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A judge called fears about a Fredericton housing project “speculative” in his decision denying a request to stop the development from going forward.
Justice Thomas Christie of the New Brunswick Court of King’s Bench rejected the application for an injunction brought by Timothy Hawkins.
Hawkins had filed for the injunction against the provincial government over its use of land on Forest Hill Road for the construction of a transitional housing project that’s set to welcome its first clients in January.
Hawkins’s application asserted, in part, that the development wasn’t appropriately located given its proximity to Forest Hill Elementary School.
“Children could be exposed to drug-use and criminal or other disruptive activities,” his application says.
Neighbourly Homes in Fredericton’s Skyline Acres neighbourhood is expected to host 27 clients by mid-January, said founder Marcel Lebrun. (Aniekan Etuhube/CBC)
Christie, however, found the circumstances of the case did not meet any of the criteria required for even considering the injunction.
“Here, the harm that is asserted by Mr. Hawkins is based completely on speculation,” Christie wrote in a decision earlier this month. “Mr. Hawkins is concerned about the welfare of those in Skyline Acres and noted the proximity of the proposed supportive housing project to a school.
“But in the present Record, I have nothing but speculation of the harm that the project could create, and nothing to suggest Mr. Hawkins will suffer irreparable harm.”
WATCH | Judge dismisses concerns of resident as ‘speculative’:
Judge rejects attempt to stop Fredericton transitional housing development
A New Brunswick judge has rejected an application for an injunction aimed at stopping the development of transitional housing units in Fredericton’s Skyline Acres neighbourhood.
Christie said Hawkins also failed to bring a motion asserting some form of standing with regard to the issue, leaving Hawkins with the onus of proving a personal legal interest in the case.
“At best, he conveys his personal concern over the safety of those in Skyline Acres,” Christie wrote.
“His sincerity in this regard is not in doubt. But that is not a legally recognized interest that, without more, would open the door for his present challenge.”
CBC News attempted to contact Hawkins’s lawyer for comment about any next steps being planned but did not receive a response.
Clients start arriving in January
A first phase of the project is set to be completed by the end of December, said Marcel Lebrun, who’s operating the development known as Neighbourly Homes.
It will have about 14 modular tiny units around a courtyard, with a communal kitchen, washrooms and laundry facilities.
Neighbourly Homes in Skyline Acres is set to welcome its first clients on Jan. 5, said founder Marcel Lebrun. (Ben Ford/CBC)
Clients for those units are set to move in on Jan. 5. A second courtyard of similar size is expected to host another 13 or 14 clients, he said.
“The idea of this is that you’re, you’re here for a period of time, not permanently,” Lebrun said. “And it just gets people safe, warm, stabilized. And then we offer services like recovery, things like that, counselling, whatever is needed to help people move forward.”
Lebrun said the site will have nine staff, with at least two on duty 24 hours a day.
Another Neighbourly Homes development was established in Saint John in August, and Lebrun said it has operated successfully in the months since.
He said some Fredericton residents have created a “catastrophized narrative” around the new site in Skyline Acres, but he thinks the opposition will subside once people see how it’s managed.
“My hope is, as the months roll by, that people in Forest Hill, as many are, will be proud that we have this in the community and that we’re helping people get out of the cold,” Lebrun said.