Today is Saint John’s day to shine, as featured in the TJ:
Joe Richard isn’t easily intimidated.
Twelve years ago, he went head-to-head with former NHL great Jean Béliveau and came out on top.
Now, he’s taking on another Montreal Canadiens legend in Guy Lafleur and a former Liberal prime minister, Jean Chrétien.
As governor, Richard serves as the representative to the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League for the Saint John Sea Dogs.
He will join majority owner Scott McCain and Sea Dogs president Wayne Long today as they roll out the welcome mat for the five-man 2012 Memorial Cup Site Selection Committee and QMJHL commissioner Gilles Courteau.
Saint John is one of four cities in the running to land the 2012 MasterCard Memorial Cup. Other hopeful teams include the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles, Halifax Mooseheads and Shawinigan Cataractes. The committee was in Sydney checking out the Screaming Eagles presentation on Monday, in Halifax on Tuesday and will be in Shawinigan on Friday.
Today is the Sea Dogs day to shine.
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One clear advantage the Sea Dogs have is the fact that the majority of the team’s impact players are eligible to return next year. This is a team that has held down the No. 1 ranking in the country for the last nine weeks. The Sea Dogs also have nine players who were listed among the top 114 North American skaters eligible for this June’s NHL entry draft.
A team’s competitiveness is considered one of the most important criteria that each city is graded on. There are seven criteria, including strength of the organizing committee, logistics (accreditation plan, hotels, etc.), finance, hockey operations, host facility, CHL events, and sales and marketing. Each item carries a value and they add up to 100 points. Cities will be graded and, in theory, the one with the highest mark wins the bid. A decision is expected April 7.
Check out Station Nation for more coverage!
Posted on
February 9th, 2011 in
News,
Saint John |
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Today’s TJ included a good summary of the debate over Enterprise Saint John in the 2011 Municipal budget last night:
Common council is putting the region’s economic development agency “on notice,” promising only half of Enterprise Saint John’s $400,000 grant for the first six months of the year.
But Coun. Mel Norton questioned what kind of message the reduced funding will send for entrepreneurship in the city.
“Taking it away or cutting its funding, or holding a proverbial gun to its head that we’re going to cut your funding in six months, or your funding is iffy, is not the right message,” he said Monday at council’s special meeting to pass the 2011 budget, where councillors voted to hold the tax rate at $1.785 per $100 of assessment for the second year in a row.
Norton said he saw it as a negative message that Enterprise Saint John was “on notice.”
We walk a dangerous line when we threaten the funding of the very agencies that help us be sustainable for the future and grow our creativity and grow our workforce,” he said.
Norton was one of two council members who voted against a motion attached to the budget, which included a stipulation that Enterprise Saint John’s grant should be split into two payments. The idea is to give the province time for its review of the enterprise model. After six months, the city will again decide on whether to continue funding Enterprise Saint John.
The grant is already a $43,000 drop from what the city gave to the economic development agency last year.
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Deputy Mayor Stephen Chase, who also voted against the decision, said he was worried that half a year was not enough time for the group to wind down files and move to another model.
He said the agency helped recruit and place 27 physicians in the area last year.
Chase asked city manager Patrick Woods if the city had the capacity to duplicate everything Enterprise Saint John is doing, and Woods said it couldn’t.
Enterprise Saint John does work for entrepreneurs, and it’s a service that the city would not be able to deliver itself at the same level for the same price, regardless of what some Councillors may think:
But councillors Peter McGuire and Bruce Court both said they would rather see the city stop funding the economic development group and do the work in-house.
Once again, I can’t say how happy I am that we now have two great representatives on council looking our for the citizens of Saint John – Deputy Mayor Stephen Chase and Councillor Mel Norton!
Learn more about what Enterprise Saint John does here!
Great news today in Saint John!
Mel Norton today announces his candidacy in the upcoming Saint John city by-election:
“Saint John is my home. I was born here, have lived here for most of my life, and like most of the people that call Saint John home, we want great things for our city. We want Saint John and the people that live here to do well. We want to help make Saint John better,” says Norton.
About Mel Norton:
Mel graduated from Saint John High School in 1992, and went on to complete a Bachelor of Arts with a major in Political Science at the University of New Brunswick in Saint John. Mel obtained his law degree from the University of New Brunswick in 1999.Mel and his wife Stephanie live in the heart of uptown Saint John. Mel enjoys being actively involved in the Saint John community, including volunteering with the Saint John Theatre Company and the historic Church of St. Andrew and St. David. One of Mel’s more adventurous undertakings is with the Canadian Forces as a Reserve Legal Officer.An advocate for affordable and quality housing, Mel volunteers with BCAPI and the Abbey Saint Andrews Housing project. Mel also works with The Paramount Restoration project as well as numerous non-profit agencies.
Follow Mel at: melnortonsj.ca, on Facebook, twitter, and LinkedIn
There was an article in last Friday’s Telegraph-Journal that really ticked me off.
It featured various quotes from Ward 4 Councillor Bruce Court on helping to fund a new recreation complex being organized by the Saint John Exhibition Association:
- “I just don’t know if we can afford it.”
- “My main concern is where we’re going to get the money from.”
Why does this tick me (and many others) off?
This comes immediately after he voted in favour of Peel Plaza – committing the city to spending millions of dollars on a new Police Station and Parking Garage, something that the city can’t afford without borrowing money.
To top it off, it looks like the Parking Garage will actually lose money year over year, putting the taxpayers of Saint John in an even worse financial state.
Taxes will go up, yet, residents will receive no better services that what they have now. So much for council’s 2009-2012 priorities (which DO NOT include a new Police Station or Parking Garage)!
Today’s newspaper featured my letter to the editor in response:
Recreation complex should be a priority
Friday’s article titled “Councillor has doubts about project” features lots of talk from Bruce Court about concerns on costs for a new recreation complex on the East Side.
He says in the article, “I just don’t know if we can afford it.” Funny, he never asked that question when it came to Peel Plaza.
He voted in favour of building a large new police station and parking garage uptown. These costs are still up in the air – yet we are moving full steam ahead.
Can we afford that? No, not without taxes going up.
In the end, it all comes down to priorities. For my family, a recreation complex, like the one the Saint John Exhibition Association wants to build, has many more benefits to the people who live in this city now and to people considering moving here.
If my taxes are going up to pay for something, it better be for something that we need. Recreation and clean drinking water are real priorities.
I wonder when Bruce Court will realize that!
SHAWN PETERSON
Saint John
Posted on
November 1st, 2010 in
News,
Saint John Politics |
1 Comment
In case you were wondering why there haven’t been any updates for a while…
Last week, my wife and I welcomed our new daughter, Julia, into the world.
We have been busy showing her off to everyone and adjusting to having a new baby in the house.
Mom and Julia are doing great, and we are both getting some sleep too!
Posted on
October 29th, 2010 in
SaintJohnShawn.com |
2 Comments
This past Friday, the Telegraph-Journal posted one of my Letters to the Editor along with another great comic by Greg Perry:
Deputy mayor speaks for him
Regarding Mayor Ivan Court’s “Stabbing us in the back” comment, the only people being stabbed in the back are the taxpayers in Saint John. This was captured perfectly by Greg Perry in Thursday’s comic.
The mayor and the majority of council seem bent on spending our money on items that are not priorities for the citizens in Saint John. The real costs of Peel Plaza seem to be growing each day, and it’s only thanks to Deputy Mayor Stephen Chase that these issues are even debated.
Stephen Chase has consistently been on the side of taxpayers since being elected, and I am so proud to say that he is representing my voice on council. It’s going to be a long two years until the next municipal elections in May 2012; however, until then, we can continue to count on Stephen Chase to represent us! “In Chase I trust.”
SHAWN PETERSON
Saint John
There were several other related letters that were really great to read as well!
It’s good to see so many others in Saint John concerned about Peel Plaza and the Parking Garage:
Be prudent and shelve proposed garage
In response to “Tempers flare at council,” Oct. 13:
Your article stated, “[Deputy Mayor Stephen] Chase said the city needs to be financially prudent to look for other sites to make sure a garage is built at the lowest possible cost.”
I personally think that the only way for the city to be financially prudent is to not move forward with the garage at all and to be more responsible with spending decisions.
Although city manager Patrick Woods stated taxpayers would not be on the hook, we indirectly will be, because $300,000 a year that would be going into public funds for city service costs would be returned to the parking commission to assist with funding the garage.
Also, if something were to happen to the financial situation of the garage, it would be the city that would be on the hook for it, and therefore taxpayers. The real question is, why are we building a parking garage to provide space for a provincial building?
Should that not have been considered by the province before beginning the construction? The new police headquarters will have underground parking, so this garage is not needed to accommodate additional cars from there, yet its design is “more than twice the size of the anticipated needs of the new courthouse” (“Drop the double speak and debate the costs,” Oct. 14).
It seems there is some back-peddling happening, yet again, because of miscommunication taking place between city staff, council, and the public. When will this end?
SCOTT MCKINNON
Saint John
What’s wrong with cost efficiency?
Well, from the comments this week from our esteemed mayor, Ivan Court, bringing a plan to the table that will save “us” (the taxpayers) money is “stabbing us in the back.”
I can’t believe that a mayor can get away with accusing his deputy mayor of this for bringing forth the idea of lessening the cost of a parking garage for Peel Plaza.
We could have been much smarter with the decision to build a new police station and bus terminal. Someone steps up to the plate and is lambasted by the leader of this city. No wonder Saint John is looked down on by so many of our outlying communities and provincial rivals.
What type of leader calls out another councillor for trying to bring a more cost-effective plan to the table? Even worse, only one councillor supported the deputy mayor on his motion, Patty Higgins. At least there is one councillor besides Mr. Chase who would dare step on the mayor’s Plaza deal.
Saint Johners will have an unique opportunity to make some changes at the council table through the upcoming byelection. It is clear that the mayor and most of his council want to leave their mark on the city through the Peel Plaza development. All the while, we sit here waiting until we get the next boil order from the city.
Wake up council! It was bad enough that provincially, we had the Liberals making inept decision after decision, but to have to stand by and watch this mayor and the majority of councilors waste our money is unfathomable.
SCOTT WADDELL
Saint John
What’s driving Peel Plaza?
When highly educated and intelligent people have to resort to double-speak and bullying to push a project forward that has no apparent advantage and goes against priorities they have set themselves, I’m forced to wonder why.
Who is really behind this project? Who has the power and influence to convince our civic leaders and city managers that it is in their best interest to support the project? Who will benefit from this development?
Are others asking the same questions?
DON LEAMAN
Saint John
Posted on
October 16th, 2010 in
News,
Saint John Politics |
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A lot has been made of the attacks from Mayor Ivan Court against Deputy Mayor Stephen Chase in the media recently: Tempers flare at council, Clash of the big two, etc.
In case you missed it (background on the parking garage proposal), here is the quick overview of the attacks:
Sparks flew at common council’s regular meeting Monday night during a debate about alternative sites for a parking garage that’s now proposed for the city centre.
Deputy Mayor Stephen Chase proposed issuing a call for proposals to ask private companies to suggest cheaper locations for the garage, but he drew the ire of major project supporters.
Councillor Chris Titus called the proposal “irresponsible,” while Mayor Ivan Court accused Chase of “trying to stab us in the back,” charges the deputy mayor denied.
Chase said the city needs to be financially prudent to look for other sites to make sure a garage is built at the lowest possible cost.
“Stab us in the back?”
The only people being stabbed in the back are the taxpayers in Saint John, which was captured perfectly by Greg Perry in the following comic:
The Mayor and his henchmen (the majority of council) are hellbent on spending OUR money on items that are not priorities for the citizens in Saint John.
Go ask people – you will soon find that clean, safe, drinking water is a real priority (unlike Peel Plaza)!
The real costs of Peel Plaza seems to be growing each day, and it’s only thanks to Deputy Mayor Stephen Chase that these issues are even debated.
Stephen Chase has consistently been on the side of taxpayers since being elected, and I am so proud to say that he is representing my voice on council.
It’s going to be a long two years until the next Municipal elections in May 2012; however, until then, we can continue to count on Stephen Chase to represent us!
“In Chase I Trust”
Posted on
October 14th, 2010 in
News,
Saint John Politics |
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This column previously appeared in the Telegraph-Journal on October 12th, 2010.
The article was written by FUSION Saint John’s Claire Ryan:
On any given day, were you to walk into my apartment, you would be quick to notice the plastic bag that sits beside the actual garbage can that contains the milk cartons, plastic bags, pizza flyers and other odds and ends that are eligible candidates for the blue bins.
More often than not, this bag near overflows before the end of the week while the actual garbage does not usually exceed more than one small bag.
I’ll be the first to admit that it’s not the prettiest set-up, but it’s an easy way to separate the garbage, and by leaving it in plain view I’m more likely to remember to bring it along anytime I’m headed near a set of blue bins. I’m also happy to announce that since implementing this system, there has been a significant decrease in the size of the garbage bag I put to the curb each week.
Ordinarily my recycling habits are not something I discuss – let alone with all of Saint John – but this week it’s timely.
Next week is Waste Reduction Week (WRW), a national event organized by a coalition of 13 recycling councils and organizations from across Canada, including Recycle New Brunswick. Since 2001, WRW has taken place during the third week of October and targets three audiences – schools, local governments and small to medium-sized businesses.
The number of participants has more than doubled in the last six years. This year, FUSION is joining countless other Canadian municipalities and organizations participating in this waste reduction effort, and encouraging Saint Johners to take a look at their own waste reduction practices.
The program’s goal is to inform Canadians about the environmental and social ramifications of wasteful practices. WRW aims to encourage people to take action and adopt more environmentally conscious choices by providing information and ideas for reducing waste and creating solutions for the environmental challenges facing the planet.
FUSION’s Urban Planning and Economic Development Committee will be collecting tips and suggestions for waste reduction over the next week and will be creating a waste reduction tip sheet that will be available online.
Reducing the amount of waste you create doesn’t need to be complicated or time consuming. Your ideas do not have to be wildly creative to be effective – sometimes is as simple as putting your recycling pile in clear sight so as to remember it’s there.
Waste Reduction Week in Canada takes place Oct. 18-24, 2010. You can share your waste reduction tips and experiences, and be included in FUSION’s waste reduction tip sheet by emailing urbecofusion@gmail.com.
Claire Ryan is on the FUSION Saint John board. Reach her at cryan@mtlpr.ca.
Even though Peel Plaza is going full speed ahead against the wishes of the community, we can continue count on Deputy Mayor Stephen Chase to be the voice of reason on city council.
Over this holiday weekend during the Boil Order, Stephen Chase was working hard to help arrange, pickup, and deliver bottles of safe drinking water to local organizations.
This great story appeared in today’s Telegraph-Journal:
In the end, a logistical hiccup kept it from happening.
But a quick response by Deputy Mayor Stephen Chase to a Nestlé Waters Canada email on Friday advising the city it was a position to supply bottled drinking water to vulnerable Saint John organizations affected by Wednesday night’s boil water order reaped both some short-term and long-term benefits.
Thanks to the generosity of one of Nestlé’s retailers, the local Wal-Mart on the city’s east side, Chase, his wife Cheryl, 13-year-old son Brayden and Ward 3 Coun. Donnie Snook were able to pick up and deliver 600 individual-sized bottles of drinking water to elated staff and volunteers at Romero House early Saturday morning.
Chase said it was important for people to remember that those who are served by organizations like Romero House often live in rooming houses where, even if they wanted to, they don’t have the means to boil their water before drinking it.
“I’m fortunate that I can boil water and can go to the store and buy bottled water,” he said. “These people don’t have that means and they get left behind. It’s so meaningful to have Nestlé Waters Canada recognize that and deliver through the generosity of Wal-Mart, one of their retailers.”
Many thanks to our Deputy Mayor Stephen Chase for his continued dedication to the people in Saint John!
As a Saint John resident and municipal water ratepayer, this latest boil order is exceptionally frustrating!
What really bothers me is that the Mayor (and a majority of council) are going ahead with spending millions of dollars on a new police station and parking garage while I can’t drink my water.
Clean safe drinking water is the number one priory for citizens of Saint John – and although it was listed as a priority of Council when they were first elected, they continue to push Peel Plaza down our throats.
Here is an idea, put an end to Peel Plaza and spend the money on water treatment. The Provincial and Federal governments will come to the table once we show them that we are serious about water treatment. Let’s be the ones to make the first move!
Saturday’s Telegraph-Journal also had a good article on the subject:
As upwards of 45,000 ratepayers are forced to boil their tap water this weekend, they’re paying some of the largest bills in the province for their troubles.
The city’s flat rate for water and sewage bills was the third highest in New Brunswick last year, next to Bathurst and New Maryland, according to the most recent provincewide report.
Household rates have been soaring in Saint John and rose to $864 this year, a 136 per cent increase over what it was in 2000. Meanwhile, the city has issued its seventh boil water order since 2008, with the latest one affecting residents living east of Reversing Falls.
Deputy Mayor Stephen Chase said he had received a flurry of phone calls from east side residents who were angry about the order, with one writing in an email: “You guys suck.”
“You know what?” Chase said in an interview Friday. “He is right.”
Bonnie Hoyt, an east side resident, said she wasn’t surprised by the recent boil order, but she wasn’t bothered by it either. She doesn’t drink tap water because she believes it’s not as safe as bottled water.
“The water here is terrible – I can’t even drink it,” Hoyt said outside Wal-Mart on McAllister Drive Friday as she drove a cart with jugs and a case of bottled water to her car. “It just makes you gag.”
Sign up for Emergency Notifications
For anyone who wants to be notified (via email, phone call, text message) when boil orders are issues, sign up for emergency alerts here: https://ecc.sentinelsystems.ca/selfsub/?c=saintjohn
The city no longer sends out any useful notifications from the “My Saint John” account feature on their website.
