Vote For Our Food Bank To Get Worthy Clean-Up

Our local food bank could use a good scrubbing -- you can help them with a click of your mouse.

Scrubbing Bubbles listing St. Stephen as one of its Top 10 finalists in the Let's Bubble campaign.

The nation-wide campaign is a call for Canadians to nominate places in their community deserving of a good clean-up.

Scrubbing Bubbles is collecting votes for the Volunteer Centre of Charlotte County to win the scrub-down by the Bubbles clean-up team. 

Voting ends June 10th.

To place your vote, click HERE

Atlantic Premiers Visit The Refinery

The four Atlantic premiers visiting the Refinery this morning.

Irving Oil President Paul Browning tells Tide News he told them the availabity of crude oil and natural gas is important to the future economies of all the Atlantic provinces.

He says we all stand to benefit by ensuring that access adding there are many projects heading our way that have the potential to drive employment and economic opportunity not only for Irving Oil but for the whole region.

Browning was asked if the proposed Energy East pipeline would lead to lower gas prices in the region, he says with a large supply available it stands to reason that this region would benefit.

Saint John Hosting The Four Atlantic Premiers

The Premiers from the four Atlantic Provinces are in town to discuss various issues. The Council of Atlantic Premiers is being hosted by Premier David Alward and one of those issues is a study on the what sort of impact changes to Employment Insurance have had on the region.
 
This isn't the first study on the changes. There was one done for the Alward Government. It showed the changes would reduce E-I benefits in the province by an estimated 7 million dollars. 

A poll done by Corporate Research Associates found 62 per cent of New Brunswickers were opposed to the changes with opposition strongest the older people were. 

Under the changes, if unemployed you would be forced to travel as far as 100 kilometers for a job and accept as much as 30 per cent less pay. Even without the changes, less than 40 per cent of people who lose their jobs qualify for E-I benefits.

Report Shows How Much Millennials Cherish Their Mobile Devices

A new report from the Bank of Montreal finds Millennials would pretty much give up anything other than their mobile devices.

73 per cent of young mobile users say they would be lost without theirs and they spend more than 78 hours a month using their device which is more than time spent watching TV. 

Half say they would give up their computer rather than their mobile device and 70 per cent would rather do without their TV. Even 33 per cent say they would rather lose their wallet and 46 per cent their keys.

Woman Who Immigrated To SJ Says The YMCA Helped Her

Everyday tasks like using a bank machine can be a confusing and frustrating experience when you're from a foreign country but one immigrant says the YMCA helped make her transition to Canadian life much smoother. 

Lila Gurung is originally from Bhutan and was forced to leave her country and fly to Nepal as a refugee. She tells us in 2008 she received the opportunity to move to Canada. Gurung speaking at a YMCA event saying the Y's newly named Newcomer Connections welcomed her and helped her ease into her new life in Canada.

Gurung says she took the New Brunswick Employment Language Training Program offered by the Y where students learn how to work in Canada and is now employed at a restaurant in uptown Saint John.

Landscape Of Post-Secondary Education In the Maritimes Has Changed

With an aging population and fewer youth graduating from high school, groups like the Maritime Provinces Higher Education Commission are treading unknown territory when it comes to post-secondary education in this day and age. 

C-E-O Mireille Duguay says they are only beginning to scope out what needs to be done in that sector, saying there are a lot of questions that are still up in the air. She tells us it's a very different population that needs to be served now than in the past, and a lot of changes are happening across the board.

A recent report showing Maritime universities experiencing a turnaround when it comes to the number of degrees, diplomas and certificates being granted thanks to more international students coming to the region.

BoatSmart Launching Social Media Campaign

Whether it's a funny fishing trip or a unforgettable family outing, BoatSmart calling on you to post your favourite boating memory on social media. 

President Cameron Taylor explains they will make a charitable donation to camps for disadvantaged youth for every share you get.

To take part in the national social media campaign simply post your memory along with #BoatSmartMoment. For more information about the organization, click here.

Crash In Barnesville

A driver and passenger taken to hospital after a crash on Route 820 in Barnesville. 

Crews from the Simonds Fire Department finding the vehicle in the ditch after the driver swerved to avoid a moose. 

The highway was shut down for a while as the scene was cleaned up.

KVHS Takes On London Central In National Trivia Championships Today

Competition at the National Trivia Championships in Toronto is beginning to heat up.

Kennebecasis Valley High School's Reach for the Top team finishing the round robin portion with 8 wins and 6 losses bringing them from 11th place to 6th place. They take on London Central Secondary School at 5pm Atlantic time today in the quarterfinals and the semi-finals and final will be played tomorrow. 

K-V High won the national title in 2010 and 2011 and have finished in the top five at all nine of the championships they've attended. 15 teams from across Canada take part in the competition in total.

Canadian Employers Get Good Marks For Work-Life Balance

If you love your job, you'll never work a day in your life, according to the old saying.

According to a new study it looks like 66% of Canadians are pretty happy with their jobs, rating their employers highly for promoting a good work-life balance.

According to a study by Kelly Services, Canadian employers also received high ratings on having responsible work practices, and on their diversity record.

58% of Canadian workers rated their employer highly on giving them meaningful, interesting assignments.

NB Recall for Brownie Squares

They sound like a sweet treat but they could make you sick if you have certain allergies.

Goody Shop brownie squares have been recalled due to undeclared wheat and milk.

This recall is only in place in New Brunswick.

For more info, click here

Walking To Support Research and Those Living With Dementia

Lots of people will be walking on Sunday to raise money and awareness about the 13,000 New Brunswickers who are living with Alzheimer's and Dementia in the province.

Melanie MacGillivray tells us proceeds from the Walk for Memories supports their programs and research and the need is growing.

They expect another 2500 new cases will be diagnosed every year so they do get a lot of people calling in asking questions and looking for support.

The Saint John Walk for Memories is at Woolastook park on the West side.
You are welcome to show and take part with registration starting at 12pm and the walk gets underway at 1pm.

For more info, click here.

Canadians Somewhat Optimistic About Starting New Businesses

The job outlook might not be the greatest---but 60% of Canadians still see opportunities for starting a business in the next 6 months. That's the highest rating in the G7, according to a new study.

Optimism is up compared to the last Global Entrepreneurship report in 2003, and the rate of female entrepreneurship in Canada is the highest in the G7 countries.

The same study found that first-generation immigrants in Canada are more likely to start their own business compared to the general population

Four Crashes In Greater SJ Send Six To Hospital

A busy night for emergency crews in the greater Saint John area with several car crashes leaving half a dozen people hurt.

In the city, a two-vehicle crash happening at the intersection of Coburg and Paddock where one man was taken to hospital and a motorcycle driver also brought to hospital after hitting a deer on Riverhill Drive. The Saint John Fire Department says the men's injuries aren't considered serious. A two-vehicle crash at the intersection of Lancaster Avenue and Charlotte Street sending one woman to hospital.

Meantime K-V Fire telling Tide News three people were brought to hospital after a two-vehicle crash on the highway near the Dolan Road Irving.

FlavoursNB To Showcase Creative Dishes From Local Producers

Chefs from all over the region will be cooking up a storm in St. Andrews.

FlavoursNB is a sold-out event being held at NBCC tomorrow.

Culinary Arts Instructor, Chef Darren Dorcas -- who will also be a participating -- tells Tide News the 3 main producers are Ganong's Chocolates, True North Salmon, and Granite Town Blueberry Farms.

Chef Darren says it's a great way to showcase all that New Brunswick has to offer from land to sea with extremely creative dishes.

Proceeds will be donated to the Harbour City Lights campaign which supports all food banks within New Brunswick.

Sussex Area Woman Wins Big

Imagine waking up to a text from your boyfriend telling you someone in Sussex won $7 million dollars and thinking it might be you.

That is what happened to Kelsie Hodgin yesterday morning.   She says she jumped out of bed grabbed the ticket and checked the numbers online.

When she saw they matched she didn't believe it and called her mom to have her check.

With Mom's confirmation, Kelsie had to check for a third time at Wilson's in Sussex where she bought the ticket and finally realized she had won the money.

Kelsie is currently on maternity leave from her job with Bell Aliant.    She says she and boyfriend Paul will pay off their car and they plan to build a new house a maybe take a trip all she has no idea where she goes.

She says it's all still sinking in and even though she dreamed about winning now that she has it's a bit overwhelming.

Cleaning Up A Musquash Trail

Some folks will be giving their time tomorrow at the Conservation Volunteer Event in Musquash.

Siobhan Darlington of the Nature Conservancy of Canada tells Tide News they are doing some light maintainence on the Five Fathom Hole trails.

She says no experience is necessary adding they are looking for people who want to hike and help fix up parts of the side trail or the full trail.

Darlington says some of the work includes tree trimming and it also needs a new boardwalk.

To sign up, call 1-877-231-4400.

Air Canada VP In The City

Air Canada Senior VP Kevin Howlett was in town today, speaking to an Enterprise Saint John luncheon.

Howlett gave the invite-only crowd  an update on the future of Air Canada's operations here. Howlett tells Tide News they're always working to get more flights out of Saint John at better prices.

Howlett also announced that 50 new jobs will be added to the existing Air Canada call center in Saint John over the next few months, with 25 already in the works.

Opposition Mounting To Proposed Pipeline, Say Groups

It's not an official proposal yet, but according to the Ecology Action Center, opposition to TransCanada's proposed Energy East pipeline is mounting across the country. 

Catherine Abreu says the promise of 1,000 jobs created during the flow phase isn't enough to sell the idea to Canadians, and there's been a huge response to petitions circulated by various organizations--40,000 signatures, to be exact.

Abreu points out fisheries jobs are being put at risk by the proposed pipeline....and in Ontario, the provincial government is calling for province-wide consultations, including a review of climate impacts from Energy East.

Child Taken Into Protective Custody After Shoplifting Incident

A chase after a shoplifter on the West Side caused a bit of a stir in the Fairvale Boulevard area around 2pm yesterday. 

Sergeant Jay Henderson explains employees at the hardware store saw the man stealing---and when he left the store, they got in a car and chased him onto Greystone Terrace, where they boxed in his vehicle.

The man tried to flee and was picked up in the backseat of another vehicle a short distance away.

He left a 2 year old baby and an intoxicated woman in the car. He's now facing charges, and the baby was taken into protective custody by the Department of Social Development.