CKNB News February 5,2021
CAMP
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CAMP-MACHINE FIRE
A Sidewalk Cleaner was destroyed in a fire at the Dalhousie Town Garage on Wednesday
The fire happened around 10pm that night and only caused damage to the one older model machine, Although everything else will have to be cleaned of the smoke.
According to the Tribune – The cause is believed to be electrical after using the cleaner for almost 20hours of snow removal due to the storm.
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NB-COIVID numbers 1 (wire fri.am)
GOOD MORNING
The number of active cases of COVID-19 in the province continues to fall…down to 256, as just 16 new cases were reported yesterday.
Chief Medical Officer Dr. Jennifer Russell says five are in the Moncton region and nine in the Edmundston area with one each in the Bathujrst and Fredericton zones.
Dr. Russell is urging people to keep Super Bowl gatherings small this weekend so they don’t become super-spreader events. She says it’s crucial that people follow public health guidelines after three cases of a more contagious variant were confirmed in the province this week.
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NB-RESTRICTION CHANGES RM / BRUNSWICK NEWS FRI AM
There has been changes to the definition of single household bubbles in the province.
The Higgs Government has tweeted that people living alone during a lockdown or in red level restrictions, can extend their bubble to caregivers, an immediate family member who needs support and one other person.
Dr. Jennifer Russell tells Brunswick News the change was made to recognize the emotional and mental health toll ca take on people living alone through the restrictions.
Loosened restrictions of the orange level now include a steady 10 person contact list per household…..and there may be more restrictions eased next week.
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NB-SMALL BUSINESS GRANTS RM / CBC FRI AM
The province is offering grants to small businesses affected by lockdowns – but not all are eligable
The New Brunswick Small Business Recovery Grants allow those who qualify up to $5,000 to combat the impact lockdowns have had on revenues.
According to CBC, to qualify for the grant, businesses must have at least 2 full time employees, which has been a challenge for most – as some owners report a 100% loss of revenue during the lockdowns forcing them to layoff all their staff.
Some are saying the help is too little – too late or that there’s too much focus on big corporations as opposed to small business owners.
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NB-Businesses and covid (wire thur.aft)
It has been nearly a year since businesses in New Brunswick were required to have COVID operational plans, but provincial officials say compliance officers are still finding some businesses with inadequate plans or no plans at all.
The vice-president of WorkSafe-N-B, Tim Petersen, says about 900 compliance orders and 80 stop-work orders have been issued since last March.
He says most of those stop-work orders, which target business practices that put people at significant risk, have been issued just in the last month.
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NB-LEAVING THE PCs RM / CBC FRI AM
The former Conservative Finance Minister says he’s leaving the party until the Premier steps down.
Jeannot Volpé sent out a tweet yesterday asking the party president to remove his name from the membership list until there is a leadership review, according to CBC.
The Higgs’s government says the motivation behind Volpé’s tweet was that he “recently asked the Premier’s Office to intervene in a human resources issue at NB Power, but was refused because it would have been inappropriate to do so.
Volpé says he quit the party because people in his former Madawaska-area riding still call him to complain about current PC policies or to ask him for government help, and he wanted to send a message that he’s not part of that party anymore.
The last time members of a political party tried to remove their leader while he was premier was a failed attempt to oust Richard Hatfield in 1985.
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NB – COVID UPD 2 GG/RUSTY PC/NB GOV (THUR 4PM)
GOOD MORNING
There were 16 new cases of Covid-19 reported in New Brunswick yesterday.
Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Jennifer Russel, says nine are in the Edmundston Health zone, five in Moncton, and one each in the Bathurst and Fredericton regions.
Dr. Russel did report some good news, saying they are seeing signs of improvement in both the Moncton and Edmundston health zones – and they hope to ease some of the restrictions there next week. She also reported the latest round of testing at the Shannex Parkland Saint John facility showed no new cases.
There are currently 256 active cases in the province, five people hospitalized and two of them in intensive care.
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NB-RESTRICTION CHANGES RM / BRUNSWICK NEWS FRI AM
There has been changes to the definition of single household bubbles in the province
The New Brunswick Government tweeted a graphic of the change that now says – people living alone in the lockdown or red level of restrictions can be extended to caregivers, an immediate family member who needs support and one other person.
Dr. Jennifer Russell tells Brunswick News the change was made to recognize the emotional and mental health toll living alone through the restrictions can take.
Although the Changes weren’t announced anywheres outside of twitter and the government website, they took effect on January 29th.
loosened restrictions of he orange level now include a steady 10 person contact list per household.
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NB-LEAVING THE PCs RM / CBC FRI AM
The former Progressive Conservative Finance Minister says he’s leaving the party until the Premier steps down.
Jeannot Volpé, announced the news in a tweet on Wednesday, asking the party president to remove his name from the membership list until there is a leadership review, which According to CBC Volpé’s membership was terminated on Jan. 20
The Higgs’s government says the motivation behind Volpé’s tweet was that he “recently asked the Premier’s Office to intervene in a human resources issue at NB Power, but was refused because it would have been inappropriate to do so.
Volpé says he quit the party because people in his former Madawaska-area riding still call him to complain about current PC policies or to ask him for government help, and he wanted to send a message that he’s not part of that party anymore.
The last time members of a political party tried to remove their leader while he was premier was a failed attempt to oust Richard Hatfield in 1985.
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ALL
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ALL/HFX/SYD/SJ/PEI-Cruise-Ban (wire fri.am)
There won’t be any big cruise ships stopping in Maritime ports again this coming season.
The ban was due to expire next month but Transport Canada says the ban on cruise ships, carrying more than 100 passengers, in Canadian waters is being extended to next year. The federal transport minister says the ban is necessary to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and protect vulnerable communities.
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ALL-National numbers and Tam (wire fri.am)
Across the country, just over 4.000 new cases were reported yesterday with just under 47,000 cases considered active. There were another 158 deaths of Canadians attributed to COVID.
Nationally, active cases have declined almost 30% in the past two weeks.
However, chief public health officer Dr. Therea Tam says strict measures should remain in place as more contagious variants of the virus threaten to derail this downward trend. Even with this decline, Dr. Tam says the current caseload continues to burden health-care resources, particularly in parts of the country with high infection rates. She also pointed out this downward trend could reverse very quickly.
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ALL-Home offices taxes (wire fri.am)
We’re getting closer to tax time, as you get various tax forms in the mail.
The Trudeau Goverment is simplifying the forms when it comes to writing off home office expenses, given that so many people have been working from home during the pandemic.
Home ofice expense usually require additioal forms and a lot of detailed calculations. This year Revenue Canada is simpolfying things by allowing people to claim up to $400, depending on how many days they worked from home.
That could cost the government $260 millionin lost revenues.
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SPORTS 1
In the NHL….the Leafs beat the Canucks 7-3. Senators clipped the Canadiens
3-2 for their first win since the opening game of the season. Jets handled Calgary 4-1.
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