Latest news with #SaintAndrews
CTV News
3 hours ago
- Business
- CTV News
Saint Andrews town council votes to proceed with controversial infill project
The municipal council in Saint Andrews, N.B., has voted to proceed with the controversial Market Wharf infill project. The municipal council in Saint Andrews, N.B., has voted to proceed with the controversial Market Wharf infill project. In January 2024, town council approved a plan to refurbish the deteriorating wharf with a hybrid of steel and infill at a price tag of roughly $7 million. Wharf People walk on Market Wharf in Saint Andrews, N.B. (Source: Nick Moore/CTV News Atlantic) In June, the final decision on refurbishing the wharf was delayed following the addition of an environmental impact assessment. The final vote Tuesday night was six-to-one, with another councillor abstaining, meaning the project will now go to tender. Councillors who voted yes say there's been plenty of public consultation on the design, and a tender must proceed to meet the deadline for federal and provincial funding. Some residents and business owners have raised concerns, such as the blocking of natural tidal flows, an increased flooding and erosion risk, and the impact to the environment and marine ecosystem. With files from CTV Atlantic's Bruce Frisko. For more New Brunswick news, visit our dedicated provincial page.
CTV News
3 hours ago
- Business
- CTV News
Saint Andrews to proceed with wharf project
Atlantic Watch The municipal council in Saint Andrews, N.B., has voted to proceed with the controversial Market Wharf infill project.
CBC
23-07-2025
- Business
- CBC
Ministers Island is latest tourist site planning to hand keys back to province
Ministers Island is the only tourist attraction in New Brunswick where visitors can drive across the ocean floor, but the tides of change threaten to overtake the historic site in Saint Andrews. The board of the charity that runs Ministers Island says it is unable to keep the popular attraction going with the $100,000 it receives for from the province for its operations budget. "We've tried everything and we've tried everything for 17 years," said John Kershaw, chair of the board of the Van Horne Estate on Ministers Island. "We've decided as a board that unless we get additional investment from the province, we are going to, in August, give six months' notice that we will not operate next year." Ministers Island, accessible only at low tide, was once owned by Sir William Van Horne, who was famous for getting the Canadian Pacific Railway built. With an admission ticket, visitors get to explore the island Van Horne once called his summer home. Popular attractions include the mansion, bathhouse, livestock barn, windmill and walking trails that cross the island from shore to shore. It is one of many historic attractions in Saint Andrews. Kershaw argues that similar historic sites in the province, including Kings Landing, receive significantly more provincial funding even though they attract comparable numbers of visitors. According to its annual report, Kings Landing gets $3.7 million as a provincial operating grant on top of other non-recurring grants from the province. "We just feel that that level of difference is just not fair," Kershaw said. These historic sites are both owned by the province and operated by external boards. Kings landing saw 34,000 visitors last year and Ministers Island saw 24,000. Does 10,000 more visitors justify millions more in funding? The New Brunswick government bought Ministers Island in 1977, and the island was declared a national historic site about 20 years later. Ever since the Van Horne Estate on Ministers Island was set up this century, every chair of the board "has been calling on the government to enhance our level of funding," Kershaw said. The board functions as a custodian for the island, overseeing operations for the province. Operational funding to the island increased to $130,000 from $33,000 in the 2019-2020 fiscal year, then moved down to $100,000 in 2020-2021, where it has stayed each year since. Funding for the island also comes from various donations and non-recurring grants. WATCH | 'We're not fiscally sustainable' Uncertain future for Ministers Island 35 minutes ago The board is only able to hire one full-time paid employee to oversee operations on the island. The rest of the work is stretched among volunteer board members and seasonal employees. Kershaw said this is not enough help to sustain the island. The Department of Tourism, Heritage and Culture did not allow CBC News to interview Tourism Minister Isabelle Theriault and sent a statement instead. Despite the board's concerns, the statement said, the department is "committed to ensuring the continued conservation and public enjoyment of Ministers Island." "We renewed the funding that had been provided in previous years that Ministers Island received in the past," Premier Susan Holt said at a recent news when asked about the site's predicament. "At this point in time, the government doesn't have additional money to put more money into those heritage sites." Holt said that "the cost to operate is going up and that's leaving them with shortfalls. About $900,000 was cut from the provincial tourism budget in March. Not the first historical site to speak out The island's board is not the first to speak out about a lack of funding in New Brunswick. MacDonald Farm in Miramichi had to close because it didn't have the money to stay open. This historical site is also owned by the government but run by the Highland Society of New Brunswick at Miramichi. "We are a completely volunteer committee that operates this site and we just felt that having to fight to keep this site open is not something that we have the energy to do anymore," said society president Dawn Lamkey MacDonald. Impact on Saint Andrews tourism The lack of funding isn't just a worry for the Ministers Island board but also for the Explore Saint Andrews, the town's tourism marketing board. "Heritage and tourism is a big part of what draws people to Saint Andrews," said Explore Saint Andrews board member James Geneau. "I would argue that Minister's Island is an attraction that has lots of opportunity with a huge audience." Ganeau said that closing the island to tourists would have a significant impact on tourism that Saint Andrew's economy desperately depends on. "Losing that is going to be significant in terms of the overall offering that Saint Andrews can provide to tourists," Geneau said. "It's part of a broader offering which makes the area a destination for not just a night, but multiple days." Saint Andrews tourism works as a collective cluster with neighbouring sites such as the Huntsman Marine Science Center, Algonquin Golf Course, and the Blockhouse supporting each other, drawing visitors to stay in town for longer.
CBC
23-07-2025
- Business
- CBC
Uncertain future for Ministers Island
The board that runs Ministers Island, just off Saint Andrews, says it isn't getting enough provincial funding to keep the tourist attraction going.
CTV News
11-07-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Future of two N.B. historic sites in the air over lack of provincial funding
A thick Friday fog covered Ministers Island in Saint Andrews, N.B., for much of the day. According to Van Horne Estate on Ministers Island (VHEMI) board chair John Kershaw, it's an ominous sign of what could be on the horizon for the island. 'We've been lobbying for additional funds for a number of years,' says Kershaw. 'The board has decided that in the absence of getting the additional money we need, we're going to have to relinquish the lease that we have with the province and eventually dissolve the organization itself.' While the island itself is owned by the province, VHEMI is in the midst of a 25-year lease which began in 2008 to operate the heritage site. Since the 2020-2021operating season, New Brunswick's Department of Tourism, Heritage and Culture has provided a $100,000 operating grant to the island operators. Kershaw says they are lobbying for a boost to a $500,000 grant. He says other historical sites like King's Landing, which Kershaw says has a comparable number of visitors, gets $3.7 million yearly from the province. 'That money would be used to invest in new attractions,' says Kershaw. 'Right now, part of our challenge is that people come to the island, see the buildings, and then why would they come back?' While Kershaw points out some events that bring in both locals and tourists annually, he says the island can't just be a property people visit once. The board chair also notes the unique challenge of sporadic operating hours caused by the Bay of Fundy tides. The island is only accessible by foot or car during low tide when the seabed road is exposed. 'In comparison to the other venues we have, we can operate about 40 per cent of the time,' Kershaw says. The Department of Tourism, Heritage and Culture failed to acknowledge CTV Atlantic's request for an interview, but it did send an emailed statement. 'The Department will continue to work with VHEMI through any and all decision making process on their continued stewardship of Minister's Island and to ensure the continued conservation of Ministers Island as a meaningful place for New Brunswickers,' the statement reads. Barn doors closed for 2025 While the future for Ministers Island remains shrouded in the Bay of Fundy fog, the barn doors have closed for another historic site in the province. Earlier this week, the Highland Society of New Brunswick at Miramichi announced the MacDonald Farm Provincial Heritage Site would not be operating this year due to 'inadequate funding support' from the province. 'What's going to happen to these important heritage sites for the province?' questions Dawn MacDonald, president of the Highland Society of New Brunswick at Miramichi. 'It's a huge question that people have on their minds.' MacDonald Farm The MacDonald Farm Provincial Heritage Place will not be open this summer. (Source: Facebook/MacDonald Farm Provincial Heritage Place) Since 2012, the Highland Society has rented the farm with a provincial grant that was provided annually. MacDonald says each year they had been given $60,000 to cover costs, which include paying staff, general maintenance, caring for the animals and more. Last year the two sides agreed to a grant of $100,000 for the year. In March, MacDonald says she reached out to the province in March to arrange a meeting to shore up this year's grant, but she didn't receive a meeting date until the end of May. By that point she says it was too late to start arranging plans for the tourist season. The decision was then made to end the partnership with the province and return the keys to them. 'The grass has grown up, the buildings are sitting idle, there's no animals there, there's no children running around enjoying the site,' MacDonald says. 'It's just abandoned now.' MacDonald says the decision is even more disappointing considering the geo-political climate with many Canadians electing to take there summer vacations within the country. 'It's sad to know that people are driving by, seeing the sign that we have at the road that says closed due to inadequate funding support,' MacDonald says. The Department of Tourism, Heritage, and Culture told CTV News over email they respect the society's decision to cease operations at historic site. They say they will now review and determine a path forward for MacDonald Farm. For more New Brunswick news, visit our dedicated provincial page.
