Regional growth a shared duty

May Commentary

There’s a first time for everything, and this week in Uptown Saint John the Chamber experienced one of those firsts. We brought local elected officials from Saint John and surrounding communities together with the business community to listen and learn. To talk through the opportunities and headwinds we’re facing individually in our communities and collectively as a region. We called it the State of the Region.

Our intent was two-fold: First to inform. Second to engage. More specifically, we wanted – first off – to get the right people together in the room. In this case, politicians, entrepreneurs, as well as industry and community leads. Then we wanted to frame a conversation where local governments from across the region (from Fundy – St. Martins through to Hampton, Quispamsis, Rothesay, Saint John and Grand Bay-Westfield) could (1) share an update about what’s going well, also where they’re running into road blocks and need help, and then (2) be accountable to the folks in the room on matters of importance that affect us all through a Q&A session.

The response to the call was encouraging. We had a full house turn out over the lunch hour at the Trade & Convention Centre. And we learned a lot about the goings on in our community and those of our neighbours.
Saint John Mayor Donna Noade Reardon highlighted a municipal tax rate decrease of 11.5% over the past three years, and noted building permits were up 23% over the City’s five-year average in the first quarter of 2024.

Mayor Libby O’Hara emphasized Quispamsis’ work to make their community – the sixth largest in New Brunswick – a nationally-recognized leader in public safety, as well a lived example of more environmentally-friendly ways of administering core services. Notably, Quispamsis was the first in New Brunswick to adopt a green plant vegetative wastewater system, now powered by solar.

Grand Bay-Westfield Mayor Brittney Merrifield highlighted the important progress made in terms of creating a culture of inclusivity at the Town. Last fall they became the second community in all of Canada to become Rainbow Registered, meeting the standards put in place by Canada’s 2SLGBTQI+ Chamber of Commerce, and demonstrating a safe, welcoming and accepting place for members of the 2SLGBTQI+ community.

Rothesay Mayor Dr. Nancy Grant highlighted her community’s work in addressing the housing shortage, punching above its weight in terms of developing multi-residential units, with a number of additional apartment building projects approved and in the works. Rothesay also leads the way in terms of its recreational services for seniors. It’s age-friendly program The HIVE is at capacity and Town officials are working to have the current arena revitalized and repurposed into a community centre (which, among other things, will give the group more space and increased offerings) when a new rink is built.

Hampton Mayor Robert Doucet highlighted his community’s growing reputation as a “small community that knows how to deliver big.” As part of local governance reform, Hampton’s landscape changed dramatically, both in terms of population and geography. The town more than doubled from 4,400 people to 9,300 people, and grew its physical footprint from 25 square kilometers to nearly 300 square kilometers. It has been effective in creating the landscape to experience commercial and retail growth in the Town’s centre, as well as adopting and planning for new types of housing to accommodate a growing workforce.

In the Village of Fundy-St. Martins, Mayor James Bedford shared that they have construction and recreational revitalization projects on the go for the first time in years: a new soccer field, a new amphitheatre, a revitalized baseball field and increased service offerings at the four-seasons rink among them.

And Ray Riddell, the Chair of the Fundy Rural District (representing several local service districts and a combined population of 6,500) spoke about how his communities have worked to make some of our most beautiful ‘country-living’ landscapes destinations for people across the region. Places such as Yip Cider, Evandale Resort & Marina and the Kingston Market.

Looking ahead, there’s lots to be excited about. Saint John has 19 projects in the pipeline, which will contribute, in part, to 1,900 new units being built to help address the housing crisis. And come September inter-regional air travel will resume, with regional carrier Pascan promising daily flights between Saint John and Halifax. Hampton is building a new $28-million Multi-purpose Facility. And Rothesay’s wastewater treatment plant will see the water returned to the Kennebecasis River of higher quality even than what’s there now.

The big asks from the mayors’ group included a strong collective push for municipal tax reform, and for the Province to allow municipalities to keep 100% of heavy industrial property taxes in the generated in their communities. Mayor Reardon indicated that, while that revenue only accounts for 0.21% of the total provincial budget, keeping those dollars in our municipalities would have a life-changing impact and re-route $27-million to our local economies.

The overarching themes were pretty clear. We need each other and regional growth is a shared responsibility. Change takes effort and if we are going to build confidence in our collective future – overcoming our deficits and capitalizing on the opportunities ahead – more people putting their hand up to help, and taking advantage of the services we have already, is imperative.

Join a committee or task force.

Hire a newcomer or older resident re-entering the workforce.

Use our YSJ airport.

And let’s upgrade our belief systems the way we see ourselves and our region. Changing our mindset to one of abundance instead of hanging on to that old perception of lack. Let’s decide we’re all part of the same team and start pulling together in pursuit of a shared regional vision for the future.

Our first State of the Region uncovered just the tip of the iceberg. The takeaways on how to grow it into something that becomes a really meaningful and actionable discussion is encouraging.

To Mayor Reardon: thank you for your leadership in dreaming up this event with us. To the seven local leaders who make up the Fundy Regional Services Commission: thank you for your collective participation and for showing up fully to the discussion.

And to those who attended: thank you for prioritizing the conversation, and for the awesome and comprehensive feedback you shared following our time together. We’ll use your ideas and input to enhance the most powerful aspects identified and adjust in ways that will deliver even more value in the years ahead.

Tracy Bell is the Chief Executive Officer of the Saint John Regional Chamber of Commerce
Her column appears monthly