CKNB News May 26 2020
CAM – MAYORS BUILD
The Restigouche Mayors Forum says inaction by the province means they can’t access federal infrastructure money.
A statement from the group says the province trying to change the 2018 infrastructure agreement with Ottawa is holding up local projects.
President and Balmoral Mayor Charles Bernard tells the Tribune they have projects shovel ready and the province needs to make a decision.
The statement calls for projects that fit the criteria within the deal to be allowed to go ahead.
Premier Higgs has said they want the 673-million-dollar deal to include aging infrastructure fixes and maintenance… an ask that has not gotten much support in Ottawa.
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CAM/MIR – GLENCORE FOOD
Despite Brunswick Smelter being shut down since December, parent company Glencore has donated 20-thousand-dollars to food banks in the region.
In a release the company says the money will got to support foodbanks in Campbellton, Dalhousie, Allardville, Bathurst, Jacquet River, and Allardville.
Close Site Manager Nat Bepperling says in the name of current and former employees they are pleased to make the contribution during these difficult times.
Glencore earlier in the pandemic had also donated unused PPE from the Belledune site to the province.
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CAM – RECYCLING UPD
Curbside recycling is making its return to Campbellton and surrounding communities.
The Restigouch Regional Servcie Commision had suspened recycling since the end of MArch due to Covid-19 restrictions at sorting facilities.
The Servie commision announced yesterday that bi-weekly collection of recycling will resume starting the week of June 8th for Region A, which includes Atholville, Campbellton, Kedgwick and local LSD’s.
Collection for Region B, which includes Bamoral, Charlo,Dalhouse, EelRiver Dundee and Tide Head, will resume the week of June 15th.
Residents are being encouraged to reaquaint themselves on the rules around curbside recycling before hand.
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CAM – CITY HALL OPEN
Campbellton City Hall will be reopening to the public today with hours of
9:30 to 11:30 and 12:30 to 3:00.
People are asked to used the front door on Water Street and follow posted instructions.
Officials say the number of customers able to access the building will be limited and they are encouraging residents to continue to pay by other means if possible.
The city has also announced the boat ramp and floating docks on the waterfront will remain closed for the summer.
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NB/CAM/MIR – CITY ISSUES
The Cities of New Brunswick Association and the Association francophone des municipalités is calling on the Higg’s government to include them in talks around the economy.
A release by the groups says the provincial government needs to engage municipalities and work together to ensure communities thrive.
President of the AFMNB and Mayor of Atholville Michel Soucy says in the past the associations have asked the province to engage in these conversations, but they are still waiting to be asked to the table.
Adam Lordon, President of the Cities of New Brunswick Association and Mayor of Miramichi says with the pandemic triggering a global economic slowdown leaders from all levels of government should be working together.
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NB/CAM-COVID update
Public Health officials have been busy in the Campbellton region testing and tracing contacts of a child who was diagnozed with COVID-19 last thursday.
Children and employees at one daycare have all tested negative, according to the owner, but CBC reports 35 people connected to another daycare, which the child attended for only one day, have been placed in quarantine for 14 days.
That daycare’s owner, four staff and 14 children along with their parents are now under quarantine.
Items are to be piled neatly at the curb apart from regular household waste as they will be collected seperately.
Blue bags are still not being collected from either pile as they are not being accepted by the tranfer station until the week of June 2nd.
NB
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NB – DEBT FEARS BILL/CBC MON AFT
Premier Blaine Higgs says he’s very concerned about transfer payments from Ottawa next year as billions is being added to the federal debt to aid the economy during the pandemic.
Economics Professor Trevor Tombe tells CBC Higgs may have some legitimate concerns about equalization payments as they could decrease if the economy shrinks significantly.
Tombes says the formula for the payments is linked to growth and with current projections the payments could shrink for the first time in 17-years.
The 2.2-billion-dollar payment from Ottawa last year was the single largest source of funding for New Brunswick surpassing the collection of personal and sales taxes.
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NB – COVID UPD GG/CBC via gov (MON 4PM)
Health Officials have yet to detmermine the source of a the last confirmed case of Covid-19 in New Brunswick.
The case, annoucned last Thursday, invovled someone in the Capmbellton area under the age of 19 and prompted the closure of a local daycare over possible exposure concerns.
The cause of that infection remains undetermined.
Meanwhile the province once again reported no new cases of the virus yesterday, which bodes well for more possible easing of restrictions on Friday such as pools, gyms, and religious services being permitted to open.
Nationally we have over 85-thousand cases and 6545 Covid-19 related deaths.
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NB – COON ON FUTURE
New Brunswick’s Green leader is proposing a special committee of the legislature to discuss the future of the province in the wake of COVID-19.
David Coon, is calling on the Higgs government to establish a Select Committee on Social and Economic Resilience.
He says as the province recovers from the pandemic, the well-being of all New Brunswickers must be at the heart of government decision-making.
Coon says the province has a unique opportunity to reset the economy in a way that is more locally-based, resilient, and ecologically sustainable.
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NB – MURDER CHARGES
Police have arrested two people in connection to the homicide of a man in a Fredericton’s Wilmot Park April 15th.
A 20-year-old man and 21-year-old woman face charges in the death of 31-year-old Clark Ernest Greene.
Both are expected to appear in court today at which time police say their names will be released.
Green was found in the park April 15th with significant injuries and pronounced dead at the scene.
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NB/CAM-COVID update
Public Health officials have been busy in the Campbellton region testing and tracing contacts of a child who was diagnozed with COVID-19 last thursday.
Children and employees at one daycare have all tested negative, according to the owner, but CBC reports 35 people connected to another daycare, which the child attended for only one day, have been placed in quarantine for 14 days.
That daycare’s owner, four staff and 14 children along with their parents are now under quarantine.
NB-Leg returns
The legistaure resumes sitting today to consider a number of bills.
One of the main ones is to make vaccinations mandatory for all public school students. There may be some opposition to that from within Conservative party ranks. Premier Higgs has said it will be a free vote on Education Minister Dominic Cardy’s controversial bill, meaning there won’t be consequences if a cabinet minister, for instance, votes against it.
MLAs’ desks have been separated to maintain social distancing. Some of the members will be upstairs in the public gallery….some in the main chamber…but they will be rotated from upstairs to downstairs.
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NB/SUS/SJ – ATV FATAL
An all-terrain vehicle crash in Upper Gagetown has claimed the life of a 49-year-old local woman.
Police responded to the accident Friday night on the Upper Coytown Road near Gunter Hill Road.
RCMP believe the accident occurred when the driver lost control and hit a pole. She was not wearing a helmet and was pronounced dead at the scene.
There was no one else on the ATV… the investigation into the crash is ongoing.
ALL – SICK LEAVE
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is calling for all workers in Canada to have access to10 gauranteed days of paid sick leave.
Trudeau says no one should have to choose between the need to take care of themselves and paying their bills.
MNN-TRUDEAU-MON1 15seconds (…a year)
The PM also suggested looking at other meaures to support workers who are ill.
The ten daysof mandatory paid leave was a key demand from NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, in exchange for his partys support of the Liberal plan to limit parliamentary sittings this summer.
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ALL-COVID-Economy
A Commons committee has heard that the federal government should use the pandemic to reverse a brain drain of top tech talent to the U-S.
The committee also heard warnings that companies would leave Canada if taxes go up to pay for massive deficits.
Jim Balsillie, chairman of the Council of Canadian Innovators, calls the economic crisis an ironic opportunity for Canada, because structural changes that would normally take years have been happening in just a few months.
Meanwhile, federal figures show that the key federal benefit for out-of-work Canadians or seeing a large drop in their earnings because of the virus, has now paid out over $40-billion in emergency aid.
