Standing room only at town hall meeting on public safety in Miramichi

Miramichi, N.B., residents gathered to discuss public safety at a meeting on Wednesday night.

A town hall meeting on downtown public safety was standing room only in Miramichi, N.B., on Wednesday night.

Hundreds of people filled the Kin Centre, with others listening outside the building, to discuss concerns about vandalism and open drug use in downtown Newcastle.

The meeting was organized by the Downtown Newcastle Business District, and was attended by politicians at the municipal, provincial, and federal level, as well as the Miramichi Police Force.

The town hall meeting included an open-mic session, where residents were able to ask questions or voice concerns.

Resident Doug White said he was disappointed about what he called a lack of leadership on the issue.

“I came here tonight as a small business owner thinking we were going to get some solutions and there were absolutely none,” said White.

Advocates for the homeless community also attended the meeting, saying the unhoused population had been unfairly blamed for crime downtown.

“Myself and these other advocates came out tonight to show our unhoused neighbours that not everybody here feels that way about them,” said resident Erin Lee.

Last week, Miramichi city councillors approved a motion for the city’s police force to report back with a safety plan in downtown Newcastle. The force said officer patrols in the area have already increased, on foot and by bike.

Police Chief Brian Cummings said a ‘neighbourhood watch’ program would soon be returning to Miramichi, which garnered applause in the Kin Centre.

Miramichi Mayor Adam Lordon said he’d be pushing the provincial government to establish more outreach workers and ‘community navigators’ (to assist in housing and employment) within the city.

“Per capita they have way more of these in areas such like Saint John than we do,” said Lordon. “It’s time for Miramichi to have the same level of resources.”

Sam Johnston, the Liberal MLA for Miramichi Bay-Neguac, said he was open to having some outreach services relocated to other parts of the city from downtown Newcastle.

“And what that would do, in my opinion, is reach out to more clients in different areas and give a period of reprieve to the areas of our city that are overwhelmed and need support,” said Johnston.

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