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How Sackville got turned down for a fifth representative in Entity 40, and other amalgamation updates

Sackville resident Elaine Smith in front of town hall on March 1, 2022.

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

JDI says it has not spoken to province about properties removed from Entity 40

Side by side comparison of two recent drafts of ward maps for Entity 40 put together by Sackville resident Sharon Hicks.

It’s still not clear why two large tracts of forest land were removed from the future Entity 40 about two and a half months after the province said its new municipal boundaries were finalized.

Most of the land that has been removed belongs to JD Irving Ltd, but a spokesperson for the company says that they did not have a direct hand in the decision. In an email, JDI Director of Communications Brendan Langille said he could, “confirm we have not spoken to the Province about these properties.”

Provincial spokesperson Alysha Elliot says that rural areas province-wide were “reviewed to determine whether they should be added to the rural districts.” Elliot has yet to respond to follow up questions about that review process, such as who was involved and what sparked it.

Elliot did say that other entities also saw border changes, but has not yet shared further details.

Rural districts are a key part of the province’s municipal reform plan. There are just 12 of them defined in the province, but they make up the majority of the land area. Similar to the local service districts they replace, they have no formal local government, but may elect an advisory committee to work with provincial government managers when it comes to local issues.… 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

Upper Sackville to join Midgic in newly revised ward map

Most of the town of Sackville will be represented by four councillors elected at-large in a single ward when a newly formed Entity 40 council takes charge in January 2023.

An advisory committee of representatives from Sackville, Dorchester and surrounding areas met Thursday evening with consultant Chad Peters to discuss the decision. At the meeting, Peters presented a revised draft of the ward map for Entity 40, based on feedback he received from Sackville representatives Mayor Shawn Mesheau and Deputy Mayor Andrew Black.

Revised ward map for Entity 40 as of March 3, 2022.

The new map shows another part of the current town of Sackville shaved off to be included with a large Midgic ward that now stretches from the middle of Silver Lake all the way up to the border with Beaubassin East.

Revised ward map for Entity 40 (detail of Sackville area) as of March 3, 2022.

The update posted on the town of Sackville website says, “these revised boundaries provide a more equitable share of electors compared to the first drafts.”

There are 4415 electors in the single Sackville ward, meaning roughly 1104 electors per representative. The Midgic ward will now have 615 electors and the Point de Bute ward will remain at 415. Dorchester remains at 600, and West Sackville-Rockport is reduced to 655. Guidelines distributed to municipalities from the province recommended that each ward not deviate from an average elector population by more than 15%, though in special circumstances that could stretch to 25%.… Continue

Day two of protest, Entity 40 decisions expected today

Sackville resident Anne Miller at day two of a protest to call for more consultation in the amalgamation process of Sackville, Dorchester, and surrounding areas. Photo: Erica Butler

A small group of Sackville citizens took to the streets in front of Sackville town hall Wednesday for a second day of protest over the amalgamation process as its being rolled out in the region.

A group of 14 people, a few of which were also out on Tuesday, walked along with signs calling for more consultation from the provincial government.

“I really have nothing against the amalgamation,” said longtime Sackville resident Wendy Burnett. “It’s just simply that it’s a very complex procedure, and I think it’s being railroaded through very unfairly. The government should be consulting people in an area that’s going to be amalgamated.”

Listen here for the voices of protesters on Wednesday, March 2:

A small crowd gathered in front of town hall to call for more consultation in the process of creating Entity 40. Photo: Erica Butler

Local government Minister Daniel Allain responded to the protests in an emailed statement to CHMA News on Wednesday, but did not address the lack of consultation in the wake of his decision to force the amalgamation of Sackville, Dorchester and surrounding areas. Allain wrote:

“While I can appreciate that some people have concerns, the way to get through the details is to follow the process and the committee is doing its work.

… Continue

Residents call for consultation on amalgamation, second protest planned for Wednesday

Just shy of a dozen Sackville residents gathered to call for more consultation on amalgamation Tuesday. A second protest is planned for Wednesday. Photo: Erica Butler

Just shy of a dozen Sackvillians gathered in front of town hall on Tuesday to express their frustration with the amalgamation process that will see the town of Sackville and village of Dorchester dissolved and a new Entity 40 created to take their place.

Resident Elaine Smith had a clear message she wanted to send to the province. “The last rally I spoke at was the hospital rally, and I told the province to stop messing with the hospital,” said Smith. “So I’m telling them the same thing. Stop messing with our town and leave us the way we are right now, or at least give us time to consider the options.”

More time and opportunity for consultation were common requests from the residents out on Tuesday. Protest organizer Carol Cooke pointed to a sign calling on Premier Higgs to “consult with the people!” saying she hoped that would be the theme for the protest, which will continue Wednesday at noon at town hall.

Cooke said she was “thrilled at the turnout,” for the protest. “I really thought I’d be wandering around by myself. But we’ve got people here who’ve supported the hospital and done so much for this town, and they really care,” said Cooke.… Continue

Protest over lack of consultation in amalgamation process slated for Tuesday and Wednesday at town hall

Carol Cooke is hoping resistance in not futile, and is organizing a protest over the forced amalgamation process Tuesday and Wednesday at Sackville town hall. Image: Design by local artist and screenprinter Robert Lyon

A Sackville resident is calling for a peaceful protest outside of Sackville town hall on Tuesday and Wednesday at noon, to call for more public participation in the process of local government reform in the region. Carol Cooke says she’s concerned about the decisions being made without input from Sackville citizens.

“I just feel that we are being underrepresented as this new process, this advisory-so-called process, as Entity 40 unfolds,” says Cooke. “My understanding is that the government in Fredericton is pretty much able to make this a fait accompli without really any input from the public.”

Sackville resident Carol Cooke is headed to town hall on Tuesday and Wednesday at noon to protest the lack of consultation in the forced amalgamation of Sackville, Dorchester and surrounding areas. Photo: contributed

Cooke says that since the town’s residents make up 68% of the population of the new Entity 40, that should translate to at least 5 representatives on an 8-person council. But she’s also concerned about representation for residents outside of the town, especially in local service districts that have had no local government since the late 60’s.

“I’m trying to figure out how to represent those people outside the town limits,” such as the residents of the Point de Bute local service district, Dorchester Village and district, and the Sackville local service district.… Continue

Councillors express dismay at under-representation; ask for a single Sackville ward with reps at-large

On Thursday evening, Sackville’s municipal reform committee met for a third time, with a narrow mandate of providing input on whether Sackvillians would elect their future Entity 40 representatives at large, or in up to four separate wards.

But before they got to that question, councillors sounded off on a previous decision made by the province, to forego its own representation-by-population guidelines and allot just 50% of representatives to the former town of Sackville, which is home to 68% of the population of the new Entity 40.

Right off the bat, Councillor Allison Butcher asked Deputy Mayor Andrew Black if there was any chance of changing what she called “a skew as far as population goes?”

“No,” said Black. “That has been decided. That meeting that we had on the 15th, whatever decision was made at the end of that night with the advisory committee that was there, that decision was final.”

It’s become a theme of the municipal reform process so far: rushed decisions made in private meetings, with no substantive engagement with councils, much less the general public.

It was enough for Butcher to forego her usual attempts to put a positive spin on her comments: “At the risk of sounding really, really jaded, it probably doesn’t matter what I think should happen with the four councillors representing the 7000 people,” said Butcher, “because I’m starting to feel like it doesn’t matter what we think.”

Black told the committee that after a 1.5 hour meeting on February 15 with provincially appointed facilitator Chad Peters and the eight appointees to the provincial advisory committee, there was a consensus reached among all members, including himself and Mayor Shawn Mesheau.… Continue

Draft ward map proposes wide gaps in number of electors across Entity 40

The town of Sackville has released the province’s proposed ward map outlining the boundaries of eight wards to be used to elect a new Entity 40 council in November.

A draft ward map of the future Entity 40, produced by the province of New Brunswick, published by the town of Sackville. CHMA has requested a higher resolution map from the province.

An advisory committee, made up of eight people appointed to represent different parts of the new Entity 40, met privately with provincial facilitator Chad Peters for a second time on Monday, and the map was released the next day, on Tuesday.

The draft map is due to be discussed at a meeting of Sackville’s municipal reform committee on Thursday at 6pm.

Last week, advisory committee member and Sackville mayor Shawn Mesheau said he expected Peters to bring back options for ward boundaries which would be shared with the public, and that a final decision would be made by March 4. But on Tuesday there was just a single draft map of eight wards published on the town of Sackville website.

The wards vary widely in population size from 375 electors to 1240 electors, a spread which runs counter to the guidelines circulated by the provincial department of local government.

The town of Sackville website says the wards are “largely set,” though notes, “there will be some slight tweaks to them to correct any mapping errors and issues.”

However the website also says the committee’s next step is “to determine the number of wards in Sackville.”… 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

Tag: amalgamation