Tantramar NB

A light brown haired woman wearing a scoop neck blue blouse stands in front of an open doorway inside a building.

Westcock residents voice concerns over continued blasting, lack of political support

June 20, 2024 by Erica Butler

A crowd of about 25 residents gathered in Westcock Wednesday evening for the final Tantramar Municipal Roadshow session.

Since May 23, Tantramar Council has been travelling to communities across the region to meet residents and exchange ideas.

Several residents, including Sharon Ward, raised concerns about the impact of ongoing blasting in quarries near homes in the area, as well as frustration over a lack of support from the new municipality regarding those concerns.

“I was under the impression that Tantramar was going to help us look after the whole thing,” Ward told CHMA after the meeting. “But every time we bring up a comment at this time, it’s no… The only thing that’s happening is your taxes are going to go up. Nothing else is going to happen.”

A red building with four large white garage doors in front of a stand of trees.

Tantramar okays buying $900k fire truck, but now needs a bigger fire hall

June 14, 2024 by Erica Butler

On Tuesday, Tantramar council approved over $1 million in spending for projects in Dorchester, including the reconstruction of Station Road and a new pumper truck for Dorchester Fire.

But now the race is on to get a new fire hall built in Dorchester, one that can accommodate the new pumper truck, which will be too large to fit into the current Dorchester Fire Hall. Treasurer Michael Beal says the municipality should be on track to complete the new fire hall before the $900,000 pumper truck is delivered. “The key is we want to purchase our fire trucks to fight the fires that they need to fight,” said Beal in defense of the plan, “and not to fit inside of buildings.”

Both projects hit snags with budget limitations before they were approved, but because of cautious budgeting for 2024, the municipality has the money to cover them.

A man with close cropped dark hair and a beard sits at a desk with a laptop and microphone in front of him.

Tantramar council rejects new loitering bylaw, but keeps existing ones in place

June 12, 2024 by Erica Butler

Tantramar council voted against a new Tantramar-wide loitering bylaw on Tuesday, but then voted to keep similar existing bylaws in place in Sackville and Dorchester.

Councillor Josh Goguen told council he had concerns about the potential overreach possible with the proposed new bylaw. “We’re basically saying to somebody that, you’re sitting down, and the bylaw officer can come up to you and say, What are you doing? Who are you? Why are you sitting around?,” said Goguen. “It just gives them almost too much power.”

Council defeated the bylaw in a close 5 to 4 vote, but then voted unanimously to keep existing bylaws in Sackville and Dorchester after a number of councillors expressed concern about losing the authority to enforce rules around loitering.

Eight people in winter coats are standing in front of a low rise grey building holding a green ribbon.

Tantramar switches gears in provincial environmental project funding

May 29, 2024 by Erica Butler

After three years of using the province’s Environmental Trust Fund to pay for a part time climate change coordinator to work with town staff, the municipality is moving in a new direction this year, and has obtained a grant of just over $24,000 to produce a wetlands-themed play for youth and tour the production to local schools.

At the end of Monday’s committee of the whole meeting, CHMA asked about the decision not to seek further funding for a part time climate change coordinator. Manager of Tourism and Business Development Ron Kelly Spurles explained that despite past success with the position, the funding was not meant to be permanent.

CAO Jennifer Borne says that although there has been a budget allocation for a full-time permanent climate change coordinator in the past two municipal budgets, that position is currently “under review.”

The front of a concrete and glass building with a sign reading "Sackville Town Hall"

Tantramar’s proposed confidentiality policy includes council members along with employees

May 29, 2024 by Erica Butler

Tantramar council is considering a new confidentiality policy that would add council members themselves to a list of people required to sign a Pledge of Confidentiality to protect “confidential, personal or health information” of the municipality, its residents, employees and clients.

Councillors are already required to adhere to confidentiality rules outlined in the Council Code of Conduct bylaw, but CAO Jennifer Borne says that adding councillors to the pledge policy will service as “an acknowledgement, by employees, by council, that would go on a personnel file, acknowledging that they’re familiar with the information and that they will adhere to it.”

CHMA News explains what elements are being considered under the new policy, who would be covered and why.

A man wearing a turquoise tank top with an anchor and the words "Prince Edward Island 1873" written on it. He is standing on the grass in front of an octagonal gazebo.

‘Noah’s Run’ aims to raise funds and end mental health stigma

May 23, 2024 by Erica Butler

Sackville’s Noah Throop says the Daybreak Activity Centre has helped him get through dark times and supported him in his journey to live with anxiety. The urge to show his appreciation led him to start Noah’s Run, an awareness and fundraising event in its fourth year, happening this Saturday.

“I want to give back to them for helping me,” says Throop. Daybreak’s programs and activities helped him “get back on track” says Throop, and he feels it can help others as well.

Throop is hoping his run, as well as a community ‘walk around the block’ slated for 11am Saturday, can help end the stigma around mental health challenges. “Before I found Daybreak I never talked about it,” says Throop. Now he wants people to know, “it’s okay to have bad days… We can all get through this.”

A group of 11 people standing around and in front of a banner that says Tantramar

Tantramar staff to go on Q&A tour of five wards starting Thursday

May 22, 2024 by Erica Butler

Tantramar staff are heading out on the road to talk to and hear from residents in a municipal awareness campaign. The Tantramar Municipal Roadshow starts this Thursday in Dorchester, before continuing to four other wards in the amalgamated municipality.

“It’s going to give people a chance to put a face to the name,” says Communications Officer Jeremy McLaughlin. “There’s a ton of amazing work that gets done within the community, and a lot of people only see the problem or the solution, they don’t see a lot of the work that happens in between.”

Tantramar CAO Jennifer Borne says residents are invited to “come with their question in hand to ask us, [or] they could come and just sit in on the session and hear about our municipal services.”

The sessions will include short presentations by staff followed by a question and answer period.

A man sits alone in the back row of pink chairs against a frey wall with theatre production posters.

New company forming from merger of Live Bait and Performers’ Theatre

March 22, 2024 by Erica Butler

Live Bait Theatre’s annual New Works Festival kicks off this week with workshops, readings, and performances, but the festival will be a swan song of sorts for the longstanding theatre company.

Live Bait and Performers’ Theatre have announced a merger to create a new theatre company for the Tantramar region.

CHMA dropped by the Performers’ Theatre space on Fairfield Road to meet Ryan Slashinki, a local performing arts teacher who is taking on the role of managing director for the new theatre company during the transition.

The newly formed group is in search of a name, and has offered two subscriptions to the inaugural season to anyone who submits that winning name suggestion at performerstheatre.com or livebaittheatre.com

A young woman posing amongst trees in autumn, smiling

Get ready for a jam-packed Winterfest, says Tantramar’s new rec program coordinator

February 8, 2024 by Erica Butler

Winterfest is here, and so CHMA called up Jessica Wilson, the brand new programming director for Tantramar recreation and special events, to ask about the festival’s events and her new job.

Wilson is just finishing her fourth week of work for the municipality, taking over for Deanna Cadman, who served in the position for decades. “Everybody has been super welcoming and very, very supportive,” says Wilson. “It’s definitely going to be a year long teaching session because of all of the events and programs that the municipality puts on throughout the year,” she says.

Wilson is hitting the ground running with Winterfest kicking into gear this weekend, including the Frosty Outdoor Party Friday night at Bill Johnston starting at 7pm, with fireworks slated for 8pm.

A woman and man stand side by side, smiling.

Freshwinds Co-op plans for eco-village to house up to 60 households

February 2, 2024 by Erica Butler

Freshwinds Eco-Village Housing Co-operative announced plans last week for a major new development that could provide secure co-op housing for up to 60 households starting as early as 2025. The recently incorporated group has just bought 21 acres of land off Fairfield Road in Sackville.

Sabine Dietz and Eric Tusz-King are co-chairs Freshwinds. “The intention is not just to have housing, but to offer more than just housing,” says Dietz. “Even now in the development we’re really talking through how can we incorporate different lifestyles and ways of living.”

The co-op also aims to have a diverse membership, including a range of different income levels. “We know that there’s lots of people in the low level income and right up to the middle income that need housing,” says Tusz-King, “and so that’s the gap that we’re going to be filling.”

Community grant requests in Tantramar nearly double the available budget

January 26, 2024 by Erica Butler

Tantramar staff presented recommendations for funding under Tantramar’s 2024 community grants program on Monday. There was a huge jump in funding requests this year, with about $210,000 worth of applications vying for just $110,000 in budgeted funding.

Sports, heritage and arts group dominate the recommended list, but poverty and food security programs have a growing presence. And groups using the Tantramar Civic Centre rink will see some cuts to their grants this year due to a new rink fee subsidy program coming online in September.

Active Living director Matt Pryde says it’s a challenge to choose which programs to recommend, even after using the town’s evaluation matrix. “You see so many groups doing such great work,” says Pryde, “and when you have such an overwhelming demand and only so much you can give, it’s not easy to make those decisions.”

A man talking at a council table, with a microphone and nameplate reading Andrew Black.

Mayor’s roundtable on housing convened to find solutions to housing crisis

January 26, 2024 by Erica Butler

Mayor Andrew Black shared the news of his roundtable on housing publicly for the first time on Monday afternoon at the end of council’s monthly Committee of the Whole meeting.

Black said the roundtable was created in August, “to initiate a conversation about housing and the housing crisis and how to address those concerns within Tantramar.” Black said that the existence of the round table has been kept under wraps until now because some members were sharing information that they wanted to keep confidential.

So far, Black’s Roundtable on Housing is not formalized, and Black clarified on Monday that the group is not an actual committee of council, which would fall under the town’s bylaws and be accountable to council and the public.

Westcock residents voice concerns over continued blasting, lack of political support

Tantramar okays buying $900k fire truck, but now needs a bigger fire hall

Tantramar council rejects new loitering bylaw, but keeps existing ones in place

Tantramar switches gears in provincial environmental project funding

Tantramar’s proposed confidentiality policy includes council members along with employees

‘Noah’s Run’ aims to raise funds and end mental health stigma

Tantramar staff to go on Q&A tour of five wards starting Thursday

New company forming from merger of Live Bait and Performers’ Theatre

Get ready for a jam-packed Winterfest, says Tantramar’s new rec program coordinator

Freshwinds Co-op plans for eco-village to house up to 60 households

Community grant requests in Tantramar nearly double the available budget

Mayor’s roundtable on housing convened to find solutions to housing crisis

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