Public Safety and the Cost of Not Listening
For a long time now, people in Miramichi have been speaking up about what they’re seeing in their community. They’ve raised concerns about public safety, about rising crime, and about how it’s affecting their day-to-day lives. While much of this has been visible in the downtown core, it has never been limited to one area. This is something being felt across the entire city.
What stood out to me wasn’t just the concern. It was the frustration behind it. People didn’t feel heard. They didn’t feel acknowledged. And many felt that when they did speak up, their concerns were dismissed or reframed in a way that suggested they lacked compassion. That kind of response doesn’t move a conversation forward. It shuts it down.
People can care deeply about those who are struggling and still be concerned about what’s happening in their community. Those things are not in conflict. But when people feel like they are being labelled instead of listened to, trust begins to break down. And once communication starts to break down between a community and its leadership, everything else begins to follow.
That is what led to September 2025. In my role as Chair of the Downtown Newcastle Business District, I had been bringing these concerns forward since 2021. Over time, it became clear that people were losing trust in the process. They didn’t feel like their voices were reaching the table, and they didn’t feel confident they were being taken seriously when they did.
That is why I organized the Public Safety and Community Cohesion Town Hall. Not to create conflict, but to open the door to a conversation that wasn’t happening the way it needed to. Nearly 300 people came out, and thousands more watched online. That kind of response does not happen unless something has been building across a community for a long time.
The video below is the speech I gave that night. It reflects exactly where things stood at that moment. It speaks to what people were experiencing, what we were hearing as an organization, and what needed to change. It also addresses something that is often misunderstood. This is not just a homelessness issue. It is an addiction and public safety issue, and it needs to be addressed with both compassion and accountability.
It also points to a harder truth. When communication is not there, problems do not stay contained. They grow, they spread, and they begin to affect how people feel about their community as a whole. We are seeing that now. Fewer people feel safe. Fewer feel comfortable spending time in certain areas. More people are choosing to stay away. That did not happen overnight, and it will not be fixed overnight either.
But one thing is clear. People expect to be heard, and they expect leadership to listen before things reach this point. That is the shift that needs to happen. Leadership is not just about responding when frustration boils over. It is about being present early, listening consistently, and making sure people know their voices matter.
Public safety needs real action. That part is obvious. But communication needs to change just as much. People should not have to push this hard just to be heard, and they should not have to ever again.
This is how I lead. I show up, I listen, and I act. I believe leadership means being present before problems escalate, not stepping in after the damage is done. It means creating real opportunities for people to be heard and making sure their voices shape the decisions that follow. Miramichi deserves leadership that is engaged, accountable, and willing to have the conversations that matter, even when they are not easy.
t.g.
