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Thursday, March 17, 2011

Port Receives Honour At Conference


The provincial delegation at a Florida cruise trade show wrapping up the experience with recognition for the City, the Port and a tour operator.

The Port of Saint John singled out for being one of the most improved port facilities in the world and for being a destination featuring the best tour guides on the final day of Cruise Shipping Miami, the world's largest cruise trade show.

The city of Saint John also gettting kudos for being one of the best organized destination experiences worldwide.  Aquila Tours Inc. of Saint John also honoured for the 2nd year in a row recognizing their outstanding service to passengers, crew and ships.

Province Appoints Anti-Bullying Advocate

An anti-bullying advocate has been appointed to the provincial Ministerial Advisory Committee on Positive Learning which was set up to deal with this specific issue.

Rob Frenette is co-founder of Bullying Canada tells CHSJ News the worst thing someone who is being bullied can do is keep quiet about the abuse.

Frenette says when you make others aware of what's going on, the bullying stops 90 per cent of the time.

He expects the provincial government will eventually bring forward legislation.


Wetlands Policy Ready To Be Unveiled

The new provincial wetlands policy will be spelled out tomorrow morning at the Lily Lake Pavilion by Environment Minister Margaret Ann Blaney.

She travelled around the province to hear what people had to say and tells CHSJ News it was tough to find the right balance between protecting the environment and not hindering development.

Without being specific about what the policy is, Blaney believes most people in the province will be satisfied with it.

She vows there will be no reduction in the amount of wetlands which are considered essential in the prevention of flooding.






A Lack Of Beds Is Making The Operating Room Issues Worse

The lack of nursing home beds in the province is compounding the operating room issues at the Regional Hospital -- that from the President and CEO of Horizon Health Network Donald Peters.
He says surgeries are being put off because there would be no place to put the patient.


He says the government could give him a million dollars tomorrow to fix the operating room crisis but, it wouldn't help if he doesn't have any beds.  He says the beds are at 100 per cent occupancy at the regional hospital.

Peters adds the bed shortage hit the Regional Hospital sooner than any other hospital in the province.

Symphony Gets Federal Money

Despite all the talk about government cutbacks, Symphony New Brunswick is on the receiving end of more than 85 thousand dollars from the federal government.

That announcement coming from Saint John M-P Rodney Weston who denies it has anything to do with all this talk about an impending election.

 The President of the symphony's foundation, Reid Parker tells CHSJ News the endowment fund is quite healthy these days although it has become tougher to raise money privately the last couple of years.

 The federal government gives 71 cents for every dollar raised by the symphony.


Irving Oil And East Side School Launch Partnership

Bayview Elementary School and Irving Oil putting an official stamp on a partnership that will include upgrades to the school's library.
Principal Jill Baxter says the partnership over the last few years is bringing many benefits to the school including a new playground.
She says the Irving employees come in and sit down with the students, have lunch and talk with them as part of their mentoring.

Refinery General Manager Mark Sherman says this is one of several initiatives they are involved in from healthcare to education.

He says with Bayview school and other schools in the neighbourhood, they have a number of partnerships over the last few years which is important to celebrate.
The partnership with Bayview also includes two class trips per year and an on-site refinery education program.   To see video of today's launch, click videos.

Gas Prices In City Remain Stable

There has been virtually no change with gas prices after the weekly setting.

 Self serve regular is down by the slightest of margins to $1.19.4 a litre while diesel remains the same at $1.31.

 Heating oil rose slightly to $1.18.2 a litre.

The price of oil on the world market has fallen since the earthquake and tsunami devastated the Japanese economy.