Secret land deal near Parlee Beach was for sports facility, says Shediac LSD chair

A secret deal between the town of Shediac and the province for a parcel of land near Parlee Beach was about nothing more than a regional sports facility, according to the chair of the local service district.

Chuck Steeves says he understands why opponents of a proposed mega-campground fear the worst, but says the plan for the seven-hectare site at Parlee Beach Provincial Park was for "soccer fields and other young people's activities."

"It's all that sort of recreational anything you'd see in a normal municipal recreational field," Steeves said.

Liberal cabinet minister Victor Boudreau, the MLA for Shediac-Cap Pele, confirmed that the memorandum of understanding signed in 2014 was to allow for a sports facility on the land, which is part of a provincial park.

He also confirmed the town put the plan on hold and opted to put the soccer fields closer to two schools in the town.

Resident doesn't buy it

But one of the Pointe-du-Chne residents says he's still not convinced there's no link to a controversial 600 to 700-site campground proposed for a nearby parcel of land.

Arthur Melanson, a critic of the proposed campground, points out the province redacted details of the proposal when it provided a copy of the 2014 agreement to residents.

"If it's for a soccer field, what is so confidential about a soccer field?" Melanson said.

He said the MOU was signed around the time the campground was proposed, then seemed to be put on hold at the same time the campground project stalled.

Details of proposal kept secret

In March, the town of Shediac refused to release information to the residents through the Right to Information and Protection of Privacy Act, saying disclosure would be "harmful to economic and other interests of a public body."

The province released documents that mentioned the town wanted the land "for use of a piece of park property to develop" a project, but the next few words the details of the project were blacked out.

The province also refused to release a land-use study done for the property.

Tourism Department spokesperson Valerie Kilfoil said in an email Wednesday the MOU was "a mechanism" to allow the province to review the town's proposal from the town, but she refused to say what the proposal was or what happened to it.

Melanson and other residents oppose the campground because they worry about its impact on nearby wetlands and on water quality in Shediac Bay.

Boudreau had a 20 per cent investment in the project but announced this week he would forfeit his stake. The identities of several other investors remain a secret.

Rumours, secrecy are 'counterproductive'

Steeves said he decided to look into the agreement about the provincial land because of all the controversy.

"That's why residents are asking about it," he said. "They've been looking into it through various means."

Steeves said he didn't have direct information but was able to "piece together" that the 2014 agreement was for sports facilities and had no connection to the campground controversy.

But because the identities of most of the campground investors remains a secret, "the rumours are all about what's going on with various campgrounds, provincially owned and otherwise. We have no idea why the MOU wouldn't be disclosed because it looks like it's all for the public good."

Shediac's town council approved the MOU in June 2014 with no debate. Council minutes say the town wanted to create a partnership with the province "and eventually with other partners" to develop "recreational facilities" on the land.

Steeves said the secrecy surrounding the MOU is counterproductive.

"No one knows, and that's why people are asking the questions and that's what the rumours are about," he said.