{"id":60303,"date":"2025-11-16T14:31:59","date_gmt":"2025-11-16T18:31:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thelaker.ca\/?p=60303"},"modified":"2025-11-16T14:31:59","modified_gmt":"2025-11-16T18:31:59","slug":"fraba-tackles-transit-trades-shortages-and-local-infrastructure-concerns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/?p=60303","title":{"rendered":"FRABA tackles transit, trades shortages, and local infrastructure concerns"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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FALL RIVER:<\/strong> Members of the Fall River and Area Business Association (FRABA) gathered at the LWF Hall on Nov. 12 for a rare and productive opportunity: a roundtable discussion with all three levels of government represented in the same room. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

HRM Councillor Cathy Deagle Gammon, Waverley\u2013Fall River\u2013Beaver Bank MLA Brian Wong, and Sackville\u2013Preston\u2013Bedford MP Braedon Clark joined local business owners for what many described as a relaxed, \u201ccoffee-chat atmosphere\u201d but with meaningful answers and direct access to decision-makers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The conversation was wide-ranging and touched on many issues important to Fall River and surrounding communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The meeting was a FRABA members invite only roundtable not open to the public.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Transit and traffic among top concerns<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Deagle Gammon updated members on the status of a potential Metro Transit bus route into Fall River \u2014 a long-standing community request. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Traffic pressure points, including the Sobeys intersection, Windgate Drive, and the Beaver Bank connector, were also raised, with business owners stressing the daily congestion their employees and customers face.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Councillor Cathy Deagle Gammon; MP Braedon Clark; and MLA Brian Wong at the roundtable discussion put on by FRABA. (Submitted photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Workforce shortages & immigration pathways<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A significant part of the evening focused on labour challenges. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Immigration and federal\/provincial programs that allow businesses to hire foreign workers were discussed, alongside the urgent need for skilled trades across multiple industries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Members explored underused options such as the apprenticeship system, co-op placements, and the O2 (Options and Opportunities) program in high schools \u2014 all pipelines that employers say could help address gaps if better accessed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Canada Summer Jobs (CSJ) program also came up, with FRABA planning to circulate recently received information to its membership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tariffs, export challenges & local impacts<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Some businesses highlighted continuing struggles with exporting goods to the U.S., pointing to tariff-related costs that influence competitiveness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There was also strong concern over the closure of the septic sewer dumping station at Aerotech. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Without a local site, businesses now face higher operating costs \u2014 increases many fear must be passed on to residents. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Members questioned how this aligns with new housing developments and permits still being issued in the area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Infrastructure, water study & development<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

MLA Wong and MP Clark touched on how infrastructure spending works at federal, provincial, and municipal levels. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A key update came regarding the long-awaited municipal water extension study for Schwartzwald, expected in December. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The study represents the first step toward any consideration of extending services to Schwartzwald, Fall River Village, St. Andrews Village, and other nearby communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Politicians call for stories, not just statistics<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

All three elected officials encouraged FRABA members to share local stories \u2014 real employee experiences, community impacts, or business challenges \u2014 to help them advocate more effectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cStories matter,\u201d members were told. \u201cThey carry more weight than petitions alone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Productive Evening with More to Come<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Attendees left feeling informed and heard, FRABA said, and the association plans to continue monitoring these issues closely. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Members can expect follow-up updates and future educational sessions based on many of the night\u2019s key topics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

FRABA encourages members to reach out to their local representatives for assistance navigating programs or with concerns affecting their business operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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FALL RIVER: Members of the Fall River and Area Business Association (FRABA) gathered at the LWF Hall on Nov. 12 for a rare and productive opportunity: a roundtable discussion with all three levels of government represented in the same room. HRM Councillor Cathy Deagle Gammon, Waverley\u2013Fall River\u2013Beaver Bank MLA Brian Wong, and Sackville\u2013Preston\u2013Bedford MP Braedon […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":60304,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,957],"tags":[2124,38,2,100,50,121,2788,9284,9713,7708,9714,9715],"class_list":["post-60303","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-news","tag-councillor-cathy-deagle-gammon","tag-development","tag-fall-river","tag-fraba","tag-halifax","tag-hrm","tag-mla-brian-wong","tag-mp-braedon-clark","tag-roundtable-discussion","tag-tariffs","tag-traffice","tag-water-study"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60303","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=60303"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60303\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/60304"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=60303"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=60303"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=60303"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}