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Tracadie paid nearly $50K to consultants close to the P.C. government

The regional municipality of Tracadie ended up paying almost $50,000 to Prospectus Associates, an Ottawa-based lobbying firm. (René Landry/Radio Canada - image credit)
The regional municipality of Tracadie ended up paying almost $50,000 to Prospectus Associates, an Ottawa-based lobbying firm. (René Landry/Radio Canada - image credit)

Two consultants with close ties to the governing Progressive Conservative party were paid $50,000 by the regional municipality of Tracadie to lobby the provincial government, according to documents obtained by Radio-Canada.

The municipality hired Éric Pelletier, a former executive assistant in the Bernard Lord PC government, and Diane Carey, a candidate for the PCs in the last provincial election.

They helped organize meetings for the mayor and councillors with provincial ministers.

The initial contract of $20,000 was with Prospectus Associates, an Ottawa-based lobbying firm where Pelletier works. The total amount ended up at close to $50,000.

Radio-Canada
Radio-Canada

Tracadie mayor Denis Losier said the two were hired for their abilities, not their political connections.

"It wasn't a prerequisite for hiring them. We wanted to find people who were competent."

But Losier also acknowledged that keeping "lines of communication" open with the PC government is important when the community is represented by an opposition Liberal MLA.

Tracadie MLA Keith Chiasson is the Liberal critic for local government and frequently goes toe-to-toe with Local Government Minister Daniel Allain in the legislature.

"I'm sure that attacking the government or being negative doesn't open a better line of communication," the mayor said.

Chiasson rejected that, saying he's been able to arrange meetings with ministers for constituents despite being in opposition.

'Shocking,' says MLA

He called the hiring of PC-connected lobbyists "shocking" and said it reminded him of old-style politics that can erode the public's confidence in the system.

Roger Doiron, a former president of the Association francophone des municipalités du Nouveau-Brunswick, said he'd never heard of a municipality hiring lobbyists or consultants in dealing with the province.

Prospectus's name does not appear on invoices obtained by Radio-Canada through a right-to-information request. The invoices were issued by a numbered company, 723558 N.B. Inc. and listed work done by Pelletier and Carey.

Tracadie's CEO told Radio-Canada that Pelletier asked that the work be billed to the numbered company.

Jacques Poitras/CBC
Jacques Poitras/CBC

Pelletier said he would not comment on work he does for clients.

Carey said her own consulting company had not been hired by the municipality, and she had done work to support Pelletier. She refused to comment further.

Losier said the municipality turned to consultants after losing its CEO in June 2021 and having trouble recruiting a replacement, which he called "an extraordinary situation."

In the meantime, Tracadie needed "a bridge between council's decisions and provincial civil servants in different departments so we could advance files and get good information."

For example, he said there were discussions with the province about who is responsible for maintenance of roads that became part of the regional municipality when it was created in 2014.