Another Historic Trinity Royal Building Slated For Demolition

The building at 167 Prince William Street, UPTOWN Saint John has a proud commercial heritage dating back well over 135 years. Not the fanciest building, but a useful building visited over the years by thousands of Saint John residents, buying insurance, getting accounting advice,grabbing a restaurant meal,  and many of the day to day services needed to live life uptown.

Approximately 10 years ago the building left the caring ownership of the Bruce Family and headed down a road of arms length ownership that eventually led to full vacancy, loss of heat in the building, and finally in January 2014 the City of Saint John was forced to issue a work order to remedy dangerous conditions. In spite of the efforts of City officials, and others; the order was ignored by the building owner and now a demolition order by the city is about to be executed and there will be another gaping hole in our history and in Trinity Royal Preservation area.

No one is pleased with this outcome.

Folks, I am no less sad, frustrated, and impatient with the deterioration of historic properties in Saint John. I have, however, after MANY years of direct involvement with the neighborhood and its structures, come to great clarity on the issue.

It is quite simple..it boils down to economic sustainability. So, until enough SJ'ers make a deliberate decision to support these buildings in some DIRECT and TANGIBLE way, they will continue to be lost. You may ask what constitutes direct and sustainable support. Its as simple as doing one or more of the following things on a regular basis:

• Invest in one by buying it, get good advice, have a plan, and don't over pay.
• eat in a restaurant located in a heritage building
• meet friends for drinks in a heritage building
• have you hair cut or styled
• buy shoes or fashion
• hire an accountant, lawyer, or other professional whose office is in a heritage building
• rent your next apartment
• buy your next condo
• recommend heritage inns to out of town visitors

I think by now you get the picture. Our heritage buildings will only survive when WE support and use them. There is no "they", as in "why don't THEY save them. There us only us, our kids and grand kids deserve to enjoy this history as we have. Now the time, make a plan....use them or we'll lose them.

Here's what Heritage Canada reports on the history of the building.

http://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=9302&pid=0 describes the functional history:

The Armstrong and Bruce Building is one of a collection of commercial and residential Italianate buildings that were built after two thirds of the city was destroyed by the Great Saint John Fire of 1877. Constructed circa 1879 and remodelled in 1913, this building is a good example of Italianate architecture from the rebuilding period in Saint John. This style is evident in the decorative brickwork under the cornice, the segmented arch window openings and the rectangular massing. The use of brick and the quality of the workmanship in this building represent the will for the city to rebuild, as well or better, after the fire.

The Armstrong and Bruce Building is also recognized for its original use and for its association with its former occupants that conducted business here. The original occupants of the north side of the building were W. H. Olive and his son Chipman Ingersoll Olive. They were manufacturers’ agents and ship brokers. In 1892, Chipman moved next door and this building was converted into Lang's Restaurant.

From the time of construction until 1892, the southern end of this building was Teresa Flanagan's liquor store. The upper quarters of this building were used as a boarding house. One noteworthy resident, from 1893-1906, was Oscar Silberstein, a cigar maker from Brooklyn, New York. His factory was on the corner of Prince William Street and Church Street in Saint John.

The Armstrong and Bruce Building is also recognized for its long time association with the insurance agency of Armstrong and Bruce. Beverly Robinson Armstrong and Robert Hugh Bruce formed a partnership in 1911. They first occupied this building in 1924 and a branch of this firm carried on business at this location for approximately 81 years; they are now carrying on business just across the street. Armstrong was a decorated veteran of the Boer War and the First World War. Bruce served in the First World War as well.

McKenna Delivers Hope to New Brunswick

I think all New Brunswickers who are interested in future prosperity should read McKenna's speech delivered yesterday in Saint John. Here is the transcript. 


" Thank you Mr. Premier.Thank you for the kind remarks and thank you for beinghere today.

There’s no place else in the country where a sitting Premier would introduce a former Premier, of a different politica lparty, and then sit through a half hour speech.

It speaks to the character of the Premier.It also speaks to the magnitude of the challenges that we face.

Incidentally, I would never speak on New Brunswick issues without first advising the Government of the day. The Premier is aware of the opportunity that I am about to discuss and support of my intervention.

I was provoked to speak after listening to the rather apocalyptic news of the last several months.•

The chronically high unemployment levels

•Anaemic growth

•The Finance Minister’s dire warning that this year’s deficit will hit $350,000 million -- almost double whatwas forecast

• Warnings that sharp tax increases are in store

• Economist Constantine Passaris warning of a demographic time bomb

I believe the realization that we are facing unprecedented challenges to our survivability as a province is somewhat responsible for all three mainstream political parties supporting a west to east pipeline terminating in Saint John. This is an extraordinary accomplishment and I applaud the political leadership in New Brunswick. That unanimity may very well be the silver bullet needed to win this battle.

I want to build on that spirit of compromise and goodwill by connecting some dots and laying out a possible path from doom and gloom to hope and prosperity.

The theme for this talk is taken from an anecdote about a preacher and a flood:

As the water came up to the first floor windows, some friends came by in a row boat. “Get in” they said, “It’ sgoing to be a bad flood”. “Oh no”, the preacher answered.“I’m a righteous man, I don’t need your help. The Lord is going to save me.”

An hour or so later the water was up to the second floor windows and this time a motor boat came by. “Get in”they said “It’s getting worse.” “Oh no”, he said. “I’ve kept the commandments; I’ve gone to Sunday school all my life. I don’t need your help; the Lord is going to save me.”

Finally the preacher finds himself standing on the chimney. The water is up to here. A helicopter comes over, drops a rope. The guy says “Grab the rope.”“Oh no” he said. “I’m a righteous man. I don’t need your help; the Lord is going to save me.”

Well sure enough, a few minutes later, he finds himself standing in front of Saint Peter and he’s absolutely furious:

 “What happened?”

Saint Peter said, “What do you mean what happened? Stupid, we sent two boats and a helicopter, didn’t we? Why didn’t you grab the rope ?!!!!”

For many years Saint John boosters have enthusiastically extolled the virtues of Saint John as an energy hub.

For a variety of reasons our fondest dreams have not borne fruit.

Quite understandably many Saint Johners are disillusioned and discouraged.

I am here today to tell you that the dream is still alive.

 It is far from a certainty but it is more than a faint hope. For a variety of reasons Saint John and New Brunswick is at the epicentre of several developments that could bring profound changes to this community and the province.

Throughout the last year I have spoken ad nauseam on the virtues of bringing western oil all the way to Saint John, New Brunswick, both for further processing or for transhipment to other North American or world markets.

A variety of public utterances from both producers and shippers have provided credibility to the vision.

The Premier’s work with his colleagues has resulted in widespread political support for this opportunity. The recent presence of Energy Minister Joe Oliver in Saint John, New Brunswick was encouraging and validating. And as mentioned the expression of unanimous political support in this province is in complete contrast to experience elsewhere.

Should this initiative be successful it will result in over 5,700 direct construction jobs between Quebec and NewBrunswick in building the pipeline alone. Even more jobs would be created in receiving facilities and shipping movements to foreign markets.

 I believe that all the stars are aligned for us to win this very significant battle.

Once this pipeline is built an even larger opportunity presents itself. Everybody agrees that Canada should be upgrading more of its petroleum. Adding value represents massive value for the country.

It is also well known that Alberta is a very expensive place to build upgrading facilities. You may have noticed in the news recently that Imperial Exxon’s Kearl Project is expected to be at least $2 billion over budget. The major reason for the dramatic overrun is from the delay in transporting modular equipment through Idaho and Montana. Strong local resistance required Imperial to take more than 200 of the modules apart to be moved on an alternate route.

Saint John has access to tidal water transportation for evenl arger modules, existing infrastructure and a highly skilled labour force. By one estimate, the cost of an up grader in Saint John New Brunswick would be 40% less than in Alberta.

These projects require billions of dollars in investment and create as many as 5,000 jobs per year. It may be the real pot of gold at the end of the pipeline.

When the time comes, grab the rope!

Now, I am here today about another project with even greater potential for jobs and investment and even more realistic in terms of implementation. I am going to be talking about natural gas and connecting the dots as to how oil and gas could translate into an exciting new future for Saint John and for the province as a whole.

Now, I know how controversial some of these issues are and I deeply respect the strong diversity of views. I want to make a few things clear before the critics even start.

Firstly, I have absolutely no vested interest in the results of any of these energy projects that I am talking about.

Secondly, I am not impervious to the environmental and social equity arguments. I happen to believe that climate change is real and that we should be doing something about it. Canada should be known and should set the new standard for responsible development – which integrates environmental and social benefits as part of the case for development of our diverse resource mix. If we don’t do this – who will? And as unpopular as it is, I actually believe that we should have a carbon tax in this country to provide market based mechanisms that would give impetus to advancements intechnology.

I am Deputy Chair of a bank which is considered amongst the greenest in North America. I am the Chairman of the Board of Brookfield Asset Management which has the largest portfolio of renewable energy resources in all of North America.

But I am also a pragmatist. I know that fossil fuels will form the base of the global energy supply for decades to come. I know that even with the rapid acceleration of renewable energy sources that this market will not be going away in the future.

The only question is whether we subsidize the Americans to buy it with cheap prices or sell it elsewhere in the world and use the money for the benefit of Canadians.

The CEO of Synovis during this past week suggested that the price differential that we are currently experiencing is costing every Canadian $1,200 per year.

So let me talk about shale gas which, I believe, will inevitably lead to a revolution environmentally, geopolitically and as an energy source. Indeed its low price and highly desirable carbon properties will result in a displacement of other energy sources.

This abundant new energy form in the United States is already creating an energy revolution.

 Last year access to low price natural gas saved $107 billion or almost $1,000per household. Over 1.7 million jobs have already been created from the shale gas boom.8A confluence of conditions put Saint John, New Brunswick in an extraordinarily advantaged position to take advantage of this unprecedented energy revolution that is sweeping the world.

Firstly, we have an existing LNG facility that I will talk more about later.

Secondly, we have access to existing pipeline capacity from offshore gas deposits and we are also connected to major consumer markets.

Thirdly, we have access to an ice free deep water port that can accommodate the largest vessels in the world.

Fourthly, we have access to world class deposits of potash.

Fifthly, we have access to a shale gas resource that some estimate is larger than that of Alberta located within several hundred kilometres of Saint John and connected by a pipeline to Saint John.

So let’s try to connect the dots.

You have to appreciate that we are dealing with a lot of back of the envelope estimates here but I can assure you that more than a few smart people are putting their minds t oa New Brunswick scenario because it is so compelling.

The first step revolves around the LNG Terminal in Saint John. It is no secret that it is for sale as part of a basket of Repsol assets.

It is also common knowledge that the business case for importing liquid natural gas at present is very sketchy while, in theory, the business case for exporting natural gas is very robust.

 Natural gas currently attracts approximately$3.50 per thousand cubic feet in North America with prices in Europe as high as $12 and prices in Asia as high as $17.North America is increasingly being flooded with shale gas driving down or holding down prices while the rest of the world has not yet started exploiting this resource.

That is why there are at least 20 LNG export proposals on the table across North America. Undoubtedly, there will be a significant narrowing of the gap but there is still a strong business case to be made for exporting natural gas. First mover advantage will be very important.

 Saint John is uniquely positioned in this regard.

Canaport is the only LNG import facility in Canada. It can be reversed to become Canada’s first export LNG facility.

It already has storage tanks with 10 billion cubic feet of capacity and an offshore jetty which allows LNG vessels to dock.

To reverse Canaport requires the construction of liquefaction trains. This is not like a conventional train. A train is an LNG plant’s liquefaction and purification facility. These “trains” have a compression area and methane, ethane and propane condenser areas. Here are some crude estimates of the potential:

The first liquefaction train would be capable of producing approximately 600 million cubic feet of gas annually and could be operational within four years. A second liquefaction train could become operational several yearsl ater. Each train would require direct investment of about $2.5billion creating 900 constructions jobs for four years and 80permanent jobs. It is not inconceivable that at least two more trains could be added in the fullness of time contributing $5 billion more ininvestment.

Think of the jobs.

Grab the rope!

Simultaneously, natural gas would need to be sourced for this export facility. In the short term this would undoubtedly come from offshore Nova Scotia, more specifically, Sable Island and Deep Panuke. In such a case a substantial investment in infrastructure would be required to move the gas to Saint John. The most important phase is the exploitation of New Brunswick’s indigenous shale gas reserves. It is estimated that New Brunswick has 82 tcf of shale gas which is located less than two hundred kilometres from the coastline. Even if less that 10% of this shale gas was exploitable it would result in 150,000 person years of work during the life of the shale gas basin.

Producing and exporting this currently stranded shale gas can generate over $7 billion in royalty and tax revenues to the province of New Brunswick over the life of the project.

In short, reversal of the LNG facility in Canaport and the export of New Brunswick’s indigenous shale gas resources could result in the following impact in our province.

• $17 billion of direct investment in New Brunswick

• $4 billion of provincial tax revenue.

• $3 billion of provincial royalties.

• 150,000 person years of new jobs.

These are direct jobs and direct revenues.

Grab the rope!

There could be much more. If we are smart we would develop an entire knowledge industry around the exploitation of these resources with additional spin off jobs in knowledge related industries .A recent report reveals that the University of Alberta has over 1,000 university researchers currently engaged with corporate partners to innovate and develop new technologies. What a wonderful opportunity for New Brunswick’s knowledge sector.

Grab the rope!

By the way, New Brunswick must demand equal treatment by the Government of Canada for these revenues in the same way that the offshore resources in Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia are assessed.

These Provinces have saved billions of dollars in equalization reductions. It would be unconscionable if the Atlantic accord was really a Nova Scotia and Newfoundland accord. This is abridge we must die on.

Finally, the cherry on the cake is the creation of new value added industries in New Brunswick. We are closer to India than western Canada. I recently returned from India and can vouch for the fact that there is a strong demand for natural gas.

There is also a strong demand for products made with natural gas as a major input. In New Brunswick’s case we have potash. We have natural gas. There is no reason why we cannot create an entire petrochemical sector of the economy and export value added goods rather than raw material.

This is not idle speculation. Access to cheap natural gas is already attracting offshore companies back to the United States and I know for a fact that offshore companies are looking at Canada and, in fact, New Brunswick as a possible site for major investments based on the potential or plentiful and low price natural gas.

It will be incumbent on the province to ensure that enough of our resource is allocated to exploit these opportunities for a new entrance and our existing New Brunswick enterprises.

Again, grab the rope!

In closing, I would stress all of this is speculative. None of this may happen. The world energy footprint is transforming itself at a breathtaking pace.

Methane hydrates may even replace shale gas as the “new bestthing”.

However, very smart people and very smart money are currently investing billions of dollars across North America in an explosive race to be first to market to export natural gas.

There is no jurisdiction in this hemisphere better positioned at the present time to exploit this enormous potential tha nright here in New Brunswick.

 I recognize there are some who believe that shale gas production should go ahead at all costs and others who believe it should not proceed under any circumstances.

I believe that the vast majority of New Brunswickers are in a third camp.

This third group looks at other jurisdictions for guidance, understand there are some risks and understands the mitigants to these risks. This group believes that a regulatory and royalty regime can be put in place that would make us globally attractive to investors but highly secure as citizens.

That is the camp that I am in. I believe that the Premier and his government will honour their commitment to provide a regulatory and royalty regime adopting best practices from other jurisdictions with a long history of shale gas exploitation.

Opposition parties have a right and, in fact a responsibility ,to scrutinize and ask questions on these important issues. However, it is my fervent hope that at the end of the day we will be able to find a common path forward that will allow us to create an environmentally respectful and economically sustainable energy sector. And a province that can provide badly needed social programs for its citizens and a home for its sons and daughters. As Saint Peter said “Grab the Rope!”Thank you.

Mecklenburg Fire Leaves Children In Fear

Every Saturday morning hundreds of Saint Johners flock to the Historic City Market in UPTOWN. Familiar faces catch up on the week’s events, share stories, connect, shop for fresh produce, seafood, and meat; and fill up on breakfast. This week a lot of the talk was around the fire on Mecklenburg. In the midst of my breakfast I was approached by a good long time friend and student mentor as part of the PALS Program at the school nearest to this week’s fire. She was really touched by the impact of the fire and told the story of her young student who lived at 74 Mecklenburg. She spoke of the child's fear, anxiety, and inability to focus due to the trauma being experienced due to the fire. The youngster, has lost all of his personal belongings, his pet cat, his familiar surroundings, but most of all he has lost his confidence. My friend believes the child is so affected by the trauma of the fire, that he must have counselling immediately in order to get him back on track and to relieve his fear that his new place will be burned down... because incredibly his new home is next door to another vacant building in the same neighbourhood.

This is the true reality of the affect these events have on the minds and souls of children living in the neighbourhood. Some of the very same children who attend(ed) The Chicken Noodle Club in the neighbourhood, which was recently rocked by the charges laid against a leader of that organization  Particularity at a time like this, children and families need re-assurance that authorities are doing all in their power to provide safe conditions in our neighbourhood. Once again I call on the City Manager, Pat Woods to show leadership by stepping forward and explaining to the citizens of the neighbourhood what changes can be made in the way vacant and derelict buildings can be managed better.  We all need to work harder to provide more safety and security for the children and families of Saint John's most challenged neighbourhoods. 

Post Fire Defence By City Building Department Head

So why can't the response by City of Saint John officials take on a more empathetic tone to the concerns of the people living in the neighbourhood around Mecklenburg Street, the scene of the past weekend's devastating fire ? For a time yesterday it appeared that city officials were denying a work order had been placed against the property in 2009. Then they said there were subsequent orders; then that the 2009 order had resulted in the property owners being brought to court. And if indeed a work order against a property becomes "inapplicable" , when it becomes vacant, as stated yesterday by Amy Poffenroth, the city's manager of building inspections; then what other action can the city take ? 

I strongly support the idea that if a building owner is making timely progress on repairing a building and responding to a city work order, then flexibility should be shown in the process. But the situation at 70 Mecklenburg dragged on for nearly 4 years and the result was this devastating fire which destroyed the neighbouring building and left almost 2 dozen people on the street. The response by Poffenroth appears circuitous, defensive, and retaliatory. People living in the neighbourhood need re-assurance and the feeling that our staffers are protecting the interests of the greater good; not just getting bogged down in the "red tape". 

As I pointed out yesterday, Bill Edwards who is Poffenroth's predecessor and mentor, spent much effort several years ago stewarding a new set of laws that he felt allowed the building department to deal effectively with the issue of condemned and vacant properties. If Poffenroth now suggests that the new rules still aren't adequate, it would make everyone concerned, feel more assured if she pointed this out plainly and made some suggestions. If she feels her hands are tied publicly from this type of commentary, lets have the City Manager hold a press conference to address the issue from a cross department perspective, if indeed this challenge also includes the Legal Department, The Fire Department and others. An explanation and some reassurance would go along way this week to quell the concerns of spooked citizens of the South End. 

At the same time, the property at 134-144 Carmarthen Street has a similar work order that was placed against the property on May 15, 2009. It is still occupied and still in the hands of the same owners. It is in deplorable condition. Here is a photo of it taken Thursday, Jan. 31, 2013. Why hasn't action been taken to evacuate this building and board it up.What does Poffenroth have say say about this circumstance.

 Better still why can't the laws in place provide mechanisms that force a non-compliant, non-cooperating property owner to lose the property to public auction or public stewardship. Such transfer of ownership should also require that a new owner have the capacity to post performance bonds to ensure the property quickly gets repaired and re-inhabited. If all this is impossible or fails...only then should it be demolished. Long term vacancy and boarding up should NOT be allowed to occur  This may sound intrusive to some, but the province legislates that automobile owners have insurance and are subject to vehicle inspections. A safe place to live is every bit as critical to families as a safe vehicle. 

Fire in The"Hood" ; Lessons To Be Learned ?

Lets talk about the Mecklenburg fire for a moment. That block is over 75% occupied by owners; there is significant pride on that block by those citizens. The building that was the starting point of the inferno, has been vacant and boarded up for some time. Its owners are non-resident in the city of Saint John; they were served with work orders to repair that building almost 4 years ago; they have ignored their responsibility; they put people's lives in danger; these owners caused stress and fear amongst the good property owners of the neighbourhood. They should be held to account and the city should have done something much sooner to enforce the work orders and spare the citizens of the neighbourhood this frightening situation.

The work order was issued March 19. 2009. It is a public document, 14 pages long and highly detailed in its points, requirements, and the potential consequences. There are specific timelines outlined for compliance and significant penalties for non-compliance. It appears there was no pre-fire enforcement of the order, other than the emptying out of the building and it being "boarded up". If you happen to park your car in the wrong place during a snowban, the consequences are far more immediate and painful than the consequences and punishment afforded to these property owners. 

In today's Telegraph Journal, SJFD spokesperson Mark Wilson, District Chief  appears to excuse the work order by offering these comments 

" the building has been on the department's watch list since 2010. "It's been vacant for a while,"he said. 

There are about 120 buildings on the list that are monitored by fire crews every few days, or weeks, depending on their availability. 

He said the crews check to ensure those vacant buildings are secured - that doors and windows are boarded up, and no fire hazards are present. 

"Really, can we go around to all vacant buildings and tear them down? No,"Wilson said."However, what we can do is request the property owners to secure the properties. 

"You can't really just say, 'is the city going to come in and do a sweep?' You can't do that. These are private properties. We can work with them and make sure there is a due diligence on the owners to make it safe." He said this vacant structure was secure and didn't pose a hazard on the last check. 

"It was secured," he said."It was boarded up. As far as we know, the doors were locked, the windows were boarded up." He added the fire crews responding had to use forcible entry to get inside. " "

No part of the work order includes boarding up and monitoring the property by the SJFD. By acknowledging this "duty", does the District Chief lay open the possibility of liability by the SJFD. His remarks that ,"it was secure ", provide little re-assurance to the neighbourhood in light of the subsequent fire and displacement. 

The important thing to note in my view is that the work order was issued under the authority of the building department working with the guidance of by-laws enacted by the City. Although the work was done by the inspection department and the process followed; there was no legal action taken when the property owners refused to comply with the order. So for three years the neighbourhood compliance to city hall and lived in fear. 

Here are comments from this mornings TJ by neighbours and property owners living there:

 " Chris Patterson, who lives around the corner from the building, said when he was apartment-hunting a few years ago he looked inside 70 Mecklenburg. 

"I went to look at it and it was pretty gross, and so I was like 'no, there's no way I'm renting that,'" he said. "It's pretty dirty and slummy and stuff like that." He said a month later, the building was boarded up. 

Clyde Ouellette owns the building on the other side of the vacant building that was not damaged by the fire. He said he'd been concerned about the safety of his own property since the abandoned building was boarded up several years ago. 

"We all complained,"he said. 

"He did, I did, they did," he said, gesturing at the houses down the street."It should have been torn down the month that they boarded it up." Donald Irving, the owner of the apartment that was gutted in the fire, said he had also complained in the past. 

"I'm in a bad situation now," he said. "Bad luck for me." 

The legal department should have done its job; the fire department should not be forced to undertake monitoring of vacant buildings  ( even though I am sure they do that work from the perspective of community service and proactive effort to prevent fire ), residents need to be protected. 

And so on Monday , January 28, 2013, the City issued a demolition order for 70 Mecklenburg AND 76 Mecklenburg; both fire damaged beyond repair. Why couldn't the city have issued that order last week, for the one condemned building where the fire started; based on the 4 year old work order. BEFORE the neighbourhood was subjected to this terror, with 14 homeless now, a 100 year old historic streetscape now with a gaping hole in it, and a neighbourhood left nervously thinking about the "what ifs". 

Provincial Property Tax and Wealth Re-Distribution

Many people are not aware that Saint John contributes a disproportionate share of taxes to the province. Often when we read of an Atcon bailout or of millions of dollars in "Economic Development" money being sent to other parts of NB - the lion’s share of that money is being sucked out of Saint John. 

The Equal Opportunity Act has - in the long term – disadvantaged the urban areas of the province in favour of unsustainable areas with multi-generational economic subsidies to pay for it. To understand our current challenges we need to know how many dollars are sent to Fredericton that don't come back? Perhaps the most direct route is to ask the question "how much provincial property tax is taken from SJ, versus the annual 'un-conditional grant' rec'd by the City". The so-called grants, are the vehicle by which this "provincial property tax" is re-distributed by the Province. Help in understanding this financial maneuvering would be a good undertaking for an elected provincial member locally, if he/she really wanted to help constituents understand what is happening. 

Who among our provincial representatives has their eye on the big picture? It's time to remind ourselves and our elected reps at all government levels that there's only one taxpayer here. Why in the hell aren't our MLAs adding something during this intense time of service reductions, pension concerns and budget discussions? It is a well established fact that in New Brunswick, the provincial government has very significant control of municipal government finances. We NEED leadership and co-operation here. Where are Margaret-Ann Blaney, Blaine Higgs, Carl Killen, Trevor Holder, Glen Tait, Dorothy Sheppard, Jim Parrot, on this? They have all been virtually absent from the public debate on Saint John City challenges the past month.

We live with a property taxation system that sucks wealth out of this community and then leaves it to fight among itself to deal with the inadequacy of the situation. The city and its people get beat up by the system and by each other even though we produce the majority of the wealth that supports the rest of the province. This situation also stands in the way of our desire for a stronger URBAN agenda for our future. There is a direct conflict between these two issues; wealth re-distribution to rural areas at the expense of stronger investment in wealth producing and efficient URBAN communities like Saint John. Which politicians are connecting the dots and showing leadership? The days of political reactionary ways must be replaced by visionary leadership if we ever hope to realize our dreams.

Information about where tax is collected and where it is spent may be found here .

Time to follow the money

Interesting day. We now know there will be a special public budget meeting tomorrow, Wednesday Feb. 01, to allow council to make their decisions for the budget and tax rate. There seems to be several views in play as to how we got in this mess and how we get out.

Today I raised the issue of an unfair provincial property taxation system that takes wealth from the economic powerhouse that Saint John is and re-distributes that wealth around the province in the name of Equal Opportunity; others say forcefully that there is also the widely held belief that we are over staffed at City Hall and that there should be serious work done on inefficiencies and productivity before we cut back services in the name of job reductions caused by budget cutbacks, and finally the wider higher minded idea that as a single community stretching from Quispamsis to Grand Bay, we should be under one municipal government.

I hope to help open a discussion over the next several days that will:

evoke a more thoughtful approach to the root causes of our civic woes;

pursue real facts to demonstrate how those things are holding back our Urban dreams;

•  lastly to bring together a broad group who want to take real action to move this community forward with pride and security in a way that allows us to realize our aspirations for Saint John as New Brunswicks' only "true Urban metropolis" as my good friend Kurt Peacock so correctly describes it.

Your ideas, comments, and input could turn this into real action and not just frustrated and angry rhetoric. A chance to improve the results of the next municipal election in the short term and beyond that a real shot at re-designing the way things work in Saint John and New Brunswick to provide a more environmentally, economically, secure, and sustainable way of life.