St. Stephen Residents Concerned Over Rise in Crime, Drug Use And Homelessness

St. Stephen is experiencing a surge in homelessness with many residents expressing concern at the regular March council meeting last Wednesday that the rise in homelessness has been accompanied by a rise in crime, including theft, drug-related offenses, and property crimes.

"I live on King Street and I have a business downtown," said Spree Boutique owner Kristan Cloney. "Our home has had at least three attempted break-ins in the last month."

Local RCMP attended the meeting and encouraged residents to call the RCMP at 506-466-7030 whenever they encounter concerning situations so that officers can not only intervene, but also collect important data. This data could ultimately result in more police officers being stationed in the area. The province has budgeted to add 80 more RCMP officers within the province this year, 51 of which will be placed in rural locations like St. Stephen. 

"Don't start judging. Is that criminal enough to call the police? Just report it," said an RCMP officer in the meeting.

During discussion, some residents expressed concern that the town's warming station, which was established in late 2022 to help the growing homeless population, has increased crime and homelessness in the downtown core. Mayor MacEachern said the crisis can't be blamed on one source, however, insisting that many factors are at play from the growing drug epidemic, to rise in cost of living, to the lack of mental health resources, all of which require more support from the province.
 

"Maybe the government will listen to us more. But that's all we can hope for, because, like I said, we get a long road ahead of us," said Mayor Allan MacEachern.

St. Croix MLA Kathy Bothus said residents should feel free to call her office at 506-466-1449 to voice their concerns as well.

Councillor Emily Rodas added that easy access to drugs in the online era is also a new modern challenge that further complicates the issue. "I think we need to remember we're in a time where you could pretty much order just about anything online," commented Rodas.

On Monday, the St. Stephen Area Chamber of Commerce sent out a press release voicing their commitment to taking action against the rise in theft, vandalism and concerns over safety in the area. They are currently engaging their members to garner feedback to bring to the attention of council and local RCMP.

If you're looking to follow Council meetings more closely, from this point forward, all regular council meetings for the municipal district of St. Stephen will have 5-camera coverage on St. Stephen and CHCO's Facebook page as well as CHCO's TV channel thanks to a partnership between St. Stephen and CHCO.  

The provincial government gave Kelly Cove Salmon Ltd, which is a subsidiary of Cooke's Aquaculture, the green light to go ahead with the construction of a $72 million land-based Atlantic salmon post-smolt aquaculture facility in Bayside at Champlain Industrial Park. The approval of the project, which will require the use of a significant amount of water from ground source wells, came after Kelly Cove Salmon successfully completed an Environmental Impact Assessment with St. Andrews-based engineering firm Sorensen. The facility is expected to create over 340 direct construction jobs, 222 indirect jobs and approximately a dozen jobs once the facility is operational. The project will take three years to complete.