Saint John Board of Trade calls for urgent meeting on Harbour Bridge

The Harbour Bridge in Saint John, New Brunswick is a vital part of the Atlantic Gateway system, as such the Saint John Board of Trade with representatives from Access Atlantica, Enterprise Saint John and the Atlantic Provinces Trucking Association held two productive meetings this past week with the Provincial Minister of Transportation, the Honourable Denis Landry and Minister Jack Keir on Thursday, and the Member of Parliament for Saint John, Mr. Rodney Weston on Friday. As a result of these meetings, the Saint John Board of Trade has respectfully requested the Premier and the Minister of Atlantic Gateway meet to discuss this critical issue within the next two weeks.

“Our meetings with both Minister Landry and Mr. Weston were very frank and open; the Harbour Bridge is a crucial piece of infrastructure for Atlantic Canada’s international trade that cannot be devalued. The four parties involved with the running of the Bridge need to create an immediate solution and a long term plan for the continued operation of the Bridge. We feel the best way to achieve this will be by having the Federal and Provincial governments meet face to face to thoroughly discuss all aspects of the issue and come to an agreement, which all four parties can support to ensure repairs begin this season” said Imelda Gilman, President of the Saint John Board of Trade. “This is very time sensitive and we feel the most efficient and effective method of obtaining a solution to this crisis is to have both the federal and provincial governments meet within the next two weeks”.

The Saint John Board of Trade has offered to facilitate the meeting if necessary and will follow up with the recipients in the coming days to monitor progress.

The Saint John Board of Trade is a nationally accredited business organization dedicated to fostering an economic climate that enhances growth, prosperity, and an improved quality of life in the community. With more than 1,000 members, representing 600 small, medium, and large businesses and organizations and therefore, the interests of more than 30,000 citizens, the Board is a dynamic advocate and the principal voice for the business community of Greater Saint John. The elected Board of Directors is representative of the diversity of the membership and their concerns.