Drivers in Saint John’s South and Central Peninsula will need to move their vehicles on Wednesday night.
The City of Saint John says a temporary overnight parking ban begins at 11 p.m. Wednesday and runs until 7 a.m. Thursday.
In a release, the City said no vehicles are permitted to remain on-street during the ban.
It warned that cars left on the street “will be ticketed and/or towed at the owner’s risk and expense.”
The City noted that overnight parking bans are declared under sections 5(6) and 5(7) of the municipal Traffic By-law to allow for snow removal operations.
Three municipal parking lots will open at 6 p.m. on Wednesday. The locations are Peters Street, Sydney Street near Service New Brunswick, and Vulcan Street.
The City said vehicles must be removed from those lots by 7 a.m. on weekdays and by noon on weekends and holidays. Cars left beyond those times may be towed.
The Peel Plaza Parking Garage will also offer a $5 overnight parking rate during the ban.
The discounted rate applies between 6 p.m. and 8 a.m. the following morning, with regular rates charged outside those hours, according to the city.
Porter Airlines Flight Dispatchers have voted to strike.
The Canadian Airline Dispatchers Association says all 35 members supported the move after more than 14 months of negotiations failed to secure a first contract.
Dispatchers joined CALDA in August 2024, seeking an agreement that recognizes their role in aviation operations.
The union says Porter has begun training non‑union staff as possible replacements, calling the move unsafe and disrespectful to both employees and passengers.
“These are certified aviation professionals whose expertise directly impacts the safety of every flight. They deserve a contract that reflects the value of their work,” said Rob King, CALDA’s national president.
Talks remain in conciliation with the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. CALDA says Porter has refused to engage on key issues needed to reach a fair deal.
“This strike vote reflects the deep frustration and disappointment felt by members,” the union said in a statement.
CALDA added it remains committed to negotiations and urged Porter Airlines to resolve outstanding issues to avoid service disruptions in the new year.
The City of Kenora seems to be in pretty good financial shape.
The audited financial statements for 2024 have been released.
Director of Finance Ryan Marsh says for the city’s purposes, had a surplus of almost a million dollars last year.
“The close out for the year end surplus was $928,883,” explained Marsh during the Committee of the Whole meeting on Tuesday.
“So, that surplus was driven primarily by high than budgeted interest earnings, due to the spike in market rates, and increased recycling revenues.”
That surplus will be put back in a Contingency Reserve Fund.
Marsh says they also posted a surplus in the sewer and water department, and $400,000 in solid waste.
“The Water and Wastewater recorded a surplus of $3,605,784. That also has been transferred to the Water and Wastewater reserve. Those surpluses were budgeted for, and those support capital works in those utilities.”
Those surpluses have been put back into reserve funds for future capital improvements.
The provincial government announced $1.5 million in support for Crown land leaseholders who were unable to harvest during August’s wildfire‑related closures.
The program offers $145 per acre, up to $100,000 per producer.
Don Arseneault, general manager of NB Blueberries, said the recognition is welcome, but the program leaves out many growers.
“The fact that they talked about the industry and they provided some formal financial assistance, you know, I have to give them credit, but that, you know, obviously it doesn’t meet the challenge that we’re facing,” he said.
Arseneault noted that private land producers were also affected, particularly those who could not access their fields because of Crown land restrictions.
He said the industry was not consulted before the program was announced, unlike in Nova Scotia, where producers were involved in wildfire policy decisions.
He added that the sector’s two‑year growing cycle means the damage will carry into next year. “The damage I was done this year will probably have an impact next year as well,” Arseneault said.
NB Blueberries is calling on the provincial government to work with Ottawa on an AgriRecovery program, similar to initiatives offered for potato growers in past years.
Arseneault said long‑term reforms to crop insurance and risk‑management programs are also needed to better fit the realities of wild blueberry production.
The Stiletto report found the industry’s downturn also reduced provincial GDP by more than $20 million and cut tax revenue by about $3 million, underscoring the wider impact on rural communities and processors.
The search continues for a Thunder Bay man suspected of heading a Mexican drug cartel.
The FBI alleges Ryan James Wedding of controlling one of the most prolific and violent drug-trafficking organizations in the world, comparing him to the likes of infamous drug lords “El Chapo” Guzman and Pablo Escobar.
The Bureau has released a new photo of Wedding.
It shows the 44-year-old lying down, revealing a large tattoo of what appears to be a lion on his left side.
The FBI believes it was taken this summer in Mexico, where Wedding is suspected to be living.
Wedding is wanted on suspicion of running a transnational drug trafficking operation that ships hundreds of kilograms of cocaine from Colombia into the United States and Canada.
He is also wanted in connection with several murders, including the killing of a federal witness in January.
The Bureau last month increased a reward offered for information leading to his arrest from $10,000,000 to $15,000,000.
Several other people connected to the same cartel were also arrested in November, including an Ontario resident suspected of being Wedding’s lawyer.
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.
Dilico Anishinabek Family Care’s Christmas Wish campaign has collected 1,200 wish bags this holiday season.
The new record comes in large part thanks to this year’s partnership with the Children’s Aid Society, allowing for hundreds more wish bags to be collected than in previous years.
For two decades, the charitable campaign has distributed personalized wish bags to Thunder Bay residents.
Each bag contains the personal information of a child in need, including their name, age, and Christmas wishes.
Participating residents are instructed to fill up their wish bag according to the personalized wishes of the respective child.
Those participating can also add additional items, such as clothes.
Now that the wish bags have all been collected, the charity will distribute them to enrolled children across the district before Christmas.
More officers for the Kenora Detachment of the OPP.
Inspector Jeff Duggan says according to provincial guidelines, Kenora needs 24 more officers to meet local demands.
The provincial standard includes the number of Calls for Service, Community Engagement, Proactive Patrol, and Administrative Requirements.
Right now, frontline Kenora OPP officers spend 52 percent of their time on Calls for Service, while the provincial standard is just 40 percent.
The other area where Kenora does not meet the provincial standard is Proactive Patrol. Local officers spend just 8.59 percent of their time on patrol, with the provincial standard at 21 percent.
“This model tells us that Kenora needs an additional 24 officers. So, this is something that we’ve been approved to move on and hire the extra 24 officers for the Kenora Detachment,” Duggan told Kenora City Council at its Committee of the Whole meeting Tuesday morning.
Duggan adds the OPP have hired recruitment experts to help out.
“The northwest region has hired or is the process of hiring two full-time recruiters just for Kenora. So, there will be four in total…two in Thunder Bay, and there will be two in Kenora. They will be responsible for hiring in the northwest, but they will be in Kenora, so we’ll have a lot of influence on where they’ll go.”
Duggan adds that they are no vacancies at the Kenora Detachment right now, so the extra officers are in addition to the ones they already have on staff.
The for-sale sign will be going up at Sunny Cove Camp.
In a 4-3 decision, Fort Frances council has opted to sell the camp, instead of spending money to fix up the almost 70-year-old camp.
The decision backs a recent recommendation from the Kiwanis Club, which turned over the youth camp to the town in 2009.
The camp has not operated since 2019.
Councillors on both sides admit that it was a difficult decision, given the camp’s history in the region.
Councillor Steve Maki says his concern is spending money on a facility that the town may not be able to keep going in the future.
“Youth camps are becoming a thing of the past. The kids have a whole different look on life as a general rule,” says Maki.
“I don’t believe that status quo operation is going to be even close to break even. It would cost the town substantial money on a yearly basis to a point where we’re not going to continue with it.”
The future of Sunny Cove arose three years ago with the discussion over the condition of Russell Hall, the camp’s main building.
Russell Hall at Sunny Cove Camp, March 12, 2024. Image: Randy Thoms/Acadia Broadcasting
The building was identified as having extensive wood rot and an infestation of carpenter ants.
Administration recommended in 2023 that the property be put up for sale, but town council decided instead for an engineering study and to seek out funding to fix up the building.
A grant of almost $500,000 was received from the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund, while the town kicked in $210,000.
However, only one bid for the work was received, which was well over the expected budget.
Councillor Mike Behan says the town’s cost of keeping the camp has always been worrisome.
“I was always very concerned about the money we’re spending on a camp that’s 10 miles outside of town that maybe not everybody in town can access and utilize,” says Behan.
“With all the capital expenses we’re facing going forward, I am in favour of option two (selling the camp). I know it’s going to disappoint people, but I think it’s best.”
In its report, Administration offered council the option of moving ahead with the planned improvements.
It did note that the camp would likely continue to have an operating deficit of close to $14,000 a year.
Mayor Andrew Hallikas felt it was worth at least to give it a try.
“We should try to rehabilitate it,” says Hallikas.
“There’s no guarantee that we can. Notice we’re looking to proceed with a contract for remediation. We’ve looked at this in the past and haven’t had a lot of success.”
“There’s no guarantee that we’ll get that. But my personal preference is that we should try rehabilitating it, and if in the off chance that we don’t rehabilitate it, then I feel that (the Kiwanis Club) owns it and they should be able to sell it if they wish,” says Hallikas.
Administration’s report also suggested the potential of adding new programming, such as an inflatable waterbark, disc golf, and watercraft rentals, but provided no further analysis on potential revenue.
“The reason why we didn’t include business plans for each of these additional options is that we really don’t know what the frequency of user rates would look like for each of these options,” says John Burrows, Chief Building Official.
Councillor Wendy Brunetta still see the potential.
“I’m very excited to see the things in option one (rehabilitating the camp). I think there’s a lot of possibility,” says Brunetta.
“We have operated, meagerly, I believe, over the last number of years, and I’m really glad to see that some thoughts have been put into how we can expand the services that we can provide at Sunny Cove.”
Administration notes that between 2017 and 2019, Sunny Cove hosted 25 private bookings, including 16 weddings, and 23 organizations that offered kids’ summer camps.
A Canadian added her personal touch as the production designer on the Frankenstein movie.
Tamara Deverell worked alongside director Guillermo del Toro to creatively architect scenes such as the lab, the wooden boat, and an apartment in Scotland.
“It’s funny how connected you feel to Cape Breton in Scotland because there’s so many similar landscapes and, and just the feel of the wind and the sea,” explains Deverell.
As the supervising art director, she designs all the sets with a team of people by making architectural and construction drawings, picking the colours for the colour palette, and deciding how to light the sets.
She says Nova Scotia has a background setting ready for films.
“I’m hoping that in Cape Breton, there’s more films coming here and more film action because it is a fantastic place visually and I wouldn’t be surprised if more filmmakers find out about it,” expressed Deverell.
She recommends you check out Frankenstein that’s currently streaming on Netflix.
