Getting hurt on the job can be a worker's worst fear, and fewer New Brunswickers are seeing that fear become a reality.
That's according to the 2013 report for WorkSafe NB. President Gerard Adams tells CHSJ News the partnership between employers, workers and his organization is creating positive results. Adams says educating people on prevention is a large part of what they do and they devote a lot of time, energy and resources to developing the culture of workplace safety.
He says the report also shows the province has one of the lowest assessment rates in Canada and the lowest in Atlantic Canada which is good for the business community.
Click here to see the 2013 report.
We tend to think of
the food bank during the Christmas season but the need exists all year
for children and families in this province.
When
doing your grocery run this weekend, you can make a donation of money
or non-perishable food to the Extra Helping spring food drive.
Matt Barnett of the K.V. Superstore tells CHSJ News they take part because it's important to help.
He says the community supports them so they like to support the community where they can and help out those who are in need.
You can donate to the Extra Helping spring food drive until April 24th at any No Frills, Save-Easy or Superstore.
For the first time ever in North America, there are more children suffering from mental health conditions than physical ones.
The problem could get worse with a greater percentage of children growing up poor.
The people who study early childhood development say the first six years are critical and the more children are nurtured, stimulated and engaged during this time, the better chance they have of success later in life. 70 per cent of mental health problems begin during childhood or adolescence and growing up poor is viewed as damaging to a child as neglect and abuse.
The lifetime cost of childhood mental health disorders in Canada is estimated at 200 billion dollars by the Mental Health Commission. A report by TD Bank Economics is claiming in order for early childhood investment in Canada to be raised the the level of other advanced economies would cost from 3 to 4 billion dollars.
A house fire at 911 Hillcrest Road in East Saint John being deemed accidental.
The call coming in just before 4pm, and Division Chief Mark Wilson of the Saint John Fire Department says the first crews on the scene reported heavy fire on the outside of home near the garage that also engulfed a trailer and lawn mower.
While the blaze did move into the attached garage, firefighters were able to stop it from spreading any further. Wilson says there was minor damage inside the kitchen. The residents and a dog got out of the home safely.
The Saint John Fire Department responding to a fire in East Saint John earlier today.
Crews managed to knock down the blaze that may have started with a lawn mower which caught fire next to a trailer and garage at 910 Hillcrest Road.
The people who live there and a dog got out safely.
Hillcrest Road was blocked at Churchland Road and Golden Grove road.
A 25-year-old man and a 29-year-old woman have been arrested after a search conducted at a home in Geary today.
Police seized a quantity of marihuana and cash. The two residents were arrested a short time later, then released.
They are expected to appear in court on drug-related charges at a later date.
Co-sleeping with kids and newborns is common practice for some parents--but it can be dangerous according to a committee investigating the deaths of two children in New Brunswick.
In both cases, the families were known to Child Protection Services.
As well, they recommend babies and kids never be allowed to sleep on couches or other unsafe surfaces.
The department plans to beef up its efforts to educate parents on those dangers within 45 days.
Provincial NDP leader Dominic Cardy says we don't need an independent review to determine the accessibility of abortion services in the province.
Cardy tells CHSJ News what we have to do is follow the law as laid out by the Supreme Court. He say the 1988 ruling guarantees publicly funded abortion services to every woman in the country.
The NDP is calling for the requirement that two doctors give their okay for medical reasons before an abortion can be performed in New Brunswick to be rescinded.
Just after 3am, city police noticed a vehicle parked in a lot off Waterloo where it looked like something was seriously wrong. The vehicle was running and had smoke pouring from the hood area.
Taking a closer look, they found the driver passed out at the wheel with his foot on the accelerator, causing the vehicle to over-rev and overheat.
He was taken to the drunk tank for the night and has a future court date for DUI and refusing a breathalyzer.
The New Brunswick Drug Plan will start providing coverage to New Brunswickers on a voluntary basis starting May 1.
In the legislature, Health Minister Ted Flemming touted the success of the program with 600 people asking for applications--and he's hoping to see more.
But Liberal MLA Victor Boudreau says those figures aren't actually that impressive considering there are 150,000 uninsured New Brunswickers. He advises Health Minister shouldn't get so excited about a small fraction actually showing interest.
The new forestry plan has been slammed as "devastating" and "radical" by the Green Party, biologists, and forestry management experts--but Premier David Alward says he's proud to be part of the team that has introduce that plan, and the development will be responsible.
Liberal Leader Brian Gallant says his party is all for responsible development, but the Alward government has refused to discuss any of the science on which the plan is based and that is a massive cause for concern.
Alward responding to questions with allegations the Liberals are simply against any forward movement.
Chisholm Pothier says Jim Flaherty was an old school politician who believed political rival didn't mean political enemy.
The former Finance Minister's Director of Communications tells CHSJ News he was well regarded by everyone.
Pothier says Flaherty loved the cut and thrust of life as a parliamentarian adding he liked people and they liked him.
Flaherty's ancestors arrived at Patridge Island in the 1840's while fleeing the potato famine in Ireland and Pothier says this province held a place in his heart.
His final budget included funding for a study to determine the future of Patridge Island.
It's some bad news for Canada's public broadcaster.
CBC has announced it will be cutting over 650 full time jobs over the next two years and will no longer compete with private broadcasters for professional sports rights. They will, however, still compete for rights to the Olympics.
CBC is reportedly facing a $130-million budgetary shortfall for 2014-15.
Jim Flaherty's death at 64 is made worse because it came only weeks after reaching a retirement he was looking forward too.
Saint John's MP Rodney Weston tells CHSJ News it was a complete shock to learn about it in the House of Commons.
Weston says he was a tremendous individual who carried this country during a difficult period when it needed a steady hand at the wheel.
Premier David Alward says Flaherty was a nation-builder who took great pride in serving Canadians.
Many tweeting out their condolences including Liberal Leader Brian Gallant.
Gallant calls him a man who was working to improve our circumstances and a patriot.
Fredericton Mayor Brad Woodside described him as tough and focused on debt reduction.
The New Brunswick Energy Institute has a new chair.
David Besner has been appointed for a three-year term, effective immediately.
Besner is a chemical engineer and former assistant deputy minister with the provincial government. He had been acting as interim chair of the institute since last October.
The last chair, Louis LaPierre, stepped down after admitting to falsifying his academic credentials.
Quite a transformation taking place at Bayside Middle School with renovations to its auditorium now in the home stretch. A school committee has managed to raise 350 thousand dollars to payh for the project and is being helped out by a 25 thousand dollar contribution from Irving Oil.
French Immersion teacher Shawna Spinks is a member of the fundraising committee who has had a long association with the school--she says the auditorium is a place that holds a lot of memories for many people.
All the chairs in the auditorium, which dated back to 1949, are being replaced. The revamped auditorium will also be wheelchair accessible. The washrooms are being modernised and a sprinkler system is being installed. The renovations are expected to be finished later this month.
Things are back to normal at Point Lepreau and its once again at full power adding about 660 megawatts to the grid.
The station went offline last Saturday night after a problem with one of the turbine system pumps.
It was synchronized to the grid yesterday and over the last 24 hours power was gradually increased back to 100 per cent.
Site VP and Chief Nuclear Officer Sean Granville says they are pleased that their team of nuclear professionals to quickly identify and resolve the issues.
The closure of New Brunswick's only abortion clinic has been making national headlines since it was announced in Fredericton this morning.
A few hours later in the provincial legislature, Liberal Leader Brian Gallant called for an independent review into abortion access in New Brunswick, saying New Brunswick is lagging behind the rest of Canada when it comes to addressing the issue.
This questioning of the status quo represents a departure for the Liberals, who have historically aligned with the PCs on abortion legislation.
Health Minister Ted Flemming says the government's position hasn't changed--women in New Brunswick have access to abortions under certain medical circumstances and in his view further comment would be inappropriate.
Currently in New Brunswick, women can only get an abortion in a hospital with the approval of 2 doctors, and clinic abortions are not covered.
The Saint John Police Association and the Police Commission will avoid binding arbitration after reaching a new three year contract agreement which is retroactive to January of last year.
The agreement came just as the two sides were about to start arbitration. The Police Association applied for arbitration back in September and there was some bitterness when Mayor Mel Norton was talking about a study on what it would cost to bring in the RCMP.
City Police officers will be getting pay raises of 4.5 per cent retroactive to January of 2013, 3.75 per cent as of this past January and another 3.75 per cent next January.
The deal also opens up the possibility of layoffs for those police officers hired after November 1st of 2011 along with the use of more civilians in jobs traditionally done by police officers.
Parents, teachers and some students wondering how to squish 10 missed days of teaching into the remaining school year.
Zoe Watson of the Anglophone South School District tells CHSJ News high schools are concerned about the time missed.
She says they changed semesters at the end of January.
Only 2 days were missed in the first semester while the second semester saw 8 missed days.
After one recent storm they didn't close schools and the forecast changed significantly so it was necessary to send the students home at noon.
Watson says two weeks ago the snow days interfered with Parent/Teacher days and schools worked hard to get the evening portion in.
As far as extending the school year goes, the number of teaching days is a contractual issue so it would not be easily accomplished.
