Local Newsmaker of the Year!

Last week, I was asked to join a panel on CBC Radio in Saint John to discuss who we thought was a local newsmaker of the year, and this morning, I was on CBC Information Morning to talk about it.

I spent a lot of time last week speaking with people throughout the city, and I heard many different opinions; however, several events kept coming up with everyone I talked to.

This helped guide me in my selection for local newsmaker of the year.

I have chosen: Irving Oil.

While Irving Oil seems to be in the news quite often, I felt that there were several major events that took place in 2009 that justify Irving Oil as being the top local newsmaker of the year.

1) Decision to not move ahead with a second refinery

This was major news across Greater Saint John.  It was something that many residents felt was a “sure thing”.  Because of this, many people were shocked that it wasn’t going ahead after so much “energy hub” talk.

This massive development that would have: employed thousands of workers for extended periods of time,  caused many spin-off developments, and driven up property prices.

2) Irving Oil Headquarters

The headquarters plan was announced last year; however, this year has been full of discussions and debate over land sales, transfers, and construction.

Most recently, pre-construction work at the site began with 350 steel beams being driven into the ground to anchor the weight of the proposed building.

3) Canaport begins receiving liquefied natural gas (LNG)

There has been plenty of controversy with Canaport LNG over the years; however, no matter where you stand on the issue, the fact that it is now operational is big news.

• This is the first LNG terminal built on the east coast of North America in 30 years, and the first LNG receiving and regassification terminal in Canada.
• The LNG facility has a nominal capacity of 1.2 Bcf/day, enough to heat 5 million homes.

Local Trends

In addition to selecting a local newsmaker of the year, I’ve also been thinking about local trends, and there has been one that comes to my mind right away – condos in Saint John!

I think that this is an area that Saint John seems to be lacking in; however, this year, there has been an explosion in both the interest and availability of condos.

The best part is that much of the availability is in the uptown area.  Besides the obvious benefit of being an affordable option to many people, ownership also brings a lot of pride, which directly improves the neighborhood.

Predictions for 2010

I also have a prediction for 2010:

• If the decision on Peel Plaza goes ahead, the municipal tax rate will skyrocket, and the population will decrease.

People don’t live in a city because it has a fancy police station.  They live there because it provides the services that they want and need at a fair price (tax rate).

As a taxpayer, I feel that there is much work that must be done on the infrastructure side before any new building can go up!