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.
Norm Garnett is assuming the role with Hampton Fire Rescue.
The announcement was made Wednesday in a social media post.
Garnett has been a volunteer with HFR since 2004.
According to the post, he’s worked his way through the ranks, and has been a big part of the department’s annual Christmas Cheer campaign and the Truck Pull for Muscular Dystrophy.
Garnett was awarded the James Hovey Award in 2021 for his volunteerism in the community, recognizing his commitment to HFR.
Steve MacDonald had an idea, helping recovering addicts by giving them a place to try and continue their road back to a better life.
As a former addict himself, he wanted to give back.
He runs Forward House on Saint John’s west side.
Or, he did.
“What we do is we’re kind of like the aftercare from treatment,” MacDonald said. “They guys go to treatment and they learn all this stuff about addiction and why they’re in addiction and they learn about what they need to do in order to be able to live in a life of recovery.”
MacDonald said the problem with rehab is that sometimes people go through a program and are thrown back into what he called “their war zones” or back into shelters.
“They’re expected to take these things that they’ve learned in treatment,” he said.
“I’m going to he honest with you, I’ve been to some of the treatments here in this province, and they don’t learn a whole lot.”
He said a big issue is the expectation that recovering addicts take what they learned in recovery and put into use on their own.
But he said that didn’t work, and he came away with a way for recovering addicts to learn how to live their life and recover in real time, and do it together with others in various stages of recovery.
MacDonald said a fee was charged for room and board.
“We supply food and we were taking guys to meetings,” he said. “We require them to go to several meetings per week.”
But money became an issue. MacDonald said he had to go back to work to not only pay his own bills, but to keep the house operational.
He’d been trying to keep the house running for two years, but he couldn’t get any assistance from the Department of Social Development or New Brunswick housing.
“N.B. Housing has come in and they said our newly renovated house wasn’t up to N.B. Housing standards,” he said. “So they’ve denied any kind of assistance.”
On top of that, because he didn’t own the house, there were no grants available to renovate and meet the standard N.B. Housing was required.
With bills piling up and no financial assistance, the decision was made on Feb. 28 that Forward House would be closing its doors.
“Over the last 2 years we have seen so many people join and leave our community and we pray that each of them have continued success in their recovery journey,” the organization posted on Facebook. “We have been there for several one year celebrations and have been there to help those who have left and returned to try again, without judgement.
“We are so proud to have been a part of every person’s life that has come through our facility. Unfortunately, due to a lack of available funding, we have been unable to secure the purchase of our building and or find a mortgage holder to allow us to continue our service.”
MacDonald said some pretty serious debt was piled up over the last couple of years to keep the place running.
“The numbers aren’t working out,” he said.
“It sucks, but we don’t see any other options at this point in time.”
MacDonald expressed some frustrations about trying to keep Forward House running.
He said he reached out to different members of the provincial government, including Housing Minister David Hickey, but nothing ever came of it.
MacDonald he believes having a group together is an important part of helping people recover and maintain that recovery.
He said initiatives like the City of Saint John’s homelessness strategy is setting people up for isolation.
“Isolation is the biggest enemy for a guy in recovery,” he said. “Communal living is so ingrained into us, whether we’ve in jail or we’ve been in shelter situations or even on the streets.
“We’re expecting these people to succeed solo in these places that they’re putting them into alone.”
MacDonald said it’s important to recognize that communal-style living is an “absolute requirement” in recovery for a lot of people.
“You’re forgetting all these people who are in recovery that require community living,” he said.
“You’ve got illness and these people all have this illness, right? Which is addiction,” he said. “If we replace the ‘I’ in illness and replace with ‘we,’ you’ve got wellness. And that’s what kind of what we set up to do.”
MacDonald said he had three guys left in the house with no idea where they’ll be come the end of March.
He said he was being interviewed and started crying.
“How can I let these guys down like this,” he said.
MacDonald isn’t going to give up on either saving Forward House or trying again with something new.
“I mean, if we could find a way to even get a grant or purchase the building or get a get like a mortgage holder that would be willing to to do something with us so that we can get our name on it,” he said. “Then we can apply for grants. Then we can apply for funding to be able to subsidize it.”
Free workshops designed to help caregivers better navigate senior care are expanding provincewide.
The provincial government made the announcement Tuesday.
“Caregivers play a crucial role in our communities by caring for our seniors,” said Seniors Minister Lyne Chantal Boudreau. “This program enhances their quality of life by providing them with the tools needed to support seniors at home while helping them along their journey.”
The workshops are a collaboration of the provincial government, the New Brunswick Community College (NBCC) and the Collège Communautaire du Nouveau-Brunswick (CCNB).
They’re goal is to give caregivers practical resources and direct support to better navigate New Brunswick’s care services.
“This investment from the province strengthens the supports available to those caring for aging loved ones, while also creating invaluable experiential learning opportunities for the next generation of New Brunswick health-care professionals,” said NBCC vice-president of academic, innovation and student affairs.
NBCC has been leading the workshops as a pilot project since 2022. Now they’ll be available in both official languages.
“We are delighted to contribute to this essential initiative aimed at improving support for caregivers across New Brunswick,” said Diane Sénécal, CCNB’s vice-president of learning and student success.
“These workshops provide family caregivers with practical tools and, above all, the confidence they need to carry out their roles with peace of mind and assurance.”
The three-day workshops, which can be attended online or in person, cover a variety of topics, including:
understanding the aging process
preventing caregiver burnout
strategies to prevent health challenges
navigation of wait-lists and community services
end-of-life care planning
Funding has been set aside to provide respite services for seniors while their caregivers attend the workshops.
New Brunswick will hold municipal elections on May 11.
And three municipal associations are doing their part to encourage people to run in those elections.
The Union of Municipalities of New Brunswick (UMNB), the Association francophone des municipalités du N.-B. (AFMNB), and the Association of Municipal Administrators of New Brunswick (AMANB) launched an awareness campaign recently.
The campaign is about encouraging interested people to run for council this spring.
“Municipalities across the province have experienced significant changes since January 2023, and our municipal elected officials, with the support of municipal administrations, have met these challenges with energy and determination,” said Serge Arsenault, Chief Administrative Officer of the Town of Grand-Bouctouche and Vice-President of the AMANB.
“They have paved the way for even stronger local governance. We are calling on citizens who want to take part in this important work. Our municipalities need your leadership and your ideas. “Municipal administrators will be your allies in advancing the issues that matter to you and your region.”
Yvon Godin, a councillor for Rivière-du-Nord and president of the AFMNB, said the hope is to have municipal councils reflect the diversity of today’s society.
“The members of our three associations firmly believe that New Brunswick will be more inclusive and better equipped to grow if our local governance demonstrates leadership in openness to all,” he said.
“We are the level of government closest to people’s daily lives. When municipal councils have the privilege of drawing on a wide range of perspectives, they expand the pool of possible solutions for their communities.”
The campaign will be accompanied by information sessions for people interested in running, and a variety of local activities aimed at the explaining the role of elected municipal officials.
It hasn’t felt like it in recent days, but spring is right around the corner in New Brunswick.
And with that comes weight restrictions for truck traffic across the province.
The Department of Transportation and Infrastructure announced the starting dates for restrictions this week.
In the south, they’ll take effect at 12:01 a.m. on Monday, March 9.
Northern New Brunswick’s restrictions will begin at 12:01 a.m. on Monday, March 16.
“These weight limits are put in place each spring to protect our road infrastructure from damage during the annual frost-and-thaw cycle,” said Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Chuck Chiasson in a press release.
“We provide this notice to the trucking community, so they may prepare to reduce their loads or plan for alternate routes during this period.”
The end of the restrictions is currently set for mid-May, but that’s dependent on weather conditions and is subject to change.
For the purposes of the restrictions, northern New Brunswick includes:
All areas within the counties of Northumberland, Gloucester, Restigouche, Madawaska and Victoria.
The portion of Route 108 within York County.
The portion of Gordon Vale Road and Holtville Road within York County.
The portion of Route 123 within Sunbury County and Queens County.
The portion of Bloomfield Ridge Road between Holtville Road and Route 625.
The portion of Route 625 between Gordon Vale Road and Route 8.
If all goes well, sometime this year, a tribute to one of Saint John’s most famous residents will be unveiled.
Stompin’ Tom Connors, the man behind Canadian classics like “Bud the Spud,” “The Hockey Song” and “Sudbury Saturday Night,” was born in the Port City Feb. 9, 1936.
But other than a portrait on Canterbury Street in the city’s uptown, one among a handful of other famous residents like Donald Sutherland and Louis B. Mayer, there isn’t much to let people know a Canadian musical legend spent his early years in Saint John.
Now, a group of four Saint Johners are working to put a statue of Stompin’ Tom somewhere in the city.
“The idea of honouring Tom in this city … has been a conversation that’s been going on for years,” said Greg Hemmings.
Hemmings mentioned the portrait as a nice tribute.
“But Sudbury, Ont., has a massive bronze statue of Tom,” Hemmings said. “And, yes, Tom spent time in Sudbury, but he wasn’t born there.
“Skinner’s Pond in P.E.I. takes claim of the hometown of Stompin’ Tom. And that’s fine because he did live there for a little bit before he ran away from home and started his life on the road.
“He was born here.”
Hemmings said the difficult childhood Connors had growing up in Saint John – a single mother, a stint in an orphanage because his mother had to be jailed for stealing food to survive – certainly influenced his later work.
“It’s interesting that so much good came out of the man as far as shaping Canadian identity through his songs,” Hemmings said. “And so much of that was informed by his early ages, living in this blue-collar, hard-working, lower income city when he was young.”
At some point, Hemmings said he had a chat with his buddy Scott Gogan, a local musician.
“He knows I’m involved with different community events and he was like, ‘Why don’t we have a statue of Stompin’ Tom on the waterfront?’ and I was like, I don’t know,” Hemmings said.
Hemmings said he suggested speaking to someone at City Hall and see what the next steps might be.
Eventually, Mike Bravener got involved in the project.
Bravener is a musician in New Brunswick, perhaps best-known for his Elvis Presley impersonation.
But he also shared a similar upbringing to Stompin’ Tom, Hemmings said.
“It’s a very similar story, lived kind of a lower-income experience in the south end, brought up by a single mother,” Hemmings said.
And Bravener has a Stompin’ Tom tribute show. Hemmings said Bravener dresses up like Connors and plays his songs.
Bravener hosted a birthday party for Stompin’ Tom on Feb. 9, what would have been the musician’s 90th birthday.
Hemmings said he went to Fredericton for the festivities, along with Gogan and Hemmings’ friend Jason MacLean.
“We realized how special Tom is to New Brunswickers,” Hemmings said. “People showed up. We had birthday cake, sang ‘Happy Birthday.'”
He said MacLean is a big Stompin’ Tom fan, and during a concert at what was then Harbour Station, the man himself pointed MacLean out in the audience, asked him to stand and proclaimed MacLean one of the biggest Stompin’ Tom fans in Canada.
“So Jason had to be part of this,” Hemmings said.
The four got together and asked the question: What can we do to make this work?
“The first step is getting the blessing from (Saint John) Common Council,” Hemmings said.
On Feb. 23, the four attended what ultimately became a virtual council meeting because of a snowstorm.
A short presentation followed, the highlight of which was a tribute song to Stompin’ Tom performed by Bravener.
Mayor Donna Reardon said the group had everyone associated with the City excited about the project.
“Everything is happening already,” she said.
Coun. Joanna Killen said she was sobbing during Bravener’s performance.
“I don’t think the world needed a song like that more than they do right now,” Killen said. “The world is hard and Stompin’ Tom is still here, through you.”
Councillors voted on a motion that common council support the project in principle, and refer to the civic commemoration standing committee for guidance, and that the city work with Hemmings’ company, Hemmings House, to determine a location for a statue.
They voted unanimously in favour of this tribute.
The next step will be to raise funds for what Hemmings said is currently planned as a bronze statue.
“We’re not sold completely on bronze, but we just know it’s going to last forever,” Hemmings said. “It could be wood, it could be another material, it could be much more affordable than what we’re thinking it’s going to be, depending on the material.”
He said the plan will be to raise enough money to make sure there’s a fund to keep the statue in top condition for years to come.
A location is still to be determined, though Hemmings said he had several ideas, including anywhere along the Harbour Passage, somewhere near Market Square, or possibly on the site of the Barbour’s General Store at the base of King Street.
“There’s so many great places where it could go,” he said.
For now, the planning will continue in order to honour a major piece of Saint John’s history.
“It’s time to really celebrate the Canadians that really helped bring us together as a nation and Stompin’ Tom is one of those folks,” Hemmings said.
“Not only to honour him, but to inspire our community and inspire a new generation of artists and citizens in general who care about our country.”
New Brunswick has been in the mining industry for a long time, since long before it was a even a province.
How the Holt government has put forward a comprehensive strategy that it expects positions the province as a leader in responsible, sustainable mining, while unlocking the economic potential of the government described as the province’s rich geology.
“New Brunswick has what the world needs, and we have a responsibility to develop those resources the right way – with strong environmental standards, meaningful partnerships with Indigenous communities, and good-paying jobs for New Brunswickers,” said Holt.
The strategy was included Monday at the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada’s convention in Toronto.
“We have the minerals,” Holt said, listing several as part of why New Brunswick is a good place to mine today. “We have tungsten, we have molybdenum, we have indium, we have antimony, we have zinc, we have copper, we have manganese, we have gold, we have potash, we have uranium.”
Holt said these are minerals that are important to Canada and the world.
“You want to develop these minerals in New Brunswick because they are accessible ,” she said.
Holt said New Brunswick is a small province and the minerals aren’t on an ice road hundreds of kilometres away.
“Our minerals are in our backyard and by our backyard I mean to say we have 40,000 kilometres of forested road already build through our beautiful province,” she said. “We have rail connection. We have two deep water ports.
“You can get your resource out of the ground, into the port, place for processing and your employees don’t have to live in a camp. They can live in a community where they can engage with their neighbors.”
Natural Resources Minister John Herron said the world is at an important moment as the demand for critical moments skyrocketing.
“Here in New Brunswick, we have what it takes to meet that demand,” Herron said. “With our rich geology, the time has come for us to regain our status as a national and global leader in sustainable mineral exploration and development.”
In addition to the new strategy, the government announced plans to modernize the Mining Act during the coming legislative session, ensuring the regulatory regime is “the most agile, predictable and timely in Canada.”
The federal government is ready to step in and assist New Brunswick in its efforts.
Federal Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson said the province’s renewed focus on critical minerals has come at the right moment.
“Around the world, demand for the minerals that power clean technologies, advanced manufacturing and modern defence systems is accelerating, and New Brunswickers and Canadians are ready to meet that demand with world-class, sustainably produced minerals,” Hodgson said in a press release.
