Building an industrial future that works for Saint John
We want to be Atlantic Canada's economic engine - AND we want our families protected while we power New Brunswick's growth
Saint John is ready to be the economic centre of New Brunswick. The companies knocking on our door - DP World, Americold, NextGen, J.D. Irving's $1.1 billion expansion - represent exactly the kind of opportunities New Brunswick desperately needs to diversify our economy and secure our future.
We want these projects to succeed. We want to be the industrial hub that drives provincial growth.
But here's what must change: We will no longer be New Brunswick's sacrifice zone while we power everyone else's prosperity.
The Saint John advantage
The wealthiest, most prosperous places in the world are trade conduits - and that's exactly what Saint John is. Our deep-water port, strategic location, and established infrastructure make us a natural gateway for Atlantic Canada's economic future. Look at Singapore, Rotterdam, Hamburg - these cities became wealthy by being smart about how they leverage their trade advantages.
But here's the difference between prosperity and being devoured: The world's successful port cities didn't just say yes to everything. They said yes to the right things and no to industrial activity that would destroy their competitive advantages. They built diverse economies where businesses wanted to locate, not just for jobs, but also for the quality of life, not despite it.
"They need Saint John to save New Brunswick's economy. We need them to protect our families while we do it."
Breaking the pattern of disrespect
For too long, the approach to industrial development in Saint John has been "take it or leave it" - accept the impacts without compensation, or watch the economic opportunities go elsewhere. This is a false choice and has created a pattern where Saint John residents bear the full burden of provincial economic development strategies while benefits flow beyond city limits.
Here's what we're finally understanding: Many of us would call their bluff, and Saint John's advantages could attract industry that provides good-paying jobs without disrespecting our community. Our deep-water port, strategic location, and infrastructure are exactly what many companies need. The difference is finding industry partners that see protecting the community as part of doing good business, not an obstacle to profits.
We moved here knowing certain industries exist, and we accept that reality. But we don't have to accept impacts that could be easily mitigated (and aren't) or tolerate expansion that treats residents as expendable.
This ends now. Our advantages are permanent. Respectful industry wants what we have. Disrespectful companies can be replaced.
"Saint John's advantages don't leave. Bad actors can."
The province has the regulatory power to protect Saint John families but chooses not to use it. While approving billions in industrial development that benefit the entire province, they've failed to establish basic standards for protecting the communities that host these projects.
How has J.D. Irving been able to expand as dramatically as they have in recent years without the province insisting on measures that might have mitigated the pulp mill's expansion into residential neighbourhoods? What about AIM? The province approved it all. The province sat quietly while Saint John residents dealt with the consequences.
City Council fights with municipal tools while the province, which has all the regulatory authority, sits quietly and refuses to represent Saint John residents.
No expansion should be approved until existing impacts are properly addressed and future protections are guaranteed.
The Saint John standard
Every major industrial project should come with mandatory community investment that directly addresses impacts:
Direct Impact Mitigation: Sound barriers for rail noise, air quality improvements, traffic flow solutions funded by the companies creating these impacts. To date, we haven't fully dealt with the impact of train horns alone, much less the broader operational noise and pollution from heavy industry.
Neighbourhood investment: Parks, recreation facilities, housing assistance programs in affected areas - substantial investments scaled to project size.
Buffer Zones That Work: Proper separation between industrial operations and residential areas, designed, developed, and maintained, if necessary, at company expense with transparent monitoring.
Local Economic Integration: Companies commit to hiring locally and contributing proportionally to infrastructure costs through modern planning tools like development cost charges that cities like Moncton already use, or regional development charges like Halifax has implemented.
"If you want to benefit from Saint John's advantages, you invest in Saint John's future."
Leadership that delivers
City Council is trying to fight for the right things - look at their efforts on Wolastoq Park and other issues - but they shouldn't have to. City Council has limited municipal powers while the province controls industrial permitting, environmental assessment, and the regulatory framework that could actually protect residents. Saint John lacks the modern, robust planning tools and taxation regimes already in place in most communities in other provinces to adequately plan for the immediate and long-term financial and social impacts of heavy industry.
Why are we forcing City Council to fight battles they can't properly win when the province has been sitting silently, refusing to use the tools they actually have?
The province approved J.D. Irving's massive expansion without demanding community protections. The province continues to approve new industrial projects without requiring impact mitigation. The province created this mess and refuses to fix it.
City Hall's message to the province should be simple: Use your actual authority or stop approving projects that hurt our residents. No more municipal band-aids for problems you have the power to prevent.
The most infuriating part? neighbouring communities want all the jobs without any burdens, yet they're inserting themselves into OUR conversation. Zero impacts, all benefits.
Even many of the workers at these facilities commute in from outside the city - they collect the paychecks while we live with the noise, pollution, and traffic.
Message for those neighbours: No impacts, no equal voice. You don't get industrial traffic through your neighborhoods at night - you don't get equal say in our decisions.
And no one should be surprised when groups like the Friends of Lorneville fight industrial development in their neighbourhood. Without any protections or ground rules for industrial operation anywhere around here, they're expecting to see another pulp mill, oil refinery or who knows what next door, which would destroy their neighbourhood like those facilities have diminished the livability of others.
We live here with those industries, but it doesn't mean we like it, and it definitely doesn't mean we want more of it in the middle of our city. All parts of Saint John feel vulnerable because the province has created a free-for-all where industrial development can happen anywhere without community protection.
"We want to power New Brunswick's growth. We just want to be protected while we do it."
What happens next
Saint John City Council needs to make crystal clear to the province that our continued role as the centre of industrial development depends on:
Mandatory protective legislation before any new major industrial approvals
Existing industries addressing current impacts before expansion permits are granted
Community benefit infrastructure investments that ensure those who bear the impacts share in the benefits
Enforceable environmental and quality of life standards that protect families across our city
The province needs Saint John's industrial capacity to compete economically. We're ready to deliver that capacity. But the era of Saint John residents subsidizing provincial economic growth with their health and quality of life must end.
Some residents work in heavy industry, but most of us stay here for other reasons—and those jobs don't define what the majority of us value.
The choice is clear
Contact your city councillor. Tell them you support Saint John embracing its role as New Brunswick's industrial centre -- with full protection for residents and loud leadership from City Hall.
Contact your MLA. Tell them Saint John is ready to power provincial growth, but only with guaranteed protections for our families and neighbourhoods. Tell them to stop forcing City Council to fight battles with municipal tools when the province has the regulatory and legislative authority to solve these problems properly.
We elect MLAs to write laws. Write laws to protect your voters.
We want the pulp mill expansion to succeed. We want Lorneville Industrial Park to thrive. We want Saint John to be the economic powerhouse New Brunswick needs. We just demand that our families be protected while we deliver New Brunswick's economic future.
The choice isn't between jobs and quality of life. It's between Saint John continuing to power New Brunswick's economy while being treated as expendable, or Saint John embracing our economic leadership role with the protection and respect our families deserve.
That's a future worth fighting for
- and it's time to make it happen.