Despite claims to accept nothing less than full compensation for the cost overruns on the Lepreau refurbishment, the Liberals are seeing zero action on that.
The M-L-A in Charlotte County, Rick Doucet tells CHSJ News the cost overruns prove the Alward Conservatives can't stand up to the federal government.
A memo prepared for the Prime Minister's office estimates the refurbishment could wind up costing 3.3 billion dollars, almost a billion dollars more than previously estimated.
He says it's like the tax increase on July 1st adding the government is crafty by withholding the whole story from taxpayers.
Doucette says we won't see rates increase to cover NB Power's debt until after April of 2015, long past the next provincial election.
The Premier is thanking people in the province for stepping up to help in the wake of summer tragedies.
David Alward also thanks the Red Cross for guiding the efforts to help the victims of Alberta and Ontario flooding and those suffering following the train disaster in Quebec.
He points out the Atlantic team of volunteers also provided help to those displaced after the Wabush forest fire in Labrador and another in northern Quebec.
You can donate to the Red Cross to provide help to those impacted by Alberta flooding and the aftermath of the Lac Megantic train derailment.
To make a donation, call 1-800-418-1111.
A 30 year old man is now facing a list charges as long as your arm in connection with an incident shortly after 1am today.
Sergeant Jay Henderson tells CHSJ News police spotted a man looking in windows and checking cars near McLaren Boulevard. When they ran the name of the person, they found he van was stolen.When the man realized he was caught, he tried to run and a short foot chase followed.
He's now facing 6 charges including possession of stolen property, theft of a vehicle, possession of break and enter tools, drug possession, resisting arrest, and assaulting a police officer.
He is also being investigated for a theft earlier in the evening at Sobeys on Westmoreland Road.
Police are looking for the public's help nabbing the culprits in a break in at the Reversing Falls Jet Boat office.
Sergeant Jay Henderson tells CHSJ News the call came in shortly after midnight.
A cash register and an unknown amount of money were stolen.
Anyone with any information on their or any other break and enter is asked to contact police immediately Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
A new arena in Rothesay would cost an estimated 13 million dollars which is less than half that of a multi-purpose field house.
The town's Finance Committee expects $6 million would be contributed by the federal and provincial governments. The President of the KV Basketball Association Peter Bourque would like to see the old arena renovated with three or four courts.
He says they are running short of gym time, so they have had to cut back the amount of time kids can play and the amount of teams they can support.
Bourque has been told the town will do all it can to accommodate more space for basketball.
If you ever drive through Hampton you've probably seen the John Hooper statue of John Peters Humphrey--but how much do you know about the local man who wrote the Universal Declaration of Human Rights?
Filmmaker Greg Hemmings tells CHSJ News his new documentary, "The Boy Who Was Bullied" sheds some light on Humphrey's troubled childhood. Humphrey was a child amputee and a frequent victim of bullying. This film will show how he not only endured but eventually triumphed, becoming dean of law at McGill. After World War II, as part of a committee led by Eleanor Roosevelt, he drafted the document that is arguably the greatest achievement of the United Nations.
It includes the right of every person to live in safety.
The movie shows how Humphrey rose above his struggles to write one of the most influential documents in the West. It premieres on CBC Atlantic on Saturday at 8:00 pm AST.
As the price of oil continues to rise on world markets, we're feeling the effect of that in Saint John after the weekly setting of gas prices.
Self serve regular is over 5 cents a litre more expensive this morning at $1.29.6 in the city. Diesel rising, as well, to $1.33.1.
Heating oil is up to a maximum of $1.15.8 a litre but propane is down a bit at a maximum price of 95.7 cents.
The price of oil closed yesterday at its highest level in 16 months. The price has jumped 14 per cent in the past two and a half weeks because of rising demand in the U.S. and upheaval in Egypt.
With a rise in the province's unemployment rate, the Opposition Liberals are calling for an update from the Finance Minister on the fiscal situation in New Brunswick.
But Finance Critic Roger Melanson tells CHSJ News that's not all that's on their wish list — they also want a job summit hosted, something they've been asking about for the last two years.
Melanson says the Alward government doesn't have all of the solutions, and he wants to see different stakeholders from around the province come together and have a serious conversation about how to address the job crisis and financial situation.
He says the job crisis is affecting the quality of life of New Brunswickers because services are being cut.
A group of researchers from the Maritimes trying to make life a little easier for parents of children and youth suffering from depression, anxiety or other mental illnesses, getting a financial boost.
The group getting $2.5 million from the Department of Health to identify gaps in services available for kids and young people who have mental illnesses. Dr. Scott Ronis is a professor at UNB and the team's provincial representative, and tells CHSJ News their end goal is to make it easier to get help.
Part of the project is creating a web portal, where people can find and contribute information about the services they're getting. Ronis says that will change over time, so the idea would be to follow what is happening on the ground.
The funding announcement was made by Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq on June 26.
Recreation doesn't come cheap......Just ask the town of Sussex where the arena is saddled with a huge deficit and in danger of closing.
Grand Bay-Westfield Mayor Grace Losier waged her own battle a while back in a vain attempt to persuade people outside the town in the local service districts to pay for recreation they may not necessarily use at the River Valley Community Centre.
She says you can't just depend on the users to pick up the tab and recreation can mean alot when it comes to growing the population and even enhancing the chances of selling your home.
The Fundy Regional Services Commission will, at least, talk about regionalising recreation but not before hearing a presentation on what it means to have proper recreational opportunities.
Although the Gothic Arches was sold to a Toronto developer back in November, to the casual observer there hasn't been any visible progress on the proposal to turn the historic church into condos.
We checked in with Saint John real estate agent Bob McVicar, and he tells CHSJ News the project is exactly where they expected it to be, considering all the factors that need to be taken into account. All of the groups that were using the space have been relocated and the space is ready to go, says McVicar.
Developer Jody Cairns has moved to Saint John to oversee the project. According to McVicar there could be from 20 to 80 units put into the Arches depending on what happens with the local real estate market--which could change radically if the West-East oil pipeline comes to fruition.
There has been some concern expressed in light of the train disaster in Quebec about how safe rail traffic through the Saint John area is these days.
Mayor Mel Norton is confident what happened in Lac Magentic last weekend would not take place here. Norton explains Saint John has an excellent safety record with trains over the years which are never parked on inclines.
Rothesay Council isn't as confident as Norton is and wants more information about rail activity through the town with concern over the number of cars and the speed they're travelling at.
A little restaurant in the countryside outside of Sussex is going to be getting some national attention.
Giermindl's Old Bavarian Restaurant is being featured in the reality show You've Gotta Eat Here. Founders Adolf and Olga Giermindl along with 9 of their 11 children
immigrated to Canada in 1976. They chose the Knightville,
Kings County property to settle on because the rolling hills reminded us of their
native Bavaria region in Germany.
Manager Claudia Giermindl tells CHSJ News it was quite the experience working with show host John Catucci--even though she had a thing or two to teach him about traditional German cusine
The family-owned restaurant raises all their beef, lamb and pork on their own farm and specializes in traditional dishes like cabbage rolls, pork hocks, and schnitzel. To check out the website click here
The Saint John Police Force are confirming that the victim of July 6th train incident involving a 48 year old man, who was killed on the train tracks is Paul Kenneth Lorne Hayward of Saint John.
The incident occurred at or near Marsh Creek at approximately 5:45 AM.
The idea of one regional police department for the entire Saint John area has gone down in flames at the Regional Services Commission, even the option of leaving Rothesay and Quispamsis out of the equation didn't fly.
Mayor Mel Norton wanted to have options put on the table with how much they would cost. He sees the Regional Services Commission as a forum to have such a discussion and expressed disappointment the other members didn't appear open to new information.
Grand Bay-Westfield Mayor Grace Losier warns a study of this kind would be a waste of time, wind up costing as much as 250 thousand dollars and for what at the end of the day since no one is interested.
Rothesay Mayor Bill Bishop told the Commission the only two options he could see for greater regional policing would be the RCMP or a whole new police department.
When asked about the RCMP in Saint John, Norton replied by saying we have a good police department but Common Council is dedicated to finding better ways to deliver value for tax dollars.
With any luck, North America's toughest cops and firefighters could be showing off their skills in Saint John in 2018. The Port City has been shortlisted for the Can-Am Police-Fire Games.
Volunteer Gail Bremner tells CHSJ News the Games have something for everyone, such as SWAT, police service dog, toughest firefighter alive, pistol, and toughest competitor alive.
The last Canadian city to host the Can-Am Police-Fire Games was Saskatoon. According to Bremner, if Saint John is selected it could inject as much as 6 to 8 million dollars into the local economy. We'll find out the results in November.
Women looking for alternatives to a traditional hospital birth are out of luck in New Brunswick---at least for now.
Provincial NDP leader Dominic Cardy tells CHSJ News cutting funding to the Midwifery Association of New Brunswick is a backward move which fundamentally infringes on a woman's right to give birth where she chooses.
According to Cardy, the $10,000 the association needs to function is about equal to the cost of a single ministerial car--and the potential savings associated with midwifery are significant in light of the province's struggling healthcare system.
Using a midwife is $800 cheaper per hospital birth and $1800 cheaper per home birth according to the Ontario Department of Health. Cardy says with doctors in the province already overtaxed it makes no sense to cut a program we already promised to implement back in 2010.
Premier David Alward expressing his condolences to the people of Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, and says the province stands ready to offer any material support that may be helpful.
The small town east of Montreal devastated after a train derailment over the weekend. When the train went off the tracks on Saturday, it caused explosions, destroying buildings and killing at least 13 people.
To read Alward's message in its entirety, click here.
With cans, bottles and other recyclables piling up next to blue bins around the town, one councillor is saying Rothesay is close to getting curbside recycling.
Matt Alexander, who sits on the Public Works and Infrastructure Committee, tells
CHSJ News they've been talking about curbside recycling for the past
year, and are looking at implementing it in the fall.
However, he's just been named the town's representative to look at regionalization of waste and says talks on that front could affect the plan to start curbside recycling then positively or negatively.
Alexander says collaborating on the waste issue will be a good thing. He says by working together, there's the potential to save money. He says we need to find ways to increase education on recycling and composting and create programs to deal with the stagnating levels.
The Fundy Solid Waste Commission looking for a new regional approach to increase recycling and composting in place by next summer.
The amount of material being recycled and composted in the Fundy Region is stagnating.....So says Brenda MacCallum of the Fundy Region Solid Waste Commission who wants to see a review of what can be done to get people to throw away less garbage.
She tells CHSJ News one option is a pay as you throw system with people being charged for the additional garbage they toss out.
MacCallum says the town of Hampton has imposed a limit on garbage with success without illegal dumping. The town of Rothesay is moving towards curbside recycling.
The Solid Waste Commission would like a regional approach and a decision made on what that should be by next June.
