Workplace Injuries Go Down In Province

WorkSafe NB had a banner 2011.
 
According to it's annual report, injury frequency decreased by 1 percent while the province recorded the second lowest injury rate in the country.
 
WorkSafe President and CEO Gerard Adams tells CHSJ News he's very happy with the results.
 
He says there was also a decrease in the average assessment and our rates remain the lowest in Atlantic Canada. 

WorkSafeNB was also able to record a 55 million dollar surplus.

Provincial Government Wants Your Opinion On Proposed Natural Gas Changes

Court action is still possible over the proposed new natural gas regulations from ther Alward Government. The General Manager of Enbridge Gas Dave Charleson tells CHSJ News legal avenues are still be explored. 

In the meantime, Charleson says Enbridge Gas has let the government know any expansion of the natural gas system in the province would grind to a halt and he claims would be a shame for those people who want more affordable energy but don't have access to it.
 
The provincial government is looking for feedback on its proposed changes which have been denounced by former provincial cabinet minister Bud Bird as over reach. 

Ganongs and J-D Irving have been quite vocal in claiming they pay too much for natural gas.

Doctor Is Running In Rothesay For Election To Town Council

Dr. Nancy Grant, a radiation oncologist, will be running for a seat on Rothesay Town Council. 

She tells CHSJ News the town should development a youth strategy because it isn't immune to the same problems experienced in the city when it comes to young people. 

She also is calling for an affordable housing strategy and more accessible housing for people who are disabled.
 
Dr. Grant, who served on the old Renforth Council 20 years ago, says the town has done a good job handling its finances and she would like to continue keeping the tax rate low.

North End Councillor Will Seek Another Term

Another member of Common Council confirming she's running again. 

Patty Higgins is in Ward 2 and has locked horns publicly with Mayor Ivan Court over what she sees as inaction on the city's massive pension plan deficit.
 
In a commentary, Higgins accused the Mayor of playing fast and loose with the truth. 

Higgins points out the money that's going into the city's pension plan means frontline services like public transit, police, fire and water are doing without. 

Higgins has proposed the city pension plan be switched from defined benefits to an R-R-S-P model.

Rising Gas Prices Won't Last

A prediction from someone who should know that gas prices might still go up a bit before going down in Atlantic Canada.

So says Dave Collins of Wilson Fuel. He says speculators are driving up gas prices at the moment but a look at the futures market for gasoline shows a drop coming with the August price expected to be seven cents lower.

It's estimated speculation can drive the price up anywhere from 10 to 25 per cent.

Inter City Shuttle Bus Service Bites The Dust

A Prince Edward Island company has failed to get approval to start a door to door van shuttle service in the province.
    

Advanced Shuttle Services proposed to set up a reservations only shuttle service using 15-seat passenger vans but the Energy and Utilities Board rejected the application ruling the proposed service isn't covered under the province's Motor Carrier Act and didn't include a regular route.
   

The company was looking to run two shuttles which would make stops at the Regional Hospital and U-N-B Saint John. There would also be stops in Port Elgin, Moncton and Fredericton.

The company will be allowed to establish a charter service if it so desires.
 

Update On South End Stabbing

No one has been charged yet in the stabbing of a man in his 40's on Queen Street yesterday afternoon. 

City Police say a woman was taken in for questioning and then released. 

The victim was treated in hospital and released with the investigation continuing.

Some Milford Residents Under Boil Water Order

Residents on Milford Road and Francis Street will be boiling their water over the Easter weekend.

Contractors putting in a new sewer main on Milford road accidentally broke a water main.
To fix it, crews from Saint John Water had to isolate a section leaving some residents without water.

The Department of Health is aware and the boil water order impacts the civic numbers 5 to 46 Milford Road along with 5, 20 and 22 Francis Street.

Water should be brought to a rolling boil for a full minute and then cooled before it can safely be consumed.

Two consecutive clean tests are needed before the boil water can be rescinded.
The boil water order is expected to last into early next week.

Cameron Supports 1.5T MRI For The Regional

The President and CEO of the Saint John Regional Hospital Foundation welcomes the addition of a 1.5T MRI calling them the 'workhorse used in the vast majority of MRI scanning'.
 
Tim Cameron tells CHSJ News while the 3T MRI would be good news for tertiary cares hospitals like the Regional, 5 new 1.5T MRI machines benefit everyone.

He says the 1.5T MRI machines are meant for the public for secondary care while Cameron adds the 3T MRI is a highly advanced machine mainly used for neuro surgery.

Cameron adds they would have to raise the million dollars they offered the government and he'd love to do it now saying it would be the easiest campaign they have ever done.

Nugent Calls Presentation By Ferguson "Outrageously Defamatory"

City Solicitor John Nugent continuing his testimony in the John Ferguson defamation trial.

Defense lawyer Rod Gillis trying to get Nugent to agree that Ferguson's presentation to council about alleged wrongdoing was not defamatory but Nugent saying that taken as a whole, he found the it "outrageously defamatory."

Nugent would also not agree with Gillis that the "sweeping things under the carpet" comment was about the city and not the pension board.

Nugent also vehemently denied that he kept a log or diary of all of Ferguson's comments.

He said if anyone did, he had no knowledge of it.

when asked by Gillis if he planned on suing the Provincial Finance Minister for his recent gambling analogy when describing the city's pension plan.

Nugent told the court he was no longer on the board.
 
The trial resumes on Wednesday  -- John Ferguson is expected to take the stand at that time.

Stabbing On Queen Street

City police on the scene of a stabbing on Queen Street.

A man has been taken to hospital with non-serious injuries and the Major Crime Unit is interviewing the other person that was involved

The stabbing happened around 4pm.

Health Critic Says MRI Move Is Two Years Late

The Opposition health critic says the Conservatives have changed their tune on 3T MRI's since they came to government.

Liberal MLA Bill Fraser telling the Legislature that when Premier David Alward was the opposition leader in July of 2010 he promised 3T MRI's for Bathurst and Edmunston but as premier later backed out of giving them to Saint John and Moncton.

Fraser thanking Conservative MLA Dr. Jim Parrot for standing up to his government and his premier on this issue adding two years have been wasted when those machines could be up and running right now.

City Solicitor Questioned About Where His Loyalties Lay

City Solicitor and Pension Board trustee John Nugent was questioned over his conflict of interest and where his obilgation was at the defamation trial of former Common Councillor John Ferguson.
 
Nugent testified his obligation as a trustee was to members of the city's pension plan which prompted Ferguson's lawyer, Rod Gillis to ask what was his obligation to the city. Nugent told the court to suggest this was self serving was wrong and the makeup of the Pension Board was not some scheme concocted by employees.

The trial heard about how the comparison of Saint John's pension plan problems with those in San Diego came about. The Pension Board objected to the comparison because of lawsuits and a fraud investigation into San Diego's pension plan.

 Ferguson's lawyer Rod Gillis pointed out it was former City Finance Commissioner and Provincial Auditor-General Darryl Wilson who emailed Ferguson suggesting San Diego had similar pension problems as Saint John. It was Wilson who suggested someone from Saint John should contact the people in San Diego. 

Gillis told the court eliminating early retirement in 2005 would have saved more than 32 million dollars and deindexing would have saved another 29 million when the pension plan's deficit was 45 million dollars.     

BREAKING NEWS - Government Moves On Powerful MRI

The Alward government is now moving toward the eventual purchase of more powerful so called 3-T M-R-I units.

Health Minister Madelaine Dube says an MRI advisory group will be established by May 1st to review the technology and decide how to proceed with implementation of the units - and - file a report to government by the end of October.

Meantime -- Dube says the province will continue with upgrading older M-R-I units around the province to new 1.5-T M-R-I units.

The governing Conservatives found themselves in the center of a debate after the Regional Hospital Foundation offered a million dollars to help purchase the more powerful unit for our hospital.

The department of health confirming to CHSJ News that Saint John will be receiving one of the new 1.5T MRI units.

John Ferguson Defamation Trial

Do Not Drink Water Order Lifted

The folks who live in Blacks Harbour can now drink their water again. 

Blacks Harbour Mayor Terry James says the Department of Health has rescinded the Do Not Consume Order as the water test results it took were acceptable.

The do not drink order was imposed after the water became discoloured last weekend.

Mulcair Coming To Saint John

Saint John will be getting a visit from the new leader of the Federal NDP this month. 

Thomas Mulcair is one of the scheduled speakers when the provincial NDP holds its annual convention in the city starting on April 13th.

Mulcair's visit comes as the latest poll puts the federal Conservatives and New Democrats in a statistical dead heat.    

The survey carried out by Canadian Press-Harris Decima shows Conservative party support at 34 per cent while the N-D-P is at 32 per cent. The poll is seen as a sign the N-D-P got a boost from Mulcair's election as party leader almost two weeks ago. 

The Liberals, meantime, have dropped back to 19 per cent.
  

Hefty Increase In Price Of Self Serve Regular

As expected self serve regular has gone up in price and is now more expensive than diesel.

The rise, after the weekly setting came to almost 3 cents a litre and is being sold in the city for $1.39.6.

 Diesel is unchanged at $1.38.4 a litre.

Heating oil is a bit cheaper at $1.21.5 and propane is also down with a listed price of $1.04.9 a litre.

Saint John Y Honours Cohen & Peterson

An advocate and mentor loved for her enthusiasm is how the 2012 Red Triangle Award recipient Erminie Cohen was described.
The Saint John Y handing out the award in a gala ceremony at the Trade and Convention Centre.

The retired Senator tells CHSJ News volunteers have to care and want to give back to their communities.
She says once you make a difference you want to keep going.

Stephany Peterson, a UNB Saint John student and employee, is the 2012 Leader to Watch.
She says the school's sense of community exists in the whole city not just at the Tucker Park campus.

Over $50, 000 dollars was raised at the Red Triangle Awards for the Saint John Y's Strong Kids campaign.

City Solicitor Grilled At Defamation Trial

Before an unusually crowded courtroom at the defamation trial of former Common Councillor John Ferguson, his defence lawyer Rod Gillis began his cross examination of city solicitor John Nugent. 

Nugent testified while no close friends challenged him about the board's activities, thousands of strangers certainly made judgements. He told the court of overhearing conversations with people saying Ferguson was astute and on to something with his theories on the plan.

Nugent became a pension board trustee in 2003 and Gillis calculated Nugent's pension at $1.7 million dollars.  Nugent told the jury he had no idea whether that was true because he hasn't calculated it.
 
Nugent claims the investment strategies under his watch and says the accusation trustees were stealing money eroded trust but Gillis countered by pointing out Ferguson never said that.