N.B. government dismisses concerns it mistreated municipality in park deal

By Eli Ridder The New Brunswick government is dismissing concerns it treated a municipality unfairly when it chose a First Nation to operate the beach at a provincial park. Tourism Minister Isabelle Thériault says Wotstak First Nation was the best prepared out of three options to manage the 31-hectare North Lake Provincial Park in western New Brunswick. But the mayor of nearby Lakeland Ridges says he was caught off guard when the province on Tuesday announced the First Nation had been selected. Mayor Greg Grant says his municipal council wrote the province a letter of intent in early June to r…