CKNB NEWS UPDATE WEDNESDAY MARCH 20 2019
CAMP
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*CAMP YOUTH CENTRE
Campbellton Dalhousie MLA Guy Arseneault feels that the Higgs governments
move to to temporarily halt work at the proposed Youth Mental Health facility
in Campbellton, is pandering to a “hidden agenda.”
He claims it is motivated by a desire by the government to put them in urban
centres at the expense of other communites, adding that he feels that youth
will now have to wait longer to get the care they need.
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*CAMP CAN’T TAKE IT TO THE BANK
The Bank of Montreal branch in Dalhousie will be history, as of Friday.
That means the nearest bricks and mortar branch will require a trip to
Bathurst.
The Tribune says that BMO is now trying to find a couple of sites to install
bank machines in Dalhousie.
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NB BUDGET
The Higgs government has brought down a budget that projects a $23-million
surplus and promise to pay down some of the provinces debt for the first time
in over a decade. Finance Minister Ernie Steeves says the cancellation of
major infrastructure projects will help the government reduce its overall
debt burden by 49 million. Steeves is proposing to Ottawa a scalled-down plan
to twin Route 11 from Shediac to Buctouche…still twinning the highway but
not the bridges.
The Department of Social Development, currently in midst of a labour dispute
with nursing home workers, will get $21 million more for seniors care and
nursing home wages. However, the same department is facing significant cuts
in some of its other programs, including housing services, income security –
and child welfare and disability support. Other departments who saw their
funding slashed include Tourism, Heritage and Culture; Post-secondary
Education, Training and Labour – and Opportunities New Brunswick.
Meanwhile; The Department of Education will see a 2.9 percent increase in its
budget – and Health care funding is getting a spending bump of 1.8 percent
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NB-Nursing home workers protest
Hundreds of nursing home workers and their supporters were outside the
legislature protesting their contract dispute with the government. Half a
dozen buses brought workerts in from various parts of the province.
Premier Blaine Higgs went out to speak to the workers and was almost drowned
out by the boos but he said “We can scream at each other all we want…but at
the end of the day the government has real issues it has to fix. Higgs turned
to Sharon Teare head of the Council of Nursing Home Unions and suggested it’s
time to discuss ideas she has proposed in the past. Teare told Higgs she was
disappointed the government continues to take the contract negotiations to
court to try to ban the workers from striking.
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ALL-Budget overall
The Commons was quite noisy yesterday as Finance Minister Bill Morneau tried
to deliver his Speech. The Conservatives kept shouting and yelling over him
complaining about the Liberal majority on the justice committee ending its
investigation of the SNC-Lavalin scandal.
As for the budget…the Liberals appear to be telling Canadians — if you
like what’s in it, you better vote for us this fall.
Morneau promised billions of dollars for everything from pharmacare to
retraining workers to first-time home buyers. Border security will be beefed
up. Corporate executives will pay more tax on their stock options. Funding
for some of the new commitments will only start kicking in after October’s
election.
The big-spending budget has put the Liberals at odds with the Opposition
Conservatives, who have called on the government to rein in spending.
