One person is dead after a crash in Kenora overnight.
OPP say one vehicle collided on Redditt Road at around 11 p.m. Thursday. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene.
There’s no word yet on what caused the collision.
Kenora OPP Detachment, Fire, and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) responded to the scene.
Reddit Road between Highway 17a and James Road was closed overnight while police investigated.
No Christmas Grinch this week for gas prices.
The maximum cost for regular self-serve is down 4.2 cents a litre on Friday morning to around $1.45.
Diesel also dipped 1.5 cents to a maximum of around $1.78.
Furnace oil decreased 1.7 cents to around $1.70.
This comes after weekly price adjustments by the Energy and Utilities Board.
In Nova Scotia, regular self-serve ranges from $1.31 to $1.35 per litre, while diesel is selling for between $1.62 and $1.66 per litre.
On Prince Edward Island, the price for regular self-serve is around $1.39 per litre, diesel costs around $1.71 per litre, and home heating oil is selling for a maximum of $1.19 per litre.
The New Brunswick Energy and Utilities Board adjusts prices every Friday at 12:01 a.m.
Meantime, in a bit of deja vu, the provincial government says motorists will see even more price decreases at the pumps next week. This is due to amended regulations under the Petroleum Products Pricing Act.
E10, a fuel blend of ethanol and gasoline, will start being used to determine the benchmark price for regular gasoline in New Brunswick.
This move is expected to save New Brunswickers up to seven cents a litre next week, based on market conditions.
“We promised we would look at every option to make life more affordable for New Brunswickers, and this is one more way we’re delivering real savings for families,” said Premier Susan Holt.
Lots of late school buses for southern New Brunswick on Thursday morning.
Anglophone South School District reported earlier today that due to icy conditions, some gravel roads will not be serviced.
If your child is bused to school, you’ll want to check online first to see if your route is running on time, before dropping them off at the bus stop.
A full list of late buses can be found on the Anglophone South and Francophone South websites.
There’s messy weather on the way to parts of the province for Wednesday night.
Environment Canada has issued special weather statements for areas including Northern Charlotte County, Oromocto and Sunbury County, Grand Lake and Queens County.
Five to 10 centimetres of snow could fall overnight tonight and tomorrow morning.
Slippery conditions could follow, with the potential for three to six hours of freezing rain mixed in.
Central and northern regions, including Fredericton, Grand Falls. Miramichi and Bathurst are under snowfall warnings.
“A good portion of the north and central areas are going to see heavy snow. We are looking at snowfall amounts of 15 to 20 centimetres, with local amounts higher. Through the central areas, Fredericton through Miramichi, this is where we will see mixed precipitation. It will start as snow and then eventually turn over to rain,” Environment Canada Meteorologist Jill Maepea said.
You’ll need to plan for travel and get the salt ready.
As for the areas to the south, Maepea says precipitation will fall, mostly as rain.
Full details on this upcoming storm system can be found on the Environment Canada website.
Operations with Air Transat are returning to normal after a tentative deal was reached with the union representing its pilots.
The airline says the agreement marks an important milestone in the process, and it lifts the risk of a strike.
It is expected to be submitted for ratification by union members in the coming days.
“We are pleased to have finally reached a tentative agreement with the union representing our pilots, marking a complete overhaul of their collective agreement,” said Annick Guérard, President and Chief Executive Officer of Transat, in a news release. “Our priority now is to quickly restore our operations.”
The Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l (ALPA), the union representing the pilots, says this comes following more than 11 months of intensive negotiations.
“Our pilots have been frustrated flying under a decade-old, outdated collective agreement,” said Captain Bradley Small, chair of the Air Transat ALPA Master Executive Council (MEC).
Some flights were cancelled today in anticipation of a potential walkout on Wednesday, which is when the union had threatened strike action if a deal wasn’t reached.
Another Daily Grand prize winner in New Brunswick, the second in less than a month.
Michael McLaughlin claimed his $500,000 prize this week at Atlantic Lottery Corporation.
He took second prize with his Daily Grand ticket.
It offers the choice of $25,000 a year for life or a lump sum of $500,000.
McLaughlin plays the lottery often and was over the moon when he found out he’d won.
“When you win it usually says, ‘You won $2,’ or ‘You won $6,’ or whatever it is, but that morning it said, ‘Click here to see your winnings,’ and I thought that was weird,” McLaughlin said. “Then it came up and said ‘$500,000,’ and I thought that couldn’t be right, so I turned the phone off, turned it back on and did it again.”
Plans for his winnings include purchasing his wife her first-ever brand-new vehicle, purchasing vehicles for both of their mothers and renovating their home.
“The big thing for me is being able to get the house fixed up right away and finally get insurance on it,” McLaughlin said. “It’s an old farmhouse, and we knew that and have been working away on it, but we’ll finally get the old wiring fixed, own it outright and be insurable. That’s huge for us.”
The remaining prize money will be shared with members of their family, including three kids, four grandchildren, his brother and his wife’s sister.
“With our win, that changes a lot of lives. It’s just awesome,” McLaughlin said.
A Fraser Institute study found little improvement in overall wait times for Canadian patients from doctor referral to treatment.
Results showed they waited almost 29 weeks, which is the second longest ever recorded.
The annual study is based on a survey of physicians across Canada, and looks at the time between a referral from a general practitioner to treatment in 12 medical specialties, including several types of surgery.
There was some improvement from the overall numbers in last year’s study, which recorded wait times of 30 weeks. When looking at individual provinces, five provinces saw wait times rise.
Ontario recorded the shortest median wait time at just over 19 weeks.
New Brunswick recorded the longest at almost 61 weeks, and Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia patients waited around 49 weeks.
Among the longest national median wait times for specialty treatments are those for neurosurgery and orthopedic surgery.
There are also long wait times for diagnostic scans, including CT and MRI scans, and ultrasounds.
| PROVINCE | 2024 | 2025 | PROVINCE | 2024 | 2025 |
| British Columbia | 29.5 | 32.2 | Quebec | 28.9 | 32.5 |
| Alberta | 38.4 | 36.0 | New Brunswick | 69.4 | 60.9 |
| Saskatchewan | 37.2 | 34.8 | Nova Scotia | 39.1 | 49.0 |
| Manitoba | 37.9 | 39.1 | P.E.I. | 77.4 | 49.7 |
| Ontario | 23.6 | 19.2 | Newfoundland and Labrador | 43.2 | 43.5 |
The New Brunswick government is establishing its eleventh collaborative health care clinic.
Saint John is the latest to join others in Campbellton, Moncton, Miramichi, Carleton North, Tantramar, Île-de-Lamèque, Fredericton, Edmundston, St. Stephen and Bathurst.
The provincial government is providing $2.9 million to Horizon Health Network to establish a new clinic space and to recruit new health-care professionals at the Saint John North End Wellness Centre.
It currently has one physician, nurse practitioner, registered nurse and part-time licensed practical nurse. It serves 450 patients and offers additional outreach health services in the community.
“We committed to 10 collaborative care clinics in 2025, and today’s announcement exceeds that target,” said Health Minister John Dornan. “We know collaborative care is the gold star approach for primary care, but it is not a one-size-fits-all approach. Each community has its own unique needs.”
The clinics announced this year are expected to take more than 14,000 New Brunswickers off the wait-list.
“By bringing providers together in a collaborative, family health team model, we can make sure patients receive the right care from the right professional, when they need it,” said Margaret Melanson, president and CEO of the Horizon Health Network.
The Babin family from Rosaireville, New Brunswick, recently appeared on Family Feud Canada.
After three wins, they never hit the big money, but Joanne Frigault says the experience was well worth it.
“The funny thing is, our oldest sister, Denise, had applied without us even knowing. When she let us know we were all game for it, of course, but we never thought we’d make it to the show. We had an interview, and they liked us,” Frigault explained.
It was a lengthy process with a lot of forms to fill out. Frigault says they asked a lot of questions, wanted to know information about the sisters and funny things that have happened in their lifetime.
They arrived for the show in August and stayed for four days. The first day, they had a full day in Toronto to do whatever they wanted before heading into the studio on Saturday and Sunday.
“On the Saturday, we didn’t end up filming, so we just watched the tapings, and we met all the families. We filmed on the Sunday. We had watched the show before. I mean, everybody watches Family Feud, but there’s so much editing, and there’s so much prep that you don’t realize that goes on behind the scenes,” Frigault says.
Rosaireville is a small community near Rogersville, New Brunswick. “Everybody was really proud and really supportive. It was an awesome experience,” Frigault says.
“Having to compete against another New Brunswick family on the second day was really nice too.”
She has this advice for anyone considering applying to be on Family Feud Canada, “Just do it. It’s such an awesome experience, and everybody there is so nice, and it’s so fun. It created a lot of good memories, especially for my sisters and me. It was really nice to spend time together.”
Restructuring in the Saint John Sea Dogs operations.
The club has announced that President Trevor Georgie will assume the responsibilities of general manager, a title previously held by Travis Crickard.
Georgie previously served as GM from 2016 to 2023. He also helped to guide the Sea Dogs to championships in 2017 and 2022.
Travis Crickard will continue as the Head Coach for the Sea Dogs.
“Travis is an excellent coach. This adjustment allows him to focus fully on leading our group on the ice, which is where he makes the greatest impact. Our club has traditionally operated with separate GM and head coach roles, and returning to that model is the right step for our team at this time,” said Georgie.
This comes after the Sea Dogs lost six straight.
