Entity 40 likely to be named Tantramar or Beauséjour, despite last minute information from minister
The committee of elected officials that will recommend the future name of Entity 40 will meet Wednesday to discuss the results of their informal survey on two proposed names: Beauséjour Township and Tantramar Township. Their final recommendation is due to the province by Monday, May 16, but some councillors are wondering if that deadline is more flexible than it appears.
At Monday’s council meeting, Councillor Michael Tower brought up a new piece of information imparted by Local Government Minister Daniel Allain at a closed meeting with public officials on Friday.
Tower said Allain, “was alluding to the fact that we didn’t have to get into the voting of those two, that we could actually call it either Dorchester-Sackville, Sackville-Dorchester, and let the new council decide.” Tower said that would allow more time for the decision, and also “let the new council approach the citizens for a vote.”
Recently another amalgamated entity—Entity 51—announced its new name, chosen by a vote conducted by its municipal staff. The Town of Grand Bay-Westfield is merging with a portion of a neighbouring local service district named Westfield West, and residents chose to stick with the status quo, naming the new entity Grand Bay-Westfield.
The name of Sackville was considered by a sub-committee looking at potential names, but was struck off the list because provincial guidelines required that no names of persons be used to name the new entities. (Sackville is named for Lord George Sackville, a British politician with “friends in high places”, according to the Tantramar Heritage Trust.… Continue
‘We’re making decisions for the next 50 years’: Allain on reform process and ‘keeping rural, rural’
Minister Daniel Allain defended his approach to local governance reform on Friday in Sackville, shortly after a meeting with local elected officials from Sackville, Dorchester and surrounding areas. Allain spent about an hour and 45 minutes in the closed door meeting, and spoke to reporters for about 10 minutes afterwards.
Allain has been heavily criticised by some Sackville town councillors who feel he misrepresented the process of local governance reform. He surprised many by prescribing amalgamations in a number of jurisdictions, including Sackville, against the wishes of local councils. He has also been criticised for offering no further public consultations on the process after the plan for amalgamations was released.
Allain disagrees with that description of events. “I think that’s not right,” he said Friday. “We’ve consulted with New Brunswickers.”
“I go to legislative assembly on a weekly basis to talk about local governance reform. As I indicated there, nobody was forced to do anything,” said Allain. Both the town of Sackville and the village of Dorchester wrote to Allain opposing the amalgamation of Entity 40, but both are powerless to prevent it.
Allain also insisted that his department had done enough public consultation, detailing the process that happened before the plan was announced, and that fact that shortly after the plan was released, existing councils were given a tight deadline to suggest changes to proposed boundaries.… Continue
How Sackville got turned down for a fifth representative in Entity 40, and other amalgamation updates
Sackville council’s municipal reform committee met Wednesday night for a short meeting with about ten people in attendance, two of whom were Sackville town councillors.
Councillors Bill Evans and Sabine Dietz recapped the work of the committee so far but agreed it would not likely meet again in the near future, as most of the decisions that the committee was concerned with have now been finalized by the province. Dietz said the conversations around issues like the opposition to the forced amalgamation and influence on the structure of the future Entity 40 are now moot.
“Whether there will be democratic representation or not, and what the ward boundaries may be, that is all done,” said Dietz. “This committee can no longer… There’s no point in having conversations about that, because there’s not going to be any influence on any decisions being made.”
Dietz and Evans both agreed it would be unlikely for another meeting of the committee to be called anytime soon, but both also commented on the role the committee has played and could still play as a place for public feedback to be shared.
“The only remaining purpose, as I see it,” said Evans, “is as a forum for members of the public to ask questions interactively.” Evans noted that members of the public are limited in their ability to comment at regular council meetings. (At monthly special council meetings, there is a 15-minute period at the end of the meeting where the public can ask questions for “clarification purposes of information shared with Council.”… Continue
Province takes JD Irving Ltd lands out of Entity 40
It seems as though JD Irving Ltd isn’t a fan of amalgamation.
Four massive parcels of land that belong to the forestry giant have quietly been removed from the future Entity 40, the municipality which is being created by the Province of New Brunswick through the dissolution of the town of Sackville and village of Dorchester, and amalgamation of them with surrounding local service districts.
The change was made during the process for mapping out the municipal election wards of the new Entity 40, and first noticed by Sackville resident Sharon Hicks, who alerted town councillors and media.
The revised boundary still sees Entity 40 stretch northward through Midgic up to border with Beaubassin East, but now large tracts of land have been portioned off the outer boundary to the east and west. CHMA confirmed via the province’s PLANET property information system that much of the now-excluded lands were made up of parcels owned by JD Irving Ltd. The new border line matches the shape of the JD Irving Ltd. property lines in many spots, making it highly likely that the changes were made with the properties in mind.
In response to a CHMA enquiry on the reason for the boundary change, provincial spokesperson Alysha Elliot responded with an emailed statement saying the areas would become part of one of 12 rural districts set up by the province which take up the lion’s share of the province’s area.… Continue
Wards are coming to a municipal election near you
In November of this year, residents of the future Entity 40 will elect eight councillors and a mayor, according to information released today by the town of Sackville.
The new Entity will use a ward system to elect councillors, with at least 4 councillors to be elected from within the current town of Sackville boundary, and at least one to be elected from the current Village of Dorchester and surrounding Dorchester LSD.
The maps for the wards have yet to be decided, but will be by March 4, according to the announcement.
Sackville has roughly 60% of the population of the to-be-formed Entity 40, and will have 50% of council seats in the new council. The mayoralty will be elected at-large, and that will favour a candidate from the soon-to-be-former town of Sackville, considering its relatively higher population.
Other at-large components could still figure into the new ward system. The four representatives from the current town of Sackville could represent four different wards within the town, or could be elected at-large within a single Sackville ward. The option also exists to divide Sackville into two wards, and elect two representatives from each.
Currently, both Sackville and Dorchester have completely at-large systems, meaning that elected councillors represent the whole municipality, and everyone gets to vote on each seat. Ballots for Sackville and Dorchester currently include a list of candidates and voters are asked to fill a slate with candidates.… Continue
Amalgamation process will not be public, but public will be consulted, says Mesheau
The meetings of advisory committees appointed by the province to help steer the amalgamation of Sackville, Dorchester and surrounding local service districts will not be open to the public.
Sackville mayor Shawn Mesheau says that two committees will be struck, one made up of staff, and one made up of elected and appointed representatives from each of the five areas being amalgamated. The department of local government says that the two mayors (Shawn Mesheau and Debbie Wiggins-Colwell from Dorchester) will sit on the committee, as well as Mary-Ellen Trueman from the Pointe de Bute local service district. Another two representatives, from the Sackville and Dorchester local service districts respectfully, could be appointed this week.
Mesheau says that based on a request from Sackville town council, the number of representatives on the committee will be expanded to two for each area, and Deputy Mayor Andrew Black has been selected to sit on the committee representing Sackville along with the mayor. But whether it is five or ten representatives, the meetings of the committee will be held behind closed doors.
“These aren’t public meetings,” says Mesheau. “They are meetings that are being held through the province, through the facilitator.”
The province recently appointed Chad Peters as a “facilitator” to oversee the formation of Entity 40, plus four other new entities in the southeast region, as well as the transition for Regional Service Commission 8.
