Report into dysfunctional N.B. municipality will remain secret
Province says report on turmoil in Lakeland Ridges contains 'confidential and personal' information
The province is refusing to release the report by the supervisor it appointed to run Lakeland Ridges.
"The supervisor's report itself will not be made public due to confidential and personal information included in the report," said Heather Pert, a spokesperson for the Department of Local Government.
Coun. Randy Stairs turned down an interview request but said the report had not been given to councillors, either.
The
provincial reform created new municipal entities across the province,
including a combined Canterbury, seen here, and Meductic. (Shane Fowler/CBC)
Lakeland Ridges is a sprawling rural municipality of 2,600 people taking in the former villages of Meductic and Canterbury, between the St. John River and the Canada-U.S. border.
It was created as part of the provincewide local government reform on Jan. 1.
The province's Control of Municipalities Act allows the government to appoint a supervisor when a municipality can't pay its bills, when there aren't enough councillors for the quorum required to hold a meeting or when council "is not able to carry on the business of a council."
A council meeting last June didn't go ahead when councillors couldn't agree on an agenda.
The two municipal office staff, chief administrative officer and clerk Susie Patterson and deputy clerk-treasurer Lana Sharpe, went out on medical leave. Another council meeting scheduled for July was cancelled because a temporary clerk still wasn't in place.
In August, former Meductic mayor Steve Manuel told CBC News that some members of the municipal council were determined to make the newly merged municipality unworkable.
Former
Meductic mayor Steve Manuel told CBC News in August that some members
of the municipal council were determined to make the newly merged
municipality unworkable. (Jacques Poitras/CBC)
"The group needed to work together and that just is not happening," he said at the time.
Mayor Tanya Cloutier turned down an interview request in August and did not respond to a request on Tuesday.
Stairs said in August that the supervisor appointed to run the municipality, Michael Blaney, had "strongly suggested" that councillors not speak publicly about what was going on.
The government named Blaney, a former mayor of Gagetown, as supervisor last summer and later replaced him with Greg Lutes, a consultant and former provincial deputy minister.
Rather than release Lutes's report, the province published a two-page "transition plan" he developed.
The first phase, to be completed by Dec. 15, includes requiring municipal councillors and staff to "sign intent to follow" the plan.
It also calls for the hiring of mediators and the updating of the code of conduct "to reflect inspector's recommendations and 2023 observations."
A note on the plan says mediation "to resolve individual issues and interpersonal relationships" would probably need to continue past Dec. 15.
"The speed at which conflict can be resolved depends upon the complexity of the issue, the individuals involved, and their ability to find consensus to conclude a resolution," it says.
Future phases, to be finished by March 2024, include developing a strategic plan for the next two years, the possible creation of council committees and "supervised council meetings" to be held with the help of a "procedural coach."
The current council's mandate runs until municipal elections in May 2026.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Lakeland Ridges mayor and council haven’t met since May, won’t comment on intervention
Jacques Poitras · CBC News · Posted: Aug 11, 2023 6:00 AM ADT
Oh My My Who should I call?
Another area where Holt or Coons should make it known they will do things differently. This report and the appointed oversees are being paid with provincial tax dollars, meaning the report belongs to the
people of NB not Higgs or the Conservative party.
Does the opposition in this province intend to do things differently or not? Successive Conservative and Liberal governments have been using the privacy act to withhold information from NBers.
In fact, one or both of the opposition parties should commit to overhauling the privacy act if they form government. There are an army of civil servants spending their days deciding on what information we
can't see under the broad umbrella of "privacy".
David Amos
Content Deactivated
Reply to Benny Swim
Trust that your wish will come true on or about the 12th of Never
John Lawrence
Result of Daniel Allain’s gerrymandering efforts for Higgs. Nobody is pleased with it except Blaine as it is as close to rigging an election as legally possible. Still hard to process Allain caused chaos in
Francophone districts given his Acadian heritage. It is what it is
David Amos
Content Deactivated
Reply to John Lawrence
It is what is yet I still maintain that Allain will replace Higgy as leader
Shawn Tabor
You fine folks are on “ the need to know bases “ and there is no need of you folks knowing, have a great safe and wonderful day. Work hard and smile. Taxes and death.
David Amos
Reply to Shawn Tabor
So you say
Benny Swim
Reply to David Amos
I think he was being sarcastic...
David Amos
Reply to Benny Swim
I know he was
Ronald Miller
The Higgs government should have given some support to these newly formed councils for the first year or so. Like usual he is resource thin
Michael Milne
Reply to Ronald Miller
Right, I get it, blame the right for the left behaving badly.
Ronald Miller
Reply to Michael Milne
Yes
David Amos
Reply to Michael Milne
I don't get it
Benny Swim
Reply to Michael Milne
In what way is the "left" behaving badly on a project that was carried out by the Higgs' government?
To the best of my knowledge there are no active communist cells at work in either Meductic or Canterbury.
If you know something you should report it to the RCMP.
David Amos
Content Deactivated
"If you know something you should report it to the RCMP."
I do all the time but to no avail
Laura Smith
Seriously, sections can't be redacted? Hope they didn't spend any taxpayer dollars on the report.
David Amos
Reply to Laura Smith
Dream on
Ronald Miller
It is too bad this municipality has run into so many issues, hopefully they can get things sorted out over the coming months. Obviously since the report contains personal information it is private, a bit of a DUH thing to report on. Overall it is but a blip on the screen and a much ado about nothing, next.
Benny Swim
Reply to Ronald Miller
When the government spends our money and hires friends of the governing party as consultants the information that is produced should be public information. Duh.
David Amos
Reply to Benny Swim
Ditto
Bobby Richards
"The group needed to work together and that just is not happening," he
said at the time.
They must be taking lessons from the current provincial government.
David Amos
Content Deactivated
Reply to Bobby Richards
Aug 11, 2023 You Posted:
"This municipality includes the premier's home town. Maybe this is where he gets his My Way or the Highway mentality."
Bobby Richards
Reply to Bobby Richards
You're on the ball
David Amos
Reply to Bobby Richards
So are you
Kyle Woodman
Another failure by the Higgs government.
Ronald Miller
Reply to Kyle Woodman
The municipality failed, did you read the article or just the headline again?
Jos Allaire
Reply to Ronald Miller
The Higgs government leads by example.
Ronald Miller
Reply to Jos Allaire
Yes you are right
David Amos
Content Deactivated
Reply to Kyle Woodman
Aug 11, 2023 You Posted:
"Send in the Clowns"
David Amos
Content Deactivated
Reply to Kyle Woodman
Welcome back to the circus
David Amos
Reply to Jos Allaire
Kinda sorta
Benny Swim
Reply to Ronald Miller
You know he was being sarcastic right? Dysfunctional provincial government, dysfunctional municipalities.
David Amos
Reply to Benny Swim
Absolutely
Donald Smith
When I first saw this headline Report into dysfunctional N.B. municipality will remain secret- I thought was directed toward Saint John
David Amos
Content Deactivated
Reply to Donald Smith
I understand why you would think that
David Amos
Reply to Donald Smith
Too Too Funny
Dan Flanagan
Same thing in our community. A rabblerouser started to go to meeting calling some people on council perverts & it went downhill from there. No civility, no shame & no sense.
David Amos
Reply to Dan Flanagan
Are you certain?
Ken Dwight
This government doesn't do anything on a scale like this unless they can get some benefit out of it for themselves. Forget the people, they are not interersted in helping them, whatever looks good in the books.
David Amos
Reply to Ken Dwight
Perhaps you should run for public office
MR Cain
Donald Bowser, an international expert on political corruption, says he is "shocked to discover that there is less transparency in New Brunswick than in Kurdistan, Guatemala or Sierra Leone".
Terry Bull
Reply to MR Cain
Bowser is a grifter.
MR Cain
Reply to Terry Bull
n international expert on political corruption
Ronald Miller.
Reply to MR Cain
He does not appear to be an expert on much of anything and sits on a board in opposition of the current gov't so his opinion of them would carry no weight and a huge amount of bias.
Ronald Miller
Reply to MR Cain
I can't seem to find this quote anywhere, can you provide the article? How does he know the transparency of the countries involved, has he done extensive research on them? Exactly what transparency level is he referring to since our gov't has been rated one of the most transparent in Canada from the C.D. Howe institute. Can you expand on this or did you stumble upon this random quote and decide to throw it out there for the 50th time.
David Amos
Reply to MR Cain
"Donald Bowser, an international expert on political corruption"
Thanks for the laugh
David Amos
Reply to Terry Bull
Yup
Greg Miller
Ah, more secrets. A mystery -- nothing like a mystery in the amalgamation saga!
Greg Miller
Content Deactivated
There's on mystery that has been solved in our new enlarged community--our taxes are going up more than 7% !
David Amos
Content Deactivated
Reply to Greg Miller
Mine went down
.
David Amos
Reply to Greg Miller
I wonder why my revelation is a secret
Kevin Archibald
Oh, so that's what democracy means. Laughable.
David Amos
Content Deactivated
Reply to Kevin Archibald
Yup
David Amos
Reply to Kevin Archibald
This is a circus correct?
Freddy Furlong
There is so much secrecy with any New Brunswick government that's voted in. Lack of transparency in this here place is an understatement.
David Amos
Reply to Freddy Furlong
True
Saturday 12 August 2023
Province takes over new municipality divided by council turmoil
Province takes over new municipality divided by council turmoil
Lakeland Ridges mayor and council haven’t met since May, won’t comment on intervention
Inside, a phone was ringing. No one was there to answer it.
By the road, the old Canterbury village hall sign was faded, almost illegible, giving no hint of the newly created municipality's name.
Last week, the New Brunswick government announced it was taking over administration of the community, stripping the elected council of its authority and appointing a supervisor to make decisions.
Mayor
Tanya Cloutier said she wasn't able to comment at this time. But
according to some residents, the council has been bitterly divided. (Submitted by Tanya Cloutier)
People in the municipality, created by the Higgs government's local government reform, were left bewildered.
"I'd like to know everything, the whole situation, why they're acting up," said Laura Roussell, who has run Russell's Place, a general store and coffee shop, for 47 years.
Getting answers isn't easy.
The province won't say what exactly triggered its move.
The province's Control of Municipalities Act allows it when a municipality can't pay its bills, when there aren't enough councillors for the quorum required to hold a meeting or when council "is not able to carry on the business of a council."
A statement from Local Government Minister Glen Savoie didn't say which of those prompted his decision.
"Unfortunately I am unable to comment at this time," Mayor Tanya Cloutier said in an email.
But according to some residents, the council has been bitterly divided, with some members accused of sabotaging the smooth functioning of the newly created administration.
"I'm very disappointed in the way things have turned out, but I'm not surprised," said Steve Manuel, a former mayor of Meductic, one of two villages absorbed into Lakeland Ridges.
The municipality has an estimated population of 2,600 people in a sprawling area below Woodstock on the St. John River.
It stretches to the St. Croix River that forms part of the Canada-U.S. border, taking in the former villages of Canterbury and Meductic, as well as several local service districts. Skiff Lake, a popular cottage spot, is also within its boundaries.
The provincial reform created new municipal entities in many rural areas that had lacked a local government.
"As it has in other municipalities, it could have been a good thing," Manuel said. "But the group needed to work together and that just is not happening."
Manuel sat on a planning committee in 2022 that tried to map out the contours and functions of the new municipality.
He said several members of that committee, who he wouldn't name, "stated publicly at the meetings that they were against this forced amalgamation, and they were going to do everything in their power to see that it didn't work."
Some of them now sit on council, he said.
"It's been a lot of bickering over the way things should be done and who has the authority to do what," he said.
"If their intention originally was to see to it that this didn't work, then I guess they got their wish."
Laura
Roussell has run a general store and coffee shop in what is now
Lakeland Ridges for 47 years. She says she'd like to know what's going
on with the municipal council. (Jacques Poitras/CBC)
The provincially appointed supervisor, Michael Blaney, would not agree to an interview.
But he confirmed by email that the council has not met since May 23.
When the council convened June 12, members could not agree on an agenda so the meeting didn't go ahead.
On June 29, Cloutier announced that the two municipal office staff, chief administrative officer and clerk Susie Patterson and deputy clerk-treasurer Lana Sharpe, were "currently out on medical leave."
That was the first indication something was wrong, Manuel said.
"The comments we've heard about the way they were treated, that type of thing is now getting out in the public, and people were very upset and surprised to hear about all this."
Another scheduled council meeting on July 10 was cancelled because a temporary clerk still wasn't in place.
Coun. Randy Stairs, who was a village councillor in Meductic before the amalgamation, turned down an interview request.
He said the supervisor had "strongly suggested" at a meeting Tuesday night that the mayor and councillors not talk publicly about what's happening.
The
provincial reform created new municipal entities across the province,
including combining Canterbury, seen here, with Meductic. (Shane Fowler/CBC)
Stairs confirmed he was against the amalgamation "from the get-go" but was trying to make it work, adding the province hadn't heard the perspective of a majority of councillors before imposing the supervisor.
But he refused to share that perspective with CBC News.
"You have no idea how bad I want to," he said.
Resident Terry Kaye says some councillors who sat on previous village councils "don't want" anything to change and the province was right to step in.
"They're there to serve the community and we're not getting that," he said. "We're not getting things done. If they're acting like a bunch of kids, it's time to get rid of the problem."
Lakeland Ridges isn't the only newly created municipality going through a bumpy first year of existence in the wake of the local government reform.
Steve
Manuel, a former mayor of Meductic, one of two villages absorbed into
Lakeland Ridges, said he's 'very disappointed in the ways things have
turned out.' (Jacques Poitras/CBC)
The new town of Belle-Baie angered some anglophone residents when it opted to function almost exclusively in French, even though one of its previous villages, Beresford, offered some bilingual services.
The newly enlarged town of Shippagan got into a dispute with residents of the former village of Le Goulet over who owned its former village office.
But Lakeland Ridges is the only new municipality the province has taken over.
"There's a lot of responsibilities that are a lot larger than just one village council, a lot of new things that they have to look after, and they're not getting anywhere," Manuel said.
Roussell said some residents of other areas of Lakeland Ridges are jealous that a family doctor has been holding a clinic one evening a week in Canterbury.
"There are council members from all the other districts and they want to stop things in one place and start it up in another place," she said.
"I kind of felt that would happen because we should be ourselves. Each place should have their own everything."
Manuel supported amalgamation and said "a lot of positives" can come from it.
The
municipality stretches to the St. Croix River that forms part of the
Canada-U.S. border, taking in the former villages of Meductic, seen
here, and Canterbury, as well as several local service districts and
Skiff Lake. (Shane Fowler/CBC)
"But there was 'this is mine and that's yours,' that type of thing. That attitude, there's no place in today's world for that type of thing," he said.
"We have an opportunity to make something very positive and unfortunately some individuals didn't feel that was the way to go."
He also said the province didn't always have answers ready for the new council about elements of the reform and that contributed to "growing pains."
Kaye says there should be a new election. But none is scheduled until 2026, and the supervisor is unlikely to stay in place that long.
Savoie said in an emailed statement that Blaney will hire an inspector "to investigate the affairs of the local government" and help draft a report "recommending actions required for the council to return to carrying on its business."
Manuel says it's hard to say if that's realistic.
"Anything is possible, but these feelings, these comments, these intentions, not by all council but by some, did not start a short while ago. It started before the committee to form the new municipality even met."
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
David Amos
Content Deactivated
Oh My My Who should I call?
Geordan Mann
Higgs has a cottage in that area. Maybe they were planning something that he did not like. That would cause his common over-the-top, fire everyone who disagrees with me, response.
Chris Merriam
Reply to Geordan Mann
Did you read the article at all?
David Amos
Reply to Geordan Mann
He did it before in my neck of the woods
Archie MacDaniel
Reply to Geordan Mann
The conspiracy plot thickens.
Bobby Richards
This municipality includes the premier's home town. Maybe this is where he gets his My Way or the Highway mentality.
David Amos
Reply to Bobby Richards
Of that I have no doubt
---------- Original message ----------
From: "Higgs, Premier Blaine (PO/CPM)" <Blaine.Higgs@gnb.ca>
Date: Sat, 17 Oct 2020 04:37:00 +0000
Subject: Automatic reply: Methinks if Don Bowser were truly ethical
then he and I would have had a long talk many moons ago yet his CBC
buddies are still promoting him bigtime to this very day while trying
to play dumb N"esy Pas?
To: David Amos <motomaniac333@gmail.com>
Thank you for taking the time to write to us.
Due to the high volume of emails that we receive daily, please note
that there may be a delay in our response. Thank you for your
understanding.
If you are looking for current information on Coronavirus, please
visit www.gnb.ca/coronavirus<http://
If this is a Media Request, please contact the Premier’s office at
(506) 453-2144.
Thank you.
Bonjour,
Nous vous remercions d’avoir pris le temps de nous écrire.
Tenant compte du volume élevé de courriels que nous recevons
quotidiennement, il se peut qu’il y ait un délai dans notre réponse.
Nous vous remercions de votre compréhension.
Si vous recherchez des informations à jour sur le coronavirus,
veuillez visiter
www.gnb.ca/coronavirus<http://
S’il s’agit d’une demande des médias, veuillez communiquer avec le
Cabinet du premier ministre au 506-453-2144.
Merci.
Office of the Premier/Cabinet du premier ministre
P.O Box/C. P. 6000
Fredericton, New-Brunswick/Nouveau-
E3B 5H1
Canada
Tel./Tel. : (506) 453-2144
Email/Courriel:
premier@gnb.ca/
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/historic-bank-becomes-new-workspace-1.5763867
A new workspace with an antique twist opens in Petitcodiac
Rented co-working space available for those working remotely
Varvara Pakhomenko and Don Bowser came up with the idea to bring the old
bank back to it's former glory and offer it as workspace for remote
workers. (Kate Letterick/CBC News)
Inside a former bank built in 1910, in the heart of the village of Petitcodiac, Teri McMackin is hard at work.
She's a virtual assistant, doing everything from building websites to podcast editing for clients all around the world. She's been working remotely for years.
Now she has a new work space, close to home, at the Petitcodiac Community Hub—The Vault.
"I was so excited to hear that it was opening 'cause I used to travel once a week before COVID to go to Moncton to sit in a cafe and work." she said.
"So having a space where I can sit and work and have a little bit of light distraction, I love it."
Teri
McMackin says having a workspace in her village means she doesn't have
to drive to Moncton and work at a cafe. (Kate Letterick/CBC News )And "The Vault", as it's known, isn't just any co-working space.
Don Bowser and his wife Varvara Pakhomenko came up with the idea to painstakingly recreate the building's former glory, giving it the feel of a bank in the 1930's or 40's.
"We sourced the tables from the Moncton Cathedral from 1910, stripped them down, remade them. We refurbished all the chairs, our bankers chairs from 1920's to 1960's so we've sourced original furniture as much as possible." Bowser said.
And there's another unique feature, a walk-in vault which can be used as a meeting room, or a place to record a podcast.
Teri McMackin describes The Vault as light and airy, and says she loves the many antique touches. (Pierre Fournier/CBC News ) During renovations, there was a surprise discovery under a piece of wood inside the vault - it was a smaller safe.
"So on our opening day we had a safe cracker come from Salisbury and he managed to open it up and unfortunately we didn't find any gold or diamonds as we expected." Bowser said with a smile.
"But we did find out it's the first time it's been opened since 1977 when the Bank of Nova Scotia moved out."
The space has been open since Tuesday and there has already been a steady stream of people coming through to see the many antiques.
There is also a meeting room, and Bowser hopes the community will use the facility in the evenings.
Don Bowser opens the door to the walk-in vault, which can be used as a meeting room. (Kate Letterick/CBC News )There are COVID-19 precautions in place, with masks, sanitizer and a limited number of people allowed in the building at one time. But Bowser says the pandemic has actually helped the business.
"We've already been contacted by a number of people who said that they are very tired of working at home so they need a space. So this pandemic actually works in our favour in terms of our business plan." he said.
Petitcodiac Mayor Gerald Gogan calls Bowser "a doer" and likes the building's new "old" look.
Gogan says the building has been a bank, a call centre, and a flower shop. He's happy with its new purpose.
"It's great that they can provide the services for the people." he said.
Petitcodiac
Mayor Gerald Gogan likes the look of the facility and hopes it brings
people to the village. (Pierre Fournier/CBC News )Bowser says the idea is to bring people into the village, people who may have driven by in the past.
"I think this is the main point about revitalization of some of these smaller communities is to get people in to see it. Then what happens is people get interested in perhaps moving here." he said.
There are different rates to use the workspace. Memberships run from $125 for a common table to $250 a month for a dedicated rolltop desk. Work space can be rented for $10 a day and there are rates for students.
Inside
the vault is a meeting room, and a safe that was recently opened for
the first time since 1977. (Kate Letterick/CBC News )McMackin likes the light, airy space and the coffee corner, which also features espresso and lattes.
She says co-working space is becoming more common as the workforce changes.
"There's just a whole new wave of workers and we're working differently and we're everywhere." McMackin said.
"We're in these small towns and we're choosing to live in these small towns. If you've got internet, we're here."
hope not...good luck
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