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Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Province Sets Mental Health Targets

The Conservative government in this Province trying to make some changes to reduce the number of people receiving treatment in hospitals and institutions.
The 7-year plan setting a target of reducing the number of days patients are in hospital psychiatric units by 15 per cent by the year of 2018.

Health Minister Madeleine Dube says more co-ordination with the justice system is also required. Several reports indicating that better mental health services could have prevented the 2007 death of Moncton's Ashley Smith in an Ontario prison.

Mayor Weighs In On Election Results

Mayor Ivan Court congratulating Conservative MP Rodney Weston on his win in the city.

Court tells CHSJ News having an MP on the same side as the government in power bodes well for the Saint John when it comes to securing funding.
 
Court says he was not surprised the Liberals had such low voter turn out in the city as it was clear their was dissatisfaction with the party going in. 
 
The Liberals ended the night in third place with 16 per cent of the vote.

Panel Reserves Decision In Smith Case Review

A three-judge panel reserving its decision today as to whether an Ontario coroner made a mistake in excluding graphic jailhouse videos from an inquest into a teen inmate's death.
The videos depict Moncton teen Ashley Smith being forcibly restrained and injected with anti-psychotic drugs in a Quebec prison several months prior to her 2007 death in an Ontario institution.
Smith's family says the tapes would give the jury a true picture of her state of mind when she strangled herself in a segregation cell while staff at the Kitchener, Ontario jail looked on.


A divisional court in Toronto heard arguments for a day and a half before Justice David Aston announced that they were undecided.
Michael Doi, the lawyer representing presiding coroner Bonita Porter, says she was fulfilling her role when she decided the tapes are not relevant. The Smith family lawyer Julian Falconer argued that refusing to admit the tapes may render the coroner's inquest, scheduled to begin on the 16, futile.

City Launches New Evacuation Route Signs

Saint John residents being told to "Follow the E" in the case of an emergency. 

The city putting up 208 blue and white triangular signs featuring a large 'E' and a directional arrow by the end of the month. 

Police Chief Bill Reid tells CHSJ News the idea is for Saint Johners to follow the signs out of the area of emergency so the first responders can get in.

Murielle Provost is the Manager for Emergency Preparedness in the city and tells CHSJ News the evacuation routes are designed to mitigate traffic jams if everybody had to evacuate at once.

In an emergency situation the public will be alerted to follow the road signs by the local media and by the Emergency Alert Service, which residents can subscribe to on the city website.

Big Changes In The Political Landscape After Federal Election

Prime Minister Harper may have his long hoped for majority government but he could also have more dissension within the ranks according to U-N-B Saint John political scientist Don Desserud.

He tells CHSJ News the M-P's from Western Canada are more conservative than their counterparts in other parts of the country and want more of a say.

Desserud suspects Harper may showcase a couple of initiatives that have particular appeal to his western base.

The New Democrats, with over a hundred seats, have never had such large respresentation in Parliament before. Desserud cautions controlling that large a group, many of whom are inexperienced in the ways of politics, will be a challenge for party leader Jack Layton.

According to Desserud, the scale of the loss might turn out to be good for the Liberals in the long run because it will give them time to so some real soul searching instead of, in his words, trying to patch up a leaky ship.

Fire Deliberately Set In North End

City Police are investigating what they are calling a case of arson.

A travel trailer on Anglin Drive was deliberately set on fire sometime after 11:00 last night.

The trailer was vacant and there were no injuries putting it out.

Election Results For Saint John Region

The 3 ridings in the Saint John region were won by the Conservatives.


Final Election Results

Saint John             Rodney Weston, Progressive Conservative 18,457
                              Rob Moir, NDP 11,322
                              Stephen Chase, Liberal 5,964
                              Sharon Murphy-Flatt, Green Party 1,017
                              Arthur Watson, Independent 294

Fundy-Royal           Rob Moore, Progressive Conservative 21,302
                              Darryl Pitre, NDP 9,880
                              Linda Wilhelm, Liberal 3,683

New Brunswick       John Williamson, Progressive Conservative 17,971
Southwest              Andrew Graham, NDP 7,413
                               Kelly Wilson, Liberal 4,319
                               Janice Harvey, Green Party 1,645
                               Jason Farris, Christian Heritage Party 450