New Program for UNB Saint John

$15,000 dollars is being made available to UNB Saint John by Ottawa to set up a Small Business Internship Program.
It is set up to help small and medium-sized businesses across the country to improve productivity and competitiveness by hiring roughly 400 student interns to help with ICT projects.
Daniel Dorion is Director of the Electronic Commerce Center and says the program is a success.
The program provides companies with a reimbursement of up to 75% for the student's salary and benefit costs.

Rob Moore on the Harbour Bridge

(Fundy Royal MP and Minister of State for Small
          Business and Tourism Rob Moore)

Calling it a great proposal......Fundy Royal MP and Minister of State for Small Business and Tourism Rob Moore is commenting on all the recent banter surrounding the Harbour Bridge.
Moore says residents shouldn't have to pay to get to one side of Saint John to the other.


Minister Moore adds the $150 million dollar figure the Province is proposin as future maintenance costs is off the wall.
Premier Graham and cabinet Ministers are expected to meet with Federal Officials on the issue in the coming weeks.

Blaney Reacts to Provincial Health Report Card

(Rothesay Conservative MLA Margaret Ann Blaney)
                   (File Photo)

The Conservative Health critic and MLA for Rothesay is speaking out about the Province's recent health report card.
Margaret Ann Blaney tells CHSJ News, she is suprised Health Minister Schryer is satisfied with the results, that the Graham Government should be satisfied with an average rating and should be suiting for excellence.
Blaney adds one of the area's highlighted is wait times but questions how the Graham Government is working on reducing wait times when the Health Minister recently stated they don't track them.

Keeping an Eye on Saint John River

(Recent Flooding in Fredericton Area)
              (File Photo)        

The rainfall we are expecting over the next 72 hours is raising the question of what effect this will have on rising water levels along the St. John River.


Karl Wilmot of River Watch tells CHSJ News, they expect water levels to rise slowly but not to the point where there will be major flooding.


Wilmot does tell us the water is up around the soccer fields on Waterloo Row in Fredericton and will continue rising but he doesn't expect any streets to be flooded.

Kiwanis Govenor in Saint John

The Kiwanis Governor for Eastern Canada and Caribbean District is in the Port City today.

Saint John is hosting the Kiwanis District Convention in August.

Gary Levine will also visit with the St. Malachy’s Key Club and Key Industries this afternoon.


At a dinner tonight, the Saint John Kiwanis Club will be giving cheques to the Regional Hospital Foundation and the Key Industries Charitable Foundation. The donations are from fundraisers like the Christmas gift wrapping and the annual cash Calendar.

Provincial Transportation Minister Weighs In On Harbour Bridge

(Provincial Transportation Minister Denis Landry)
                          (File Photo)

As the banter continues to fly between MP Rodney Weston and Energy Minister Jack Keir over the future of the Harbour Bridge, a new voice is entering the mix. Transportation Minister Denis Landry like Keir is confused as to why this bridge is being treated any different than the structures in Ontario and Quebec. Landry says without $150 million dollars from Ottawa to cover future costs, he doesn't see how it is feasable to get rid of the tolls. He adds a lot of the questions still need answers and that might not happen until Premier Graham and several cabinet ministers travel to Ottawa this month to meet face to face with Federal officials.

Deadline To Apply To Be New Fire Chief In Grand Bay-Westfield

(Grand Bay-Westfield Mayor Grace Losier)
                      (File Photo)

Today is the deadline to have your resume in to town officials in Grand Bay-Westfield if you would like to be the new fire chief. The position was left vacant when Dan McCoy left the post to become deputy chief for the Kennebecasis Department. Mayor Grace Losier tells CHSJ News, it will take a few more weeks to choose the top candidate and it's not a slam dunk that they will promote from within the department. Losier says a few resumes have already crossed her desk. She's hoping to announce who gets the job at the town council meeting on April 26th.

Well known city dentist passes away

A well-know city dentist has passed away.
Dr. Leesha Zed died Monday at the regional hospital.
He had a dental practice on Carleton street for 44 years and was known to even sing to his patients.


Visitation will take place tonight between 7 and 9 at Fitzpatrick's on Waterloo Street and again tomorrow from 4 to 9pm.
The funeral mass will be at Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Rothesay at 12pm on Thursday.

New Brunswick Health Council issues first report

The New Brunswick Health Council's report card on the health system shows that on average we are on par with other centres but, need to improve primary care.

CEO Stephane Robichaud tells CHSJ News that means how you receive the care when you to a hospital or another health care facility.


Robichaud says we need to improve the treatment someone receives across the province in areas like chronic illness management.

This is the first Health Council report card and they believe the annual reports should help organizations track changes over time.

Enterprise Saint John Backs Peel Plaza

If the final price tag comes in where they expect it, Enterprise Saint John is giving a glowing endorsement to the Peel PLaza project.


The cost how-ever has been a bone of contention with Deputy Mayor Stephen Chase who fears it has reached $60 million dollars, a price tag he believes the city can't afford.


Enterprise Chair Bob Manning tells CHSJ News, projects of this size always present challenges.
One of the components that will make up Peel Plaza, the Law Courts, was unveiled by Premier Graham Last week with construction underway on the former YM-YWCA site on Hazen Avenue.

The Rally of Hope is Now The Give

(Rally Replacement Unveiled at Market Square)
              (Photo by Jim Hennessy)

It has been in the works since last June and today, the Regional Hospital Foundation unveiled the fund-raiser to replace Rally of Hope.


Tim Cameron is executive director and tells CHSJ News, the name they have chosen is ""The Give:""


He says the money for the campaign will be raised through bake, yard sales, barbeques, car washes and everything else they used to do leading up to the Rally.
The goal this year is $754,000 dollars for the emergency and trauma departments.

New Ferry is on the River

(Harold Nase Ready for Boarding)
      (Photo by Jim Hennessy)

Grand Bay Westfield has a new ferry.


The Henry Nase was christened near the Brundage Point River Center and taken for a ride across the river by guests and dignitaries on hand.


Transportation Minister Denis Landry tells CHSJ News, at a cost of four million dollars, they got the best bang for their buck.


The ferry has a capacity for 24 vehicles and 97 passengers.


The ferry was under-going trial runs at the Gondola Point landing for the past month and a half.

Steady Progress on One Mile Interchange

(Ramp of the New One Mile Interchange)
             (File Photo)

Two years complete and two more to go is the schedule for the One Mile Interchange.


Construction crews continue to make steady progress on the structure.


Engineer with the Department of Transportation Allan Kerr tells CHSJ News, the spring like weather for the past few months has been a huge help.
The link will be 700 meters when it is finished in 2012 with the main goal to give truck traffic going to the indutrial parks direct access to Bayside Drive.

Base Embarks on Energy Efficiency Project

CFB Gagetown is taking part in an energy efficiency project that aims to save the base 1.6 million dollars in savings.
The work is underway to reduce utility costs in about 175 of the base facilities in this province and in Prince Edward Island.

The project includes replacing 130,000 lights in 163 buildings to energy efficient ones.
In some of the base's washrooms, lunchrooms and conference rooms they will have occupancy light sensors meaning they are only on when needed.

Swerving To Miss Deer Lands Two People In Hospital

Two people were taken to hospital after their vehicle went out of control and left route 124 at Kars. The RCMP in Sussex say the 36 year old woman, who was driving with a 16 year old passenger, attempted to avoid hitting a deer when she left the road going onto the gravel shoulder and then losing control. Her vehicle ran into a hydro pole and rolled over. The two were wearing their seatbelts and police say their injuries were not life threatening.

City Wants To Use Its Vacant Land For Residential Development

The city wants to see more residential development to take place so it can derive more property tax revenue. To that end, Chief City Planner Ken Forrest has drawn up a plan of action on what vacant and surplus lands owned by the city can be used for housing. He's trying to downplay expectations saying there isn't as much land just lying about as some people might believe. He will have a list of the best such properties for Common Council in June. Forrest says the big problem in Saint John is not the availability of land but momentum to get the projects going.
Common Councillor Patty Higgins believes the city has come up short when it comes to furthering residential development. She claims it should be a priority. Higgins doesn't want Saint John to be a donut city where the majority of the people live on the outside with virtually nothing in the middle.

Regional Hospital To Unveil What Will Replace Rally Of Hope

After months of planning, we will find out today what event will replace the Rally of Hope. The Regional Hospital Foundation has called a news conference for noon at the atrium in Market Square. It is hoped with this new event, they will be able to draw in more people to help raise cash. The final and 24th Rally of Hope was held at the Canada Games Stadium on June 21st of last year and took in $1.6 million dollars.

Mayor Explains Comment On Harbour Bridge That Upset Saint John M-P

       (Saint John Mayor Ivan Court)
                 (File Photo)

"Not worth the paper it is written on."" That comment has raised the blood pressure of MP Rodney Weston. Mayor Court is quoted in the newspaper as saying that about the proposal from Ottawa concerning the Harbour Bridge but Court tells CHSJ News, those are not his words.
Court says for the Province to take over a bridge that will have to be replaced somewhere down the road, there are still ongoing maintenance costs even if the tolls are removed. Court says he is thrilled repairs are getting started but expects there is some hard bargaining yet to come.

City Police Investigate Stabbing And City Road Hotel Evacuated

One man was stabbed early last night at an apartment on King Street West. The victim was taken to hospital to be treated and was later released. The Major Crime Unit is now investigating but has not made an arrest yet. Meantime, City fire crews had another 8 or 9 more grass fires to contend with yesterday. Those are in addition to about a dozen over the long weekend. They also got a call from the Colonial Inn on City Road. Heavy smoke was seen coming from the laundry room which prompted the evacuation of the hotel for about an hour. Firefighters discovered the cause to be a vent in one of the commercial driers that got clogged with lint.

Conservative Leader Coy About Future Of N-B Power