This column previously appeared in the Telegraph-Journal on August 31st, 2010.

The article was written by FUSION Saint John’s Claire Ryan:

Saint John’s arts and culture community will once again take centre stage at King’s Square this weekend as it plays host to one of Saint John’s most anticipated autumn events. FUSION’s sixth annual Harvesting the Arts Festival will include some of the city’s best art, dance, musical talent and food vendors showcasing their talent.

The annual, all-ages, free-of-charge event has grown each year – more than 2,000 people passed through King’s Square over the course of the day last year, including a number of cruise ship passengers spending the day in Saint John.

The festival’s aim is to help create a bigger buzz for the individuals and groups who make up the city’s thriving arts and culture community and draw attention to the wealth of both emerging and established artists, musicians and performers. As well, this year’s event will highlight some of the many diverse cultures that exist in Saint John, featuring booths that will allow visitors to write their name in Chinese and receive henna paintings.

“It’s phenomenal to see how much this event has grown over the past five years,” said FUSION board member and Harvesting the Arts chairwoman Jessica Gozdzierski.

“Harvesting the Arts is a unique opportunity for the community to interact with artists from a variety of disciplines and see first-hand the calibre of talent that exists in our city.”

Beginning at 10 a.m. on Saturday, King’s Square will be abuzz with activity, including art and jewelry sales, as well as dance and musical performances that will take place throughout the day. A number of local acts are scheduled to take the stage including: The Zingaro Quartet, EarthBound Trio, Michael McDonald, Mike Biggar, Kristina Trites, Josh Peters and True Grit, Quonset, December Fall Out, Meka, Meatus, Matt Soucy, Keith Facey and headlining band Girls Would Kill.

Being a part of events such as the Harvesting the Arts Festival is a great way for emerging artists to gain exposure and share their work with people who may not otherwise see it. Meanwhile, it’s “one-stop shopping” for Saint Johners who want to see and interact with the wealth of talented artists in Greater Saint John. The festival continues to grow in size and stature each year – a testament to the benefit of increased exposure for the artists and public alike.

The Harvesting the Arts Festival runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, visit www.fusionsj.com.

Claire Ryan is on the FUSION Saint John board. Reach her at cryan@mtlpr.ca.

Learn more about Harvesting the Arts Festival 2010 here!

Check out this great video encouraging people to vote in the 2010 Provincial Election:

The video may be taking a beating if you read the CBC comments; but, at least they are doing their part to get the message out!

As the video mentions, be sure to check out http://electionsnb.ca for all of the details.

Shawn Graham’s Liberals are running under the slogan “The Future Matters“.

They are hoping New Brunswickers will ignore their past mistakes; but, as the late poet and philosopher, George Santayana, famously wrote: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it“.

That is why I am highlighting two critically important issues where Shawn Graham and the Liberal Party attempted to impose what they thought was best for us, while ignoring our thoughts and opinions, a clear trend that has been occurring since day one.

I’m hoping this serves as a reminder when people are making their final decisions on who to vote for on election day:

1) UNB Saint John

How can we be so quick to forget the 2007 report to reform post-secondary education , which included recommendations to turn UNB-SJ into a polytechnique?

Not a single Liberal MLA opposed the recommendations, which is terrible considering how many Saint John Liberal’s served in Shawn Grahams cabinet:

Gordon Fairweather, a former Tory MLA who left politics in 1977, took aim at Minister of Post-Secondary Education Ed Doherty, Supply and Services Minister Roly MacIntyre, Energy Minister Jack Keir, Minister of State for Housing Mary Schryer and Minister of Tourism and Parks Stuart Jamieson.

“I thought at least one or two of those five saviours of Saint John would step up to the plate and I’m astounded that we haven’t heard a single word from any of them,” Fairweather said in a report published Wednesday in the Saint John Telegraph-Journal.

Progressive Conservative MLA’s fought against the plan, pushing to have a decision made immediately:

The Conservatives have introduced a resolution in the legislature calling on the Liberal government to make a quick decision on the future of the University of New Brunswick Saint John.

“Why are you not standing up and fighting for the people of Saint John?” Conservative MLA Margaret-Ann Blaney asked the government side on Thursday.

The same resolution was previously passed unanimously by the university’s student union on Nov. 29 and asks the government to announce what the future holds for the school by the end of January.

The university’s administration has argued that the delay in determining the school’s future is having a serious impact on the enrolment numbers for next fall as students question if they’ll even have a university to go to in the city.

The Liberal government has promised the institution will continue to be called a university but has not yet guaranteed that it will keep its current programs or liberal arts focus.

And to top things off, Shawn Graham went on to accept an honorary degree from UNB, which many faculty members protested:

Robert Whitney, a history professor at the University of New Brunswick in Saint John, said roughly 100 current and retired faculty and staff members have signed a letter of objection to granting Graham an honorary degree and have sent it to David Stevenson, chair of the university’s board of governors.

Whitney said the decision is up to the board of governors, but from his perspective, the honour would be misdirected.

“The premier and his government sponsored a report which was clearly intended to restrict the access of higher education to many people in New Brunswick,” he said.

“For us, it just doesn’t seem to make sense that you would grant an honorary degree to someone who promoted policies that wanted to restrict people’s access to university education.”

2) NB Power For Sale

Once again, a very controversial issue was decided behind closed doors and forced upon the people in New Brunswick without any consultation!

This time the decision was to sell NB Power to Hydro Quebec:

Quebec and New Brunswick have reached a proposed deal that would see Hydro-Québec buy the majority of NB Power’s assets for $4.8 billion.

New Brunswick Premier Shawn Graham and Quebec Premier Jean Charest announced the historic deal in Fredericton on Thursday, concluding a week of speculation.

However, after the deal received much public opposition, the Liberal’s went and renegotiated the deal; however, they wouldn’t show the people in New Brunswick the deals of the plan:

Yves Gagnon, the K.C. Irving chair in sustainable development at the University of Moncton, was a critic of the original deal.

In October there was a text of the memorandum of understanding but without the text of the finalized agreement the energy expert said it will be difficult to properly assess the new deal.

“It’s going to be impossible for independent parties to analyze the value and the merits of this second deal with Hydro-Québec,” Gagnon said.

Gagnon said the first agreement also sounded good on the day it was announced but that changed as details emerged.

Progressive Conservative Leader David Alward asked the Liberal government to send the new deal to a legislative committee for further examination.

“The reality is with Plan B we already know there are shortcomings. Many of the same problems that existed with the first deal exist in the second deal,” Alward said.

Rumors of a caucus revolt over the proposal deal? Not if you ask Shawn Graham, every single Liberal MLA was backing the deal:

Graham told reporters on Monday at the opening of a new school that there had not been any caucus revolt.

When asked if the proposed deal had 100 per cent backing from the Liberal caucus, Graham replied: “Yes, very much so.”

Also, don’t let the spin fool you – only one Liberal MLA ever publicly came out against the sale of NB Power to Hydro Quebec, and this only occurred when the end of the deal was imminent!

Every Liberal MLA’s spent the majority of their time trying to sell the plan to us, even when they knew a majority of people were opposed to the deal:

The Liberal government is running into stiff opposition to its plan to sell NB Power, according to a new Leger Marketing poll.

The first public opinion poll on the deal was released on Monday and showed the deal is seen unfavourably by 60 per cent of New Brunswick residents, while only 22 per cent of respondents like the agreement.

Christian Bourque, vice-president of research at Leger Marketing, said the government is running into difficulty pitching the proposal to people.

“It’s only one in five New Brunswickers that are actually supporting the deal with Hydro-Québec,” Bourque said.

“And of those remaining 18 per cent who have not made up their mind yet, they’ll tend to sway with the majority, and that majority right now is saying no.”

The proposal deal also cost New Brunswick $8 Million Dollars, much of it was spent trying to convince us that it was a good deal:

New Brunswick Finance Minister Greg Byrne is defending the final $8-million cost of the botched deal to sell parts of NB Power to Hydro-Québec.

The Department of Finance released figures on Monday that added up the legal, accounting and public relations bills associated with the failed power deal.

Toronto-based law firm Olser Hoskin Harcourt, which acted as the deal’s lead negotiators, billed the provincial government $2.43 million.

Osler hired a series of other firms to help in the negotiations, which brought the total bill for legal and technical services to $4.82 million.

The New Brunswick government hired a series of public relations experts in an effort to sell the deal to the public.

Hill and Knowlton billed the provincial government for $892,000. The firm also handed out subcontracts to Bristol for $175,100 and Colour for $1.22 million.

Canada Post was paid $42,300 for postage for a household pamphlet that was distributed about the deal.

In total, taxpayers paid $2.33 million for communications and advertising.

Another major component of the final bill was for financial services.

Macquarie Capital Markets was paid $882,900 for third-party financial advice on the impact of the deal on New Brunswick power rates. A further $28,612 was paid to Morneau Sobeco for actuarial advice on pension issues stemming from the proposed deal.

The Future Matters?

Shawn Graham’s Liberals are not working in the best interests of the people of New Brunswick – they are working for the best interest of their friends like Atcon:

Last year, the New Brunswick government extended three different loan guarantees to Miramichi-based Atcon worth a combined $50 million. Those were on top of earlier loan guarantees and loans, which elevated the provincial government’s exposure to roughly $70 million.

We can expect more of the same if Shawn Graham is re-elected.

As for the slogan “The Future Matters” – yes, the future matters; but, so does the past.

If we fail to understand the past, we will all suffer the consequences – another four years of Shawn Graham.

On election day, stand up and say enough is enough!

Ever wonder how bad the financial situation is in New Brunswick?

The provincial debt is currently pegged at $8.3-billion – which is an increase of over $749-million since Shawn Graham has taken over and lead us down the road to self-sufficiency.

Meanwhile, like kids in the backseat of a car, we keep asking, “Are we there yet?”.

You can guess the response.

To make matters worse, the province’s auditor-general has projected the debt climbing another 33 per cent in the next four years!

That is why I was so glad to find this great article in today’s TJ on the debt issue (that seems to be getting ignored in the campaign):

David Bishop is spending his own money to convince government to stop spending everyone else’s.

The retired Quispamsis businessman is at the helm of a grassroots campaign that is aiming to make the provincial debt a central issue of the Sept. 27 election.

“I just really want to get a dialogue going,” said Bishop, who lives in Rothesay.

To spark a conversation about New Brunswick’s $8.2-billion debt, Bishop set up a 53-foot long tractor trailer near the Gondola Point intersection off Highway 1.

On the side of the trailer hangs a 22-foot by 8-foot banner, reading “We live within our means. Please tell Shawn Graham.”

The same message has been printed on bumper stickers and pamphlets that Bishop and other organizers have been passing around the province for the last few weeks.

Bishop said he isn’t affiliated with a political party and his message isn’t political in nature.

“It’s about starting a conversation.”

Read the full article here!

Big election news today that the New Brunswick Liberal Party paid the wife of former Premier Louis J. Robichaud $3,000 to campaign for Shawn Graham’s Liberals in the 2006 provincial election.

While it’s not surprising that you would need to be paid to be seen with Shawn Graham and his party, the real issue here is that the payment was not reported:

Robichaud said in an interview with CBC News that she “was paid a small amount” for campaigning in the 2006 election campaign, which saw Graham’s Liberals unseat then-premier Bernard Lord’s Tories in a tight election.

“They said you deserve it, you worked for the party, you deserve it, so I said that’s very nice, you know,” she said.

Robichaud said the fee was for campaign appearances with Graham, phone calls she made to party supporters and going door to door with candidates in the Moncton area.

“I think everybody is paid when they do some campaigning for the party,” she said.

Liberal election spending reports filed with Elections New Brunswick from 2006 show only three people were paid salaries, wages or benefits for a total of $4,500.

It’s very important that all election costs are recorded because there are quite strict rules around how much can be spent – and when!

This bombshell comes just one day before the writ is dropped to start the official 2010 provincial election campaign!

To add to the allegations, just this afternoon Jacques Poitras reported:

Volpe released what he says are handwritten receipts showing Libs paid Mme Robichaud $20,000 cash. She told me $3,000 cheque.

Expect to see this front and center for the rest of the week – especially because this isn’t the first time Robichaud has been in the news recently!  Just last week, the issue of MLA pensions was front and centre, and she was in the middle – collecting a monthly pension of $2,000 authorized by the Liberal Government even though she wasn’t eligible at the time.

Note: I can’t take credit for the term Widowgate, I first saw @the_problematic using the hashtag on Twitter!

This column previously appeared in the Telegraph-Journal on August 24th, 2010.

The article was written by FUSION Saint John’s Claire Ryan:

Once again this year, FUSION is taking its August Party with a Purpose to the streets and hosting a block party on Princess Street.

“There is a momentum building on Princess Street and the surrounding area,” said Kelly Lawson of FUSION’s Ambassadors Committee. “It’s becoming the centre of an energetic, diverse nightlife in the uptown. The block party is an opportunity to showcase and celebrate this growth and energy.”

“It’s wonderful how we have seen a number of new businesses open on and around Princess Street over the last year,” says Peter Smit, owner of happinez wine bar. “What this all does is provide more choices for the people of Saint John who want to go out for an evening. It’s also becoming more like the night life in larger cities.” Happinez, along with Alley-gria, Callaghan’s, Bourbon Quarter, Magnolia Café, Scores, Big Tide Brewing Company, The Canterbury Lounge, Uptown Saint John and Saint John 225 have partnered with FUSION to host the block party. The host restaurants will circulate food and music will be provided by DJ Mike Hawkins. FUSION will have a cash bar in the street and will host its usual Party with a Purpose 50/50 draw.

Uptown Saint John is also running a contest in conjunction with the event to encourage people to use social media to help spread the word and include the “livelifeuptown” hashtag on Twitter, Foursquare and Plancast. Prizes will be awarded for best event video post and best event photo post, with additional prize draws for anyone who includes the hashtag in tweets on the event. Saint John 225 will also be on hand with prizes.

The block party will highlight more than just the development that this area has experienced in the past few years. It’s also an opportunity for Saint Johners to visit and learn more about the establishments that are opening – and thriving – in the uptown. That the establishments are keen to partner with one another and with community organizations to promote the area is beneficial for the entire city.

“This is a really great event in a setting that features the best of uptown Saint John’s nightlife and is truly unique to our city,” Lawson said. “It’s a hallmark event for living life uptown, and a great opportunity for people who love the area to connect with like-minded Saint Johners.”

The August Party with a Purpose – a Princess Street Block Party will take place this Friday from 5:30 to 7 p.m. on Princess Street, between Prince William and Canterbury Streets. For more information please visit www.fusionsj.com

Claire Ryan is on the FUSION Saint John board. Reach her at cryan@mtlpr.ca.

Note: You can read more about the first event that took place last year, right here!

This column previously appeared in the Telegraph-Journal on August 17th, 2010.

The article was written by FUSION Saint John’s Claire Ryan:

While I was working on this week’s column, I was looking at my own, very full, bookshelf, which has technically grown to include those books that do not actually fit on the shelves and are stacked on the floor next to it. As any reader can tell you, books are not really meant to sit on shelves, but unless you roll with equally avid readers, it can be hard to part with books or put them back in circulation.

For anyone like me, who could benefit from thinning out their personal library, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Saint John is collecting donations of gently used books, which will be sold at its annual Big Book Sale fundraiser.

“People who read appreciate books and don’t want to see them going in the garbage. It’s a recycling program. Everyone benefits,” says Big Brothers Big Sisters Saint John executive director Laurie Collins. In this case, your donations and purchases will not only diversify your own book collection, it will help raise money for children’s mentoring programs, which will benefit the entire community.

The sale, which will be held in Brunswick Square for the third year in a row, is one of the largest book sales in the city. It will run for six days during mall hours, and the books range from 10 cent magazines to $3 books, with more than 15 different categories, from kids to fiction to sports to reference. “You name it, we’ve got it. There are people who come back each day to check out the new stock,” says Collins. “The categories expand every year, inspired by ideas and donations from the community.”

The Big Book Sale started as a small idea to generate some funds for Big Brothers Big Sisters. A staff member at the time had seen it happen elsewhere, and thought it was an idea that could work in Saint John. In the years since, the book sale has continually grown in terms of both the quantity and quality of books donated and the amount of people who come out to support the sale and add to their own libraries. Last year the Big Book Sale raised more than $11,000. The sale will run longer this year, and Big Brothers Big Sisters hopes to raise $15,000 overall. “We’ve got thousands of books this year, I couldn’t even begin to guess the exact number. The quality of books is really unbelievable – we’ve gotten some great donations this year. Some of the Sobeys locations have just gotten a mountain of books,” Collins says of one of the drop-off possibilities.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Saint John’s 5th Annual Big Book Sale will take place Aug. 23-28, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. in Brunswick Square. Donations of gently used books can still be made: Up to three grocery bags can be dropped at Sobeys stores, while more than three bags can be dropped at the Big Brothers Big Sisters Office.

Claire Ryan is on the FUSION Saint John board. Reach her at cryan@mtlpr.ca.

This column previously appeared in the Telegraph-Journal on August 10th, 2010.

The article was written by FUSION Saint John’s Claire Ryan:

A new program aimed at helping students in Grades 7 and 8 build confidence and develop life skills will be offered at middle schools in Greater Saint John this fall.

Kids.now, a national charity for youth development, is recruiting volunteer mentors to help deliver the program to students in schools throughout the area.

“Having the opportunity to mentor a group of kids is a very rewarding experience for both the students and the volunteer mentors,” says kids.now’s Paula Sanchez. “To be in a position of influence and be able to positively impact their lives is a positive and live-changing experience.”

Kids.now was created in 1999 by an Ontario teacher who saw a need to complement the school curriculum with life skills development. The free, weekly after-school program is run over 12 weeks and encourages life skills development through thought-provoking games, skill-based activities and group discussions, which teach goal-setting, effective communications, positive conflict resolution, stress management and other important life skills.

The program focuses on employability skills identified by the Conference Board of Canada as necessary for success in the workplace and builds life-success skills that aim to improve family and peer relationships; provides youth with tools to make positive choices and turn away from risky behaviour; enhances self-esteem and encourages healthy thinking, leading to a more productive and rewarding life.

“The ideal kids.now mentor is someone who is a positive leader,” says Sanchez. “Kids.now volunteer mentors are enthusiastic about life and about giving back to youth in their community. If you’re fun, dynamic and feel you can be a great mentor to kids, you’re the right person to be a kids.now volunteer mentor.”

The program will be offered at schools in Districts 6 and 8: Prince Charles, Forest Hills, Millidgeville North, Hazen White/St. Francis, Princess Elizabeth, Lorne Middle, St. John the Baptist-King Edward, Beaconsfield, Rothesay Park, Harry Miller Middle and Quispamsis Middle.

Kids.now is looking for Saint Johners interested in participating in the program as volunteer mentors.

For people who want to get involved in the community, kids.now offers an opportunity to mentor within the framework of a nationally recognized program.

The experience is as rewarding for the volunteer mentors as it is for the students, as they are able to establish a connection; this is reflected in the high volunteer retention rate in other regions.

Kids.now is looking to recruit and train potential mentors during the summer, as the programs will begin shortly after school starts in September. Volunteer applications are completed online, followed by an interview with the kids.now program manager.

For more information please visit www.fusionsj.com.

Claire Ryan is on the FUSION Saint John board. Reach her at cryan@mtlpr.ca.

This column previously appeared in the Telegraph-Journal on August 3rd, 2010.

The article was written by FUSION Saint John’s Claire Ryan:

This weekend, runners and walkers will be taking over the city streets for the 16th Annual Tim Hortons Marathon by the Sea.

“This has been Saint John’s premier running event for fitness, family and fun for the past 15 years and we’re still running strong,” says event chairman Patrick Grannan. “Once again this year, we’ve offering something for runners and walkers of all ages and skill levels.”

There are five events this year: the Tim Hortons Marathon, the Scotiabank Half-Marathon, the Running Room 5-Miler, and the Smart Nordic Half-Marathon will all take place Sunday morning; the children’s event — the Timbits Harbour Hustle – will take place Saturday morning.

The event has undergone a lot of changes this year, including moving back to August after being held in late September the past few years. The route has also been redesigned, and will start and finish at Rockwood Park instead of in the uptown, as it has in the past. The changes have already had a positive impact on the event with registration numbers surpassing last year’s and runners coming from as far away as the United States, Ireland, the United Arab Emirates and Bermuda.

The new route will take runners through the uptown, north end and Mount Pleasant Avenue, with the half and full marathoners trekking over to the west side. The new route may no longer take runners “by the sea,” but it will highlight parts of the city that have undergone recent changes and significant improvement, the Rockwood Park area in particular.

“It’s a better course, and much more scenic,” says Don Lemon, who is running the half-marathon for the second year. “There are some nice challenges on the way out, but you can make up the time on the way back in. The course is much better than last year.”

The same sentiments were echoed by Joy Durdan, who will be running in the half-marathon for the 10th year in a row,

“I love the new route – it’s so scenic,” she says.

The new start/finish location is more conducive to making a day and weekend out of the event.

“We don’t want runners just showing up to run their race and then going home,” Grannan said.

“We want these runners to bring their friends and families along to be a part of this event and really make it a weekend-long celebration of fitness and fun.”

In addition to the activities offered at Rockwood Park, this year’s event is also being held in conjunction with the Saint John 225 Reunion 2010 Music Festival.

The 16th annual Tim Hortons Marathon by the Sea will take place this Saturday and Sunday. For more information on running, volunteering, or other opportunities to be involved you can visit www.marathonbythesea.com.

Claire Ryan is on the FUSION Saint John board. Reach her at cryan@mtlpr.ca.

After the recent mess with the Police building vote (for Peel Plaza), you would think that Council would be more inclined to think more about the ramifications to the taxpayers in the city!

The next messy vote coming up is around the parking garage that the city wants to build for Peel Plaza.

It sounds like a fine idea, except for the fact that this parking garage will cost  us (the taxpayers) every year that it operates:

Should common council approve a new garage for Carleton Street, the parking commission would own, operate and finance the structure.

To cover construction and operating costs, the commission would have to put about $300,000 of its annual surplus revenues into the project. The commission typically generates surpluses as part of its regular business of offering parking services in the city.

This means that we, as taxpayers, will be subsidizing people driving into the city center and parking for the day.

At least one Councillor can be counted on to represent us – Deputy Mayor Stephen Chase.

“Peel Plaza is going to be a sponge that will sop up all the available financial resources of the parking commission,” Chase said.

The deputy mayor said he’s opposed to the parking garage and plans to vote against it once the matter comes before common council. He said he’s not happy that taxpayers would have to spend $300,000 a year to subsidize a new parking structure.

“Everything about this project is like taking a round peg and trying to smash it into a square hole,” said Chase, who was also among three council members who voted against a $20.6-million police station. “It’s costing valuable revenue that could otherwise be spent on curbside services and recreational needs.”

Unfortunately, there are still those Councillors out there looking to make a name for themselves.

I’d typically advocate contacting them to let them know what you think; however, I’ve recently found that most don’t care what you think.

Until we can get the silent majority to stand up and fight, Peel Plaza is a done deal – one that we will be paying for many generations over.