The Province of New Brunswick has told St. Stephen council it is continuing to work on securing a temporary shelter for the winter.
In a response to a question by a citizen, chief administrative officer Jeff Renaud told the council, “nothing can be announced until after the election by staff.”
“The province is working to establish an out-of-the-cold shelter (OOC) by December 1. All plans are in place to do so and communications are planned to be shared post-election,” he said, reading from an email from the Department of Social Development.
There are roughly 100 people experiencing homelessness in St. Stephen.
During an election, the government goes into caretaker mode. With no governing body, the public service maintains the function of the province while the voters decide the next governing party.
According to the federal government, caretaker mode does not prevent new announcements in the event of an emergency or within the public interest.
“I reached out and asked, in an emergency situation, they can.”
In December 2023, Mayor Allan MacEachern and the council in the Municipal District of St. Stephen declared a state of emergency over the growing number of people experiencing homelessness in the community – which was overturned by then Public Safety Minister Kris Austin.
“It’s really tough because you can’t get answers out of our elected officials,” MacEachern said in an interview with CHCO TV. “I reached out and asked, in an emergency situation, they can.”
Last year, the Progressive Conservative government attempted to secure a semi-permanent shelter on Happy Valley Road in St. Stephen but was unable to do so following push-back from the community over community safety.
It did provide funding to local non-profit organization Neighbourhood Works with funding to operate the shelter.
Out-of-the-cold shelters typically open and operate from December to March.
‘Working on plans’
The Department of Social Department was asked about the email sent to Renaud and whether it had been able to secure an OOC shelter, but didn’t respond to direct questions.
“The Department of Social Development is working on plans for an out-of-the-cold shelter for St. Stephen and will have more to share in the future,” it said in an email.
PC candidate for Saint Croix, Kathy Bokus, did give a response to a question asked about homelessness in the community.
“I’m told by social development that there will be an out-of-the-cold shelter this year, before winter, and for the people who are addicted and have mental health problems,” she said.
MacEachern said he believed this type of decision might influence how people vote and when asked about whether that should be a consideration given the precarity and risk of living outdoors, he said he believed it was “playing politics with people’s lives.”
“It’s a shame we have to wait that long,” he said. “We’re still not dealing with the issue at hand. We’re only reacting.”
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