Minister missed both the exit and the boat
Published Thursday December 10th, 2009
Letters to the editor
Re: Gagetown Ferry service
On Sept. 10, when the premier came to Lower Jemseg to announce the outcome of the Gagetown Ferry deliberations, Transportation Minister Denis Landry was late in arriving.
Apparently, he and his entourage took the exit for CFB Gagetown rather than the Village of Gagetown.
This would be amusing if it wasn't such a sad commentary on how little serious consideration he had given to this situation.
Had Minister Landry known where the Gagetown Ferry was, and been on time, he would have heard the premier promise those in attendance that the Gagetown Ferry would run until "freeze up."
This has been an exceptionally warm fall (November was three degrees Celsius above normal) and freeze up may not occur until sometime in January.
Obviously, one cannot wait until the last minute to move the ferry to winter anchorage because this takes a day, but Dec. 11 appears to be premature at best.
Is this arbitrary closure date just more of the same lack of consideration from Minister Landry, or did he not hear the premier's promise?
Andrew MacInnis
Jemseg, N.B.
We need a Liberal coup
Re: Sale of NB Power
This is a warning to Liberal MLAs.
I would like to throw this out as food for thought for all Liberal MLAs, whether it is their first, second or third term.
If this NB Power sale goes through against the wishes of the majority of New Brunswick citizens, the Liberal party in New Brunswick will be decimated in the next election and will spend the next eight to 10 years wandering in the political wilderness.
If they are willing to make that sacrifice, so be it. The next election may be a repeat of Frank McKenna's sweep of all the seats in the legislature.
My suggestion to those Liberal MLAs who would like to stay in politics is to stage a coup, remove Shawn Graham as leader, reverse this disastrous decision, save yourselves and save the province.
Peter Baldwin
Fredericton
Outreach operates with government help
Re: Parish nurse ministry
St. Anthony's Roman Catholic Church, located on Union Street, has ministered to the central Fredericton North and Devon area for over 100 years.
St. Anthony's has recently undertaken to implement a parish nurse ministry outreach program.
The purpose is to integrate a spiritual dimension into personal health care.
The program, as it grows, will provide teaching and advocacy related to health promotion, wellness and prevention of illness and offer support to those with long-term or chronic illness.
A parish nurse does not duplicate the existing health-related services, but works in partnership with these agencies.
We wish to extend our sincere appreciation and thanks to the government of New Brunswick and the member for Fredericton-Fort Nashwaak MLA Kelly Lamrock in conjunction with his Department of Social Development, to provide financial support and recognition for this important community program.
The parish also acknowledges the support of Jean Coutu Pharmacy, owner Alistar Bursey and the Fredericton Inn for their sponsorship of our recent open house.
Rev. Monte Peters
Pastor
Marilyn Brennan
President, parish council
Pull over and stop
Re: Ambulances and drivers
Monday morning this week it was a little hairy getting to work with the first real snow fall.
Officials said it was a good reminder for the drivers that they need to slow down for winter driving conditions.
Drivers were saying "show me a sand truck-" just a reminder for officials that drivers go to work to pay taxes for the sand trucks that nobody saw on Monday.
There was a memorable event worth noting that occurred at around 8:30 a.m. at the corner of Queen Street and the Westmorland Bridge.
An ambulance with its lights and siren on was coming off the bridge and was ignored by motorists on Queen Street who had a green light to go through the intersection.
At least two motorists travelling one behind the other cut off the ambulance and brought it to a stop.
When I shared the story of this event with a friend who is a professional driver in town, he implied that the presence of an ambulance on the street has become too common.
You used to only see an ambulance once and awhile responding to a call or returning from one. But now with the new provincial ambulance service you see them cruising around all the time, not really going anywhere.
This cruising has diminished the on-sight importance of the presence of this vehicle on our streets.
Maybe the minister of health can help answer my friend's question: How much do you think all that cruising around is costing New Brunswickers in gas and maintenance?
Today, I can't help but wonder how much of the new increased health budget could be saved if the practice of cruising was stopped.
And here is another reminder for drivers: pull over and stop for ambulances when their lights and sirens are on.
Someone's life may be depending on your co-operation!
John R. Staples
Fredericton
National trumps provincial
Re: Flag etiquette
While watching the Vanier Cup football game recently, I could have sworn that I saw the provincial flag flying above the national flag.
Say it is not so.
John Wells
Oromocto, N.B.
Take politics out of the power company
Re: Sale of NB Power
The proposed sale of NB Power may be a good deal, but it does not address energy security.
Hydro power depends on rainfall, and either too little or too much can have dramatic results, causing the lights to go out. Also the big wires coming from northern Quebec are not secure and can fail due to weather or other causes. Remember that not long ago there was a six-week power outage in Quebec.
If power is scarce, will our needs trump Quebec's demand for power? Existing hydro power is cheap, but new sources come online at over 12 cents a kilowatt hour.
Cheap power does not mean jobs as witnessed by the state of the forest industry in Quebec and British Columbia. Both have seen more mill failures than we have.
Premier Shawn Graham, Jack Keir and Victor Boudreau were involved in the Point Lepreau refurbishment deal, and they messed up big time. They did not protect the interests of the public and their incompetence is costing us. Should we trust them with a much more complex deal or trust them at all?
There is a way to take politics out of the power company. Let different groups such as the agriculture federation, the professional engineers, large industries and unions and other groups pick commissioners and then let the commissioners select a president and do the hiring of senior staff.
A strong freedom of information law and a beefed up Energy and Utilities Board would act as watchdogs.
My crystal ball tells me that if this deal goes through, a few senior Liberals will end up with well-paying jobs in private companies, but most Liberal politicians and their supporters will end up in the trash can of public anger.
Tom Hickie
Fredericton
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If your friend the professional driver, simply by being exposed to the former, is dulled to the urgency of the latter, he may wish to consider another profession.
Last time I checked - the Roman Catholic church was one of the richest organizations on the planet. Last time I checked - the implementation of prayer was free.
Exactly the kind of ridiculousness that religious organizations get away with. If people want spiritual guidance - let them bring in their own spiritual minister and make their own private donations to their own private church.
The gov't of NB has no business spending tax payer dollars in these kinds of ridiculous areas.
I suppose this funding ignores scientific studies out of the US that show that prayer may actually be detrimental to peoples overall medical condition.
What a crock.
To ensure a long term future it is imperitive that business locate here. All other provinces are offering business incentives such as lower power rates and tax incentives. NB can offer these as well as a marvellous environment to work and live. NB is behind on this issue and is playing catch-up.
We can make auto, aircraft, machine and plastic parts as well as anyone in Ontario and Quebec so why don't we do what is necessary to have plants like that locate here. As an example, let's ask Sabian, a successful company with an international market, how to do it.