Energy Minister Jack Keir at Harbour Station

Senator Pleased With New Appointments

Senator John Wallace says it's good the Senate is finally at par with the House of Commons in terms of Tory representatives.

Wallace tells CHSJ News, the new appointments will allow government legislation through the Senate, because the Liberal Government no longer has more seats than the Tories.
Wallace says the new Senators will allow more justice related legislation to pass.
He says a a bill will be moved soon to cap a Senators run at 8 years, and also to make a Senate seat a vote based position.

Upgrades to Video System at Harbour Station

[Energy Minister Jack Keir----Photo by Dave Briggs]

The Energy Minister was in town for what he calls a pleasure to announce.
All three level of governments are kicking in over $350 thousand dollars to upgrade the video system at Harbour Station.
Jack Keir says when the call went out for funding, he and colleague M-L-A Roly McIntryre took it to the Premier and said it's an important project for the city, but for Harbour Station and the Seadogs.
The updated scoreboard will feature HD technology, and Mayor Ivan Court says now the scoreboard will reflect the same quality off the ice as there is on the ice.
The project is estimated to be completed before March 31st, 2011.

Harbour Bridge Discussions Continue

[Saint John M-P Rodney Weston----Photo by Dave Briggs]

Saint John M-P Rodney Weston says discussions are still on going with the province and the Harbour Bridge Authority about the funding issue.

Weston tells CHSJ News, the end isn't here, but hopefully close.
Weston says the Harbour Bridge has been the topic of most of the conversations he has been having lately, specifically with Minister Keith Ashfield, who is responsible for the Atlantic Gateway.

No Complaints About Closing Schools

District 8 isn't receiving any phone calls about why school was closed today.

This comes after receiving several complaints from parents on Monday, when the expected bad weather never showed up.
A spokesperson for the district tells CHSJ News, everyone seems to be in agreement that closing schools today was the right decision.
This is the second day this week schools in District 8 and 6 were closed due to weather, and only the second snow day of the year.

Highway One Disruption of Traffic

Construction of the One Mile Interchange will be disrupting traffic along Highway One in the vicinity of Crown Street this afternoon. Andrew Holland of the Provincial Transportation Department tells CHSJ News traffic will be closed both ways along the highway around 2:00 to allow for blasting and the subsequent cleanup. Holland doesn't expect the highway in that area to be blocked for anymore than 20 minutes.

Weathermaker Surprises Saint John

(File Photo)

Saint John is expected to wind up with 10 to 15 centimeters of snow with higher totals in the K-V and Sussex from the latest weathermaker. Jeremy March of Environment Canada tells CHSJ News the storm system turned out to be more intense than was originally forecast. March warns it will turn windy and alot colder this afternoon as well. All schools are closed today in Districts 6 and 8. Just the mainland schools will be closed today in District 10 and exams scheduled for today will be held on Monday. Samuel de Champlain in District 1 will also be shut down for the day.

Sergeant Mark Gallagher's Funeral in Woodstock

(Sergeant Mark Gallagher)

(File Photo)

Friends, family and hundreds of police officers from across the country have remembered a Mountie from this province who was killed in the devastating earthquake in Haiti. About 700 police officers marched in a procession to St. Gertrude's Roman Catholic Church in Woodstock before the R-C-M-P regimental funeral for Sergeant Mark Gallagher. His friend, Reverend Karl Ingersoll, spoke of a man who dedicated his life to serving others. His wife Lisa spoke of a man with a generous heart who was conflicted about his service in Haiti and spoke of the overwhelming poverty he saw there. Some 350 people packed the small brick church for the service, while an overflow of mourners watched the funeral on television at a local civic centre in Woodstock and at the Moncton Wesleyan Church.

Energy Minister Apologizes

(Provincial Energy Minister Jack Keir)

(File Photo)

Provincial Energy Minister Jack Keir has apologized to the legislature after earlier claiming N-B Power president David Hay voted in favour of a 3.2-(b)-billion-dollar electricity deal with Hydro-Quebec. Keir says he was given the wrong information in a staff briefing and later found out Hay had actually abstained from the vote. Opposition Energy critic Paul Robichaud is suggesting the reason Hay abstained is that he doesn't support the NB Power deal. Hay is saying one way or the other.

Premier's State of the Province Address

(Premier Shawn Graham)

(File Photo)

Premier Shawn Graham says his government has been pressing ahead with reforms and should have done a better job communicating. Graham says his state of the province speech last night was an effort to better explain the changes his government has made, and connect the dots to the goal of creating self-sufficiency. The Premier also says communities in New Brunswick will be able to generate their own electricity and sell it to N-B Power. Only brief details of the plan last night as part of his state of the province address. Graham says it will mean more renewable energy generated within the province and help meet objectives of his government's climate action plan. Further details will be announced in a few weeks.
About 150 opponents to the deal to sell assets of N-B Power to Hydro-Quebec protested outside prior to the speech.

Economic Growth Report Results

A report conducted by CIBC on the state of provincial economys shows the Maritimes will unlikely repeat the success of 2009.

The report states economic growth in the Maritimes will not like outperform other provinces like it did weathering the economic downturn, and any gains will likely be insignificant.
CIBC is predicting New Brunswick will appear more attractive to industry due to lower power rates, and tax cuts, but sectors like forestry and business services will suffer do to some capital investments being put off.
Saskatchewan will lead in economic growth with a 3 per cent gain. New Brunswick is looking at a 2.2 per cent gain, and the slowest expansion comes from PEI at 1.8 per cent.

Oromocto RCMP Searching for Assault Suspect

[Lonnie Dellas Carr---Photo Courtesy of the RCMP]

A follow up to a story we first told you about Saturday----The RCMP are on the lookout for a 45 year old man from Fredericton Junction in relation to aggravated assault, evading police, and discharging a firearm.

Lonnie Dellas Carr was charged following an incident on Saturday where the RCMP responded to a complaint involving a handgun.
The suspect used a handgun to get into a home of an acquaintance and assaulted the person causing serious injury.
RCMP are asking if anyone sees Carr to call them or Crime Stoppers immediately and not to approach him.

A Group to "Save Our Horses"

The decision to close the Rockwood Park Horse Barn has riled a few Saint Johnners, some of whom are now wearing sweaters with "Save Our Horses" stickers on them. Brian Stone of Citizens for Fair Taxation tells CHSJ News if the move is being made to save a few dollars, it's ill conceived.

Stone also says it appears some members of Common Council are in the dark believing that negotiations are still going on.

Reaction to NB Power CEO Resignation

All was not well in the camp of NB Power's Board of Directors over the proposed sale of some of the assets to Hydro Quebec. That's the take of Tom Mann of the Coalition opposing the sale and points to David Hay's announced departure this week as President and C-E-O. He says those who are opposed to the deal have very different reasons for doing so.

Mann says a third group believes the province would be giving up control of its energy future with the sale.

NB Power Court Challenge

A monkey wrench has been thrown in the works as far as the legal challenge to the NB Power sale is concerned. The Provincial Government is sticking with the legal provision that 2 months notice is required in writing which would delay matters until the time when the revised agreement is supposed to be approved. The court challenge is being filed in the name of Auguste Gallant who worked many years for the province.

Gallant says even if the deal is signed, sealed and delivered, a judge can still rule it's illegal and declare it null and void.

Rally to Oppose Sale of NB Power Assets

Saint Johners opposed to the sale of NB Power are invited to a rally today at the intersection of St. Patrick and Union Street at 4:30.

The demonstration is in collaboration with the No To the Sale of NB Power rally being held at the University of New Brunswick Student Union Building in Fredericton tonight where the Premier will be delivering his State of the Province address.

Four New ER Doctors at the Regional

The Regional Hospital is welcoming four new emergency department physicians.

Dr. Paul Atkinson, Dr. Matthew Grabove, Dr. Peter Ross, and Dr. Glenn Verheul will all be joining the department for both clinical and academic work.
Head of Emergency Medicine at the hospital Dr. Michael Howlett says the recruitment of these four doctors is a major step towards ensuring long term stability of the department.
All four doctors are also a part of the Dalhousie University Emergency Medicine Faculty.

Hampton RCMP Looking for Vehicle Thief

The RCMP in Hampton are looking for the person responsible for nabbing a pick up truck from a driveway last night.

A 33 year old Kingston man reported his 2005 Dodge Ram truck stolen from his yard just after midnight.
The vehicle is described as white, with the license plate number CNT-727, and had a snowmobile in the back.

Price of Milk To Rise Next Week

Milk will cost you a bit more starting Monday. It has been announced by the Farm Products Commission that the price will be rising by one cent a litre as of February 1st. The Farm Commission terms the increase modest saying operating costs were kept down because of lower fuel prices. School milk prices will remain the same for another year. The Commission says processors and operators subsidise that programme at a cost of 1.3 million dollars a year.

Saint John Improves Position in Monopoly Voting

Uptown restaurant owners, Saint John's Mayor and MP and the President of the Board of Trade are encouraging everyone to vote and get the Port City on a new version of the board game Monopoly. You can vote once a day at monopolyvote.ca. Saint John is ahead of Fredericton in the voting and currently sits at 55th out of 65 cities. 20 cities will be chosen for the game.