McAllister Place Zellers May Become A Target

It looks as though the Zellers store in the McAllister Place mall will become a Target store.

Local management at the Zellers in the mall can't confirm the store is becoming a Target store and our newsroom has placed a call to Zellers head office in Toronto for confirmation.

A media report says Target will have 105 stores in Canada opening in 2013.
The Target Canada stores expect to hire 75 per cent more staff as they expect sales will be substantially higher.
Target also announcing it will open its Canadian headquarters in 180,000 square-feet of space in Mississauga, Ontario and the Canadian leadership team is moving this summer.
Back in January, the company announcing that Target was buying Zellers leases in Canada for 1.8 billion dollars.

C.A.W. Workers Rally At Air Canada Call Centre

Members of C.A.W Local 2002 at the Air Canada Call Centre in Millidgeville hosting a rally today.  The employees have been without a contract since February and some of the issues include changes to the company pension.
C.A.W. Atlantic Vice-President Cheryl Robinson tells CHSJ News the company wants more concessions.

She says the company wants the workers to give a little more when Air Canada is doing well financially and should share profit with employees too.  Robinson adds they have a strike deadline of June 13th and she says similar rallys will be taking place in others centres including Toronto's Pearson airport.

Province Vows To Spend More On Young Children

The provincial government is talking about the need to cut its spending but will be allocating more dollars to early childhood education and development.

We get that word from Provincial Education Minister Jody Carr who made a stop on the city to speak to a 3 day conference called valuing our children.

Carr tells CHSJ News the government knows what it wants to accomplish which is to increase the number of licensed daycare spaces in the province from 20 thousand to 30 thousand in four years time with greater accessibility and inclusiveness.

Carr says if you spend money on children when they're young, you won't have to spend more down the road on healthcare, social assistance and the criminal justice system.

Housing Sales Up 3 Per Cent Last Month

Housing sales in the province jumped 3 percent in April when compared to the same time last year according to the New Brunswick Real Estate Association.
688 homes being sold and President Dwayne Hayes tells CHSJ News it's a positive sign.

He says that's always a good indicator of a strong season for real estate.
He says another great trend is an increase in the average price of homes sold in the province --up six percent when compared to last year to sit at about 171-thousand dollars.

Some West Side Motorists Get Gas Tax Refund

In honour of Gas Tax Honesty Day, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation pointing out how much we pay in taxes when we fill up.  Atlantic Director Kevin Lacey in Saint John to pay for the gas taxes of the few city motorists and he tells us nearly 30 per cent of the price of gas is taxes.
He says he doesn't think a lot of people know that and the ambition of the campaign to bring attention to how much gas tax people are actually paying when they buy gas.
Lacey says drivers in New Brunswick will spend an extra 6 cents a litre thanks to an increase in the excise tax by the Alward government.

Memorial Cup Final To Be Shown On The Big Screen

Harbour Station announcing it will be opening up its doors free of charge if you want to see Sunday night's Memorial Cup final on the big screen. The game itself will be shown on the four sided scoreboard.

Harbour Station General Manager Mike Caddell tells CHSJ News he has been getting inquiries about doing this from season ticket holders. This was done before for a Stanley Cup game and Caddell says 3 thousand fans showed up at that time.

There is no charge for parking. The concession stands will be open and Caddell also says free popcorn will be on offer.

Fans are being asked to bring along a non-perishable food item to donate and the game is also being shown for fans in the Valley at the Q-Plex.

Harbour View High Choir Fundraising For Austria Trip

The Harbour View High Choral Ensemble going high tech to fundraise for their trip to Europe next month.  The choir has been busy the last 9 months with major fundraising activities for the trip in June to the Summa Cum Laude Music Festival in Vienna, Austria.


As part of the trip, the students will perform at the former Nazi concentration camp in Dachau, Germany.  They still need a significant amount of money to raise the $200,000 needed for the trip.


The Harbour View Choral Ensemble hosting the 7th annual concert and auction tonight in the school auditorium.  Doors open at 6:30 with the show beginning at 7:30.
To take part online in the auction or make a donation, click here

Gas Prices Drop Only A Bit

Drivers around town getting a bit of a break after the weekly setting with a slight drop in gas prices.

 If you have to fill up today, self serve regular is at $1.22.1 a litre in the city, down more than a cent and a half while diesel is also a tad less expensive at $1.24.8. It had been an even $1.25 a litre.

The price of propane is listed at $1.13.7 a litre.

Aids Saint John Told How To Attack HIV Epidemic

Other provinces need to start following the lead of British Columbia when it comes to attacking the epidemic of HIV.

 That message was delivered to the annual meeting of AIDS Saint John by Dr. Michael O'Shaughnessy, the founding director of the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS.

Dr. O'Shaughnessy tells CHSJ News if the Seek and Treat program, which provides anti-retroviral therapy to those with HIV, can be adopted throughout the country, the epidemic could be broken.

He says one of the best way to combat HIV is interrupting the transmission of it and argues government policies made the drug problem on Vancouver's notorious downtown east side worse.

Education Minister Not Backing Down On K-Park School

Education Minister Jody Carr reiterating to parents that the K-Park school project has been put on hold, not cancelled, until the appropriate solutions can be found.

Carr met with parents at the school last night and says the Valley needs a school for 500 students and the province cannot afford to fund projects anymore without asking questions first.

 Carr does say the province is committed to fixing the school's ventalation system over the summer so students can return in the fall.

One of the parents, John Oxley says every little bit of work helps the school but it doesn't make sense if they might still build a new school. Another parent Aron Bailey tells CHSJ news he doesn't understand why the province thinks bigger schools are better.

Carr says the province will begin a consultation process with parents. One of the options is buying a piece of land located behind the current school, which would make the property big enough for a 500 student school.

Meeting Tonight On Future Of Morna Heights School

The folks who live in South Bay are holding a meeting tonight as they try to keep the doors to Morna Heights school open.

School District 8 has talked about merging the school with others sometime down the road because of low enrollment.

 Mayor Ivan Court, a retired school teacher, says small schools need to stay open because young people shouldn't have to spend hours on a bus or leave their community to get an education and the smaller classes are better for them.

Councillor Bill Farren agrees saying small schools need to stay open because they create a sense of community in their neighbourhoods.

The meeting kicks off at 7 o'clock at the K-B-M centre on Westfield Road.