David Raymond Amos @DavidRayAmos
Replying to @DavidRayAmos @Kathryn98967631 and 49 others
Methinks I have every right to say that the folks get the governments they deserve when apathy rules the day N'esy Pas?
https://davidraymondamos3.blogspot.com/2019/02/a-decade-after-calling-for-extensive.html
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/finn-report-amalgamation-local-government-1.5029473
A decade after calling for extensive amalgamations, Finn report author sees few changes
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Buford Wilson
Roland Godin
Les Cooper
Les Cooper
david robertson
Buford Wilson
Why not amalgamate the three maritime provinces into one.
We'd all be better off.
We'd all be better off.
Roland Godin
By taking a step in the 21st
century we would realize, with a small population of a major city street
corner, New/Nouveau-Brunswick should at best be seven boroughs and the
mayor of each borough could form a council to legislate on issues of
common interest...et voilà.
Les Cooper
Alot of rural areas go to cities and use their facilities. I can see why they would want to almagumat.
Les Cooper
The Atlantic Provinces should be alalgmated!
Les Cooper
@Les Cooper Combine all 3 and get rid of all the politions that are bleeding the little provinces dry.
And we could have a bigger say in
Canada. The 3 provinces are to small to stay afloat.
And we could have a bigger say in
Canada. The 3 provinces are to small to stay afloat.
david robertson
Worst thing you can hear ! I'm from the gov't and I am here to help you!
Content disabled.
maude windsor
local governance should be
developed at the political level closest to the people they are
representing. schoolboards should collect taxes locally and spend $$$ on
local schools (this is important because if parents want academically
superior schools they will pay for it....no school taxes should be sent
to fredericton! as for french factor the federal government under BNAct
must pay 100% costs of building and operating the private schools
called 'francophone' that only allow french speaking student s of french
speaking parents...today, in any school district where parents are
concerned their public schools prepare students for university or jobs
there must be bilingual schools that represent countries NB will be
trading with..like arabic, mandarin, gaelic,ukranian,etc.-----large
municipal clusters are liked by politicians because there are so many
more local politicians voted in...--it is time also that the training
area of DND in gagetown must be returned to the families thrown off
these lands..the base training is costing too much for Trudeau's
military.........................
Content disabled.
David Amos
@maude windsor Methinks unless you are homeless like I was for 14 years then you live within a municipality of some sort. Everybody knows all taxes are sourced from us be it income tax, property tax, sales tax, gas tax, vehicle registration, speeding tickets fines etc etc etc. Most of the money goes to Ottawa or Fredericton. The municipal politicians then have to beg for scraps while we pay NB Power a horrendous rate just to keep the street lights on.
David Amos
@maude windsor Methinks unless you are homeless like I was for 14 years then you live within a municipality of some sort. Everybody knows all taxes are sourced from us be it income tax, property tax, sales tax, gas tax, vehicle registration, speeding tickets fines etc etc etc. Most of the money goes to Ottawa or Fredericton. The municipal politicians then have to beg for scraps while we pay NB Power a horrendous rate just to keep the street lights on.
My heart goes out to all municipal politicians if they are ethical because they live among us where the rubber meets the road if you are lucky enough to dodge the potholes. However everybody knows that certain municipal politicians definitely I do not trust as far as I could throw them and have said so openly for many years particularly while running for public office myself. This domain is just one example of my stating my opinions openly yet in return I only hear crickets or insults from my political opponents N'esy Pas?
Mike Decoste
Amalgamation means
politicians might lose power. Is it really necessary to have 3 mayors
and 25 councillors paid by taxpayers to run the Moncton are area? And
why does NB need more civil servants per population than any province in
Canada? Perhaps this is why the taxes are so high in NB.
David Amos
@Mike Decoste How about Sussex and Sussex Corner being separate? Methinks that is a dumb one too N'esy Pas?
Robert Brannen
But for the acquiescence of
King George III to a pressure by UEL refugees for a colony of their own,
due to a dislike for governance of Nova Scotia from Halifax, Canada
would have nine viable provinces today.
David Amos
@Robert Brannen YUP But
Methinks the Crown forgot to write us a constitution in 1784 and have
never bothered to since That is why the Feds have to edit their Charter
now and then like when New Brunswick wanted a Language Commissioner etc
N'esy Pas?
Laurie Clark
If someone wants something
done in NB, they should know by now that you have to talk to the
Irvings! They have been running this province for far too long and it
doesn't matter what the name of the party in "power" is!
David Amos
@Laurie Clark Oh So True
However methinks Mr Higgs must know that my Father made the Irving Clan
pay their fair share of property taxes when he was alive and Mayor Don
Darling was in kindergarten in Fredericton N'esy Pas?
Methinks unless you are homeless like I was for 14 years then you live within a municipality of some sort. Everybody knows all taxes are sourced from us be it income tax, property tax, sales tax, gas tax, vehicle registration, speeding tickets fines etc etc etc. Most of the money goes to Ottawa or Fredericton. The municipal politicians then have to beg for scraps while we pay NB Power a horrendous rate just to keep the street lights on.
My heart goes out to all municipal politicians if they are ethical because they live among us where the rubber meets the road if you are lucky enough to dodge the potholes. However everybody knows that certain municipal politicians definitely I do not trust as far as I could throw them and have said so openly for many years particularly while running for public office myself. This domain is just one example of my stating my opinions openly yet in return I only hear crickets or insults from my political opponents N'esy Pas?
Emery Hyslop-Margison
@Laurie Clark There is much
truth in your comment - sort of public knowledge in New Brunswick isn't
it? I've been concerned with some of Premier HIggs issues of focus given
their obvious connection to Irving interests. However, I think he's
done a reasonable job so far overall and should be given a chance to
make the tough decisions the province requires to get back on the rails
after decades of mismanagement. I figure he's got another 18 months to
demonstrate he can achieve this objective. Otherwise, we elect one of
the emerging parties.
maude windsor
@Emery Hyslop-Margison ask
scott brison and justin trudeau about the Irving's lobbying!!! poor
vice admiral norman lost his life work of distinguished service by not
giving the ship contract to the Irvings.....
NB&Alberta should form a liason as 80%of albertans are NBers....
this would serve NB economic development.........
NB&Alberta should form a liason as 80%of albertans are NBers....
this would serve NB economic development.........
David Amos
@maude windsor Methinks you
have better luck asking me what I know about that malicious nonsense.
Anyone can Google "David Amos Mark Norman" N'esy Pas?
David Amos
@maude windsor "ask scott
brison and justin trudeau about the Irving's lobbying!!! poor vice
admiral norman lost his life work of distinguished service by not giving
the ship contract to the Irvings"
Methinks that you have a bad habit of evaporating N'esy Pas?
Methinks that you have a bad habit of evaporating N'esy Pas?
David Amos
@maude windsor "local
governance should be developed at the political level closest to the
people they are representing. schoolboards should collect taxes locally
and spend $$$ on local schools (this is important because if parents
want academically superior schools they will pay for it....no school
taxes should be sent to fredericton!"
Methinks unless you are homeless like I was for 14 years then you live within a municipality of some sort. Everybody knows all taxes are sourced from us be it income tax, property tax, sales tax, gas tax, vehicle registration, speeding tickets fines etc etc etc. Most of the money goes to Ottawa or Fredericton. The municipal politicians then have to beg for scraps while we pay NB Power a horrendous rate just to keep the street lights on.
My heart goes out to all municipal politicians if they are ethical because they live among us where the rubber meets the road if you are lucky enough to dodge the potholes. However everybody knows that certain municipal politicians definitely I do not trust as far as I could throw them and have said so openly for many years particularly while running for public office myself. This domain is just one example of my stating my opinions openly yet in return I only hear crickets or insults from my political opponents N'esy Pas?
Paul Bourgoin
It would appear that what
could benefit tax paying New Brunswicker's does not seem to fit in the
long term vision designing plan, or even address this matter. At the
end of the day New Brunswick is a have not province with no surplus cash
and many secret sweet heart deals that also need to be addressed
David Amos
@Paul Bourgoin "At the end of
the day New Brunswick is a have not province with no surplus cash and
many secret sweet heart deals that also need to be addressed"
True but after running for public office in the area for the past 15 years all I have ever heard from the electorate is the crickets in their backyards as they followed the Pied Pipers waving red, orange, green, blue and and now purple banners to the polling stations.
Methinks I have every right to say that the folks get the governments they deserve when apathy rules the day N'esy Pas?
@Paul Bourgoin "At the end of
the day New Brunswick is a have not province with no surplus cash and
many secret sweet heart deals that also need to be addressed"
True but after running for public office in the area for the past 15 years all I have ever heard from the electorate is the crickets in their backyards as they followed the Pied Pipers waving red, orange, green, blue and and now purple banners to the polling stations.
Methinks I have every right to say that the folks get the governments they deserve when apathy rules the day N'esy Pas?
True but after running for public office in the area for the past 15 years all I have ever heard from the electorate is the crickets in their backyards as they followed the Pied Pipers waving red, orange, green, blue and and now purple banners to the polling stations.
Methinks I have every right to say that the folks get the governments they deserve when apathy rules the day N'esy Pas?
maude windsor
Asked me what I was gonna do about getting rid of all the people from Quebec who worked for the government or whatever and as soon as I responded her comment went POOF
David Amos
@maude windsor Why not take
up your beef with SANB I bet legions of Acadians must be sick and tired
of all the greedy Quebecois getting the great bureaucratic jobs in New
Brunswick N'esy Pas?
David Amos
@David Amos @maude windsor Hmmm Where did your question to me go?
Paul Bourgoin
@David Amos
The New Brunswick Political ruling authority is more powerful then all the people of this province. Say that all of the NB Voters were to vote for the same Party the now NB governing authority would still control New Brunswick!
The New Brunswick Political ruling authority is more powerful then all the people of this province. Say that all of the NB Voters were to vote for the same Party the now NB governing authority would still control New Brunswick!
David Amos
@Paul Bourgoin Speak for your
self Trust that the Irving Clan has no say over me and I am a citizen
of this province just like they are
Content disabled.
David Amos
@Paul Bourgoin BTW we should
be more concerned about our right free speech and who made maude
windsor's comment come and go Correct?
David Amos
Methinks Norma McGraw should try thinking outside of the box and give me a call sometime N'esy Pas?
David Amos
@David Amos Hmmm well we just talked and the lady didn't seem to care Surprise Surprise Surprise
Charles Dunton
In my area, potential rural
governments split my community into two parts. When asked organizers
said vote for the new government and then we'll force amalgamation of
the rest of your community.
How can that be responsible government?
How can that be responsible government?
David Amos
@Charles Dunton It isn't
Rosco holt
Finn's report was flawed for
the beginning. There's no benefit for rural communities to amalgamate,
while big city get to collect more taxes.
They talk representation, the levers of power(decisions) would reside with the biggest existing entity in the amalgamation(municipality).
We've already got too many seat warmers politicians don't need more self serving crooks.
They talk representation, the levers of power(decisions) would reside with the biggest existing entity in the amalgamation(municipality).
We've already got too many seat warmers politicians don't need more self serving crooks.
David Amos
@Rosco holt I Wholeheartedly Agree
Gary MacKay
The regional service
districts are nothing more than another level of government with more
tax dollars being spent and little to nothing to show for it. Region 8
is the best example. They could not agree on a trash budget and the
province replaced 14 people with one clerk. Interestingly shortly after
they were disbanded the two rival towns of Sussex and Sussex Corner
mayors finally made headway on an EMO plan regarding flooding. The 12
service districts need to go. There are better ways to have communities
and outlying areas work together. New York State has an excellent
example that NB could easily improve on and adapt to our province. It
would only take the will to actually look at what others have done that
works.
David Amos
@Gary MacKay Oh So True
Norman Albert Snr
Keep asking questions they
aren't going to like the answer too but it is a way of getting rid of
all those tax payer dollars they have no real use for. Stupid is as
stupid does. Last one out please turn out the lights!!!!
David Amos
@Norman Albert Snr "Stupid is as stupid does."
Methinks Forest Gump's Mother was a very wise lady N'esy Pas?
Methinks Forest Gump's Mother was a very wise lady N'esy Pas?
Emery Hyslop-Margison
The Higgs government needs to
show leadership on this issue, and I believe they will. I live in the
village of New Maryland and it's a perfect example of what's wrong with
the provincial municipal structure. The village has a mayor, numerous
councillors and, based on my recent count, around 17 full time
employees. There are at least three municipal buildings to maintain,
including one that is brand new and barely used. Snow removal and
garbage collection are both contracted out and the service in both areas
is the worst possible. Tax rates on property were hiked again this year
as approved by the mayor and council. Most citizens of New Maryland
work in Fredericton, shop in Fredericton, recreate in Fredericton and
attend education institutions in Fredericton. I suspect this scenario is
repeated across the province and it's a ridiculous example of political
interests running amuck over public planning and administrative
efficiency. Time to pull the plug and amalgamate.
Shawn McShane
@Emery Hyslop-Margison
Doesn't sound like it worked with the merger of 18 local service
districts with the town of Tracadie-Sheila, they want to break it up...
David Amos
@Emery Hyslop-Margison "The Higgs government needs to show leadership on this issue, and I believe they will."
Methinks I explained why during the last election as I ran against Mr Higgs' buddy Bruce Northrup and his cohorts N'esy Pas?
Methinks I explained why during the last election as I ran against Mr Higgs' buddy Bruce Northrup and his cohorts N'esy Pas?
Laurie Clark
@Emery Hyslop-Margison "The
Higgs government needs to show leadership on this issue" You're
expecting leadership from a CONServative??? Have fun with that!
Laurie Clark
@Emery Hyslop-Margison "The
Higgs government needs to show leadership on this issue" You're
expecting leadership from a CONServative??? Have fun with that!
Emery Hyslop-Margison
@Laurie Clark I'm not
partisan in politics anymore Laurie. I'm more concerned with a
politician doing the right thing (i.e. making decisions I agree with ;-)
regardless of the flag he/she is waving. Party politics in this
province has been a miserable failure.
Emery Hyslop-Margison
@David Amos I'm trying to be optimistic!
David Amos
@Emery Hyslop-Margison Good luck with that
Fred Brewer
Minister Carr says
amalgamation cannot be forced. That is simply not true. Look at the
forced amalgamation of Halifax and its outlying communities. The
provincial government forced this and since amalgamation, the
municipality has experienced dramatic growth and prosperity.
Matt Steele
@Fred Brewer ......Not sure
about Nova Scotia ; but Frank McKenna forced Chatham , Newcastle , and
the surrounding communities to amalgamate , and there certainly hasn't
been any big growth or prosperity in that area....other than the growth
of more govt. control and taxes . Just another Frank McKenna boondoggle !
Fred Brewer
@Matt Steele
Say what you will but the fact remains that at one time Saint John and Halifax were twin cities. Both were port cities and both were the capital of their respective provinces and both had the same size population.
Currently the Halifax Regional Municipality has a population that is over 400,000 and construction cranes can be seen everywhere. By comparison, Saint John has a population of 70,000 and rarely do we ever see a single construction crane. I rest my case.
Say what you will but the fact remains that at one time Saint John and Halifax were twin cities. Both were port cities and both were the capital of their respective provinces and both had the same size population.
Currently the Halifax Regional Municipality has a population that is over 400,000 and construction cranes can be seen everywhere. By comparison, Saint John has a population of 70,000 and rarely do we ever see a single construction crane. I rest my case.
David Amos
@Matt Steele Welcome Back to the Circus and say Hey to McKenna for me sometime will ya?
Matt Steele
Jean -Guy Finn has an opinion
, just like every other N.B.er has.....but I doubt he is the great
expert that he seems to think that he is . Changing the structure of
local govt. has been played with before , and the result has been a
succession of ONE term prov, govt . No doubt if Jeff Carr and the Higgs
govt. starts playing around with it , then their tenure in govt. will
be extremely short as well. You would think that after watching Brian
Gallant for four years screwing up everything that he touched ; that
politicians would realize that the taxpayers are getting fed up with
these half baked ideas .
Content disabled.
David Amos
@Matt Steele "You would think
that after watching Brian Gallant for four years screwing up everything
that he touched ; that politicians would realize that the taxpayers are
getting fed up with these half baked ideas "
Methinks thou doth jest too much N'esy Pas?
Methinks thou doth jest too much N'esy Pas?
David Amos
@Matt Steele Oh My My
pete prosser
Two against one for Riverview. No one in Riverview wants that.
You know what we are talking about.
You know what we are talking about.
David Amos
@pete prosser Methinks you are being a little redundant N'esy Pas?
pete prosser
Two against one for Riverview.
No one in Riverview wants that, and you know what we are talking about.
No one in Riverview wants that, and you know what we are talking about.
A decade after calling for extensive amalgamations, Finn report author sees few changes
Minister of local government says he plans to delve into issue this year
The Tracadie regional
municipality was considered a model of how New Brunswick communities
could amalgamate without provincial intervention.
But now a petition is circulating calling for a plebiscite to revoke the 2014 merger of 18 local service districts with the town of Tracadie-Sheila.
Former Tracadie councillor Norma McGraw said promises of no tax increases and economic development in the amalgamated local service districts were broken. Mayor Denis Losier also said the promised upsides haven't materialized.
"I think they pulled the wool over citizens' eyes to get us to vote," McGraw, one of several councillors who resigned last year, told Radio-Canada.
Tracadie Mayor Denis Losier, centre, says positive aspects of creating a larger municipality did not materialize. (Radio-Canada)
Jean-Guy
Finn, a former senior New Brunswick civil servant who led a commission
on reforming local governance, has followed what's happened in Tracadie. He said he's not surprised given changes he recommended in 2008 have not happened.
Finn's controversial report found the province's local governance structure wasn't sustainable. He called on the province to slash New Brunswick's municipalities and local service districts to 53 from 371.
Ten
years and two months after his report, the province is far from that
target. New Brunswick has 237 local service districts, eight cities, 26
towns, 61 villages, eight rural communities and one regional
municipality.
Finn said little has changed under four successive provincial governments.
The changes include tweaks to the municipal funding formula and creating 12 regional service commissions to handle garbage and regional land-use planning.
"This is a reflection of a lack of leadership on behalf of the provincial government," Finn said.
The continuation of a splintered system has led to more sprawl, undesirable development at the fringes of municipalities, and costly provision of services as the province's population ages, he said.
Then-premier Shawn Graham shelved Finn's report immediately after its release, citing a weak economy and the estimated $88-million cost to implement it.
Finn believes the reforms are more relevant than when he recommended them.
Jean-Guy
Finn says his decade-old call to revamp local governance in the
province requires political will from provincial leaders. ((CBC))
Tracadie isn't the only location where strains with local governance have continued or emerged since Finn's report.
The provincial government dismissed the board of Regional Service Commission 8 this year after the group of Sussex-area mayors and local service district representatives couldn't agree on a waste collection budget.
Disputes over getting areas outside a municipality to pay for community infrastructure have flared in Sussex, Campbellton, Fredericton and the Saint John area.
Finn said it shows the need for change.
"When you add all this up, it becomes obvious something will have to be done," Finn said.
Adam Lordon, Miramichi mayor and president of the Cities of New Brunswick Association, told CBC last year that the group wants a "conversation" on the funding issue.
Jeff Carr, the minister of Environment and Local Government, said the province plans to bring people from rural and urban New Brunswick together this year to talk about local governance and municipal powers.
"The people of New Brunswick who live in these areas are going to have to decide once we get all the options on the table and all the facts on the table," Carr said.
Jeff Carr, the province's minister of environment and local government, says the province can't force amalgamations. (Shane Fowler/CBC)
He said the government isn't afraid to make tough choices, but said amalgamation can't be forced.
Finn said it will take leadership by the province to make any changes at this point.
"Unless we proceed comprehensively in reforming local government, I don't think we're going to accomplish much," Finn said. "We cannot just move in an ad hoc fashion like we are now because we seem to be making the situation worse rather than improving it."
Successive governments have adopted an approach that aids locally-run citizen groups considering amalgamation rather than forcing change.
Many of those attempts have failed.
Creating rural communities from local services districts around Sussex, the Nashwaak and York regions have either been rejected by voters or aborted before ballots cast.
Objections raised have included loss of rural identity, tax rates and changes to land use rules.
"People weren't ready for it," David Sweeney, chair of the group studying the idea in the Nashwaak area, said in 2017.
Last year, the former Liberal government rejected Saint John's request to study amalgamation with other communities in the region, citing a lack of support outside the city.
"Amalgamation is a non-starter, full-stop, end of story," Quispamsis Mayor Gary Clark said last year.
Merging the Greater Moncton's three communities has been a thorny topic.
Each have municipal staff, fire department, mayors and a total of 25 councillors. One ward in Moncton, Ward 3, has more than 22,000 residents, almost as many people as Dieppe's total population.
The mayors of Riverview and Dieppe told CBC last year their residents aren't interested in the idea, though a 2017 poll suggested 59 per cent of respondents in the region support amalgamation.
From
left, Mayor Ann Seamans of Riverview, Mayor Yvon Lapierre of Dieppe and
Moncton Mayor Dawn Arnold. Lapierre and Seamans say their communities
aren't interested in amalgamation. (Kate Letterick/CBC News)
Tri-community mayors point to services already delivered in tandem: RCMP, transit, water and sewer.
"I don't think that there's a lot of opportunities beyond what we're already doing," Dieppe Mayor Yvon Lapierre said last year.
But now a petition is circulating calling for a plebiscite to revoke the 2014 merger of 18 local service districts with the town of Tracadie-Sheila.
Former Tracadie councillor Norma McGraw said promises of no tax increases and economic development in the amalgamated local service districts were broken. Mayor Denis Losier also said the promised upsides haven't materialized.
"I think they pulled the wool over citizens' eyes to get us to vote," McGraw, one of several councillors who resigned last year, told Radio-Canada.
Finn's controversial report found the province's local governance structure wasn't sustainable. He called on the province to slash New Brunswick's municipalities and local service districts to 53 from 371.
Finn said little has changed under four successive provincial governments.
The changes include tweaks to the municipal funding formula and creating 12 regional service commissions to handle garbage and regional land-use planning.
"This is a reflection of a lack of leadership on behalf of the provincial government," Finn said.
The continuation of a splintered system has led to more sprawl, undesirable development at the fringes of municipalities, and costly provision of services as the province's population ages, he said.
Report shelved
Then-premier Shawn Graham shelved Finn's report immediately after its release, citing a weak economy and the estimated $88-million cost to implement it.
Finn believes the reforms are more relevant than when he recommended them.
The provincial government dismissed the board of Regional Service Commission 8 this year after the group of Sussex-area mayors and local service district representatives couldn't agree on a waste collection budget.
Disputes over getting areas outside a municipality to pay for community infrastructure have flared in Sussex, Campbellton, Fredericton and the Saint John area.
"When you add all this up, it becomes obvious something will have to be done," Finn said.
Adam Lordon, Miramichi mayor and president of the Cities of New Brunswick Association, told CBC last year that the group wants a "conversation" on the funding issue.
More talk planned
Jeff Carr, the minister of Environment and Local Government, said the province plans to bring people from rural and urban New Brunswick together this year to talk about local governance and municipal powers.
"The people of New Brunswick who live in these areas are going to have to decide once we get all the options on the table and all the facts on the table," Carr said.
Finn says leadership required
Finn said it will take leadership by the province to make any changes at this point.
"Unless we proceed comprehensively in reforming local government, I don't think we're going to accomplish much," Finn said. "We cannot just move in an ad hoc fashion like we are now because we seem to be making the situation worse rather than improving it."
Successive governments have adopted an approach that aids locally-run citizen groups considering amalgamation rather than forcing change.
Many of those attempts have failed.
Creating rural communities from local services districts around Sussex, the Nashwaak and York regions have either been rejected by voters or aborted before ballots cast.
Objections raised have included loss of rural identity, tax rates and changes to land use rules.
"People weren't ready for it," David Sweeney, chair of the group studying the idea in the Nashwaak area, said in 2017.
'Amalgamation is a non-starter'
Last year, the former Liberal government rejected Saint John's request to study amalgamation with other communities in the region, citing a lack of support outside the city.
"Amalgamation is a non-starter, full-stop, end of story," Quispamsis Mayor Gary Clark said last year.
Merging the Greater Moncton's three communities has been a thorny topic.
Each have municipal staff, fire department, mayors and a total of 25 councillors. One ward in Moncton, Ward 3, has more than 22,000 residents, almost as many people as Dieppe's total population.
The mayors of Riverview and Dieppe told CBC last year their residents aren't interested in the idea, though a 2017 poll suggested 59 per cent of respondents in the region support amalgamation.
"I don't think that there's a lot of opportunities beyond what we're already doing," Dieppe Mayor Yvon Lapierre said last year.
About the Author
With files from Radio-Canada
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