The
provincial government has released its second-quarter fiscal update--and
despite $113 million in spending reductions, the province is reporting a
revenue shortfall of almost $173-million dollars.
The revenue
shortfall has caused the deficit for 2013-14 to increase by 38.3 million
dollars from the first quarter to $538.2 million dollars.
Finance
Minister Blaine Higgs is expected to schedule a pre-budget consultation
meeting with key stakeholders throughout the province to discuss
possible solutions to the revenue problems.
The founder of the Joshua Group says he sees the devastation former City police officer Ken Estabrooks caused on a daily basis.
Hayes
tells Tide News he started suffering abuse at the hands of Estabrooks
when he was 12-years old and living in the South end and it continued
for about three years. He says after that he didn't see Estabrooks again
until he was 18-years old and started a job with the City, and
Estabrooks became his co-worker.
Hayes says it's a hard thing to accept when you report abuse to your supervisor and are told to "go in, or go home."
Hayes
says Estabrooks abuse a lot of kids all over the city and there are a
lot of damaged people living here today. It was recently revealed that
the deceased officer may have sexually abused 263
children over the course of nearly three decades dating back to the late
1950s.
Hayes is
named as the plaintiff in a class-action lawsuit against the city of
Saint John and he hopes it leads to the victims getting help. You can
hear the full interview with Hayes this Sunday by tuning into Pulse NB on 98.1 The Tide.
NB Power
did not adequately address the risks posed by the refurbishment of the
Point Lepreau nuclear power plant even though it has a rigorous
oversight process in place, according to the latest annual report from
the auditor general.
Kim
MacPherson says even though the decision making process took
four-and-a-half years from 2001 to 2005, as late as the spring of 2005,
there was still substantial uncertainty about what should be done to
meet future provincial electricity needs.
She
warns the province has a structural deficit where expenses exceed
revenues and if this continues, buildings, roads and bridges may not be
maintained and renewed as they should be.
MacPherson
notes, in general, to correct a structural deficit, programs and
services need to be reduced, revenues need to be increased, or some
combination of the two needs to occur.
According
to her report, the money owed the provincial government more than
doubled between 2002 and 2012, increasing to $2.6 billion from $1.1
billion.
The
Canadian Union of Pulbic Employees has filed a complaint with the Labour
and Employment Board claiming the legislated changes to the provincial
pension plan are illegal.
CUPE
New Brunswick President Danny Légère says under the Public Service
Labour Relations Act, once a notice to bargain is made, the terms and
conditions of employment must remain in place until a new contract
agreement is reached or a deadlock in negotiations is declared.
CUPE argues the switch to the shared risk model is a violation of that.
UNB has to refocus on the classroom and making sure students at the university get the best education they can.
That,
from Dr. Miriam Jones, President of the Association of University of New
Brunswick Teachers. She says programs for people who retire aren't
being replaced--and money is going anywhere but into the core mission of
the university.
The union is threatening strike action in the new year if a new contract agreement is not reached with the university.
UNB Teachers in Saint John, Fredericton, Moncton and Bathurst voting for a strong strike mandate.
90 per cent of the members on the four campuses voted to strike.
Spokesperson Miriam Jones says over 99 per cent of eligible members voted.
She says its clear the academic staff feel strongly that institution needs to change direction.
She
hopes the strong strike mandate will convince our employer that their
members are serious about defending UNB's reputation as a credible,
competitive, and comprehensive university.
