Doucet Wants New Brunswick To Take A Stand For Injured Vets

A Liberal MLA is calling on the Alward government to send a dire message to the Capitol.

Rick Doucet for Charlotte-The Isles tells Tide News Canadian law requires armed forces to be ready for deployment for 10 years of service in order to be eligible for a pension.

Doucet says vets who are injured in the line of duty are losing their pensions because they are not able to fulfill their deployment duties.

He says, "Something has gone off track in the last year or so, where what's happening is injured veterans are being put out on the streets prior to their ten years. All I want to do is let's see if we can't work together and get it fixed."

Doucet says Motion 8 is currently being debated in the Legislature.

He wants to province to take a stand for vets and tell Ottawa its "the right thing to do".

Grand Manan Police Search For Driver In Hit & Run

Crimestoppers believe someone out there could help solve a hit and run case in Grand Manan.

Police say on the afternoon of August 6th, a cyclist was biking in Castalia, when he was struck by a vehicle on Route 776.

RCMP say the driver didn't stop and remain at the scene.

The cyclist was taken to the Grand Manan hospital for minor injuries, before being taken to the mainland for further testing.

If you know anything about this case, please contact Crimestoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or log on to www.crimenb.ca . Crimestoppers will pay up to $2000 for information leading to an arrest.

Alward Says They Will Find Efficiencies -- Not Cuts -- To Healthcare

Can our local hospitals and health clinics handle anymore cutbacks?

With the provincial deficit rising, many Charlotte County residents wondering what else will be on the chopping block in healthcare.

Premier David Alward in St. Stephen last night, addressing the pros and cons of the provincial economy.

Alward tells Tide News they will be looking for ways to carry on services more efficiently -- like they did with the laundry services. He says, "What I can tell New Brunswickers is we are committed to providing excellent healthcare, we have been changing how we do things, and I know people don't always like change, but what I can say is that this will allow us to focus on those things that are most important."

Alward says one example they want to concentrate on would be the catastrophic drug plan, in which New Brunswick is the only province without access.

St. Joe's Closes Because Of Watermain Break

St. Joseph's Hospital has been closed because of the water problems on the east side of Saint John.

This closure affected the operating rooms, all out-patient clinics and the Urgent Care Centre.

Patients needing care are being told to visit another clinic or go to the E-R at the Regional with the public being asked to not come to St. Joe's until further notice.

Alward Defends Provincially-Funded Ad

No doubt you have seen the ad during the commercial breaks on your favourite tv show.    

It's from the Province and features many New Brunswickers speaking about having to leave home to find work.
 
Premier David Alward says the ad sends a strong message to the folks working out west to not give up hope on be able to return home someday.

He says our young people and men and woman don't have the opportunities to stay home and build their lives here.

So how will the province sold the problem? Alward suggests the work the province is doing on developing our natural resources and investing in innovation will do the trick.


You can check out the ad yourself by clicking here

Water Problems Close St. Joe's

The water problems in the City of Saint John forcing the closure of St. Joseph's Hospital.

Operating rooms and all out-patient clinics at St. Joseph’s Hospital have been closed.

The Urgent Care Centre is closed until further notice. 

Patients needing care should arrange to visit another clinic or go to the ER at the Regional.

The public is asked to not come to St. Joe's until further notice.

Boil Water Order For Most Of City

A boil water order has been issued for everyone living east of the Reversing Falls Bridge because of a water main break on a transmission line near the Lakewood Heights Pump Station on the east side.

 Due to the water main break there was increased water flow at the Latimer Lake Treatment Facility resulting in insufficient chlorine being added to disinfect the water.
 
The West side, west of the Reversing Falls Bridge, is not affected. The boil water order is expected to last until early next week.

Alward Hopeful SWN Project Will Proceed

Premier David Alward attracting a large crowd to speak of the pros and cons of the provincial economy and the many projects on the horizon.
 
He was asking about when SWN resources might return now that testing in finished and he tells us he feels very good that they were able to finish their exploration phase.

He says now they will go back and analyze their information and making a decision on whether or not they would put in test wells but he adds he is hopeful.

Alward says he looks forward to meeting with company representatives in the coming weeks to hear about their results.

Provincial NDP Say Give Municipalities More Power

Provincial NDP leader Dominic Cardy says municipalities around the province are being hamstrung because they don't know until late in the year how much money they'll have to work with. 

Cardy says the provincial Department of Economic Development should be scrapped and that money, amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars, should be divided up among the various municipalities.
 
Cardy says the current system with the provincial government giving out unconditional grants, which can change drastically from year to year, prevents long term planning from taking place on the municipal level.


If the municipal politicians don't spend the money wisely, Cardy says voters can then give them the heave ho.