Regional challenges persist, but residents remain proud of their community
Established under amalgamation in 2023, the District of Carleton North has been an economic driver for western New Brunswick for decades.
Home to McCain Foods and affectionately known as the ‘French Fry Capital of the World,’ the municipality has an older population, with the average household taking in approximately $56,400.
The vast community is not without conflict.
The Trans Canada Trail has been a major point of contention, with the council supporting motorized access and many residents expressing concern about the dangers walkers and cyclists would face if motorized access is allowed.
Residents and politicians continue to call on the government to refurbish the Old Florenceville Bridge, which has been closed to motorized traffic since 2020. Despite pressuring the province to find a long-term solution, the government says repairs would be too costly. Tenders came in well over the estimates, with costs ranging from $25 to $45 million.
And then there is the issue of policing. The municipality tried to force the province to allow it to establish its own municipal police force, but the request was denied. They’ve since worked with the RCMP to improve coverage of the region.
Barb Somerville is a livestock farmer in Juniper.
She says the current council deserves kudos for taking the job after amalgamation.
“This is a very rural district,” she told the River Valley Sun. “It was a real challenge for these people. They had to invent a whole system. I appreciate what they’ve done.”
Somerville said her only suggestion would be for the council to work at better connecting communities in the district. She would love to see more visits by councillors and for some of the municipality’s events to be spread more evenly throughout the region.
“I realize it’s a long way to travel to anything, especially because the condition of our roads is egregiously appalling, but I believe that they have to take that into consideration when they set up meetings events and activities. The Meet the Candidates night for example, was in Centreville. I mean, who, from Juniper or Moose Mountain, would realistically go to it? To head home at 8 or 8:30 in the dark over these terrible roads? It’s a big district. We can’t forget the residents that live in the outskirts of the district.”
Somerville joked that if Tobique-Mactaquac MP Richard Bragdon can get around to ‘a million’ things on Saturday, then councillors can, too.
“They need to get out and meet some people; check out the roads; find out what the issues are and check out of the facilities. I mean, the Bun Veysey Centre, for example, is a beautiful facility.”
For Somerville, she is also concerned about the concentration of the municipality’s beautification work and funding.
“There is a crew of (municipal) groundskeepers, but we never see anyone here. Anything that gets done in Juniper is done by volunteers,” said Somerville. “We can apply for $500 but that doesn’t buy very much.”
Somerville suggested that landscaping staff could visit smaller communities every couple of weeks with a trailer and lawnmower to do some community maintenance or hang a few baskets.
“They wouldn’t have to do much, but just them being here once in a while I think would better connect us all.”
Riverbank resident Victoria Hutt thinks the council has done many things right, but some decisions need a little tweaking.
“We should be able to live in rural New Brunswick and have access to the arts,” she told the River Valley Sun. “When you look at all the small towns in New Brunswick, we have sports programming, and it could be that way this way with the arts if we worked on it.”
One example is the Andrew and Laura McCain Art Gallery.
“The municipality has been very supportive of the gallery, providing some annual operating funds, but it used to be more,” she explained. “It was $20,000 before. It went down to I believe $10,000, but now it’s up to $15,000 but it could be better.”
Hutt wonders how we can expect professionals to live as artists without having the infrastructure to support them.
“We need to be a leader and have structured support for the arts. That kind of support would create leadership and economic inclusion but also would provide business opportunities.”
Hutt points to facilities such as the Weldon Matthews Theatre and the Second Wind Music Centre, as well as programming presented through CV Arts.
“All of these are great assets, but we have to ensure we are investing in community assets like the Peter McLaughlins of the world, so they can be supported to continue their work.”
Hutt says the arts help build community through social connection.
“Everything is connected,” she said, pointing to data that draws a direct correlation between art opportunities and mental and physical health.
“Community wellness, food security, social impact services, facilitating partnerships – it all aligns with province’s Overcoming Poverty plan. Municipal support helps your community, it fosters connection; there are financial advantages as well as positive health outcomes.”
