Saint John Region Chamber of Commerce holds state of the region event

Quispamsis Mayor Mary Schryer, Rothesay Deputy Mayor Tiffany McKay-French, Saint John Mayor Donna Reardon and Grand Bay-Westfield Deputy Mayor Erin Toole took part in a state of the region fireside chat moderated by Envision Saint John CEO Andrew Becket. (Avery MacRae/CTV Atlantic)

Mayors from Saint John and Quispamsis, as well as deputy mayors from Rothesay and Grand Bay-Westfield, N.B., came together on the Imperial Theatre stage Thursday evening to discuss the challenges and opportunities their region faces.

Speaking with one another in a fireside conversation, with Envision Saint John CEO Andrew Beckett playing the role as moderator, the four leaders were asked about a number of topics and what avenues the four municipalities should work together on for the betterment of the greater Saint John region.

The event was hosted by the Saint John Region Chamber of Commerce. Chamber CEO Shannon Merrifield says it’s important to bring local leadership together to have a better idea of the challenges facing the region, and what work can be done for businesses to help growth.

“When we band together, I think that we’re stronger,” Merrifield believes. “We have alignment, we can go to government with common asks. I believe that always collaboration is better and it puts us in a stronger economic position.”

As the biggest of the four municipalities, Saint John Mayor Donna Reardon knows just how important her city is for the region’s prosperity.

She highlights the fact Saint John has all the heavy industry out of the four communities, and the city sees around 20,000 vehicles come in and out each day. She also notes many of the regional facilities are located within Saint John.

“It needs the support of everybody if we’re going to be successful,” says Reardon. “If we could get the support of everyone, we could be amazing, I do believe that. We have everything, so as long as we want to keep growing and we want to keep working together, I don’t see how any region can be bigger or greater than we could be.”

“You could be [uptown] Saint John having lunch, and then you can be out in Quispamsis playing pickleball in the evening, so it’s the ability to move within the region I think is incredible,” says Quispamsis Mayor Mary Schryer. “In Quispamsis, what we do is provide a lifestyle that people enjoy. They enjoy the river, they enjoy our trails, they enjoy our school system and we continue to build.”

Questions asked to the politicians by Beckett ranged from public safety concerns, areas in which the municipalities could collaborate further on, and how they can better support small businesses, among other topics. Some of the questions were prepared by Beckett ahead of time, while others were asked by members in the audience.

When asked about areas the four municipalities could work together on to improve service for their people, Grand Bay-Westfield’s deputy mayor was quick to highlight the impact of the integrated public transit service between the four communities. Mayor Reardon of Saint John would like to see a more integrated police and fire service.

On the topic of public safety, Reardon highlighted efforts the city has undertaken as part of it’s Housing for All strategy, but says it’s an issue all four municipalities need to work on together. While the issue is not as public in the other communities, Mayor Schryer noted intimate partner violence can occur anywhere and it’s another public safety problem that needs to be addressed.

“We’re at a critical time to have these types of conversations,” said Beckett, with the impact of the trade war with the United States continuing to impact many in the region.

“Our business communities are facing tremendous challenges just in terms of staying afloat on a day-to-day basis. To hear from the municipal leaders to get a sense of the collaboration that’s taking place, to try and support them in terms of their work, to try and grow the economy, to grow our communities, I think that’s very timely quite frankly.”

Beckett says economic development doesn’t know municipal boundaries when it comes to attracting investment in the region and will push for continued growing collaboration between the municipalities.

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