Town of St. George Mayor John Detorakis says province-wide amalgamation is affecting the community already in ways that residents might not be aware of. Not only will council have to run again in the fall, but town staff is already being asked to re-apply for their jobs and are not guaranteed that they will have a position when St. George amalgamates with surrounding communities. 

New Brunswick is currently preparing for province-wide amalgamation of local governments, which will culminate in municipal elections in November 2022. For the Town of St. George, that means amalgamating with Blacks Harbour, Back Bay, Bonny River, St. Patrick, Utopia, Pennfield, Seeyles Cove, are Beaver Harbour are merging to become one district known as Eastern Charlotte. The current town council will be completed dissolved in the fall with a full election required for the new district despite the current council only being elected in May 2021. Town staff are now being asked to re-apply for positions in the Eastern Charlotte district, but there won't necessarily be room for all of them when the staff from other amalgamated areas that are now part of Eastern Charlotte also apply for those positions.

"I give a big credit to our our Chief Administrative Officer Jason Gaudet who who maintains an impeccable professionalism and focus on the job while his job is on the line in in five months," says Mayor Detorakis. "It's a very stressful time for for for for for the staff. We have actually felt it because a lot of staff have left St. George because of the uncertainty with everything being up in the air."