New Brunswick Municipal Reform Adjustments Fail, Says MLA – New Brunswick | The Canadian News

With the municipal reform bill approved in the last session of the legislature before the holidays, the adjustments made by the department after further consultations are not what they expected to see changes.

More than a year ago, the Minister of Local Government Reform and Local Governance, Daniel Allain, embarked on the task of reshaping the municipal landscape in New Brunswick. It was a topic long debated by previous governments, but none have ever faced real reforms.

In 2008, the then liberal government presented the Finn Report, which called for radical municipal reforms.

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The Higgs government reduced the number of municipal entities from 340 to 90 in 2021. It was a drastic reform, but Allain said it had been debated for years.

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However, amid shifting boundaries, some communities fell back. Minto and Chipman expressed concern about the merger of the two villages.

The leader of the Popular Alliance, Kris Austin, has expressed her opinion in the legislature about wanting options to change the boundaries. He said the adjustments announced Tuesday were not what he expected.

“But they are not allowing any municipality to separate based on the white paper proposal, so it was disappointing,” he said in a telephone interview Wednesday.

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The town of Nackawic had also expressed concern about merging with a community 26 km away. Pointe-du-Chene wanted to be granted village status and wrote to the minister expressing his opposition to the merger.

Chipman Mayor Keith West previously told Global News that he was very much against merging the two communities. Geographically, he said, they were too far apart and very different from each other.

Both mayors met with the minister after the white paper.

However, the adjustments made were primarily to prevent certain parts of the local service districts from merging with the municipalities.

The main reforms remained intact.

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“While I am disappointed that there were no more opportunities for limit changes, I believe we must now work to ensure that the transition to the new model is as seamless as possible over the next year,” Austin said in a press release.

The issues of fair taxes, local identity and municipal services remain key priorities, Austin said.

Yet Allain has been adamant about reforms from the start.

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“Large numbers of New Brunswick residents have been advocating for change in townships. There are some people who have questions, who are concerned and some who really do not like the change, however, we must move forward on this file, ”he said on December 17.

He said the adjustments align with the guiding principles of the reforms.

The department held 36 participation sessions in local governance reform. Those were in addition to the meetings Allain had one-on-one with hundreds of New Brunswick residents, some virtually and some in person. About 1,700 people participated in this process.

More than 1,200 people responded to an online survey.

“This is the most significant reform in 60 years and we believe it is the right plan for New Brunswick at the right time. But we also knew it was not perfect, and that is why we have accommodated some changes after consulting with New Brunswickers, ”he said in a press release.

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Click to play video: 'New Brunswick Forecasts Over 200 Case Days Into The New Year'



New Brunswick Forecasts Over 200 Case Days Into New Year


New Brunswick Forecasts Over 200 Case Days Into New Year

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