Bryan Tait is an award-winning journalist based in New Brunswick. He’s a 2008 graduate of St. Thomas University’s journalism program, and a 2021 graduate of the University of New Brunswick’s law program. Contact Bryan at taitb@radioabl.ca.
The provincial government has created a new minister’s advisory council.
This one will focus on children and youth.
In a statement, Social Development Minister Cindy Miles said she met with young people last week during a youth-in-care roundtable.
“Their insights reaffirmed how essential it is to ensure young voices in care guide our decisions,” Miles said.
The advisory council was announced the day before Children and Youth in Care Day, Nov. 29.
Miles said the advisory council will bring together former youth in care, government representatives and community partners to advise on programs, services and policies that support children and youth in care, or those previously in care.
“Children and youth in care live with foster families, with kin, or in community-based resources,” Miles said. “And each carries a unique story of strength and perseverance. Often faced with hardships at a young age, their stories motivate us to do better and strengthen the supports around them.”
Miles said the perspectives of advisory council members will help the government strengthen implementation of the Child and Youth Well-being Act.
“Investing early in children helps build a stronger province by reducing the risk of homelessness, boosting educational outcomes and supporting mental well-being before challenges become more complex,” she said.
The council members will reflect the diverse languages, cultures and geographic regions of the province, including Indigenous communities.
A new substance use treatment facility will open on the Kingston Peninsula in 2026.
“People living with addiction deserve dignity, compassion and to know that help is within reach when they need it,” Premier Susan Holt said in a statement about the project.
The 50-bed facility will be operated by Edgewood Health Network and is expected to fill a gap in live-in treatment options for people with complex substance use and behavioural addictions.
The government will provide annual operational funding of $6.3 million.
“We are focused on making sure New Brunswickers can get the care they need, when they need it,” Holt said.
The facility will be at Eagle’s Eye View Cottages in the Carter’s Point area of the Fundy Rural District and will double the province’s adult live-in treatment capacity.
“This facility helps move us closer to ensuring that there is a bed available for every New Brunswicker who seeks help,” said Robert McKee, minister responsible for addictions and mental health services.
The centre will operate under a therapeutic community model. That’s a structured environment where people work together to support each other’s recovery. Residents usually stay four to six months, depending on their needs, and participate in counselling, education and skills development to support long-term recovery.
Edgewood’s chief operating officer said expanding inpatient services means high-quality, evidence-based care is accessible for anyone who needs it.
“Our partnership with the Province of New Brunswick reflects a shared dedication to excellence in mental health and addiction treatment close to home,” said Dr. Christina Basedow.
Renovations and new construction are expected to begin shortly, and the facility is expected to open in the summer.
The Saint John Airport welcomed a new CEO this week.
A release from the airport said Court Edeburn was named to the position and began his role Monday.
Edeburn comes to Saint John from Rocky Mountaineer, a luxury train company in western Canada. He was serving as vice-president of operations and chief safety officer.
“On behalf of the board, I am thrilled to welcome Court to YSJ,” board chair Susan Harley said in the release. “His depth of operational experience and his people-focused leadership style make him the right person to guide the airport through its next phase of growth.”
Edeburn said he’s honoured to join the Saint John Airport.
“YSJ plays a vital role in the region’s connectivity and economic growth,” he said. “I look forward to working with the team and community to build on its momentum.
Edeburn has held senior roles at Air Canada, including general manager-Vancouver, general manager-Prairies and director of customer experience.
Premier Susan Holt expressed frustration after the Energy and Utilities Board blocked her government’s decision to cut the cost of carbon adjuster from the price of gas.
The EUB announced Friday the planned removal of the adjuster, scheduled to take effect Dec. 1, would be negated by an interim order increasing wholesale margins by an equivalent amount.
In a statement late Friday, Holt said the government’s priority has been making life more affordable for New Brunswickers.
“That is why our government moved to eliminate the cost-of-carbon adjuster,” she said. “People deserve genuine relief.”
Holt said the adjuster was supposed to a temporary measure when the Higgs government put it in place three years ago.
She criticized the EUB’s decision after emergency hearings involving gas retailers and wholesalers who have claimed the cut would result in closures of some gas stations around the province.
“It is the EUB’s job to ensure the lowest possible price for consumers,” Holt said. “The carbon adjuster remains unsupported by evidence and consumers should not be forced to absorb costs the industry cannot prove.”
But the Progressive Conservatives took a different view of the decision.
“(Friday’s) interim decision by the EUB comes nearly 14 months after Premier Susan Holt made an uninformed and irresponsible election promise,” Tory energy critic Kris Austin said in a statement.
Austin said the decision granted a reprieve until next February for rural New Brunswickers and local suppliers of fuel.
Austin said those suppliers have warned the provincial government that their livelihoods and the rural fuel supply would be at risk if the retailers and wholesalers became responsible for the carbon costs.
A shipping container filled with cannabis was stopped at the Port of Saint John in September.
A press release issued Friday by the Canada Border Services Agency said border services officers in Saint John received information from the agency’s export team in Halifax.
On Sept. 16, officers conducted an examination of a marine container destined for a business in the United Kingdom.
The contents of the shipment had been falsely declared as empty plastic bottles.
During their examination, officers found 16 large cardboard boxes filled with suspected cannabis.
In all, 399 packages of vacuum-sealed cannabis were seized, weighing 218 kilograms.
The cannabis and all evidence were transferred to the RCMP for further investigation.
Although legal in Canada, illicit cross-border movement of cannabis is a criminal offence, punishable by up to five years in prison under the Customs Act and up to 14 years under the Cannabis Act.
Ball hockey enthusiasts in Saint John will have a new place to play next spring.
A new facility is currently under construction in the McAllister Industrial Park in east Saint John.
The Knapper Center will feature a pair of state-of-the-art playing surfaces for four-on-four ball hockey, one indoor and one outdoor.
The facility will also feature a small pub and spaces built to host leagues, tournaments, youth programs and community events.
Between 30 and 40 jobs are anticipated to be created to staff the facility.
Gary Crossman, a longtime part of Saint John’s ball hockey community, said it’s something special to seeing such an investment in the city.
“As someone who has dedicated years to hockey at the local, provincial, national, international level, today’s announcement has been something I’ve dreamt about for years,” Crossman said.
“This centre will become a place where kids discover the love of the game, where teams grow stronger and where players push themselves to next levels, performance and confidence.”
Crossman said the facility will enable Saint John to host high-level competition and strengthen the city’s reputation as a destination for the sport.
“This sends a clear message to the national and international ball hockey community,” he said. “Saint John is stepping forward, embracing the future and positioning itself as a leader in the sport.”
Mayor Donna Noade Reardon said the facility puts Saint John on the map for recreation and sports.
“It puts us on the map for tournaments,” she said. “It puts on the map for being a city that’s growing and that’s really changing.”
The mayor said in a time when people can work from home more than ever, it’s facilities like the Knapper Center that can entice people to move to a new community.
“It’s not just about the paycheque anymore,” she said. “This helps us to build that critical mass that will attract and keep our population here in Saint John.”
An artist’s rendering of the new Knapper Center in east Saint John. Image: Courtesy of Knapper
The project is coming together thanks to Knapper, a Canadian company that specializes in high-performance ball hockey equipment, sport innovation and facility management.
“Today is a big day for Knapper and a big day for the sport of ball hockey,” said Patrick Bazinet, president of Knapper Partners Investment Fund.
Bazinet said the company is fully dedicated to ball hockey and achieves that through two divisions.
The first is the design and manufacture of high-end ball hockey equipment.
“The second division is the Knapper Partners Investment Fund which builds and invests in sports facilities across Canada,” he said.
The Knapper Center will be the company’s first venture into Atlantic Canada.
“And it’s the first one that Knapper is building from the ground up,” Bazinet said.
A release from Knapper said the Saint John facility is the company’s most significant infrastructure investment to date.
They’re collaborating with local schools, community partners and tournament organizers to create long-term programming and new opportunities for youth, adults and high-performance players.
An 18-year veteran of the Saint John Police Force is facing a criminal charge after an investigation.
According to a release, the investigation was conducted by the Kennebecasis Regional Police Force after a public complaint.
The detective constable has been charged with breach of public trust under the Criminal Code.
The release said the officer is scheduled to appear in provincial court Dec. 2.
The officer has been suspended with pay pending the criminal proceedings.
An investigation under the New Brunswick Police Act will follow.
The release said the investigation did not meet the mandate of the Serious Incident Response Team.
SiRT is responsible for investigating all matters that involve death, serious injury, sexual assault and intimate partner violence or other matters of a public interest to be investigated that may have arisen from the actions of any police officer, on or off duty, in Nova Scotia or New Brunswick.
Saint John police Chief Robert Bruce said the public’s trust and confidence are paramount to the force.
“We will continue to hold our members to the highest standard of accountability while being transparent,” Bruce said in a release.
Bruce said there would be no further comment while the matter is in front of the courts.
