Grand Manan Mayor Bonnie Morse will tell you the biggest achievement for the community in the last year was getting an air ambulance permanently stationed on the island.
The island is only accessible by ferry and requires urgent patients to be transferred by aircraft in order to receive treatment on the mainland.
In 2022, Atlantic Charters, which operated the medevac service, was forced to stop operations due to changes in Transport Canada regulations, which saw restrictions on duty and rest times.
The air ambulance was finally restored full-time this summer through an agreement with Ambulance New Brunswick and Voyageur Aviation.
Several residents on the island protested the lack of an air ambulance, which lasted for more than a year. (CHCO-TV)
“I said I didn’t realize how much anxiety I was carrying personally until I saw the plane come and land,” she said speaking with The Courier. “Just having it back here, that’s been a huge thing.”
Morse said the community was very anxious during the more than one year the island was without permanent service.
Back in 2023, CHCO-TV reported on a resident who found her husband unconscious in their home. Carla Guptill said during a protest in May 2023 she wondered if he’d be alive if there had been an air ambulance on the island.
She explained it took five hours for an aircraft from Halifax to arrive and airlift him to the Saint John Regional Hospital.
“I don’t know that it would have made a difference for him, but those five hours could have been life-saving,” said Guptill to CHCO-TV at the time. “We need a plane immediately. There’s enough money in this province.”
For Morse, the deal means a sense of security and safety for those living on the island. The next challenge is getting the air hanger, where the King Air 200 will ultimately be housed.
“Hopefully we’ll have the roof and the door on within the next couple of weeks,” she said. “We’re hoping by the end of January to have at least the shell of the hangar completed so the plane could come inside out of the weather.”
She said this is likely a challenge that will carry into 2025, given there was a big hesitation around the council chamber about how to deal with a space to keep the airplane.
“There was a real reluctance around the council table to sell land to an off-island entity because there’s a finite amount of land around the airport. Losing control of that made people apprehensive,” Morse said. “Well, what if the village builds a hangar and rents it out and we cover those expenses that way? It made a lot of sense for us.”
But the municipality is new to the business of building air hangers, she explained.
“We’ve had some hiccups along the way that we weren’t anticipating, but finally seeing that light at the end of the tunnel,” she said. “I think for all of us around the table, because this has been such a big issue, and it’s a huge issue for the community, to know that at the end of the day, we’re the final piece that has to be pulled together and we’re now the hold-up, it’s not a great feeling either.”
However, progress is being made.
Continuing maintenance and plowing pilot
The island is also planning to continue its pilot program to take over the maintenance of roads and streets.
“It had always been done by the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure, so we’ve internalized that staff and are doing it now ourselves, which was a huge shift for us,” said Morse.
She said the plan will be to purchase the plows that are on the island eventually, making those assets fully owned by the municipality.
“We’ve entered into conversations now with DTI about doing it long-term because the first year was such a success,” she said. “That was another big thing.”
She said staffing has been challenging.
The island is isolated and only accessible by ferry, meaning building affordable housing of any kind is a bit more challenging. (CHCO-TV)
“The ongoing struggle has been finding additional staff because it’s a small place, finding people who have those qualifications that want to do the work,” she explained. “We’ve had a few people in and out of positions.”
Morse said this is something that is in the best interest of both parties.
“I think long term for us, it’s good to have that local control here on the island because we are so removed from the district office and all of those things,” she said.
Four cents off the tax rate
Morse said the council has been able to take about four cents of the tax rate for the upcoming year.
She said this year’s budget was a bit easier than the last.
“Our assessments are up like they are in a lot of places,” she said. “But part of what we did, it ties back to the discussion we had about DTI, is we put additional money in capital line items recognizing that if we end up taking over the roads, that maintenance, we’re going to have equipment that we need to purchase.”
Last year, it was dealing with taking over the public works for the island, making this year’s budget much easier.
Looking ahead to 2025
Morse said there are a few things it is hoping to achieve in 2025 including focusing on more affordable housing.
“It’s such a challenge because the cost of doing anything is so expensive right now everywhere,” she said. “But then you add the Grand Manan factor because you have to bring in the materials.”
One private developer has proposed garden homes, she explained but hopes more affordable housing is something the council could achieve.
It will also work toward a recycling program at the island’s solid waste transfer station.
“That’ll be a big change for us, as well, come the early part of the year,” she said.
The island also needs to begin the transition to replace one of its ferries known as the Grand Manan V. It will need to work with DTI to get the ferry replaced.
“It’s been an ongoing conversation with us because Grand Manan V is 35 years old this summer,” she said. “It’s nearing the end of its life, and it takes a long time to get a replacement vessel.”
She said the island has both seen a bump in population but a reduction in service, leading to more demand for the two ferries.
“To have that replacement for the Grand Manan V, so that we have that stability in knowing that we have vessels that are operational and functional going into the future,” she said.
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