Woods Not Ruling Out Pension Related Tax Increase

Despite denials from some civic politicians - a tax increase to cover off the civic pension 129-million dollar deficit remains a very distinct possibility according to City Manager Pat Woods.


Woods has released a statement indicating a limited number of new scenarios were presented to various employee groups during a meeting last week.

He says they were asked to give their feedback by the end of this month with the idea of presenting a recommendation to council in early October.

Woods says the objective is to make the pension plan affordable without imposing an excessive tax burden on property owners.
 
An earlier proposal by the city to resolve the pension deficit issue was rejected by the provincial government.

Fight Brewng Over Home Care In The Province

"It's like David taking on Goliath"--that's how the President of the Province's Home Care Association describes their fight with the Alward government.

Bob Price says a meeting in Saint John this morning with Finance Minister Blaine Higgs and Social Development Minister Sue Stultz did not go well.
The meeting to discuss the challenges facing home care and how government can help home care agencies keep seniors in their homes.

He says the government has figured out by themselves without talking to them that wages are the most important.

Prices says wages are important but, their workers have told them education and training are just as important to feel comfortable in their jobs.

Price says his group is heading to the Centennial building in Fredericton to inform the government to keep their 4.4 million dollars because they can afford it.

Weston Vows Clean Drinking Water Will Be A Reality

As the Harper government struggles to find four billion dollars in savings, that has some wondering if infrastructure projects like clean drinking water for Saint John may be put on the back burner?
The MP for Saint John Rodney Weston tells CHSJ News that is not the case.

Weston says restrain measures can be used that do not necessarily impact program funding.

Weston adds the province, the city and his office are meeting often and he feels good about the progress being made towards making safe drinking water a reality for the Port city.

Frustration Over Delays In Fixing Flood Problem At Oakville Acres

Disappointment.........That's the reaction of the people who live in Oakville Acres to delays in getting their flooding problem resolved.

Gary Howard, who spoke on behalf of the residents when they made their case to Rothesay Town council, tells CHSJ News there are holdups with two property owners, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans along wth the town of Quispamsis.

Howard says the solution is simple as well.......a detention pond and overflow pipes.
 
He adds the homeowners get nervous everytime heavy rain is on the way and some people can't use their basements or half of their homes never mind getting insurance on their house.

Saint John Man In Court Over March Drunk Driving Death

A 30 year old King Street East man charged with impaired driving causing death making a court appearance. 
Jordan Sullivan was charged after a two car collision last March which killed 50 year old Sheila Bayers on the Airport Arterial.

Sullivan will be back in court for a preliminary hearing January 4th which will determine if there's enough evidence to proceed to trial.

How A Chinese Teen Died Remains A Mystery

How the 17 year old student from China died at the Aquatic Centre remains a mystery. That word coming from Leo Maloney, who chairs the Aquatic Centre's board of commissioners.

Maloney tells CHSJ News they might have a better idea after an autopsy is carried out.

The teenager, who had just started at Simonds High, was found in the middle of the swimming pool near the bulkhead. 

As to whether, he was injured in while diving, Maloney tells us he can't confirm or deny but doesn't believe that to be true.

The parents of the boy are expected to be arriving in the city today.

Fire Destroys House Outside City

No injuries reported but a house at Garnett Settlement has been destroyed by fire.

The Simonds Fire Department telling us the call came in shortly after noonhour yesterday and it took fire crews with help from St. Martins, Hampton, the Kennebecasis Valley, Upham and Nauwwigewauk until 10:00 last night to knock it down.

There's no word yet on how it got started.

Gas Prices Tumble

If you didn't fill up yesterday, you're in luck......There has been a big drop in the price of gas after the weekly setting.

Self serve regular around town dropping by more than 4 cents a litre to an even $1.23.

Diesel has also fallen but not by as much and is going for $1.29.2 a litre. 

Heating oil has dropped below $1.14 a litre and is listed at $1.13.4 but propane is more expensive at more than 115 a litre.

Man Arrested For Holdup Of Convenience Store

City Police making an arrest in the robbery last week of the convenience store on Ellerdale Street by a man armed with a knife.

27 year old Kent Joseph Leblanc, who lived across the street, appeared in court and pleaded guilty. He'll be sentenced on October 4th.

City fire crews were kept busy with three collisions last night. The first one involving a motorcyle and resulting in injuries happened at Rothesay Road and Ashburn Lake Road.

There was a two vehicle crash on Westfield Road with no injuries and then three vehicles collided on City Road at Garden Street, again with no injuries.

Increase In Tuition Is Hurting Students and Workforce

Liberal MLA Chris Collins says the province is failing students with the removal of the tuition freeze.

Statistics Canada is reporting New Brunswick has the second highest tuition in the country after a 3.6 percent increase.

Collins is the Opposition Critic for Post-Secondary Affairs and he tells CHSJ News we need to slow down the rate hikes so education becomes more accessible and a skilled workforce is formed.

He says the province has also failed to protect students from increases to ancillary fees and student loans are now harder to access.

The provincial Liberals are also attacking the Alward government on the business front -- in the wake of the official launch of Invest NB, they want Alward to identify specific sectors of economic growth for the province.

Bullying Hotline Is Busy With School Now Underway

Rob Frenette with BullyingCanada says with the school year in full swing for the past few weeks, calls to his organization's help line has shot up dramtatically.

He tells CHSJ News while he normally gets about 500 calls a month -- so far he has received about 2000 calls.

He says he has already dealt directly with a few cases of bullying in Saint John schools.

He believes the increase in the call volume is because BullyingCanada has been doing aggressive marketing across the province.

He says the number of calls should go down as September, March Break, and the summer are typcially the peak times for bullying issues.

For more information about BullyingCanada, click here.

Atlantic Region Businesses Told To Expand Their Reach

Excluding the Irvings and McCains, businesspeople in the Atlantic Region have been criticised for not doing enough to make inroads in the emerging markets.

The General Manager of Enterprise Saint John Steve Carson tells CHSJ News it's not a matter of cost but it can be a challenge to break down barriers and open lines of communication. Carson does say because of the internet, we truly do operate in a global economy.

The sluggish U.S economy prompted Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney to advise businesses in the region to look further afield to emerging markets like China when he spoke in Saint John.

Garnett Settlement Fire

Crews are at the scene of a fire on the Garnett Settlement Road.

Simonds Fire Department responding to the call and is receiving some help from the KV Fire department.

Bayview Elementary Unveils New Library

Bayview Elementary unveils a new library after a renovation courtesy of Irving Oil.

The project was announced back in March.

Student Injured At Aquatic Centre Passes Away

The 17 year old student from China, who nearly drowned last Sunday at the Aquatic Centre, has died. 

He had just started in Grade 11 at Simonds. The teen had been on a ventilator at the Regional Hospital since being pulled from the swimming pool at the Aquatic Centre and given C-P-R after it appeared he had stopped breathing. 

The circumstances of exactly what happened have not been released yet.

His mother and father are expected to be arriving in the city tomorrow from China.

Meantime, City Police are investigating after a 54 year old man was struck by a car yesterday afternoon around 3 at the intersection of Visart Street and Churchill Boulevard in the north end just across from Lansdowne Plaza.

The man was taken to hospital for treatment of his injuries.

Skateboard Park In Quispamsis Gets Go Ahead

Quispamsis Town Councillors are unanimous in their support for phase one of a skateboard and bike park to be located adjacent to the town hall. The price tag for phase one is 150 thousand dollars.

Jim Scott of Collabplan tells CHSJ News the location is unique because it will be built into the side of a hill unlike other skateboard parks in the region. 

There will various ramps included as well as pump rollers, a fun box along with other elements suggested by the young skateboarders.

Scott describes their contributions as invaluable to the project.

Finance Minister Sees Parallels Between Province And European Financial Woes

Finance Minister Blaine Higgs says there are definite parallels with the province's debt problems and Europe's financial mess.

Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney says Europe could solve their money problems if they exerted enough political will and Higgs says the same could be said of the province.

He says everyone needs to work together to balance the books.

He adds after a year as Finance Minister, he believes it's very possible to make it happen.

District 8 Saves Carpentry Program For This Year

District 8 doing what they can to help improve the skilled trades numbers in the Province.
With looming budget cuts, there are fears the popular carpenter training program may face the axe.
Rob Fowler says it gives high school kids a chance to get some training.

He says it's 6 weeks in the classroom and a co-op where the student in actually on a construction site getting hands on experience.

Fowler gives credit to Director of Finance Chris Toole and Acting Superintendent Robert Johnson
for finding the funding to keep the program around for this school year.

Financial Woes Of Europe and U.S.A. Should Not Worry Canadians

The Governor of the Bank of Canada is telling Canadians that the financial problems currently facing Europe and the U.S. have little bearing our country's bottom line.

Speaking at a business luncheon today in the city, Mark Carney says one shouldn't be paralyzed by the fiscal woes going on in Europe and the U.S.

He says the Bank of Canada is there to protect and boost and economy, such as keeping prices stable.
 
He says given the downturn in exports to the U.S., Canada needs to begin making headway into emerging markets like China.

The Give Gets Closer To Goal

The Region is stepping up for The Give 2011 as they get closer to their goal of $680,000 for a new stem cell therapy in Saint John.

St. Stephen Town Council donating $5,000 last night, the Sussex Health Centre Auxiliary giving $10,000 yesterday and last month PotashCorp gave $50,000 to the campaign.   The fundraiser also bring in $1500 dollars back in July at the Salty Jam Music Festival.

Dr. Terrence Comeau says doing stem cell treatment in Saint John will lead to natural spin-offs like gene therapy.

For more info, click here