Police are looking into two alleged violations of the Municipal Elections Act during the advance polls for the Ward 3 by-election.
Paul Harpelle of Elections NB tells CHSJ News there were complaints of a campaign sign being too close to a polling station during advance voting day and pieces of photocopied paper being found in King's Square without the name of the printer and publisher on the page. But these complaints won't have any effect on the election itself. Harpelle says so-called sign wars often creep up into these political events, and the election will continue as per norm.
Voters go to the polls on Monday, May 13th to elect a new city councillor to replace Donnie Snook.
Two men have been released on conditions after an alleged assault last night on Bayside Drive.
Sylvio Saulnier is charged with 3 counts including assault with a bat and possessing a machete after the incident,which caused a major police presence to be called to the East Side street.
His roommate, Randy Ryan, also appeared in court in connection with the incident.
Both men were ordered to have no contact with the victims and are expected to enter a plea on June 18th.
A 28 year old woman and a 35 year old woman also face charges in the incident.
A new deal for healthcare........That's what the Council of Canadians claims is needed but unlikely to happen given Prime Minister Harper's inclinations.
The Council's healthcare campaigner Adrienne Silnicki, who'll be speaking in the city, tells CHSJ News Prime Minister Harper keeps talking about alternative methods of healthcare delivery which is really a parallel public-private system but they don't achieve the promised results.
Silnicki warns the cuts we're now seeing in provincial healthcare are just the tip of the iceberg if the Prime Minister goes ahead with cutting 36 billion dollars in transfer payments for health a couple of years from now.
She says that translates into enough funding for 11 hospitals as well as 30 health care centres and clinics.
Silnicki will be delivering a public talk on all this at the Church of St. Andrew and St. David on Germain Street tomorrow night at 6.
Despite public meetings on the shared risk model for the provincial pension plan, the retirees and the Alward Government couldn't be further away from reaching agreement.
The Pension Coalition is accusing the province of trying to divide and conquer by giving the impression that the retirees are greedy by not agreeing to changes. The Coalition's Clifford Kennedy calls this unethical telling CHSJ News the retirees, when they were working, agreed not to accept wage increases so they could have secured and guaranteed pensions. Kennedy charges the government claims the provincial pension plan is running a billion dollar deficit but it's own records from March of last year shows a 141 million dollar surplus.
He adds when the province's pension task force was announced, it was supposed to deal with private pension plans and nothing was said, at the time, about public pensions and the Premier gave no indication the shared risk model would apply to the retirees as well as those provincial government employees still working. .
The Saint John Board of Trade has a new chair for the next year. He's Eric Poirier of Bell Aliant who's taking over from Larry Hachey.
Poirier tells CHSJ News the business climate will be toughgoing for the foreseeable future but the people he talks to are optimistic about the future.
He promises more focus on small businesses since they make up 80 per cent of the Board's membership. Poirier says more french will be spoken at Board of Trade events because with more than 6 thousand francophones in the area and almost 20 thousand people who are bilingual, this is an economic advantage.
Outgoing chair Larry Hachey told the annual meeting, the relationship between the Board of Trade and City Hall is much better now than it was a year ago when Saint John's reputation was taking a hit and it appeared as if the city has lost its mojo.
Four people face charges after a fight involving weapons on Bayside Drive.
Early last night, officers responded to the East Side arresting two men and two women.
Two women, 28 and 35 years old, face charges of causing a disturbance and have been released pending a future court date. A
man in his 40's is looking at charges of assault, damage&mischief
and possession of a weapon while a 38 year old man faces two charges of
possession of weapon and assault with a weapon.
The two men remain in custody before a court appearance.
That from Tourism Minister Trevor Holder at the announcement Dillon Consulting will receive about fifty-thousand dollars to explore Saint John as a homeport for cruise ships.
The announcement this morning at the Diamond Jubilee Cruise Terminal.
Holder tells CHSJ News the cruise industry is celebrating 25 years because people said 'why not' instead of 'why can't we'.
He says we have a great product here in Saint John and across the Fundy region so now we have to figure out how to take it to the next level.
Holder says he believes the Bay of Fundy product is so world class that getting on a boat in Saint John will be very appealing to the Boston/New York market.
The results of the study are expected in late summer or early fall.
Mayor Mel Norton is offering further details on his upcoming trip to Calgary.
The trip hasthe aim of enticing big oil producers to ship their product to the Port City, and is being financed by the travel budget of the mayor's office.
Energy Minister Craig Leonard and Port representatives will also be attending the meetings, which will include a stop at the Calgary-based Irving Oil office. Norton says he and the province have informed Irving of their plans and consulted with them about which producers they should meet. Norton says we are currently in the midst of so-called open season, the period when oil producers look to fill the pipelines that could ultimately make their way to Saint John.
That period typically lasts 60 days from mid-April to mid June; as a result, Norton says he hopes to forge some connections, and secure some commitments in short order.
At the end of May the Mayor will travel to Ottawa with MP Rodney Weston to meet with federal politicians who might support bringing the West-East oil pipeline to Saint John. At the same time, they plan to consult with bureaucrats from P3 Canada to get a sense of the progress on the city's application for water funding.
More details being revealed about the watered down chemotherapy drugs given 186 cancer patients at the Regional Hospital.
An organization that arranged a contract with a company that supplied the diluted chemotherapy drugs has told a legislative committee in Ontario the labels on the drugs didn't accurately describe their contents.
Officials from Medbuy, which arranged the contract between Marchese Hospital Solutions and the hospitals, say the company should have provided exact specifications on its labels. They told a legislative committee the pharmacist overseeing the production of the saline-and-drug mixtures should have accounted for the extra saline in the bags.
Extra saline in the bags effectively watered down the prescribed drug concentrations by up to 20 per cent.
The committee has heard the drug mixture Marchese Hospital Solutions produced was completely different from the one the hospitals thought they were buying and was not misadministered as suggested by Marchese.
Two suspicious fires being investigated by both City Police and the fire department.
One was reported just before midnight at 6 Stillview Court in Red Head and was confined to the basement. The other one on Orange Street started when some garbage was lit and caused minor fire damage to a nearby building.
The fire department also had to quell what's described to us as a large brush and grass fire on Partridge Island. The firefighters along with their equipment had to be taken there by the Coast Guard on a Zodiac boat.
A Saint John woman is the recipient of the highest honour given by the Canadian Red Cross. Elsa Stanley is one of two Maritime women who were given membership to the Order of The Red Cross.
You've probably seen Stanley by the pool; she's the aquatics manager of the Canada Games Aquatic Centre and has spent 36 years volunteering with the Red Cross, where she started as a water safety instructor. Now, she's a master instructor trainer. Volunteer and Atlantic regional president of Canadian Red Cross, Peter Collens, calls Stanley an acknowledged expert in her field and that her expertise helps better their swimming and swimming safety programs.
Police have found the body of a man missing since last fall.
The body of 49-year-old Roger Colepaugh of Upper Derby was found in woods near Boiestown.
On Friday, Blackville RCMP did a search with the help of Police Dog Services and discovered the body.
Colepaugh had been missing since November of last year. Police were sent to the area after a person out fishing reported seeing an abandoned truck parked in the same place for two days.
Attacks ads are nothing more than political parties fighting back and forth like children.
That, according to Kevin Lacey of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, who tells CHSJ News that if they want to play that game, they should pay for it out of their own pockets.
Lacey says these mailouts are little more than political ads and taxpayers shouldn't be on the hook for them. He says taxpayers expect their dollars to go towards good health care, education and roads.
His organization has given political mailouts a "teddy", a national waste award for wasting taxpayers' money.
It's not hard to see why the entire province would be under a fire ban after a long period of warm dry weather.
Those conditions gave a boost to a series of fires on the weekend especially one forest fire in French Village.
Charles Beaulieu of the Department of Natural Resources tells CHSJ News they got a request for assistance so they sent in water bombers from Fredericton to assist.
He says anytime they get a fire of that nature it's priority number one and they work to suppress fire in the forest while ground crews protect any nearby structures.
Beaulieu says the provincial fire ban will remain in place until we see some precipitation.
City fire crews, police and ambulance responding to a fire on the West side.
Just before 1pm, the call came in that visible smoke and flames could be seen coming from 24 Victoria Street. It's located between Queen and St. James.
It's in a garage attached to a two-story building. Crews believe they have it knocked down.
Provincial NDP leader Dominic Cardy suspects there's division within the ranks of the Alward Government on how to deal with reforming healthcare and how far to go.
Cardy tells CHSJ News getting into a slanging match with the doctors is a huge blunder which could have long term ramifications. He points out trying to get doctors to agree on anything is like trying to herd cats but Health Minister Ted Flemming has managed to do that with them in opposition to the medicare billing cap.
Cardy dismisses the open letter to doctors published last week by provincial Health Minister Ted Flemming as a P-R exercise designed to regain credibility at a cost of thousands of dollars.
He also believes Flemming and provincial Finance Minister Blaine Higgs want to see smaller government but are meeting resistence within the Conservative caucus, the bureaucracy and party ranks.
The proposed 3% tax levy for campgrounds has a lot of people talking.
The president of the Tourism Industry Association of New Brunswick, Kathy Weir, tells CHSJ News that in all of her years working in this field, she's never seen the level of industry input when it comes to the development of a policy. Weir says, they tried to make sure all accommodations operators had the opportunity to be at the table at each of the discussions to voice their concerns.
Some campground owners are worried that this hike will drive tourists into Maine, which has a much cheaper tax rate for campgrounds. Weir doesn't agree, saying that tourists come to the province for a reason. She says Saint John, Miramichi and Bathurst are already charging the levy.
Just last year, the Rogersville municipal building went up in flames, now, its newly built replacement is the scene of another blaze that looks to have been deliberately set.
The building was going to house the municipal offices, community room, RCMP, and ironically, the fire department. After receiving a 911 call, fire crews jumped into action from their temporary location and managed to put out the fire, but not before it damaged the roof, attic and community room.
RCMP is saying that it looks suspicious and an investigation is underway. They're asking anyone who may have seen someone or something out of the ordinary around the Rogersville Municipal Building prior to 11 a.m. on Saturday to call police or contact Crime Stoppers at www.crimenb.ca or 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
The owners of those big trailers that spend more than 30 days in one trailer park might have to start paying property tax in the province.
That message was delivered to campground owners by Sue Stultz, the minister responsible for Service New Brunswick.
Howard Heans runs the campground at Harding's Point and he tells CHSJ News this would go into effect next year. He adds what's around the trailer will be taxed as well which could be decks and sheds. Heans warns this could adversely affect the sale of trailers.
The campground owners are already angry over a proposed 3 per cent levy on campers that would be used to market tourism in the province.
Big excitement for little French Village but maybe not the kind they would ask for on a pretty Sunday afternoon...a forest fire.
Water bombers were brought in to knock the blaze that was first reported about 3pm.
Tanya Doyle lives not far from the fire scene on the French Village road. She tells us she out for a test drive with her son when they looked up and saw a blaze of fire on top of the hill. She adds she is fairly confident the crews have a handle on it but worries about smouldering overnight.
Crews from KV and Nauwigewauk responded to the blaze. K-V Fire tells CHSJ News no one was hurt and no homes sustained any fire damage. Crews will be out today checking for hot spots so there are no flare ups. An estimated 6000 tons of water were being dropped on the fire in each pass of the planes along with water from ground crews.
A large forest fire is raging in the French Village and spreading in the direction of a residential area.
Lieutenant Shawn White of the Kennebacasis Valley Fire Department tells us that they received a call mid-afternoon about a forest fire originating around the village's Petro-Canada.
White says that people living in the village should be aware that there will be low-flying planes in the sky. Because the flames jumped the road and the fire is now in more than one spot, they're bringing in water bombers to help control the blaze. If you think the fire is coming too close to your home, he says you should call 911.
A fire ravaged a home in Grand Bay-Westfield, leaving only the structure standing.
Sergeant Rick Bernard of the RCMP tells us that the fire started in a detached garage on 1 Chestnut Drive and then transferred to the house, burning out the interior. Crews responded to a call from the homeowner late on Saturday night.
The fire marshal is saying that the cause of the fire was an electrical problem. Bernard tells us it's not considered suspicious and that nobody was hurt in the blaze.
The battle 68 years ago during World War 2 being remembered in a service at Grace Presbyterian Church.
HMCS Brunswicker taking part with cadets, reservists and its top command along with many MLA's, MP Weston, Mayor Norton and Senator Joe Day.
Hundreds have packed a Cobourg street church to remember the battle which is the only Second World War conflict that took place close to North American shores.
Hearing someone yell check-mate in King's Square might become a regular occurrence.
Councillor Ray Strowbridge is making a motion at Monday's council meeting to install chess boards in the square.
Strowbridge tells CHSJ News that he decided to pursue this after hearing a member of the Saint John Chess Club say that it would be a great idea if they could play the game outside. By installing chess boards, Strowbridge thinks we can draw more people to King's Square. If you build it, they will come, he says.
Out of an estimated 10,000 people eligible to vote in Ward 3, 620 cast their bid early.
Paul Harpelle of Elections NB tells us that's how many votes were cast on Saturday during advance voting in the Ward 3 by-election. Voters will go to the polls on Monday May 13 to elect a new city councillor.
The construction company who's responsible for re-doing the bandstand also did the major renovations on the Algonquin Hotel, and owner Patrick Sohy tells CHSJ News it's not just going to be a superficial makeover, but an actual overhaul. The work is set to begin immediately with sandblasting the bandstand down to the original metal, then painting it again. All the lighting around the bandstand is also going to be redone. Sohy tells us they're doing a lot of research into the original colour scheme and fountain design of the bandstand and will be trying to replicate it as closely as possible.
A car parked about 15 feet from a house was ablaze on Demonts Street on the lower West side.
According to reports, the street was blocked off at Lancaster Avenue while emergency crews worked to extinguish the flames.
Once it was put out, they found that the fire started underneath the hood, but there's no word on the cause. The fire is under investigation by Saint John Police and the Saint John Fire Department.
The stories of and behind the literary figures in New Brunswick are now more accessible through a project launched by the library.
The New Brunswick Author Portal is an online resource that collects information about local writers and its now available through the New Brunswick Public Library Service. Tourism, Heritage and Culture Minister Trevor Holder tells CHSJ News we have a thriving literary scene here in New Brunswick and he names Wayne Curtis and David Adams Richards as two of his favourite local writers. Holder tells us that this portal is a way to showcase them and their fellow authors.
A blaze engulfing a home located at 24 Alderbrook Drive in Quispamsis.
The KV Fire Department tells CHSJ News that they fought the fire for about five hours before it was extinguished. The garage was heavily damaged, but how and where the fire started is still under investigation.
They tell us that nobody was hurt. (Photo Courtesy of Doug Epton)
Is there somebody or some business in the heart of the city that you think deserves some kudos? Well, now's your chance to give them some recognition.
Nominations are now open for Uptown Saint John's bi-annual Live Life Awards, which celebrates the best of what the Port City has to offer. Categories include Best New Business, Creative Personality Award, Social Space, and more. You have until May 14th to submit your nominations, which you can do here.
You'll be able to check out shortlist on May 16th, on Uptown Saint John's website. The awards ceremony itself is on June 6th.
The tuition hike at St. Thomas University in Fredericton is raising some eyebrows. The annual fee is being raised by $434, a number that's nearly triple the provincial government's cap on tuition increases.
Jeffrey Carleton, a spokesman for the university says the increase was necessary to balance the books, but post-secondary education minister Danny Soucy says he's disappointed that they're not abiding by the cap. However, the cap is not a law, so he has to go over the matter before he decides if the government can take any action with the university.
The government froze funding for public universities and introduced at $150 cap to tuition fees in its 2013-2014 budget.
With the hike, the annual cost of a bachelor of arts degree at St. Thomas University is now $5,379.
Dr. Jim Parrott says he will resign if the Health Minister doesn't negotiate with doctors in a dispute over health care spending.
The Independent MLA representing Fundy-River Valley came out of a meeting with the Provincial Medical Society saying he wants Health Minister Hugh Flemming to have talks with the group.
Parrott says if that doesn't happen, he will quit politics.
The former cardiac surgeon & current member of the medical society, says he wants the group to back off from its plans to launch a court challenge of a $20-million cut to medicare.
The medical society has accused Flemming of issuing an ultimatum rather than negotiating with them. But Flemming has issued an open letter to doctors saying he is willing to negotiate.
As May 13th approaches, Ward 3 can exercise their right early at the only advance polls tomorrow begin 10am and 8pm.
Paul Harpelle of Elections NB says you can vote at the Simonds Lions Auditorium at the Villa, Carleton Community Centre and the Saint John Boys and Girls club.
He says they are asking voters to bring their voter information card along with them so they can be processed quickly and on their way to enjoy their Saturday.
An estimated 10,000 people are eligible to vote in Ward 3. For more info, click here
Many of us can't conceive of being at war at all let alone being involved in a battle for more than 4 years. That was the case during World War 2 when the Canadian Navy, Merchant Navy and Air Force all fought the Battle of the Atlantic from September 1939 to May 1945.
Lieutenant-Commander Mark Brown o HMCS Brunswicker tells CHSJ News the battle will be commemorated on Sunday morning in a service at Grace Presbyterian Church at 11am.
He says members of HMCS Brunswicker-the Royal Canadian Navy, Navy League cadets and Royal Canadian Sea cadets will march from the church on Cobourg street to Market slip by the Hilton hotel.
Brown says dignetaries attending the service will throw wreaths into the Harbour to commemorate the Battle of the Atlantic.
The service on Sunday begins at 11am at Grace Presbyterian Church followed by a march from the church down Cobourg crossing Union to Charlotte down King to Market slip near the Hilton.
You might not have seen Ward 3 Candidate Mark LeBlanc at the past couple of candidate debates, but that doesn't mean he's not in the running.
Leblanc is a compliance officer with Public Safety, and he tells CHSJ news he doesn't like the style in which the debates are run, which doesn't allow people to challenge one another's platforms.
Leblanc says the biggest issue facing ward 3 is unemployment and its biggest asset is the waterfront, on which he'd like to see an amusement park built.
Concerned citizens and community activists gathered in King Square this afternoon to protest the release of sex offenders into the community.
Activist John Campbell spoke to the crowd on his concerns with having sex offenders living here, saying some cannot be rehabilitate and are a threat to the safety of women and children.
Others pointed out the protest isn't about the two specific sex offenders who were released recently, but rather about raising awareness of sexual assault in general.
About 400 runners aged 5 and older will be at the airport tomorrow night for the third annual runway run.
Angela McLean at the Airport tells CHSJ News this event gets sold out fast, within two weeks of being advertised.
About 100 young people will be running first to raise money for the Canadian Mental Health Association.
When the older folks run, the airport runway lights will be on. The logistics are tricky because the runs have to be worked around two Air Canada flights.
The big story of the Ward 3 debates is familiar..one missing candidate. Again.. Mark Leblanc declined to participate because he didn't like the format.
The remaining 7 did show and covered a range of topics from roads to P3 funding, police and fire funding and performance reviews for city staff.
Allen Leslie tells CHSJ News this was his second attempt and he tells us he's getting better at it and he hopes everyone agrees.
Michelle Hooten says the subject matter was the same on the Lower West side and in the South end. Brian Boyd questions the City's definition of the word priority adding those neighbourhoods are not focused on. Barbara Ellemberg says people in this urban setting are hurting and can't afford any kind of tax increase.
Graeme Stewart-Roberston says road reconstructions costs can be reduced with road diets by increasing public transportation. Gerry Lowe pointed out that no council has ever asked Local 18 to discuss their contract.
All 7 candidates encouraged voters to exercise their right on May 4th or May 13th.
To see our Twitterfeed from last night's debate click here
The Millenial generation is a far cry from the Baby Boomers in a score of ways---and the amount they're donating to their old universities is no exception.
In fact, many post-secondary schools are struggling given high unemployment and skyrocketing average student debt. Non-profit communications expert John Stuart tells CHSJ News a lot of recent grads find the letters asking them to donate money obnoxious, given the amount of money they've already shelled out in tuition.
According to Stuart the grads might be more willing to donate if school provided better guidance on getting a job after graduation
As the New Brunswick Medical Society takes the province to court, Health Minister Ted Flemming is publishing an open letter to doctors telling them his door remains open to ideas that will achieve 20 million dollars in health care savings.
Flemming is telling the doctors each child born in the province is immediately saddled with a debt of more than 15 thousand dollars before he or she draws a breath.
He claims the financial situation is so dire, the health department had to present its spending plans to the bankers who will underwrite the province's debt and answer questions about how money will be saved.
He's now saying those savings can be achieved without a medicare cap but there's no way workers in healthcare won't be affected since three-quarters of the health department's budget is made up of wages.
Provincial NDP leader Dominic Cardy says there should be a law making it a crime for M-L-A's to interfere with the awarding of road contracts which has been a longstanding tradition that even extends to who works on the roads.
Cardy has unveiled the Politics Free Tendering Act telling CHSJ News some companies have decided not to come to the province after being told it might be a good idea to do business with such and such because he's got connections to a certain cabinet minister.
He also argues this old style political way of conducting government affairs is a disincentive for New Brunswickers to start their own businesses.
The King Square bandstand is one of only two structures like it in the world,according to Mayor Mel Norton
The Mayor who says words are not able to adequately express the city's gratitude to the anonymous donor who is paying for the bandstand to get a new lease on life.
Norton says the city is planning a big community celebration to mark the completion of the renovations, which will hopefully be by early summer.
An 18 year old man has been sentenced to 30 months federal time for his part organizing what the judge called a "sad and chilling" February assault in Glen Falls.
John Alexander Adams didn't argue that he was the key orchestrator of the attack, which the victim's father described as the precursor to "43 long, agonizing days in hell" as his son was hospitalized in a coma. The victim is recovering in a rehabilitation center but will suffer long-term problems with memory loss, exhaustion, and paranoia.
Adams and another young man who cannot be named lured the victim into a shed in the East Side suburb and hit him with a baseball bat, causing skull fractures and haemorrhaging. The judge told the court Adam's youth and lack of an adult record were mitigating factors in the sentence, with also requires his to submit a DNA sample and a lifelong weapons ban.
