CKNB News November 18,2020
CAMPBELLTON
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CAM – BUDGETS
The budgeting process continues across area communties as local councils deal with decreased revenues and increased expenses due to the pandemic.
According to the Tribune the latest budget numbers will see tax rates stay the same in Tide Head and Atholville with a slight increase in Balmoral.
The new tax rate in Balmoral was set earlier this week at $1.43 per/one hundred-dollars assessed… up from $1.42 in last year’s budget.
Mayor Charles Bernard says despite challenges around increases to policing and snow removal they managed to keep the tax hike relatively low.
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CAM – BAD ROADS
RCMP sent out a notice via social media yesterday advising motorists to avoid
highway-180 due to the weather.
The post sent mid-afternoon said the route between Saint-Quentin and Bathurst was dangerous due to weather.
Mounties said they received several reports of vehicles being stuck in the area. There were no details provided on if there were any accidents or injuries.
Comments on the post pointed to slippery conditions at the time forcing several people to pull off the road and wait for transportation crews.
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CAM – CURLING COVID
Work to install ice at the Campbellton Curling Club started earlier this month as members prepare to open during the pandemic.
Spokesperson Dan Leger tells the Tribune if everything goes according to plan they should be open November 30th for the start of Monday Night league.
Leger says return to play guidelines from the Canadian Curling Association have been put in place along with a site specific COVID operations plan to keep players and staff safe.
Some of the changes will be only one person allowed to sweep, designated standing areas, and procedures around the start and finish of games.
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CAM – CCLA PETITION
The Canadian Civil Liberties Association has launched an online petition to get students from Listuguj back in Sugarloaf Senior High School in Campbellton.
The petition located on the association’s website says the New Brunswick government is illegally denying the 100-plus students access to their own highschool.
It goes on to read the move is an outrage as school staff from Listuguj are allowed to cross the border and work in the facility.
Earlier this month the association had written the Higg’s government requesting the decision be reversed stating they would support the First Nation if it chose to seek a legal remedy.
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NB/MON – COVID UPD GG/NB GOV (TUE 4PM) *UPDATED NATIONAL*
GOOD MORNING
Four new cases of Covid -19 were reported in New Brunswick yesterday.
Once again the majority of the new cases, three of the four, involve people in their twenties and thirties in the Moncton region. The fourth is a person in their twenties in the Fredericton area. The source of all four infections remains under investigation.
There are 32 active cases of the virus in New Brusnwick, with half of those in the Moncton region including several whose source is undetermined.
Those cases have led to a number of public exposure warnings, including the Tandoori Zaika Cuisine and Bar in Moncton on November 8th; Aldo Shoe shoes in the Dieppe Mall between November 6th and 10th; and the GoodLife Fitness gym at Moncton Junction Village on November 6th and 10th.
Nationally we added nearly 43-hundred new infections yesterday as actives cases continue to climb at more than 51-thousand now.
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NB – THRONE SPEECH UPD GG/CBC etc (TUE 4PM)
The new Higgs Majority Government delivered its throne speech yesterday promising to ‘renew and reinvent’ how public services are delviered to New Brunswickers.
The speech read by Lt. Governor Brenda Murphy promised that would be accomplished by dealing head-on with controverisal issues such as health care reforms and changes to municipal governance.
The Higgs Government also pledged to bring back its bill altering binding arbitration, forcing the process to consider what a muncipality could afford to pay for delivering a ruling.
The same bill failed to get the opposition support it needed under the previous minority goverment.
Other promises included a commitment to the Official Langauge review while also looking at ways to address langauage proficieny requirments that create employment barriers.
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SJ/NB – CYBER UPDATE BILL/CONFERENCE WED AM
The City of Saint John has confirmed that ransomware is behind the cyber attack that shut down several city services over the weekend.
At a news conference yesterdday city manager John Collin said no personal information was accessed or transferred, but if they find that to be the case residents will be notified.
Ransomware is a common attack that demands money for your network services to be restored… the city has not confirmed what the ransom demands are.
Collin says they are working to restore the network, but says its safe to say they are looking at weeks… not days.
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NB – PSYCH SUSPENSION
The College of Physicians and Surgeons has suspended a Fredericton psychiatrist after several complaints of misconduct were received about the doctor.
Dr. Manoj Bhargava works at Fredericton Addiction and Mental Health as well as the Student Health Centre at UNB.
The complaints appear to stem from social media posts shared last week by students of the University alleging he performed unnecessary physical exams with improper touching.
The College of Physicians and Surgeons says they have received five complaints and Dr. Bhargava has been suspended pending their investigation.
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NB/MON – COVID UPD GG/NB GOV (TUE 4PM) *UPDATED NATIONAL*
Four new cases of Covid -19 were reported in New Brusnwick yesterday.
Once again the majority of the new cases, three of the four, involve people in their twenties and thirties in the Moncton region.
The fourth is a person in their twenties in the Fredericton area. The source of all four infections remains under investigation.
There are 32 active cases of the virus in New Brusnwick, with half of those in the Moncton region including several whose source is undetermined.
Those cases have led to a number of public exposure warnings, including the Tandoori Zaika Cuisine and Bar in Moncton on November 8th; Aldo Shoe shoes in the Dieppe Mall between November 6th and 10th; and the GoodLife Fitness gym at Moncton Junction Village on November 6th and 10th.
Nationally we added nearly 43-hundred new infections yesterday as actives cases continue to climb at more than 51-thousand now.
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NB – RAYMOND UPD DG/GG/WIRE (TUE 4PM)
The jury began its deliberations yesterday evening in the Matthew Raymond case.
Raymond admitted on the stand to the shooting deaths of Donnie Robichaud, Bobbie Lee Wright and Constables Sara Burns and Robb Costello in Fredericton in 2018. However, he has pleaded not guilty to four counts of first-degree murder with his lawyer arguing he wasn’t criminally responsible due to mental illness. The Crown has disputed that arguing Raymond knew his actions were wrong.
The judge told the jury they have a number of choices…find Raymond not criminally responsible, guilty of first degree murder, second-degree murder, manslaughter, or not guilty. Justice Landry said the mere fact that a person’s mind is affected by a mental disorder is no excuse if there was intent to kill beyond a reasonable doubt.
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NB-Throne Speech 2 (CBC CTV et al wed.am)
The Lt.-Governor delivered the Higgs Government’s new Throne Speech yesterday.
The newly-elected “majority government” is promising to change the way public services are delivered.
The pandemic has produced innovations like virtual doctor visits and classrooms which are working well. The Higgs Government is promising to “renew and reinvent” how such services are delivered to provide better value to taxpayers. They understand there will be a time when the pandemic will end, and the province must be ready to emerge stronger. The speech also said it’s time to move forward with local government reform after numerous studies over the years.
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NB-Speech rexn (CBC Brunswick News wed.am)
Interim Opposition Leader Roger Melanson responded to the throne speech telling reporters some say that you have to pay attention to what’s not in the speech as well as what is, according to CBC. Melanson called it an operational outline not a statement of vision or inspiration.
Green Leader David Coon called the government’s committents on affordale housing a “drop in a leaky bucket”. Brunswick News reports on a related subject, that Kris Austin of the People’s Alliance noted there was no commitment to reform the “double tax” requirement for property developers to pay both municipal and provincial tax. He said eliminating that double tax would reduce the need for subsidized housing.
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NB – COVID V2.0 BILL/RELEASE WED AM
COVID-19 cases continue to grow in New Brunswick with public health announcing four new infections yesterday.
The cases are once again linked to people in their twenties and thirties…
three in the Moncton region and one in the Fredericton area.
The latest cases bring the active case count to 32 in the province with half of those in the Moncton region… many of which are still under investigation.
Although not great news the numbers pale in comparison to what is going on in the rest of Canada… province such as BC and Alberta reported record daily highs this week.
Active cases have grown to over 51-thousand with close to 43-hundred added across the country yesterday.
