School Buildings Will Be Looked At For Their Sustainability

Each of the 75 buildings in the Anglophone South School District from Sussex to St. Stephen will be gone over to see in how good a shape they're in and what sort of repairs are needed. 

Enrollments are generally going down in most places and many of the school buildings in Saint John, for instance, are getting long in the tooth dating back to 1924. 

School District Chair Rob Fowler says despite that, school closures are not a given. He explains that a school will only be closed if the enrollment is way down and the repairs to bring the building up to par are sky high.
 
The province wants the school districts to come up with a five year infrastructure plan by the end of June.

Medical Society Disputing Claim By Health Minister

The Alward Government and the New Brunswick Medical Society are sniping at eachother over the cap on medicare fees. 

Provincial Health Minister Ted Flemming accuses the Medical Society of not co-operating to lower the cost of healthcare. 

Medical Society President Dr. Robert Desjardins tells the Tide an extensive report complete with suggestions on how to make the healthcare system more efficient was handed over to the government last August but there was no followup.
 
Dr. Desjardins speculates the Medical Society's recommendations are gathering dust somewhere.

M-P For Charlotte County Speaks Out About Speaking Out

The unrest within the Conservative caucus over stiff party control is showing no signs of calming down. 

Three more M-Ps stood in the House of Commons to assert their freedom to say what they want in Parliament, without first being vetted by the party leadership.  

Charlotte County M-P John Williamson was among those defending the right to speak in the House about anything they wish. Ironically, Williams, who once headed the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, also served as Prime Minister Harper's Communications Director at one time. 

The backbenchers have been denounced by other Conservative M-P's as going rogue but they say this is actually a matter about the right of an M-P to represent his or her constituents.

S-U-V Flips Over After Leaving Highway

An S-U-V leaving the highway and rolling over near the Ducks Unlimited Marsh in Musquash. This happened around 4:30 yesterday afternoon. 

The Musquash Fire Department found the S-U-V on its roof. A mother and her child outside the vehicle. They sustained what appeared to be minor injuries but were sent to hospital as a precaution to be looked over. 

The S-U-V had been going westbound along Highway 1.

(Photo Courtesy Of Andrew Sanojca)

NB Liquor Changing Hours For Easter Weekend

Some new hours of operation coming with the Easter long weekend for beer, wine and spirits.

NB Liquor telling us liquor stores across the province will be closed both Good Friday and Easter Sunday.

They will be open Easter Monday from 10 to 6 with regular hours on Saturday.

CUPE Expects Job Losses With Healthcare Freeze

The contents of the provincial budget is making many of the people who work in the healthcare system nervous about their futures.

Gordon Black is Regional Director of the Canadian Union of Public Employees and he tells Tide News several hundred people could be getting their layoff notices because something has to give when healthcare costs are rising at 6 per cent a year but spending is frozen.

Black believes any cutbacks in health will take place at the smaller hospitals around the province. He claims rural New Brunswick is under attack.

Black is not surprised at being one of the few voices in favour of the tax cuts of 2008 being rolled back to the 2006 levels.

NDP Thinks Docs Will Leave NB Because Of Budget

Provincial NDP leader Dominic Cardy is criticizing the provincial budget for cutting 20 million dollars from the billable hours agreement with the province's doctors, which he says means essentially a couple of months worth of billable hours are disappearing off the table.

He worries we're likely to see them head elsewhere where they won't see their pay cut.

 

Cardy is glad to see the Alward Government dealing with what he describes as the terrible mistake the Shawn Graham Liberals made with the tax cuts in 2006.

Gallant Says Corporations Will Fare Better Than Individuals

Corporations will fare better than people when it comes to provincial tax hikes.

That's according to Liberal leader Brian Gallant, who tells Tide News that out of the $373 million expected in two years, corporations will only pay $39 million. Gallant calls that number alarming, since they received $34-47 million dollar property tax cut a few months ago. He tells us now, corporations are now in a position where they'll be paying less taxes.

Gallant says he was very disappointed with the provincial budget presentation and that the Tories broke their two election promises: that they had a plan to balance the budget and that they wouldn't raise taxes.

RCMP Still Looking For Wanted Man

The Dairytown Mounties are still looking for a man after a stabbing late last month where a woman was hurt.

It happened near Sussex on February 27th and a charge of attempted murder was laid against 49-year-old Robin White and a warrant was issued for his arrest on March 4th.  

Despite many efforts, White has still not been located.

Robin White is described as white about 5 foot 11 brown hair and brown eyes.
He was last seen wearing glasses, a black coat, jeans and black boots. 

He may be driving a 2009 grey Honda Ridgeline truck with the provincial license plate CPM 926.

If you know anything about the location of Robin White or the vehicle he was seen driving,  contact police or Crime Stoppers immediately but do not approach him.

First Meeting Tonight For Chocolate Fest 2013

It's that time of the year again!

Preparations for Chocolate Fest 2013 are underway.

The first public meeting will be held tonight in St. Stephen for anyone with questions on how to get involved in the upcoming festival this summer.

The meeting is scheduled 6:30pm at the Chocolate Museum on Milltown Blvd.

You can learn how to volunteer, host your own event, or become a sponsor.  

Lacey Calls Budget A Slap In The Face To Middle Class Families

A slap to the face of average working families... that's what Kevin Lacey of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation is calling tax increases presented at the provincial budget. He tells Tide News it's an attack on the struggling middle class.

He says families will have to shell out up to $1000 in more tax in some cases. The $8.5-billion budget presented today will see personal income taxes hiked to 2006 levels, and that's expected to yield $136 million for 2013-14. 

He tells us the only positive thing he's seen so far is getting rid of the government airplane, which he calls the gravy plane.

Smokers Feel Wallet Pain With New Budget

The Province delivering a budget that hikes tobacco taxes and eliminates previous income tax cuts as it tries to wrestle with a deficit projected to grow to $479 million.

    The $8.5-billion budget presented today seeing personal income taxes rise to 2006 levels which is a measure expected to generate $136 million in revenue for 2013-14.

    The corporate income tax rate will be increased to 12 per cent from 10 per cent on July 1, resulting in an estimated boost of $17 million in additional annual revenue.
 
    Smokers will also pay higher taxes on tobacco as of midnight tonight---up two cents per cigarette.
 
    Finance Minister Blaine Higgs says the government will continue efforts to reduce the size of the public service through attrition and attempt to cut their use of sick leave by 20 per cent.
 
    Higgs says the government can return to balanced budgets by 2015-16 if there is improved economic growth and revenues.

Warning On Sex With Strangers

People around the province who are having anonymous sex are being encouraged by the chief medical health officer to be tested for sexually transmitted disease.   
 
Dr. Eilish Cleary issuing the warning because of an increase in the numbers of people in the province having unprotected sex with strangers they meet on dating websites. 

Recently, a New Brunswicker, who was a frequent user of a website that facilitates anonymous sexual encounters and had about two dozen sexual partners living in the province, tested positive for HIV. Health officials are now trying to track down the people, mostly men, he had sex with. 

The sexual encounters took place in Moncton, Saint John and Fredericton.

NCC Gets $20 Million From Feds

This year's federal budget pledging a significant sum of cash to the conservation of undeveloped landscapes. 

$20 million going to the Nature Conservancy of Canada, and the NCC's Andrew Holland tells Tide News that on a local level, they'll build on the work they've done on the Musquash Estuary.

The money will support their Natural Areas Conservation program through 2013-2014. Holland says the non-profit is going to start work on matching the federal contribution.

Mounties Identify Man In Fatal Crash

The Mounties releasing the name of the man killed in a crash on Highway 7 yesterday near Geary. 

44-year-old Michael James Boucher of Burton died at the scene of a collision early Monday morning between his truck and a transport.

Boucher was the only driver in a pickup truck heading northbound on Highway 7 that crossed the centre line and collided head-on with a transport truck.

The transport truck driver was not hurt.

SOS: Please Help Us Save Our Library

The Save Oceans Science Committee presenting it's case to St. Stephen Town Council over the proposed closure of the St. Andrews Biological Station Library.

In March 2012, the federal government announced that due to budget constraints, cuts would be made to the Biological Station. The plan will see most of the holdings in St. Andrews transferred to Halifax, Nova Scotia in September.

Former St. Andrews Mayor Nancy Aiken tells Tide News it is a $4 million dollar library that just opened last year and it is a resource to roughly 20 organizations from the fishing industry, including universities like UNB and UNBSJ, as well as aquaculture and conservation groups and the Huntsman Marine Science Centre.

Aiken says they are taking a grassroots approach now within the communities, after not getting much of a response back from Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Keith Ashfield, or MP for South-West New Brunswick John Williamson. She says they are bringing the issue to those most concerned in the community.

She says the closure will have a seriously negative impact on Charlotte County's already struggling economy.

Town Council Will Not Hire Someone To Hire Someone

It's a big job finding the right person for the big job.

That's the case with St. Stephen Town Council as they are now fully in charge of finding the new manager for the soon-to-be-completed Garcelon Civic Centre.

The biggest concern is finding a manager soon so they can oversee work being done while construction crews are still on the St. Stephen waterfront.

A proposal last night, (March 25th, 2013) would see the town hire an outside source to recruit for the position at a cost of $12,000, plus HST.




Councillor John Ames says, "We don't need someone to line them up in a row for us, this is a rediculous amount of money, and I think it's a waste of our taxpayers dollars."

Councillor Debbie MacDonald argued she didn't think the council has enough experience to hire for such an important position.
The proposal, however,  was shot down with a vote of 3-2, putting council members in charge of the whole process.



Mayor John Quartermain says they will offer the job locally, but ultimately, they will hire the person most qualified for the job.
The Garcelon Civic Centre is set to open this fall.

Provincial Budget Unveiled Tomorrow

All eyes in the province tomorrow will be on what Provincial Finance Minister Blaine Higgs comes up with in his latest budget. 

The provincial government's deficit has risen to above 400 million dollars and the debt is in the neighbourhood of 11 billion together with a sluggish economy and, because of that, shrinking population. 

Kevin Lacey, the Atlantic Director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, tellsTide  News now is the time for something bold to get back on track and that means doing something significant to cut spending.

Lacey argues provincial government spending has gone up 1.7 billion dollars in the last five years but there's little to show for it. It's estimated each man, woman and child in the province owes more than 30 thousand dollars in provincial and federal debt.

Tractor Trailer Crash Claims Life

RCMP telling Tide News about a deadly crash on Highway 7 about 730 this morning involving a pickup truck and a tractor-trailer near the Geary exit.

That crash is causing a major traffic snarl today on Highway 7, between Saint John and Fredericton.
 
Corporal Chantal Farrah tells Tide News a man driving a northbound pickup crossed the centre line colliding with a transport truck.

The driver of the pickup died at the scene but the transport driver was not hurt.

A roadblock was set up on Highway 7, rerouting all drivers via Highway 101 through Geary up to Welsford.RCMP officers were posted at either end of Highway 101 directing traffic.

Apply Now To Volunteer For The World Women's Curling Event

If you want to be part of next year's Ford World Women's Curling Championship in Saint John, you can start applying now.

Event Chair Jeff Lacey tells Tide News 400 volunteers will be needed in a variety of jobs from driving to bartending but, judging by the amount of interest shown since the announcement back in December that Saint John will host the event, he doesn't foresee any problem in having enough.

Lacey says it's been 15 years since a curling event of this magnitude has been held in the city and back then, the level of interest in being part of it was tremendous.
You can apply by going to www.curling.ca