Liberal Leader Makes Stop In Saint John

Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff paying Saint John a visit on his campaign trail.

When asked about what he would do about the long surgical wait times and shortage of doctors in the province, he says he would meet with the Premiers of each province within sixty days of being elected in order to address those issues.


He says another target in his sights would be improving home-care service, noting that the Liberals are the only party to have a home-care plan in their platform.

Tillis And Morgan To Bring Combo Tour To Saint John

Two legendary country singers are bringing their two-woman show to Saint John in June.
Pam Tillis and Lorrie Morgan are both daughters of country royalty but have successful careers on their own.
Tillis is the daughter of singer-songwriter Mel Tillis and Morgan is the daughter of George Morgan famous for his song "Candy Kisses".
Pam Tillis and Lorrie Morgan bring "The Grits and Glamour Tour" to the Imperial Theatre on June 13th.
Tickets go on sale tomorrow. For the link and the number to get tickets click here

NDP Candidate Slams Conservatives Over Safe, Clean Drinking Water

The NDP candidate who's running in Saint John, Rob Moir says if the Conservatives didn't reduce the corporate tax rate, the money might have been there to help pay for safe, clean drinking water.

It's Common Council's number one priority but Moir tells CHSJ News the cupboard is bare at City Hall because there are other things that need fixing such as the roads

 Moir questions how much of a priority safe drinking water can be for incumbant Rodney Weston when he supports the lower corporate tax rate.

The city is looking for 57.4 million dollars in funding from the federal government.

Port Authority At Odds With Commercial Fishermen

Controversy has arisen over the Saint John Port Authority's new land use plan. There's no mention in that plan about there being a place at the port for commercial fishermen.

 Nicholas Paul, the policy analyst with the Maliseet Nation Conservation Council, tells CHSJ News they got a letter last month telling them to vacate the port by the end of June. The Commercial Fisheries Manager with the St. Mary's First Nation, Jeremy Paul maintains that won't happen because the order violates their treaty rights.

The President and C-E-O for the Port Authority Jim Quinn says he wants to find both a short term solution and long term one.
 
Stephen Campbell, who chairs the Board of Directors at the Port Authority, argues the Federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans will have to step up to the plate if there is to be a long term solution found.

Emergency Calls For The Ken Valley Now Handled By The City

The way emergency calls are being handled for the Ken Valley are undergoing a change. 

This means any 911 calls answered by the Saint John communications centre will be dispatched directly to Rothesay Police or the KV Fire Department, bypassing the Rothesay Regional Police comm centre.

Saint John Police Chief Bill Reid says this will cut down on response times compared to the old system and the process will be seamless for residents.

Rothesay is paying the Saint John Police Force about 270-thousand dollars annually for the service.

Another Robbery In City

City Police looking for two people after a holdup at the Petro Can at Loch Lomand Road and McAllister Drive.

The pair ran off with an undisclosed amount of cash.

Police tell CHSJ News no one was injured.

Protest Outside Cathedral For Women's Equality

A number of demonstrators with placards calling for the ordination of women as priests showing up last night outside the cathedral on Waterloo Street.

Cathy Holtman of the Catholic Network for Women's Equality concedes the Vatican is excommunicating those women who have been ordained along with the clerics who support them.

 She believes the Church heirarchy's heavy handedness shows how worried the Vatican is about this issue and support ordination of woman has among the parishioners.

Holtman also finds it odd the bishops who covered up the fact priests were sexually abusing young people in their dioceses have not been excommunicated.

Saint John Gets First Visit From Federal Party Leader

Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff visits the Port City today to glad hand with local party faithful.

Ignatieff will attend a Liberal party meet and greet at the Saint John Ale House at 12:15 and will speak to the media following that event. He heads to Nova Scotia from Saint John for another campaign event.

NDP Leader Jack Layton is expected in the city on Monday. The details of his visit have not been released.

Conservative leader Stephen Harper is making a quick trip to the province today as well but his itinerary doesn't include Saint John. Harper will make a quick stop in Edmundston this afternoon then it's on to Fredericton for a rally this evening.

Premier's Energy Commission Wants Baseboard Heaters Banned

Electricity consumers may soon be paying far more if they are energy hogs -- the provincial energy commission is making the recommendation based on feedback during public consultations since last fall.

Co-chair Bill Thompson says it would involve a second more expensive rate tier for electricity rates. He has heard from alot of people they find it odd the more power that was consumed resulted in a reduced rate even though it's costing more to produce that electricity.

Thompson says the commission is also recommending the government pass legislation banning electric baseboard heaters. He says we should be moving to natural gas as a transition fuel to more renewable energy sources.

The commission will send its proposed ten year energy plan to government next month.

Local Federal Candidates Discuss Poverty In Saint John

All 5 Saint John candidates in the federal election taking part in a poverty and social policy discussion earlier today.

About 75 people coming out to the event which was sponsored by the Human Development Council.

Conservative Candidate Rodney Weston tells CHSJ News while their are many angles to tackling poverty in the city, one of the key methods is collaboration with frontline groups.

NDP candidate Rob Moir says he has a two-prong approach on how to reduce poverty: a functioning education and skilled job creation.
 
Meanwhile, Liberal Candidate Stephen Chase tells CHSJ News creating a climate where the economy can thrive is one way to begin addressing poverty in Saint John.





Green Party Candidate Sharon Murphy-Flatt says a guaranteed livable wage is needed to lift people out of the poverty cycle.


And independent candidate Arthur Watson Jr. says he would support any legislation that would reduce poverty in the city.


Organizer of the event Randy Hatfield says as the income divide becomes greater between the rich and the poor, poverty and social policy will become more of a key issue in federal politics.

Brief Power Outage On The West Side

A short power interuption on the West side today.
Nearly 1000 Saint John Energy customers in the dark for 27 minutes because of a failed lightning arrrestor on King Street west.
A spokesperson tells CHSJ News the lightning arrestor will be fixed at a later date.

CCNB Split On Energy Commission Recommendations

The Provincial Conservation Council likes some of the Energy Commission's recommendations and dislikes others.

Climate and Energy Coordinator Raphael Shay tells CHSJ News they find a wide range of points to improve efficiency programs and recognition that public transporation needs greater attention encouraging.

Shay notes the recommendations gut the province's renewable energy and climate change targets adding the commissioners are betting big on natural gas without recognizing the carbon footprint that comes unconventional sources like shale gas.

Unexpected Outage On The West Side

The power is out on the lower West side near the Port after an unplanned outage.

A Saint John Energy spokesperson tells CHSJ News they expect the lights to be back on by about 3:10 this afternoon.

Province Boosts Wellness And Sport Spending

The province's budget for wellness projects is going up by $808,000 and the sports plan sees a funding increase of 25 per cent. Wellness, Culture and Sports Minister Trevor Holder tells CHSJ News says they plan to double funding to sports over the course of their mandate.
He says increases are going to programs like Kidsport and Jumpstart so underprivileged youth in the province have access to recreation programming.
Holder says the numbers on childhood obesity, diabetes and mental illness in the province have been negative in recent months, he's hoping this funding will help turn that around and give us something positive to talk about.

Alward Says 75 Per Cent Of Flooding Assistance Has Been Handed Out

According to Premier David Alward, 75 percent of the provincial disaster relief dollars has been paid out to the victims of the December floods.
He tells CHSJ News the next big item on their list to getting Charlotte Country back to normal is infrastructure repair.
Alward says a final total isn't in yet but, early estimates were in the 50 million dollar range.
He says the costs could be even higher once crews get a better look at the damage in the spring weather.

Natural Gas Pricing Will Be Tackled By Energy Commission

The Alward government's energy commission says it's being told by the public to look at ways of reducing energy costs.
Commission co-chair Bill Thompson says one of the keys to reducing the cost of energy is to be more flexible in how we source energy through renewable sources provincially and partnerships with our neighbours to tap into their renewable energy sources.

Thompson says natural gas is being suggested as a transition fuel as we move from tranditional electrical generation sources in this province.

But -- one of the challenges in transitioning to natural gas is the cost of delivery -- he says the commission will deal with the regulation of natural gas prices in its final report on a ten year enegy plan due next month.
 
The public feedback document released by the commission this morning is available here.

Ignatieff To Visit The Port City Tomorrow

Michael Ignatieff will be in Saint John tomorrow.

CHSJ News learning the Liberal leader will be making a campaign stop in the Port City likely to lend support to local candidate Stephen Chase.

Ignatieff will be the first of the party leaders to visit the city with NDP Leader Jack Layton coming on Monday.  

Millrats Leave Premier Basketball League

The Premier Basketball League is likely no more after a dispute over the officiating during the playoffs.

Saint John President and General Manager Ian McCarthy says the Millrats have decided to leave the P-B-L because Rochester home referees were being used during road games involving the Rochester Razor Sharks and they were given an advantage on the court when it came to fouls and free throws.

In addition to that, the owner of the Razor Sharks also owns the League which assigns the officials.

McCarthy tells CHSJ News pro basketball will be played in Saint John next season. One option is to have all Canadian teams including Moncton and Halifax.

Another option, according to McCarthy, is to join the NBA Development League.

Arrest Made In South End Home Invasion

One person has been arrested and one is still on the loose after a robbery just before midnight at an apartment on Mecklenberg Street.

It has been described to us as a home invasion but police tell CHSJ News this was not random and there were no injuries.

Federal Election Candidates To Debate Poverty

The five local candidates in the federal election will be taking part in a debate and Question and nswer session about poverty and social policy today at the UNB Grand Hall.

The event is being sponsored by the Human Development Council and Executive Director Randy Hatfield tells CHSJ News there won't be a shortage of topics and it's important to hear from the candidates as there are mechanisms and tools in place that the federal government can use to deal with the poverty.

He says it's important to hear from the candidates on these issues because the federal government has a direct impact on them. The event begins at 12 noon.