Officials from the Town of Tantramar got an earful Wednesday night at St. Ann’s Church Hall in Westcock from angry and frustrated residents whose homes, wells and septic systems have been damaged by decades of quarry blasting.
“When we became part of Tantramar, I was under the impression that Tantramar was going to help us,” Sharon Ward told reporters after the fifth in a series of municipal meetings organized by Chief Administrative Officer Jennifer Borne.
“The only thing that’s happening is our taxes are going to go up,” Ward said. “I would really like to see them take the initiative to try to help us.”
The three quarries in that part of the former local service district operate under provincial regulations that residents say are far too lax to limit damage from the earthquake-like blasting.
“The whole house shakes,” Ward says, “the water will turn different colours and my daughter, who lives just down the road from me, loses her water every time and there’s a lot around that do that. Our basement, we’ve had cracks fixed two or three times over the last 40 years.”
During the meeting, Ward told town officials that she and a neighbour have spent $10,000 on lawyer’s fees trying to stop another pit from going in near their homes on British Settlement Road.
When Borne asked if residents had raised the issue with MLA Megan Mitton, Ward responded that Mitton had helped stop the building of an access road a few feet from their homes, but that she is only one voice in the legislature.
“Could we not get a little help from Tantramar?” she asked.
Sackville resident Percy Best noted that blasting began in the early 1960s to produce rock for the diversion of the Tantramar River when the TransCanada Highway was under construction.
He predicted even more rock will be needed to reinforce the dykes that protect the Chignecto Isthmus.
“The rock for that, I’m afraid, is going to come out of British Settlement here and it will be a horrendous amount of rock that’s needed,” he said.
“It’s a terrible thing that’s happening here and it should not be allowed to happen to have these pits and blasting in a residential area and I don’t know what Tantramar has done for this Rockport Peninsula in the last 16 months,” Best said.
He compared the former LSD to an adopted child neglected by its new parents and said that town lawyers could help the residents fight their legal battles.
Former Sackville Mayor Shawn Mesheau suggested that Tantramar could bring provincial officials to the area to talk about the quarry blasting with local residents.
CAO Jennifer Borne said Tantramar could pass along residents’ concerns to the province.
“I would also ask, be patient with us and we’ll get there,” she said earlier in the meeting.
“Council is certainly hearing your concerns as well tonight.”
Neither Ward 2 Councillor Barry Hicks, who represents the area, nor Mayor Andrew Black spoke during the meeting.
Afterwards Hicks refused comment while Black asked reporters to e-mail their questions to him. At 8:56 p.m. on June 19, I e-mailed three questions to the mayor and received his responses at 9:14 a.m. on June 21:
Q1: As mayor, how do you respond to the concerns you heard tonight about the effects of quarry blasting in Ward 2 for the residents who live there?
A: It is certainly evident that our residents of Ward 2 have quarry blasting as their top priority. At the present time staff will look into the provincial authority to see if the Minister’s office can come to a meeting as well as a letter of support from Tantramar to the Minister’s office highlighting the concerns of Ward 2 residents and the impact on their daily lives.
Q2: After tonight’s meeting, I was told that residents’ concerns about the blasting have been brought to your attention repeatedly, but that you have said there’s nothing the municipality can do. Is that accurate? If not, what can the municipality do and what can you do as mayor to help the residents?
A: The province regulates private quarries and pits, so as a local government we may have limited influence. I do however feel that we can exhaust our resources and do what we can to support our residents in Ward 2. I also plan on working with UMNB to see if a resolution can be brought forward on behalf of all NB municipalities.
Q3: Percy Best asked what Tantramar has done for the Rockport area in the last 16-months. How would you answer his question?
A: All decisions of Council in the last 16 months are for the betterment of all residents of Tantramar. Below are examples by department. As Jenn stated at the session, there are not tangibles in former unincorporated areas but we are stronger as one municipality with local representation for Ward 2.
Policing- MPSA contract brings a great deal more benefits to all of Tantramar over the PPSA contract
Fire- Enhancement of Tantramar Fire Services ensures not only best service delivery in Sackville but also in Point de Bute and Dorchester, departments that will be relied upon to support and lend mutual aid in an area such as Ward 2
Active Living & Culture: Access to all rec programming & facilities
Community & Corporate Services: Physician recruitment to the benefit of all of Tantramar, communications, tourism,
Legislative Services: creation of by-laws one in particular is Dangerous or Unsightly brought forward, while enforced under a by-law officer there was little to no enforcement in the past in former unincorporated areas
Protective Services overall: animal control if required, EMO- previously no plan in place for Ward 2
Finance: create long-term planning and will assist council in key investments to be made in unincorporated areas.
For previous coverage of opposition to a new quarry and concerns about the present ones, click here.
For coverage of political protest against the province by former LSD leaders, click here.
Bruce Wark worked in broadcasting and journalism education for more than 35 years. He was at CBC Radio for nearly 20 years as senior editor of network programs such as The World at Six and World Report. He currently writes for The New Wark Times, where a version of this story first appeared on June 20, 2024.
