Parents Warned About Dangerous Of Co-Sleeping

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.

NDP Calling On Province To Obey Supreme Court Ruling On Abortion

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 Tide 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that two doctors give their okay for medical reasons before an abortion can be performed in New Brunswick to be rescinded.

Suspected Drunk Driver Nearly Sets Car On Fire

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.

Mixed Views On New Drug Plan

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.

Premier Defends Forestry Plan

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.

Former Communications Director Says Flaherty Was Great to Work For

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 Tide 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.

Annual Town Pride Challenge Set For St. Stephen

Now that we can finally say it's Spring -- it's time to get rid of the garbage left over from the winter months that is coming to the surface.

The Town of St. Stephen scheduling the annual 2014 Town Pride Challenge for Thursday, May 8th, from 9am-1pm.

BIA/Community Events Coordinator Heather Donahue says everyone is encouraged to do their part to make our community a bit better.

She says each year has always been a success with volunteers of all ages, coming together on a single day to pick up hundreds of bags of garbage from our town streets.



On May 8th, Donahue says he will be at the registration table -- located in the parking lot of the St. Croix Courier on Milltown Blvd -- handing out garbage bags and gloves from 8:30-1pm.


If you would like to register a team, business, or organization in the Town Pride Challenge, you can contact Heather Donahue by phone at 1(506) 466-7407 or by email at hdonahue@town.ststephen.nb.ca .

Border Mayors All Smiles For Aces Team

A new Jr. A Hockey team being formed in St. Stephen bringing a lot of hope to our local leaders.

St. Stephen Mayor John Quartermain tells Tide News he truly thinks the Aces team will bring unity to our small communities. He tells us "...it's awesome to have a team here to anchor this facility [ the Garcelon Civic Centre ], it gives the kids somebody to look up to and see what they can achieve if they set out to do whatever it is they want to do."

Over the river, Calais Mayor Marianne Moore tells Tide News this will not only help the economy -- it's a great opportunity for our kids. Moore says, "I'm really excited for this. We already knew the Civic Centre was going to help our economic development for both sides of the river, but having a team and a franchise here is making everything just so much more."

Hockey Canada allowing the County Aces up to 8 american players on the team.

The 1st exhibition game is projected for early September.

Politicians Weigh In On Access In Abortion To New Brunswick

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.

New Contract Agreement For City Police Officers

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.

Snow Days Are Not Easily Made Up

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 Tide 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.

NB's Only Abortion Clinic To Close

After 20 years, Fredericton's Mongentaler Abortion Clinic has announced it will be closing its doors.

The clinic says New Brunswick's strict abortions laws,which they say make it nearly impossible for women to terminate pregnancies in a hospital, are the reason for the closure. According to Clinic Manager Simone Leibovitch, the current laws make terminating a pregnancy difficult for women in the following ways:



-Women cannot get an abortion in a hospital unless referred by a family doctor
-Many doctors are pro-life and will not make the referral
-Hospitals have long wait lists, meaning women will often be past the 14-week gestation limit by the time they get an appointment

Due to these strictures, the clinic has subsidized over $100,000 dollars for procedures for New Brunswick women in the past decade. They say they can no longer afford to provide abortion services that are not publicly funded.

In other provinces, abortions are covered under Medicare and are more readily available at hospitals.

Barlow Says Pipeline Won't Directly Benefit Canadians

The Council of Canadians holding public consultations In Ontario on the proposed Energy East Pipeline.

Council of Canadians Chair Maude Barlow had some choice words for the Harper Government at a stop in Thunder Bay.

She says they don't care about our water they only care about the big business interests in Canada adding their fight will be making it an election issue and making it one of the issues we force the opposition parties to take a position on.

Barlow says that most of the oil being transported will be exported and it won't directly benefit Canadians.

Superintendent Responds To Parent Complaint Again

The Superintendent for the Anglophone South School District says they always have washrooms available.

Zoe Watson responding to a parent's complaint that for a few days last month following vandalism to some of the boys bathrooms at KV high, students were without the facilities.

She says if schools in the district ever have issues where water or power are threatened they quickly start thinking about closures if they know its going to carry on for any amount of time.

Speaking at the school district's meeting last night in Hampton, Watson tells Tide News they looked into the complaint and the administration at KV has assured her that at no time were all of the boys washrooms not working.

County Aces Announced At Garcelon

It's a big day for hockey fans in Charlotte County.

The new Jr. A Hockey team showing off their logo for the 1st time this afternoon as the County Aces.

Club President John Hyslop tells Tide News the team will be St. Stephen based -- but Hockey Canada will allow the team up to 8 American players, so the team will be open for Washington County as well as Charlotte and York Counties.



Hyslop says the team logo relates to both sides of the border -- with a puck and maple leaf representing Canada, and stars around it for the US. The "Aces" leads back to the history of the old Aces Hockey team decades ago in St. Stephen as well as the history of the airstrip in WW2 in Pennfield. 

They estimate the Aces 1st exhibition game will be scheduled around September 6th or 7th of this year.

Flooding Could Be A Concern In Many Areas

The provincial River Watch warning New Brunswickers that over the past 48 hours,water levels have risen and ice movement has begun in some waterways.

Warmer temps for the next few days could lead to melting snow pack and ice covers throughout the province, leading to localized flooding. There are currently ice jams on the Kennebecasis River at Hillsdale and Norton and Hammond River between Smithtown and Upham.

Water levels on the Nashwaak River remain a concern.

Tenative Agreement Reached Between Department Of Heatlth and Pharmacists

The Department of Health has reached a tentative agreement with the New Brunswick Pharmacists' Association.

Both sides have agreed to withhold details until the agreement is finalized.

The Pharmacists' Association claims the memorandum of understanding provides pharmacists with some predictability and helps to establish a foundation for future discussions.

The MOU will be retroactive to April 1.

Improved Literacy Could Be The Game-Changer NB Needs

Many adults in New Brunswick are struggling with basic literacy skills--as many as 60%, according to some polls. Liberal Leader Brian Gallant slamming the Alward government for what he calculates are 1.4 million dollars in cuts to adult literacy since the Tories took power.

He says in its first budget the Alward Government cut funding to the community adult learning services by $395,000, and in its second budget they cut even more than that.

Post-Secondary Education Minister Jody Carr counters that throwing money at problems isn't enough--and while cuts have been made that doesn't mean the quality of the services has suffered.

According to Life Literacy Canada, about 13% of workers in Canada are under-qualified for their jobs, which has a significant effect on wages and productivity.

Parent Unhappy At Washroom Investigation By Education Department

A parent whose son attends Kennebecasis Valley High says he's dissatisfied with the investigation that was carried out by the Education Department into whether all the boy's washrooms but one were closed for 2 and a half days recently.

Blair Surette tells Tide News he was told by a senior official in the Education Dcepartment that Superintendent Zoe Watson denied it happened which was what she told us in an interview. Surette questions how all the boys he talked to could be wrong and points out Watson wasn't there are the school.

We also heard from another parent, who did not what her name used, who told us she was told by her daughter one boys' washroom and two washrooms for the girls were open.

Surette is vowing not to let the matter drop and is nowlooking at writing a letter of complaint to the Premier.

Warning About Cellphone Scam

The Kennebecasis Regional Police have received several calls about a cell phone scam where victims buy a used cell phone on Kijiji or other on-line sales sites.

The scammer goes to any mobile phone shop, receives a phone at a significant discount or even for free, based on a promotion which involves a contract, which the receiver agrees to abide by. The person may use their own name or a fraudulent name to receive the phone and then sells the phone which technically has not been paid for and is now your problem.

Police say the easiest way to avoid being conned is to meet the seller at any mobile service provider and let them know you're going to have the mobile service provider check to see if the phone has been flagged in their database.