The Saint Croix Courier

2007 Sep 11

Local mayor enlightens country's FCM members about LNG threat

By BARB RAYNER

ST.ANDREWS — St. Andrews put on a lobster supper for the national board of directors of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) last Thursday night during a Maritime kitchen party held at the W.C. O'Neill Arena.

But amidst all the fun during the evening, Mayor John Craig also made sure these municipal representatives from across the country knew about the town's fight against the establishment of LNG terminals in Passamaquoddy Bay.

"It is great to see you here in small town New Brunswick. We face the same challenges as our larger counterparts throughout the country and we appreciate the opportunity to have the national board experience this part of Atlantic Canada.

"In the last day or so we have been trying to educate a lot of you about the LNG threatening Passamaquoddy Bay. This is a fight we are fighting continuously, and thank God we have MP Greg Thompson, because he has the ear of the prime minister in making sure Passamaquoddy Bay stays the way it is.

"Our MP has championed our cause to keep LNG from destroying our pristine bay and from placing our residents in a dangerous environment in which to live. For that I continue to thank him."

Thompson, Minister of Veterans Affairs, who attended the event with his wife Linda, thanked Mayor Craig for his support and said no one level of government can do it alone. He said the federal government, the province, and municipalities have to work together to get things done.

"It is really great to have you in our home town and in my district," Thompson told the delegates. We are in a fight to protect our economy, our citizens and our way of life. "We want to keep LNG tankers out of Canadian waters, specifically Head Harbour Passage, and we take a very strong position on that and will not waver from that position. I want to thank John and the council for their unwavering support."

The town partnered with the Cities of New Brunswick Association, the Union of Municipalities of New Brunswick and L'Association des Francophone Municipalities du Nouveau-Brunswick to sponsor some of the events while FCM board members were in St.Andrews.

Friday the board members were invited to take a trip on the bay and Mayor Craig made sure that they had the chance to see Head Harbour Passage.

Saint John city councillor Ivan Court, who is first vice-president of the Cities of New Brunswick Association, thanked Thompson for the work he does for the province and Mayor Craig for agreeing to host this event.

He described St. Andrews as a small community with a heart of gold and said the FCM board members had been shown great Maritime hospitality.

FCM president Gord Steeves said coming to St. Andrews had been a wonderful experience for them and everyone had been made to feel very welcome.

"One of the wonderful things about this board is we have a chance to get right across the country. We have had a chance to go to so many beautiful parts of this country. This is one of the most beautiful places we have ever had one of our meetings."

Steeves then presented Mayor Craig with a plaque of appreciation from FCM for the town's hospitality. Craig then, in turn, thanked all those who had worked for the event especially members of the Heather Curling Club, who received a standing ovation for the lobster supper they had prepared.