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Conservation Council reacts to auditor general report on NB Power

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The Conservation Council of New Brunswick said the auditor general’s report shows NB Power rushed key decisions on the Tantramar project.

Climate researcher Moe Qureshi, the council’s director of climate research and policy, said the findings point to gaps in process, accountability and risk management.

He explained the report raised concerns about how NB Power advanced the project before completing key analysis.

“The major decisions were made before the supporting analysis was complete,” he said.

He said that included signing a 25‑year agreement before receiving approval from the Energy and Utilities Board.

Qureshi said the EUB deemed the project prudent but also found NB Power’s data was incomplete at the start of the hearing and that essential information was only provided midway through the process.

He said that raised questions about whether the utility followed its own governance framework for major capital projects.

He added that NB Power relied on older information when comparing the Tantramar project to alternatives, even though newer data shows cheaper options may be available.

Qureshi said the utility based its comparison on 2023 numbers instead of waiting for updated figures in its 2026 Integrated Resource Plan, expected this summer.

Qureshi pointed to falling battery prices and large‑scale storage projects underway in other provinces.

He said Ontario is procuring 3,000 megawatts of battery storage because it is proving cheaper and helps balance the grid.

“If we have new alternative data and new numbers showing the price of these technologies like batteries and their capabilities, let’s incorporate all that into our decision‑making process and then choose the best project,” he said.

He also raised environmental concerns, noting the plant would be built on the Chignecto Isthmus wildlife corridor and could become one of the province’s top emitters depending on how often it runs.

Qureshi said the project also lacks an Indigenous partnership, another issue highlighted in the Auditor General’s report.

RELATED: Auditor General flags risks in NB Power’s Tantramar project

Qureshi said the findings suggest New Brunswick is “doubling down on the status quo” instead of using updated information to assess cheaper and lower‑emission alternatives.

He said the plant could add about five per cent to power bills when it becomes fully operational in 2029.

“There’s better stuff around us,” he said.

“By not following the governance framework and signing a 25‑year agreement before approval, we’re locking ourselves into a bad decision.”

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New Brunswick seeks feedback on proposed 2026–35 biodiversity strategy

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As New Brunswick maps out it’s enviromental future, advocates say details matter as much as the goals.

On March 24, the government released a draft of its 2026-2035 Biodiversity Strategy to stakeholders.

The document outlines desired tangible goals, and twelve strategy statements that pledge the government of New Brunswick actions to “reduce threats to biodiversity, improve sustainability and enable a broad range of societal contributions”.

The statements include:

  1. Biodiversity considerations are integrated in land use planning and resource management processes
  2. Ecosystem functions and services are maintained, restored, and enhanced
  3. Protected and conserved areas are expanded and continue to conserve New Brunswick’s biodiversity.
  4. Natural spaces are maintained in populated areas
  5. Healthy, connected, and resilient native ecosystems are maintained
  6. The impacts of invasive alien species are minimized or mitigated
  7. The harvest of wild species is carried out sustainably
  8. Biodiversity is considered in the design, establishment, and operation of production land
  9. The impact of pollution on biodiversity is controlled, reduced, or eliminated
  10. Sectors and businesses are aware of risks and accountable for reducing impacts
  11. Financing mechanisms and strategic partnerships support priority conservation efforts
  12. Relevant government agencies have the necessary authority, expertise, and capacity to steward biodiversity

According to a letter by Natural Resources Minister, John Herron, submitted with the document, the draft was released to stakeholders for the organizations to review it, and complete an online survey to indicate their level of confidence in the draft actions and identify concerns, possible risks and gaps.

Heron said in the letter, the draft goals, statements, and actions for New Brunswick, which build on the 2009 biodiversity strategy, were crafted to “align with the global and national biodiversity goals and targets.”

Beverly Gingras, executive director of the Conservation Council of New Brunswick, said the draft gives organizations a chance to provide input.

“It’s a really important document because biodiversity in Canada, globally has been declining,” she said.

With over 100 species at risk in the province, Gingras said she is “happy” with the work the government has done so far to engage different communities, organizations, and partners to address the future of biodiversity in the province.

However, Gingras said more work can be done.

She explained the council is still reviewing the draft but said they are hoping to see the government release a final strategy with a clear framework to deliver the strategies, and good accountability and reporting mechanisms to identify opportunities to correct initiatives if needed.

“We really want to see what the government is hoping to achieve in the next few years, and how they are going to do that with specific indicators,” she said. “If we don’t have those indicators then we could be doing a lot of actions but not actually accomplishing anything.”

Gingras added that the council is also hoping to see how Indigenous rights and leadership will be incorporated in decision making processes.

According to the draft, one of the province’s main goals is to respect and protect Aboriginal and treaty rights in New Brunswick’s biodiversity conservation efforts.

One of the general calls of action in the draft also includes for businesses, conservation, organizations, and all levels of government to seek to create more opportunities for First Nations communities and Indigenous experts to “inform and guide New Brunswick efforts.”

Gingras said it was important for the council to see what kind of mechanism the government could implement for the co-development of these strategies with Indigenous groups.

“If it’s not in the draft, we’ll be providing some recommendations on how to improve the draft,” she said.

According to the document, stakeholders were able to complete the survey by April 17, but Gingras clarified the deadline was extended until the week of April 25.

In Minister’s Heron letter, he said the final report will be released sometime this summer.

Woman in a blue winter jacket poses for a picture

Fuel spill near Hampton prompts calls for continued environmental oversight

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Advocates say close monitoring is needed to limit the environmental impact of a fuel spill along Highway 1.

A tanker truck rolled over April 8 near kilometre marker 153, outside Hampton, spilling about 36,000 litres of fuel.

Highway 1 was closed in both directions for several days following the crash.

The Department of Environment and Local Government and remediation contractors took steps to mitigate potential impacts on the public, the environment and nearby infrastructure.

Beverly Gingras, executive director of the Conservation Council of New Brunswick, said the government’s response to the spill was effective, but added that continuous monitoring will be necessary to avoid serious environmental impacts.

Gingras said soil contamination, as well as impacts on waterways such as the Hammond River and nearby drinking water wells, are among the main concerns given the volume of fuel involved.

“It’s really hard to tell how much of the fuel has actually gone into the streams, so monitoring is going to be very important, and I hope that they are doing that,” she said.

RELATED: UPDATE: Highway 1 eastbound lane reopens after truck crash

RELATED: Detours remain on Highway 1 eastbound

RELATED: UPDATE: Highway 1 westbound reopens, eastbound still closed

According to an April 15 social media post by the Hammond River Angling Association, officials confirmed that some of the spilled fuel entered the upper portion of Whalen Brook, a tributary of the Hammond River, during the initial accident.

The association said the release — identified as gasoline — was quickly contained by Pario Engineering and Environmental Sciences, a company contracted by the organization responsible for the spill. Mitigation measures included containment booms, silt fences, absorbent pads, temporary dams and a vacuum truck to remove any visible sheen.

The association said the Department of Environment and Local Government indicated the mitigation efforts have been effective and officials are confident no fuel moved beyond the containment boom on Route 860.

Gingras said that if the fuel had reached the Hammond River, it could have threatened Atlantic wild salmon, an endangered species in New Brunswick, as well as other organisms.

She said this type of contamination can seriously affect aquatic species by disrupting key biological processes.

“It’s a very serious issue, and I think the government appears to be handling it as a very serious issue,” Gingras said.

The Hammond River Angling Association said Pario Engineering is developing a long-term surface water and soil monitoring plan, as well as an ecological assessment of the site and surrounding tributaries.

The association added it will conduct its own independent surface water monitoring and sampling through the 2026 season. That work will include ongoing water quality monitoring in the affected Hammond River tributary and downstream sections of the river.

N.B. Conservation Council concerns surrounding province’s new mining strategy

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The provincial government released its Comprehensive Minerals Strategy on March 2, 2026, in Toronto. Premier Susan Holt and Natural Resources Minister John Herron reiterated the prioritization of economic growth, development, and new jobs.

The province’s new strategy speaks to attracting outside investment and becoming competitive globally, but does not explain how it will protect the people and their communities that are affected by mining projects.

Conservation Council executive director Beverly Gingras says jobs and investment are not the only thing New Brunswickers are looking for.

“They want to be safe in those jobs, right? They want to make sure their environment is safe, they want to make sure their health is safe, they want to make sure the wellbeing of the communities is safe, and they want to make sure that that job is going to be long-lasting,” said Gingras.

Gingras says New Brunswickers are the most important investor that the government needs to reach to convince that mining in the province is a good idea.

“I don’t think that the strategy they have put together does a good job of that.”

The executive director says that although it makes sense to focus on attracting those in the mining industry with this new strategy, it also is a good idea to speak to people who are going to be impacted by these projects.

“Organizations that work with protecting people’s health, other indigenous groups such as the Grand Council, speaking to people that work and live locally about what is important to them in terms of industrial development, and what they would be looking for in a strategy that’s going to reassure them that their investment, time, money, environment, and health is going to be taken seriously when developing mining in the province,” she said.

Gingras points out that mining is not new to New Brunswick, that citizens can see the legacy that mining has left behind.

“There’s lots of evidence in this province where mining investors have come in, mined for a little while and then prices go down and the businesses leave. The local people are left behind to pick up the pieces, all the environmental damages, damages to their health, damages to their local economies,” said Gingras. “I am not reassured that cycle is going to be broken, and I don’t think most New Brunswickers who’ve lived through these cycles are reassured either.”

She referenced the Caribou Mine and Mount Pleasant Mine as a few examples of projects that have left a scar.

“With a lot of these mines, the ones that have tailings pawns, that means the public is paying for tailings management, making sure that there’s no toxic effluent going into our lands and streams. The public has to pay for that when the companies leave, so that’s coming right out of public purse,” said Gingras.

Gingras says she recognizes the importance of the province’s need for jobs and money coming into the province, but argues that the health of the public and their environment is equally important.

“The government has signaled that they want to review regulations, they want to make sure projects are done speedily in terms of environmental assessments. They are in a deficit, so are they going to be cutting money to environmental groups, to their own departments, the ones that are supposed to be monitoring and making sure that our health and safety are protected?” Gingras said. “If we see the government start to take shortcuts in terms of regulations and process and then also reduce budgets, then that is a signal to me that they are not concerned about how these large industrial activities are having an impact on New Brunswickers now and in the future.”