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The article in the Gleaner today (Thurs 17) is the second time that this story has hit the news. Fredericton City Council is concerned that the price of steel will mean they will have to revise the design for the new south side arena. They will either alter the architecture, replacing steel with other materials or reduce the size of the design by removing spectator seating. I have also heard that some think the Olympic size ice sheet will have to go.
I hope they can change materials and keep the seats and the larger ice surface. No point having a rink without it being a venue. Can't attract larger events and completions if there is no place to sit.
But you have to ask... if the price of steel is a concern, why isn't it also affecting the construction of the new Conference center and Government office tower? Why is it only affecting the City's costs for the new arena? How come we don't hear about that?
Given that I will use the arena more than the conference center (if ever?) - You can guess which building I would choose if I had to reduce costs. And I bet the majority of Fredericton residents would agree.
Any doubt Beverley McLachlin et al on the Order of Canada nominating committee are pushing an agenda when nominating people for the Order of Canada was put to rest when I read this.
Whether you think Henry Morgentaler is a monster, a hero or something inbetween, one would be hard pressed to find someone who thinks he isn't one of the most controversial living Canadians. Yet "too controversial" is apparently a criteria for not getting named.
Frankly I could care less if Morgentaler gets it or doesn't. The controversy has once again brought the abortion issue to the forefront and forced people to talk about it. That's all good.
However it is time for a little more openess about what the criteria for the Order of Canada is. On the surface it is apparently whatever McLachlin and her elitist friends want it to be.
H/T - Burton Front
Crossposted - CanadaEast
Liberal MP, Ken Boshcoff likes Dion's Green Shift Plan. Not because it will do much to eliminate carbon emissions, but because it will do more to eliminate poverty. He said "the shift will transfer wealth from rich to poor, from the oilpatch to the rest of the country, and from the coffers of big business to the pockets of low-income Canadians"
Now this may be Liberal policy - they've done it before - but it sounds more like this.
And here I thought the Liberals were supposed to be the party of the center?
The media might not be able to attend but Rob at The Independent is live blogging the discussions taking place. Interesting stuff.
Meanwhile what I found to be an interesting article on the issue with some neat ideas is getting pilloried by some commentators.
Crossposted - CanadaEast
There were three articles in the Daily Gleaner today (Tuesday 8 July) on the EFI debacle.
The first was an editorial letter from professor Robertson at Mount A, that says the Government's approach to fixing the literacy woes by killing EFI was and is wrong.
Then the Editorial basically accuses Lamrock of striving for mediocrity rather than excellence in education. (An almost 180 change from their previous praise of this forward thinking, loquacious politician)
And then there was the article where Lamrock hopes his last minute meetings will quell the criticism over his lack of sincere consultations in the first place.
Don't think so Kell.
A hasty ill-thought out plan, based on discredited statistics and reports, foisted on a unwilling public and shoved down their throats, can't be sugar coated by any sort of last minute, half-hearted effort at consultation, and it certainly can't be made any more palatable by saying it is only intended to level the playing field, set a lowest common denominator and strive for mediocrity.
Spinks has obviously been busy this week. Celebrating Canada Day no doubt. Apparently we are a patriotic lot here in Freddy. Good fireworks and I had my fill of curly fries. ( a tradition like a dippy dog at the Frex.)
1. One of things to celebrate is the freedom we have in this country. Like the freedom of speech that allows people like Spinks and I to say what we want on a blog. It even allows others to be offensive. Thats why you should be following this story, here. This is just the latest installment in a battle for our freedom that is being fought below the surface. Fire. Them. All.
2. The Daily Gleaner ran an article on the front page today (Saturday) called "Spelling out Changes to our French Language programs". The whole tone of the article, with the exception of the last paragraph, came across like EFI was totally dead and that this was simply justifying the inevitable... Lamrock has made his decision and thats that. Silly me, I thought we were still in consultation?
3. I am disappointed in this. More here. I don't think he deserved it and its more evidence that our "elites" use their positions to further their interests over the greater good.
4. And on a good note. The strawberry recipes in the Gleaner are worth making. I love strawberries.
I couldn't resist joining in on what has N.B. all abuzz.
Crossposted - CanadaEast
Education Minister Kelly Lamrock takes to the air of CBC Radio on Wednesday morning (7 to 8am I believe) for a province wide call-in regarding changes to delivering French language instruction to English students. Open houses on the issue start that day around the province and continue on Saturday.
I fully expect the call-in to be an hour of him getting slammed.
Maybe he deserves it but here’s the problem.
He’s been getting slammed for months now. I suspect he gets it that some are unhappy. Initially it served a purpose to let people know that there was opposition. Today, I don’t know what rock you would have to look under to find someone who didn’t know that.
Now’s the time to start presenting some ideas on how to address the problems with the school system. Discuss them here if you want but get those ideas to the government. If the ideas don’t start flowing two things are going to happen without question. One : in the absence of anything else, Lamrock will go ahead with some semblance of Plan A. Two : Those who disagree with that will take the government back to court and we’re going to do this dance for a while. Let’s instead come up with something that may not be what everyone wants but works. I have my own ideas which I’ll throw out in the next little while. In the meantime let’s stop arguing and start thinking up ways to improve the broken system we have now.
Note to CBC’s Terry Seguin. Moderate the call-in so it’s not just a rant for some. Make it useful. We’ll all thank you for it.
Crossposted - CanadaEast
It's a hot topic and well it should be but MAN, there's some nasty comments flying all around over at the Telegraph Journal today regarding a story about the Parents for Fairness.
When 100 people protested the changes, not for two seconds did I think it was only 100 people who cared and that their concerns weren't valid. My beef was that there was obviously another side to the story which hadn't been heard and was being ignored. Apparently some think it should have stayed that way.
Crossposted - CanadaEast
The 80% or 70% or whatever the number is of parents who have children not in French immersion (past comments at my blog indicate there's some debate on the number, regardless it’s still the majority and a significant number) have been relatively quiet as the future of their children’s education has been discussed. Most of the focus has been on the EFI side and I don’t want to downplay the significant concern there as well.
But in a balanced discussion all sides need to be heard so it’s refreshing to see a blog set up from parents who don’t have children enrolled in EFI dedicated to those real concerns. Check it out here.
Crossposted - CanadaEast
With the theme gone to CTV, can Hockey Night in Canada be far behind? HNIC is one of the few things Canadians actually watch on CBC. What would they have left?
Crossposted - CanadaEast
McDonald’s in Fredericton has stopped serving tomatoes .
Why? Don’t know.
Signs are everywhere but offer no explanation except to say if you have a beef talk to the manager.
Wendy’s did this a few years ago when the price of tomatoes went high. You could still get them but you had to ask specifically for them or you were without the “T” in the BLT.
McDonald’s just removed them with cryptic messages to warn customers. Weird. Prices on their hamburgers are the same though. Hmmm.
Update - Here's why. Canada wide. I guess writing on a sign that our tomatoes may have salmonella is kind of bad for business. Why just McDonald's though?
Crossposted - CanadaEast
Guest blog below sent to me by a friend. Interesting take on some recent CBC stances. There's been a few stories lately at CBC where I've been concerned they've been taking a stance as opposed to reporting the news and letting the listener decide. I see I'm not the only one thinking that. Lengthier than my regular posts but read on.
Spinks
A few months ago when the CBC was bashing the province's new brand on a daily basis, I was particular irked when I was listening to Shift one night and the host (it wasn't Paul Castle, but a fill-in) had a marketing prof on the air from MSVU in Halifax. She said that the brand was great and that the province got a "tremendous bargain" if it was developed for only $229,000. The host was shocked and appalled by this and moaned on and on as she proceeded to make a complete fool of him. The next morning, the CBC again invited its listeners to send Terry Seguin their best attempts at mockery.
That is somewhat fine, there is a place for satire. But it isn't news or relevant information, which are two things one might expect from a program called "Information Morning" produced by an operation called "CBC Radio News".
So I emailed the CBC to inquire about how much they spent when they rebranded a few years ago. You might remember, with great fanfare, Robert Rabinovich unveilling the new "tone" that would play at the beginning of each TV and radio news broadcast. That was in early February, the CBC has still not responded to my email. How accountable.
This week they were telling Victor Boudreau that, before he goes ahead with a plan to cut taxes by $500 million and raise them by $350 million (i.e. a $150 million tax cut + $350 million of tax shifting from inefficient to efficient means of taxation), he should call a referendum. New Brunswick is allowing people to prospect and explore for uranium; essentailly look around for it, not mine for it. Experts say that you would have a greater risk of radiation exposure hanging around in an old basement for a few hours then laying on top of an exploratory drill hole with uranium at the bottom of it for a few weeks. The CBC however insists that we call off the exploration or, at least, hold a referendum. This is the same CBC that mocked Stockwell Day insessenantly (see petition to rename him Doris Day) for proposing referenda on serious issues. How consistent.
Despite the CBC's constant crying for government accountability and openness, the taxpayer-funded CBC opens its books to no one. Their "financial statement" from there most recent annual report is 16 pages long but that is mostly fluff, pictures, etc. There is no breakdown in terms of how much is spent on specific programming or how much is spent by province.
Here's an interesting factoid for you (that wasn't in the annual report, but I determined by sifting throught the CBC website). Ontario (population 12,861,940) has 4 CBC Radio 1 stations. New Brunswick (population 751,250) has 3. That is one station for every 3.22 million people in Ontario, contrasted to one for every 0.25 million in New Brunswick. Seems fair, equitable and an excellent example of resource managment, no?
Here's a better one for you. The 2006-07 CBC budget was $1,689,000,000. Yes, that is almost $2 billion. How much of it was spent in New Brunswick? No idea. However, this is what I was able to figure out.
CBC TV costs $624,930,000
CBC Radio costs $202,680,000
Radio-Canada TV costs $405,360,000
Radio-Canada Radio costs $152,010,000
That adds up to about $1.3 billion, the rest is spent on overhead, etc.
CBC TV has 18 stations, 1 of which is in New Brunswick. 1/18 of the CBC TV budget is $34,718,333.33.
CBC Radio (both 1 and 2) has 50 stations, 3 of which (all Radio 1) are in New Brunswick. 3/50 of the CBC Radio budget is $50,670,000.
Radio-Canada TV has 8 stations, 1 of which is in New Brunswick. 1/8 of the Radio-Canada TV budget is $12,160,800.
Radio-Canada Radio has 28 stations, 2 of which are in New Brunswick. 2/28 of the Radio-Canada Radio budget is $10,857,857.14.
Therefore, it is not unfair to assume that CBC in New Brunswick costs taxpayers about $108,406,990.47 every year.
I have long been a defender of the CBC, but at some point one has to wonder how much is too much? At one point there used to be individual programming for all of NB's CBC Radio stations. Now there are individual morning programs but everything else is provincial or regional. CBC could save, by my analysis, $8,107,200 per year if we had one CBC Radio 1 station in New Brunswick instead of 3. And I doubt anyone would even notice. Where else could they trim the fat?
Maybe New Brunswickers should have a referendum on whether they would like to see CBC service continue in New Brunswick or have the federal government transfer $108 million extra per year to the province, or, perhaps, in the form of tax cut? CBC seems to think referenda are such a good thing after all.
$108 million - or even $8 million - can go a long way. $108 million is more than the budget of New Brunswick's departments of Agriculture, Business, Energy, Environment, Finance, Fisheries, Intergovernmental Affairs, Justice, Natural Resources, Tourism or Wellness & Culture. $8 million would hire about 32 doctors per year or 160 nurses.
I know how I'd vote in that referendum, bring it on!
Crossposted - CanadaEast
A few things on the mind of guest blogger kit. Discuss.
Spinks
As the ongoing discussion about taxes continues, here are a few things that might have passed below the radar...
1. Kudos to Boudreau... you might not like what he's proposed about a new taxes, but at least you have to give him credit for fielding a discussion paper before he makes a decision. It has certainly generated a lot of response and interest and is a fine example of consultation. (Note to Lamrock. You should try this method)
2. Speaking of which... Several articles in Monday's and Tuesday's papers refer to a Access to Information Request and several e-mails that seem to suggest that Lamrock commissioned the Croll / Lee report to support his predetermined decision to kill Early French Immersion. I am no expert but it looks plausible from what I have seen. Where there is smoke there is usually fire.
Of course anyone involved in the new Albert Street School fiasco can tell you about facts not getting in the way of predetermined decisions.
Lamrock's response in the legislature was predictable. Attack the messenger and not the message. The Gleaner says he responded..." it doesn't make sense to postpone a number of key changes designed to benefit the students"... No it doesn't. Not all, just the hasty ones based on discredited reports.
3. What ever happened to the lawsuit trying to stop the changes to EFI?
4. And probably the most important thing... CBC will no longer use Dolores Claman's Hockey Night in Canada theme song! Too expensive, apparently. Suggestion to the CBC... keep the iconic Canadian song and shave some bucks off of the presidents travel expenses, or renovations to your HQ in Toronto, or producing crappy sitcoms and such... geesh! Talk about stupid decisions.
Crossposted - CanadaEast
For your consideration;
1.) A flat personal income tax of either 10% or a two tiered system of 9% and 12%.
2.) A non-refundable tax credit of $400 per child. Also $600 for every child under six similar to the Federal Universal childcare program.
3.) Reduce corporate tax rate from 13% to 10% or 7% or 5%.
4.) Impose a carbon tax similar to B.C. and phase it in over several years.
5.) Raise the HST by 2%.
Let the games begin.
Crossposted - CanadaEast
It seems counter to what Shawn Graham and the Liberals have done up until now but since the weekend Finance Minister Victor Boudreau has certainly been leaving that impression.
Some topics for discussion will be released on Wednesday at a news conference. (by the way note the wording for who is allowed to attend. IE: no Charles Leblancs or his blogging ilk. :))
Given the trial balloons Boudreau has been floating, expect talk of income taxes going down and consumption taxes going up. Might make sense if you can trust the government to deliver what they promise. The problem is this government doesn’t exactly have a stellar record of doing that so expect plenty of skepticism.
Interesting to note the carbon tax being talked about. That’s something federal Liberal leader Stephan Dion has been talking about as well. It’s not the dumbest idea in the world but the timing stinks. If the idea is to encourage people to conserve fuel by making the price high, the free market has been doing that job in spades. A few cents tax is just going to tick people off who are already being bled. This isn’t like cigarettes and alcohol. People need to drive and/or be driven places and they need to heat their homes. Penalizing them for living seems counter productive. Besides, Shawn Graham campaigned on lowering fuel taxes. Now he wants to raise them and just give it a different name?
Speaking of carbon, if I see one more group do some kind of protest which involves them sucking fuel and then claiming their “environmental responsibility” because they bought off their guilt with carbon credits I’m going to puke. The media covers this stuff without seeing if the money actually made a difference and just blindly take these groups at their word. If these folks really care that much they should walk or bike, or do their protest without using any fuel. Buying off your guilt seems to pull the wool over some people’s eyes but I question how many actually fall for it. Much more impressive would be these groups figuring out ways not to pollute themselves.
Crossposted - CanadaEast
After nearly two years, 101 people who are screwing up Canada (and 10 who are not) has come to a close with the #1 who is not. Thanks to all who supported the project and threw in their two cents along the way.
Crossposted - CanadaEast
Fredericton's new City Council was sworn in Monday, and Brad Woodside is Mayor for a record 7 times. Congratulations to all, and may you serve our city well...
But, (there is always a but...) what happened to the major election issue? I can' t find any mention in any of the acceptance speeches about property taxes. Every candidate that came to my door raised the issue of property taxes ( and city spending and the city debt load - nearing 100 million plus...) It was even one of the main planks in Woodside's opponents campaign. Yet it doesn't rate a mention, a comment..?
The mayor seemed to have missed that point in his haste to extol the virtues of the new Convention Center.
In fact this was the headline in todays Gleaner... "Convention Center to transform city".
How?
They all say it will be great for the city and good for business and it will put us on the map. I say prove it.
As a tax payer (a shareholder in this city) I want to see the business case that says its a viable enterprise and will be worth the money we will spend to build it. And the money we will spend for the rest of our lives to maintain it. What is the projected operating cost to the city for the next 20 years? What are the projected revenues and what are they based on? How many 1000 person conventions do we need a year to break even or make a profit?
If this is a money pit, I can think of dozens of other projects that would transform the city, like a new bridge or more sports fields, that I'd rather see us spend money on.
Please, new City Council, convince me this is a good idea, before you stick a shovel in the ground.
Posted by Kit
Pick up any CanadaEast paper today and you will notice a half page ad promoting Global Maritimes newscast. It talks about trusting and relying on Global "for the information you need everyday!"
Did I miss something?
This is the same outfit that decimated its Maritime newsroom this year. The powers that be at Global essentially flipped the proverbial middle finger to Maritime viewers of the newscast. The handful of journalists who are left are doing their best but the newscast is terrible.
Now they actually have the nerve to try to promote said newscast as a good thing and quality product?
Global's got it alright...I just hope it's not contagious.
Crossposted - CanadaEast
Is it just me or are the lines between the Liberals and Progressive Conservatives in New Brunswick getting completely blurred? Up is down, black is white, and insanity thy name is the PC Party of New Brunswick.
A couple of lawyers were looking to have their costs paid upfront by the government so that they can later SUE the government in a class action lawsuit in the Miramichi pathology case.
The government wisely and rightly said forget it.
Yet Conservative Bruce Fitch thinks taxpayers should pay the lawyers cost even though the lawsuit hasn't even been filed yet. The lawyers are supposed to put their own money upfront for class action and if they're successful, they'll undoubtedly get a generous cut.
Good grief Mr. Fitch. Opposition doesn't mean opposing common sense.
Somebody get the PC's a leader stat.
Crossposted - CanadaEast
Somebody give Fredericton skateboarder Lee Breen a media relations job. The guy is brilliant.
By tossing around the word “green” as his defence for getting a ticket for breaking the law by riding his skateboard on the street, he’s bamboozled the media so much that they have barely looked at the issue of whether riding a skateboard on the streets of Fredericton which have no bike lanes is a safety issue.
The Daily Gleaner has been downright fawning over the issue giving him a big thumbs up in their editorial section and a back page splash feature. The feature on Breen on Saturday I could understand. It’s solely a feature interview and there is no need to show the other side I suppose.
Today though they more or less regurgitate the same interview into a front page story without any other perspective?!?
If you think the by-laws should be changed or you think Breen is a hero that’s fine but this is still lousy journalism from a number of media outlets with the Daily Gleaner leading the pack. Come on folks, you can do better than that and at least offer up a balanced story regardless of your personal view.
Crossposted - CanadaEast
Long time readers know I'm a pretty conservative kind of guy. I'd probably throw my support behind a conservative party unless I'm given a compelling reason not to.
The PC's in New Brunswick keep throwing those reasons.
They have a solidly strong opposition in the number of members yet they've still been just plain useless.
The latest one is them going on the attack against T.J. Burke for his now infamous blog post that property taxes suck. The blog has since been pulled.
Now you knew political hay would be made of this one and that's fine but for PC MLA Bruce Fitch to say, "Is he (Burke) just sitting there complaining, or is he going to do something about it?" is hypocrisy at its best. Skyrocketing property taxes began on your watch Mr. Fitch and the previous government did NOTHING about it or would even admit they "suck" so to pull this holier than thou routine doesn't fool anyone.
I'd rather have an MLA who lives in the real world, knows something does suck and at the very least raises the issue so it gets discussed, than a group of politicians who only view this as a political opportunity to score some cheap points instead of offering some realistic ideas.
By the way before I let the Liberals off the hook, Minister Greg Byrne has obviously been appointed to speak on the issue and told media this, "I have had many conversations with the minister (Burke) and he certainly recognizes that the property tax assessment system is a fair system and that the asset that you have and the asset that he has, is his best asset."
No Burke doesn't. He thinks property taxes suck and that something should be done. That's exactly what he wrote and given some petitions floating around, many New Brunswickers agree. There's nothing wrong with him reflecting what citizens are saying. That's what an MLA is supposed to do and muzzling him as the Liberals have done is ridiculous.
By the way, T.J. Burke's blog has not been updated since the "sucks" blog was pulled. I suspect he may be a little gunshy and the blog will either die or become so sanitized it will be useless. I hope I'm wrong. We need more frankness from our politicians and less spin.
Crossposted - CanadaEast
Photo courtesy of Charles Leblanc
The Westmorland Street Bridge in Fredericton has been adorned with a number of homemade signs at every post encouraging people not to jump and other such messages to deter people from using the bridge as a jumping point to commit suicide.
I know the bridge has been used for such things in the past (sometimes successfully, sometimes not) but I'm not sure who is behind the signs or what is driving it. Regardless if it makes someone think twice and perhaps seek help, then well worth the effort.
Crossposted - CanadaEast
From the weird story files, one can really see this from all sides. Here's a guy who at least claims he's responsible on the road with his skateboard, looking both ways, using hand signals and unlike a great number of his skateboarding colleagues (cyclists too) actually wears a helmet for his own safety.
The law in Fredericton though says you can't ride your skateboard on city streets along with a number of other things like sleds (imagine how quick you could get down the Regent Street hill in the winter though).
Lee Breen pleaded guilty but won't pay the $100 fine so the alternative is he spends 5 days in the clink which he prefers to do.
I see the guy's point to a degree but the law applies to all. Just last week I observed a skateboarder just about get nailed by traffic numerous times weaving in and around cars. It's just not safe for anybody and if Lee is let off, the roads become a free for all. When you're on a piece of wood with four little wheels weaving in and around traffic, you're difficult for motorists to see.
Unfair for skateboarders? Perhaps but so is ending up a smear on the road. Short of building an infrastructure just for skateboards, this law needs to be upheld. Sorry Lee, but if you're going to continue to flip off this law and not pay the penalty, figure out what the comfy cell is because you're going to be a return visitor.
Crossposted - CanadaEast
Those are endorsements you don't need when running for City Council. Only 3 of the 11 candidates the Telegraph Journal encouraged people to vote for in the Saint John municipal election won.
The perception at least is that the T-J appears to be a little out of touch with the people and may be getting a bit of a backlash.
Crossposted - CanadaEast
What happened to the uproar over the sudden termination of the EFI program? Surely this issue hasn't simply faded away?
I have heard that the vocal outrage has become more serious and quiet... Another one of my friends, in the Military stationed at Gagetown, says its caused quite a concern. Families have considered refusing postings to New Brunswick and others have asked to leave the province early. All seemed worried about their children's ability to start or stay in an Early Immersion French program when they inevitably get moved out of province. Most see New Brunswick's volt-face on early immersion as a negative.
I have heard the RCMP share a similar view.
New Brunswick doctors have already weighed in on the issue with the same concerns.
How many other people with careers in the mobile workforce now look negatively upon a transfer to New Brunswick because their kids will fall behind if they ever get moved out.
It really makes you wonder if they even considered this sort of secondary effect? I don't remember if the report ever touched it? Maybe they don't care?
Crossposted - CanadaEast
Update... late Sunday Afternoon
Has the debate faded.... I guess not, judging by the comments.
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