sussex resident, moving to the town in 1966 where she lived with husband Austin Squarebriggs, according to Telegraph-Journal archives.

She sang in Messer’s band starting in 1947, for the radio show Don Messer and his Islanders, through to his death in 1973, when she continued to tour, and later hosted her own show, That Maritime Feelin’.

In a post on Facebook, a woman named Melody Falk wrote that Osburne was her mother and it was “hurtful” to see the mural removed without notification. Brunswick News reached out to Falk but did not receive a response.

Hurt feelings

“Sometimes, despite our best interests, you can inadvertently hurt people,” Sussex Mayor Marc Thorne said after a council meeting last month.

“Marg was a fine example of what a Maritimer can achieve on the national stage. No harm was intended, but there was some feelings hurt.”

Thorne said that some of “those who perhaps should have been notified weren’t” and said the town will endeavour to “learn from that” and recognize sensitive issues around a removal in advance.

The initial theme of the town’s mural program was artwork that reflected local history, and Thorne said that this round had an open theme, or “art for art’s sake.”

“I’m still very excited about what we’re doing here,” Thorne said, saying that while there “will always be people who are surprised” when something is replaced, perpetually maintaining murals is costly when the paint and the bricks they are on are deteriorating.

“Every mural that’s painted today will be painted over at some time,” Thorne said. “It’s money better spent, and it’s renewal.”

‘Opportunity to educate’

Marg Osburne & Charlie Chamberlain were regulars on Don Messer’s Jubilee. Photo: Facebook

At Sussex’s committee of the whole meeting Oct. 27, councillors discussed the issue, with CAO Jason Thorne bringing up that the town’s economic development committee had considered whether to name a street or dedicate a park in Osburne’s name.

Thorne told councillors that the suggestion wasn’t necessarily to “pacify” anyone, but that the issue had gotten him thinking about the “opportunity to educate” the public about a part of the town’s history.

He said that something featuring an information kiosk or plaque explaining who she was would be preferable to a simple street naming, and asked for an extra month to develop plans for a tribute.

“It’s a reminder that some individuals in our community have achieved great heights, do we really want them to be forgotten, lost to time?” Thorne told Brunswick News.

“I don’t just want to honour people by her name, I want to educate people so that future generations … can go look, look at this person.”

This story from Brunswick News was written by local journalism initiative reporter Andrew Bates.

Posted in Arts, LJI stories | Tagged | 1 Comment

Lorneville activists want judge to overturn Saint John council’s decision

Posted on November 15, 2025 by brucewark

A map from council documents shows zoning for the proposed Spruce Lake Industrial Park following a council vote in July. Photo: Submitted

By: Andrew Bates, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter. Source: Telegraph-Journal October 31, 2025 and updated since.

Three citizens opposed to rezoning land for the expansion of Saint John’s Spruce Lake Industrial Park say new legal action is their “only option” to stop the project.

Adam Wilkins, a member of the Save Lorneville community group, told Brunswick News he and two other people have served the City of Saint John with an application for judicial review regarding council’s decision to approve rezoning and municipal plan amendments for a 510-hectare parcel of land adjacent to King William Road.

The city is in talks to acquire the land from the province to expand the Spruce Lake Industrial Park in an effort to create development-ready properties and encourage industrial growth.

Brunswick News viewed the application, which was filed with Saint John Court of King’s Bench in October. Wilkins, Chris Watson and Shayne Galbraith, as applicants, are asking a judge to overturn council’s decision, arguing councillors breached procedural fairness by failing to approach it with an “open mind,” and that it contravened parts of the city’s municipal plan.

“It was our experience, and it was quite apparent, that this was a decision that was already done before going through the actual process,” Wilkins said last month, adding, “This is the only option we had to continue to push back from a legal perspective.”

The allegations in the application have not been tested in court. The City of Saint John has declined comment, according to spokesperson Sarah Peiser, saying the matter is before the courts.

Year-long process

The vote to approve rezoning in July came as part of a year-long process that began in June 2024, with a public hearing postponed in October to establish a series of task force meetings last winter, before public hearings in May and June 2025.

About 120 residents spoke against the project during the public hearings. Their concerns included loss of wetlands, environmental effects, as well as potential flooding and impacts on groundwater wells.

The city’s rationale for the proposal includes a “critical shortage of development-ready industrial lands” in Saint John. At the public hearings, Spruce Lake Industrial Park general manager Ian MacKinnon said his organization had received expressions of interest on possible projects including a data centre and a green manufacturing project, which could generate millions in tax revenue annually.

(Earlier this month, proponents of a data centre in the industrial park held a public meeting during which they disclosed the centre would generate 190 MW of its own power while using an additional 190 MW from the NB Power grid.)

Provincial approval

A provincial environmental impact assessment review for the project to clear “pad-ready” land on part of the site wrapped up in August, when the province approved the expansion of the industrial park with 23 conditions, including a requirement to complete a stormwater management plan, monitoring plans for groundwater, surface water and wetlands, and an environmental management plan.

The notice of application for judicial review details the city and province’s steps in developing the project, meetings of the task force committee, and comments from councillors and Mayor Donna Reardon about the project both in media and to residents.

The applicants argue these is evidence that some councillors had a “closed mind” regarding the project and that failing to proceed with an open mind is a breach of procedural fairness.

Wilkins told Brunswick News the city “didn’t fairly balance concerns” brought up at the public hearings or make changes, and said there was a “quite clear bias towards approving the project.”

When asked about the decision to postpone the initial public hearing and assemble the task force, Wilkins, who had been the co-chair of the task force, said that questions wouldn’t be answered or promises would change week to week, adding that “every step of the way, it was not giving answers, not respecting the community.”

He said this differs from the normal course of how a municipality would proceed with a project because of the “sheer enormity” of the project area and developments regarding wetlands and old growth trees in the area.

The application alleges that the plan “will lead to the destruction of vast amounts of wetlands, old growth and mature forest, and remove climate resilience benefits,” and suggests that the expansion is “incompatible with both the character of the neighbourhood and the broader land objectives of the city.”

This story from Brunswick News was written by local journalism initiative reporter Andrew Bates with additional updates from Warktimes.

To read CBC coverage of provincial approval for expansion of the Spruce Lake Industrial Park, click here.

For CBC coverage of the public meeting on November 5th by proponents of a data centre in the expanded industrial park, click here.

For the Warktimes story on a possible link between the data centre near Lorneville and the gas/diesel plant near Centre Village, click here.

Posted in economic development, Environment, LJI stories | Tagged , | Leave a comment

‘Fed up’ Mi’kmaw allies to stand shoulder to shoulder for treaty rights rally Saturday in Halifax

Posted on November 13, 2025 by brucewark

By: Rosemary Godin, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter. Source: Cape Breton Post
November 12, 2025

Nova Scotians are concerned about the provincial government agreeing to consider a golf course on the lands of West Mabou Beach Provincial Park which was designated as a protected park in 2001. Golf developer Cabot has twice attempted to plan an 18-hole golf course on this site, only to be rejected by the provincial government in 2018 and 2023. Photo: Ian Nathanson/Cape Breton Post file. Rosemary Godin, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

A coalition of Mi’kmaw, settler groups and communities from across Nova Scotia will gather at the Halifax Commons this weekend in a movement called “Shoulder to Shoulder.” The rally is being held to call on the provincial Tim Houston government to respect Mi’kmaw rights, follow democratic processes and stop selling off Nova Scotia to corporate interests.

Events in Cape Breton are a catalyst for the gathering.

“If you live, work, play or pray in Nova Scotia, we want you there,” say Mi’kmaw land defenders Glenda Junta of Eskasoni and Michelle Paul of Acadia First Nation. “We’re standing in solidarity with all resistance movements in Nova Scotia. We want to hear your voices.”

Both women are spending time on Hunter’s Mountain in Cape Breton defending the land from forestry operations.

Saturday’s gathering is being led by Mi’kmaw rights holders and in solidarity with all the land defenders at Tqamuoweye’katik/Hunter’s Mountain. Organizers are inviting all concerned citizens to join them in demanding accountability from the Nova Scotia government on Saturday at 12 p.m.

Mi’kmaw Land defenders have been working to protect traditional medicinal sites on Hunters Mountain in Cape Breton since September. Some have constructed small camps near the logging roads where they say they will stay until the issue of clearcutting is resolved peacefully. Many supporters will take part in a “Shoulder to Shoulder” rally of Mi’kmaw and settlers taking place this weekend in Halifax. Photo: Aaron Beswick, Saltwire

Frustration growing

The Shoulder to Shoulder Rally comes out of a groundswell of frustration and public outcry from all corners of the province.

Organizers say that since January 2025, the Houston government has made numerous controversial changes to provincial legislation and governance, including the lifting of bans on uranium mining (March 2025) and fracking (February 2025), consolidating power over municipal development, a willingness to allow private development in protected areas, and changes to the Crown Lands Act that experts warn could infringe on Mi’kmaw Treaty Rights and criminalize legal protest.

Maggy Burns, executive director with the Ecology Action Centre, says Nova Scotians are “fed up.”

“This rally comes after months of growing unrest over the Houston government’s disregard for Mi’kmaw Rights, environmental safeguards and democratic processes. We’ve seen thousands of people from all corners of the province rallying in the streets, organizing in their communities, signing petitions, contacting their elected officials and more. This is the next step in a growing movement to take back our future from wealthy corporate interests and ensure that everyone living in Mi’kma’ki can truly thrive,” she says.

The groundswell of protest began in earnest in September when Mi’kmaw land protectors turned their attention to Hunters Mountain where clearcutting of trees was threatening traditional Indigenous hunting and healing medicinal grounds. Since that time, the provincial government enacted a law making it illegal to interfere with trucks on logging roads.

In response, Mi’kmaw land defenders constructed small camps on the mountain where they say they will stay until the issue is resolved peacefully.

In the midst of growing public concern, organizers say their message is one of unity and hope.

“We can build a better future for our communities,” says Nina Newington, president of Save Our Old Forests (SOOF). “But only if we work together. Houston’s arrogant disrespect for Treaty Rights and democracy, his attempts to reverse the progress we have made – all this has brought us together – Mi’kmaq and settlers, city dwellers and rural people. We’re building a movement dedicated to a livable future for all.”

Coxheath, Mabou concerns

Of recent concern to many people in Cape Breton (Unama’ki) is a proposed mining project at the Coxheath Hills site. Photo: Coxheath Hills Wilderness Recreation Association/Destination Cape Breton

A proposed mining project at the Coxheath Hills site near Sydney is a recent concern for many people in Cape Breton (Unama’ki) as well as a surprise proposal that the government is looking to build a golf course near the protected lands of West Mabou Beach Provincial Park.

“Nova Scotians care deeply about protecting our beloved natural spaces, and we won’t stand for a government that’s intent on moving us all backward on conservation. If the government refuses to lead on protecting our environment and communities, then the people of this province will band together,” warns Margaret MacDonell, organizer with Save West Mabou Beach Provincial Park.

Organizers of the Shoulder to Shoulder Rally say they are urging communities to stand up and have their voices heard.

“We’re coming together to protect Mother Earth from destruction,” says Kukuwes Wowkis, a Mi’kmaw land defender at Hunters Mountain.

“It’s so crucial for us to protect the lands for the next seven generations, for my grandchildren and yours, before it’s too late.”

Sarah Trask, organizer with Safe and Responsible Resource Development (SARRD), is concerned that the government is taking decisions that will leave Nova Scotia wide open to exploitation of its waterways, forests, homes and health.

“We stand together unified to address the numerous problems with the current N.S. government. Tim Houston and his government lifted the evidence-based ban on uranium exploration and mining without any consultation with the Mi’kmaq or communities.”

She said the present government is showing a destructive pattern of lack of consultation, lack of transparency, removing environmental protections and putting the health and safety of Nova Scotians and our environment at risk.

Aligned efforts

Also taking part in the rally on Saturday will be the Centre for Environmental Justice Society.

“We are here in solidarity with our grassroots grandmothers, water protectors and land defenders. As Black Loyalists our responsibility to this land is one that is sacred. We are here to show our aligned efforts in creating a safer, cleaner and just world. We are here to speak our truth and point out where communities have been forgotten once again,” said Vanessa Hartley.

Hartley is an eighth-generation Black Loyalist descendant, born and raised in the African Nova Scotian community of Shelburne, and is a long-time environmental advocate.

UPDATE: CBC reported on Thursday, November 13th that Premier Houston told reporters the West Mabou golf development would not proceed because it was not in the best interests of Nova Scotians. To read the online CBC report, click here.

This story was written by Rosemary Godin, the Local Journalism Initiative Reporter for the Cape Breton Post.

Posted in Indigenous affairs, LJI stories, Nova Scotia Government | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Mt. A. prof draws parallels between Confederation Bridge & Tantramar gas plant

Posted on November 12, 2025 by brucewark

Mario Levesque at his book launch last week in the lobby at Convocation Hall. Photo: Sarah McCracken

Mount Allison Politics Professor Mario Levesque says research on his latest book taught him a number of important lessons that could be applied to the proposed 500 MW gas/diesel plant that NB Power wants built on the Chignecto Isthmus.

Levesque wrote the 389-page book, Environmental Governance in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, with co-author Peter Clancy, political science professor at St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish. It was officially launched last week in Mount Allison’s Convocation Hall.

The book contains eight case studies including one on the building of the Confederation Bridge to Prince Edward Island as a public-private partnership (P3) between the federal department, Public Works Canada, and the private company Strait Crossing International. The process began with an intense preparatory period from 1986 to 1993 followed by several years of construction. The bridge opened to traffic on May 31, 1997.

In an interview with Warktimes this week, Levesque said one similarity with the gas plant is that the heavily debt-laden NB Power wants to minimize its financial risks by having the private U.S. company PROENERGY build the generating plant.

“So, NB Power is saying let’s let this private contractor take the risk for cost overruns or anything else,” Levesque says, adding that in return, NB Power will help steer the project through the approval stages.

“So like with the Confederation Bridge, the federal body, Public Works Canada, which was in charge of building it, made sure to clear all the approval processes, to get everything out of the way to get the bridge built, to get ‘er done, as they say.”

Levesque adds that in the process, Public Works Canada marginalized environmental concerns about the potential effects on the lobster fishery for example, or on migratory birds, while releasing limited information just before public consultations and not really answering people’s questions.

“We see the same thing here with the gas plant, right? The only reason they’re doing the public consultations is that they need to check the box that says ‘we must consult’. Hastily called meetings with the release of limited information. It was the same situation with the building of the Confederation Bridge, and it’s the same thing that’s playing out here.”

‘Ramming it through’

“So with the gas plant, when I saw it start to take shape and the way the consultations were going, I knew right away, it’s a done deal. They’re ramming it through. And, it’s unfortunate because it’s an erosion of our democracy.”

At the same time, Levesque says he’s encouraged by “the phenomenal job” opponents of the gas plant are doing in raising environmental awareness about the project as they push back against it.

He points to the big protest they held last month at the legislature in Fredericton when Premier Holt addressed them, but says she must have known then that her government had already ruled out a comprehensive environmental assessment.

“It’s good that she’s willing to listen, but it shows that when their mind’s made up and this project is going ahead, nothing’s going to deter it,” he says.

‘Triple bottom line’

Mario Levesque & co-author Peter Clancy (L) with the book it took them 10 years to write. Photo: Sarah McCracken

“So for me, there’s always a triple bottom line when I look at projects. I look at public health, environmental health and economic health,” Levesque says, adding that governments put a priority on economic interests first as does the corporate sector.

“And, that’s the case with the gas plant here, they want to push it through. The fact that we’re finding out quite late in the process that they want to couple it with a plant on PEI and that’s not done at the last second. They’ve known this for years. This is carefully orchestrated and they’re playing it out like a fine violin.”

Levesque points out that creating as many jobs as possible was the priority when the Conservative government led by Brian Mulroney was pushing the “fixed link” to PEI.

He says a tunnel would have been cheaper and more environmentally friendly, but would have employed fewer workers. So, the government did not tell Islanders that a tunnel had already been ruled out when 60%, who voted in a plebiscite, favoured the “fixed link” many believing it would be a tunnel.

‘Follow the money’

In the case of the gas plant, Levesque asks who could benefit financially.

“When you’re doing policy analysis, follow the money,” he says. “Who are the financial interests involved here.”

Levesque points to the lobby work that has been done by former Liberal Premier Brian Gallant on behalf of a company that may be involved.

New Brunswick’s lobbyist registry shows that earlier this year, the former premier 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 did not respond to a request for comment from Warktimes in September.)

Future fracking?

“There’s no social license to build diesel plants anymore, so they’re framing it as using natural gas from the U.S. But there’s a little clause in there that if need be, they can use diesel fuel. Well, who’s going to supply the diesel fuel?” Levesque asks.

“There’s only one supplier in New Brunswick, that’s in Saint John, that’s the Irvings. So, I mean, they stand to make a fair bit of money by supplying things, I would think,” he says.

“This is a roundabout way to get a diesel plant built, basically, is what it is. Because we don’t have a local supply of gas here. The only supply we have is in the ground, shale gas.

“So this could also be seen as a way of getting the infrastructure put in, and then in a few years afterwards, five or seven years, they say, ‘well, we’ve got a plant here that needs gas. We need to develop the gas industry.’

“So I would say in a few years, let’s look. I would not be surprised if the moratorium on shale gas is lifted and we see aggressive shale gas development, fracking here throughout southeastern New Brunswick, all over the place for sure.” Levesque concludes.

Posted in NB Power, New Brunswick politics, Town of Tantramar | Tagged , , | 5 Comments