Regionalizing for Growth

The City of Saint John is the lifeblood of Southern New Brunswick and is an economic, cultural and strategic driver for all surrounding communities. We need to streamline the way we deliver services and share the financial burden with surrounding municipalities.

With a population of approximately 71,000 people in Saint John proper and an additional 55,000 in surrounding communities, Saint John taxpayers bear the burden of ensuring all 126,000 Greater Saint John residents have access to majority of jobs, recreational and cultural facilities, transit, entertainment and opportunity. For too long we have been living in silos in Southern New Brunswick.

The Fundy Regional Service Commission is an excellent example of an opportunity realized that serves the community as a whole. Collectively we will always be more powerful than when we are fragmented.

For instance, Saint John has spent $27 million on five regional facilities including TD Station and the Canada Games Aquatic Centre, while other nearby towns have contributed $8.3 million. These facilities are our cultural and recreational centres and we are fortunate enough to have these available to us. However, as populations move to the suburbs due to tax reduction opportunities and other motivations in surrounding areas, Saint John continues to bear the burden.

This is just one example of imbalance that I intend to address.