Our Accomplishments

advances in environmental protection. Since its inception, members of RED DOT have spent countless hours attending meetings and conferences and reading hundreds of documents to understand the complexities of environmental issues. As a result, we have concluded that current legislation and myriad policies and guidelines do not provide adequate protection for coastal areas and wetlands. As of the end of 2023, the Red Dot Association has over 2000 supporters of which over 500 are property owners or lessors in Pointe-du-Chêne.

was formed with one of our members as the lead. The lead member prepared a draft briefing note for the Minister of Health with all the lab test results that had been received from the Department of Health through Access to Information Act requests. The briefing note included a cover email that mentioned the issue of fecal contamination had been investigated almost 20 years before and was the reason SBWA was formed. The lead member recommended that the Watershed Association undertake DNA samples of the water for analysis. The samples clearly indicated that there was human fecal matter contaminating the water. Red Dot continues to monitor water quality at Parlee Beach and Shediac Bay.

Anglican Parish to the Town of Shediac and the by-law containing 14 conditions regarding the campground development. In 2017 through the efforts of the Red Dots, the property was delineated by the Department of the Environment to show more wetlands than anticipated. In June 2019, the campground plan was reduced to 111 sites. The original condition to start development in 2 years was extended 3 times to 2021. In 2017, a GNB minister who was a proponent of the campground recused himself from the project. In 2015, an illegal trail was built on Park wetlands and was properly relocated in June 2018. In 2020, the Red Dot Association wrote a detailed comprehensive plan for an ecological park to replace any plans of a future trailer park proposed by the Anglican Parish of Shediac. Because of continued involvement by the Red Dots and concerns raised about environmental issues by residents, the Anglican Parish changed their priorities to a more environmentally friendly plan. As of today, we are not aware of any proposed development for this property.

to protect them from development that would be harmful to the surrounding community of Pointe-du-Chêne. Red Dot produced signs saying “No Mega Campground Here” which were prominently displayed on residential properties. Each week we received enthusiastic support and collected over 800 signatures on a petition to protect the wetlands along the Northumberland Strait.

understand the importance of stewardship and protecting the environment, Red Dot sent letters and announcements to the Bishop of Fredericton and all Anglican parishes in New Brunswick.

development and by-law amendments to enable the development. No consideration was given by Members of Council to any of the public concerns raised at the hearing. The amendments were passed without discussion or contemplation of the interests or concerns of more than 2000 Shediac and Point du Chéne residents. Residents of Shediac-Point du Chéne appealed the Council’s decision to the New Brunswick Assessment and Planning Appeal Board. Acting Chairman, Robert M. Boudreau responded that the Board had no jurisdiction to hear our appeal and that any appeal should be directed to the Court of Queen’s Bench or the next municipal election.

Red Dots sent a letter to then Premier Brian Gallant regarding public outcry over changes to municipal bylaws and the Shediac Municipal Development Plan that allows the campground to go forward, and conflict of interest by government officials. A letter was also sent to Hon. Brian Kenny, Minister of Environment & Local Government, who replied that he had no authority to intervene in the matter. All issues raised by Red Dot and the public were disregarded at all levels of government.

2016. This resulted in the replacement of a decades-old water testing protocol designed to minimize the negative impacts of poor water quality on tourism. As of June 2018, the Canadian Recreational Water Quality Guidelines govern water quality testing at all provincial parks. Red Dots continue to monitor progress on the 14 recommendations presented in the April 2018 Parlee Beach Water Quality Report. The Red Dot Association continues to lobby for qPCR water quality testing over the present system which posts results 24 hours after the samples are taken.

using the government records to show that the concerns were valid and that the problems needed to be resolved. The Press were copied on the letter and they became involved with the CBC launching their own investigation. Red Dot members responded to numerous media requests for interviews.

A continued request for the status of this report was responded to by the Red Dots page by page. In 2023, the Department of Tourism announced a new lift station that will remove contaminated surface water before dredging the creek in 2024.

resolved. The media joined the Facebook page and follow the discussions. Throughout 2015-2023 Red Dots keep their now 1000 concerned followers informed through a bi-monthly newsletter. We encouraged people to write to the government and local newspapers.

dog waste station prototype was designed in 2017. A request was sent to the Department of Health and the proposal was approved and funding granted.

where provincial guidelines and statements in regulations were not being followed. Replacement of these pipes, and the removal of the park’s lift station, began in the spring of 2018 and was completed for the 2019 season.

Parlee Beach was a demonstration march in July 2017. Approximately 250 concerned citizens marched the entire length of Main Street in Shediac culminating at Town Hall where speeches were presented to illustrate how important the issues are and to call upon politicians to get involved. Extensive media coverage of this event helped to further educate the public about the serious environmental impact of the loss of the valuable wetlands. Poor water quality was highlighted as a public health problem.

keynote speakers including Autumn Peltier, an Indigenous youth spokesperson. The objective of the conference was to increase public awareness of the importance of watershed lands and the role of wetlands in absorbing storm surges. There were 160 participants in attendance at the conference.

government, and to encourage them to act now to correct current problems and prevent future ones. SWWAT is asking for a moratorium on commercial coastal development until the multiple sources of contamination are determined and corrected.

Access to Information Act requests and communicating directly with the provincial politicians responsible for protecting our environment and health.

The subject of discussion was SWWAT’s Report and Recommendations concerning coastal wetlands. The recommendations were generated by the 160 plus delegates who attended the April 23, 2018 SWWAT Atlantic Conference Protection and Restoration of Coastal Wetlands held at the Multi-purpose Centre in Shediac. One of the 4 questions Candidates were asked to answer was,” If elected, what would be your priorities for preserving the environment in the face of sea level rise, climate change, increased tourism and coastline development? PC Marcel Doiron, NDP Lisa Potvin and Greta Doucet representing the Green Party attended the meeting.

part of many conversations. And most notably, several presentations were organized and delivered over the four-year period since the inception of the Red Dot Association and later its affiliate SWWAT (Save our Waters, Wetlands and Tourism). T-shirts displaying “Save our Shores” were worn by residents.

a dialogue on the importance of our water resources. A formidable speaker, Autumn Peltier, who was also our conference keynote speaker at the Atlantic Conference on Coastal Conservation and Restoration on April 23-24, 2018, agreed to present her story and her quest to the students and their teachers.

began discussions with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to acquire the lighthouses and submitted a business plan in 2022. We continue to get updates on the First Nations consultation process and are awaiting the decision on our plan.

amendments to P14-36-6P of the town’s Municipal Development Plan by-law and Z14-44-31Z of the town’s Zoning by-law. This would allow buildings in the sea level rise zone to be moved without adhering to the requirement to be elevated to 4.3 metres. These amendments are contrary to all evidence of climate change and sea level rise including the province’s policy concerning coastal flooding, the towns own by-laws, recommendations of Regional Service Commission 7, and the Town of Shediac’s Planning Advisory Board (PRAC). On June 29, 2020, Bill Beliveau made a presentation to town council expressing his concerns and stated, “Council wants to exempt the Town of Shediac from its own by-law. Hypocrisy is clear in the message conveyed, “Do as I say not as I do”. Despite the Red Dots and public expressed concerns, Shediac continued the project with the exemptions.

Of the 14 recommendations presented to government by the Steering Committee in its final report in 2018, the development of a Shediac Bay Watershed Management Plan (WMP) was identified as an important next step in addressing water quality concerns in the Shediac Bay Watershed. A sample of the many actions and solutions were water quality and stormwater management, education and awareness, land development, regulations, compliance and enforcement, and wetlands, buffers and riparian zone management.

and Local Government requesting answers to 15 questions in the following 5 categories regarding the Water Management Plan (WMP): What is the intent and scope of the Management Plan, How will the end result differ from many other studies/reports, Public participation, Provincial responsibility, and our Association’s involvement.

the Anglican church is stewardship of the earth, the Red Dot Association submitted this proposal.

Main Objectives:

• Maintain flora and fauna.
• Minimize contamination from water run-off.
• Reduce threats to personal safety by storm surges.
• Protect coastal and inland areas from storm surges.
• Minimize expenditures (storm damage repair, and control of coastal erosion)
• Offer a year-round eco-tourism experience.
• Wetlands play an essential role in water management. They are water towers, flood-control reservoirs and filtration plants. Wetlands are also critical in stopping the current crisis of wildlife extinction. Marshes, swamps and bogs provide habitat for hundreds of Canada’s species at risk like the Eastern Pe-wee. We need to ensure that in Canada’s new pledge to protect 30 percent of our lands and inland waters by 2030 that important wetlands such as this one are among them. While protecting biodiversity, an eco-park will help these two communities to adapt to a changing climate. It will signal a changing relationship between us and the natural world. This area was identified as a unique feature of the environment in 2017.

environmental concerns and eco-tourism along the coast from Kouchibouguac to Murray Beach. If there was enough interest, we would have applied for a joint project grant called the Community-based climate action request for proposals at Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC). The objective of this request for proposals was to support projects that would develop knowledge, tools and/or skills that engage communities in climate action. The types of support, outreach and resources provided through Community-based climate action projects included workshops, networking, training, virtual platforms, climate awareness activities – including those related to Indigenous Knowledge and more. These activities would enable communities to act on climate change. The CAF was contributing up to $15 million over five years to support Community-based climate action projects. In partnership with Save Wetlands, Waters and Tourism (SWWAT), the Red Dot Association applied for funding to begin the creation of a network of trails along our coastline but unfortunately our application for funds was not approved.

we hoped that there would be some commentary on the documents that the public had provided. Unfortunately, these were not referred to. One of our most significant recommendations had been concerning Parlee Beach. Red Dot sent a letter to Crystale Harty, Department of Environment and Local Government to state our continued concerns about water quality at Parlee Beach.

The draft plan for the Shediac Bay Watershed states that it will implement actions to help protect and improve water quality in the Shediac Bay Watershed. This will in turn help maintain good water quality at Parlee Beach. The GSSC is not studying the impacts of the diffusing of treated sewage on the water quality of Parlee Beach, and the SBWA has no projects related to Parlee Beach. We understood that diminished water quality at Parlee Beach was the reason the Shediac Bay Watershed Management Plan was initiated and one of the principal reasons the Greater Shediac Sewage Commission’s Wastewater Treatment Facility Upgrade is occurring.

• Lack of Compliance with Sector Guidelines for Wastewater Treatment
• Low Standard for Effluent Quality
• No Design for Outfall Pipe and Diffuser System
• Failure to Address the GSSC Collection System
• Planned Bypass of Untreated Sewage
• Insufficient Attention to Climate Change
• No Maintenance Plan
• Failure to Address Parlee Beach as a Unique Feature of the Environment

Each concern was reviewed in detail in the presentation. Additionally, Red Dot send 4 letters to the Greater Shediac Sewerage Commission with many additional questions and concerns about the project EIA and the lack of or insufficient responses to our concerns. Red Dot continues to be engaged in the progress of this project.

On July 13 and 23, 2021, oranges were marked for identification and thrown into the strait at 9 different locations. Although some oranges were lost to tides and winds, all of the oranges that were recovered over the two-day period had moved in a westerly direction.

in the past 20 years, they did not quality for ETF funding as a Local Service District. The Red Dot Association decided to develop and submit to the Environmental Trust Fund a business plan to develop a Climate Change Adaptation Plan for the community of Pointe du Chêne.

illegally dumped 10,000 loads of fill on the site in 2003, destroying regulated wetland and 3 acres of Provincially Significant Wetland. Despite a Ministerial order, the wetland was never restored. The development was stalled in 2016 because the sightlines at the intersection of Rt.133 did not meet DTI regulations. However, in 2022-2023 DTI considered implementing less restrictive safety standards. After much pushback by our associations and public outcry about environmental issues, the development was put on hold because of the existing unsafe sightlines at the intersection. There was never a 2 for 1 wetland compensation or restoration for the Provincially Significant Wetland.

and is administered by the Red Dots.

The dog waste project has completed its 6th year and once again has proven to be effective and appreciated. The usage of these stations has increased each year due to their popularity and convenience. Clean trails and beach areas are what people want and expect. The stations collected approximately 6,000 lbs over the summer.

research and draft the CCAP. We conducted a successful public consultation meeting to discuss results of a survey of 119 residents and concerned citizens and an update of the status of the project. Completion of the adaptation plan will be March 2024 following presentation to Shediac Town Council for adoption.

and surface water contamination in the Tidal Creek. These projects are to be completed in conjunction with the EIA prepared by Englobe in 2022 and will address surface water that comes into the lagoon from Parlee Beach Provincial Park, parking lots and the community. Bioswales (cattails) will be built around the lagoon. Tenders were to go out in early November to build a new lift station with a UV system to purify the water entering the lagoon. Dredging of the creek will only occur next fall (2024) after this lift station has been purifying the water through next summer season with three catch basins. The dredging may coincide with beach replenishment. Following the dredging, the tidal creek will have winter and spring of 2025 to clear out the remaining contaminating water into the bay.

presentation on the history of the GSSC and an update of the project. He stated that they provide service to 93% of the amalgamated town of Shediac. Chris explained that the project was delayed because of the high price of fuel and the delay in getting federal funding for the next phase. The original cost estimate of $32M is now expected to be $50M. When asked if the new plant would have sufficient capacity to meet the extensive development in the GSSC service district, Joey, Chris and Harry explained that capacity is not the issue, but sewage collection is a problem because of undersized piping in areas of new development. There was a lot of discussion about the proposed location of the outfall pipe. Although the location has been deemed to meet minimum requirements, there are concerns that meeting minimum requirements is not appropriate for a location adjacent to public beaches.

There are concerns that discharge from the GSSC treatment plant could be causing Parlee Beach water quality issue. Chris stated a Parlee Beach water quality study that he was involved with identified no sources of contamination. Harry stated that the public doesn’t appreciate the quality of water released from their facility, best in the province, while there are many other sources of contamination. Michael Chadwick stated that every day, many bags of nutrients get deposited in the water at Cap Brule from the treatment plant, resulting in an infestation of algae on the ocean floor hundreds of meters wide from Parlee Beach to Cap Bimet. Nutrient removal is expensive but should be considered in the GSSC upgrade in order to protect our beaches and coastal waters. Jolyne stated there are many sources of contamination finding ways into the Bay, and people generally don’t think about water run-off as causing contamination.

There were comments that residents don’t feel they are getting regular communication regarding the project or results of studies and reviews as well as responses to public inquiries or recommendations. Joey stated that all new and relevant information is being posted on the GSSC website for public review. Tim stated that the Red Dot Association entered the EIA process on the enhancement of the GSSC facility with an understanding that we could build relationships with the GSSC committee, Dept. of Environment, the Federal Government, and the project management company Englobe. From our standpoint, this has not happened. John Filliter, Past President, CBCA, requested that GSSC notify immediately the Cap Brule Community Association of any overflow event of the Lift Station (#12) which empties on the Cap Brule beach. Bill Vance, President, CBCA, confirmed this information can be received by him and quickly reported to the residents. Don LeBlanc suggested that any Lift Station overflows be reported promptly to the residents/tourists via media and social media.

Quality Guidelines allow. This resulted in 23 no swimming advisories with 16 occurring in August and early September. The following results were recorded one day during this period:

Families unknowingly swam in this severely contaminated water because the test results were not posted until the next day. This delay of test results provides no protection for swimmers and that is why the Red Dots have been pushing for qPCR testing for Parlee Beach. Given the total results for the summer, if the Blue Flag testing protocol didn’t allow choosing which results could be used, Parlee Beach would no longer meet the standard of a Blue Flag beach.

At least nine letters were written to the Minister of Health, Minister of the Environment and the Minister of Tourism and their Assistant Deputy Ministers. The letters came from different people and included quotes from government documents, graphs of the contamination levels, the importance of qPRC testing and personal anecdotes from people who had become seriously ill a day after they had been swimming. Minister Crossman replied to several of these letters, but his responses did not address these questions. There was no response from the Minister of Health.