New BrunswickHousing Minister David Hickey says consultation could have been better before the province chose a Fredericton housing site for homeless people and provoked a heated public meeting this week.Area’s city councillor hopes next time will be betterSam Farley · CBC News · Posted: Nov 14, 2025 4:28 PM EST | Last Updated: 2 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 5 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.The New Brunswick government decided the location for a homeless housing project in Fredericton before consulting or informing the public. (Silas Brown/CBC)Housing Minister David Hickey says consultation could have been better when the province settled on a Fredericton housing site for homeless people and provoked a heated public meeting this week.The province recently announced plans for 24-unit development of tiny homes for Forest Hill Road in the style of 12 Neighbours, another community of tiny homes in Fredericton.At a stormy meeting on Wednesday, many residents from the neighbourhood said the consultation was poor, and they lamented the fact the province decided on the site before seeking public input.In an interview with Information Morning Fredericton on Friday, Hickey admitted the province could have done a better job with consultation. He suggested the problem was that too small an area was deemed in need of being informed of the project, which is planned for a once-forested vacant lot next to the on-ramps to the Princess Margaret Bridge on the city’s south side.“I think the important thing for me is to remember that obviously, the radius was not big enough for who we initially informed through our door-knocking, and through our information work that was done by the developer,” Hickey said. Housing Minister David Hickey said too few people in the area got information about the project. (Jacques Poitras/CBC)He said the intention of the public meeting had been to tell residents what was happening and seek feedback on how the project could best work for the neighbourhood.The province “has made changes” to its plan as a result of feedback at the meeting, he said. WATCH | ‘We recognize that there should have been more done’:Minister agrees province could have done better job consulting on housing projectTwenty-four small housing units for the homeless will be built on property on Forest Hill Road in Fredericton. The public was informed after the decision was made.Fredericton Coun. Greg Ericson said at the meeting that he didn’t know the location of the development before it was announced.In an interview with Information Morning Fredericton, Ericson said he didn’t find out the location until he saw the property being cleared.For homeless shelters, the community has been consulted in the past, Ericson said, but in the Forest Hill Road case, there was no need for a rezoning and therefore the consultation process was different.“So they were able to just go ahead with elements of the project much faster than the communities ever seen before,” Ericson said. “And so the community felt left behind.”The transitional housing is being put up ultimately for good reasons, he said.Coun. Greg Ericson said nearby residents felt left behind by the way the project proceeded, since the land was already zoned for it. (CBC)“They are trying to do good, but the community needs to be included in these conversations,” Ericson said.“And they needed to hear about the project in order to dispel any of the myths or any of the misunderstandings they might have.”But at this point, “we’ve got to make the best of it,” Erickson said, noting that residents had important concerns at the meeting. “I don’t know if there will be another public meeting, but I think it’s going to be a situation in the future where we need to have these public meetings where these facilities go long in advance.”Hickey said the city was consulted and helped select the location. He also said the process of finding and consulting on the Fredericton site had been “informed” by similar sites in Saint John the province has recently set up.“The exact same process was followed,” Hickey said. “Site selection and partnership with the municipality. And then make sure that the community gets informed and we can adapt the project to make sure it works for the community.”He said he was committed to “build back the trust” with neighbours and the larger community. “What the evidence says consistently and what our own experiences with the neighbourly homes projects in Saint John are, is that these projects do not have an adverse impact on communities.”“That’s the same process that we followed in this case. But it’s clear that it didn’t go far enough to make sure that the community felt like their concerns were heard.”Hickey said this project had come together in the last six weeks, and the nearby school had been involved. But at the meeting on Wednesday, Hickey had said the school had not been consulted, because it was 300 metres away from the site, not 200 metres, which is the range at which a school would be involved in consultations.Many residents voiced concern that the school was too close, and Hickey said those concerns were heard.“So that’s why we’re enhancing our security measures,” he said. “We’re going to make sure that the school is part of the security decisions that we make to make sure that they feel comfortable, to make sure that the parents and students stay informed.”Increased foot patrols by private security could be a good solution, he added, “to make sure that we can build that confidence in this project.”“We recognize that there should have been more done to make sure that the community felt like they were part of the process.”ABOUT THE AUTHORSam Farley is a Fredericton-based reporter at CBC New Brunswick. Originally from Boston, he is a journalism graduate of the University of King’s College in Halifax. He can be reached at sam.farley@cbc.ca
Minister admits province could have involved community more when choosing housing site
