Schools struggle with staff absenteeism, but role of COVID-19 unclear, says teachers’ union
New Brunswick lifted all remaining COVID-19 restrictions just as students returned to classes from March Break two weeks ago.
Some parents have welcomed the end of universal indoor masking at schools.
But others have called for the mandate to remain in place until at least the end of April, with a petition that had gathered nearly 1,500 virtual signatures by Monday.
Previously on CHMA, we heard from Kathleen Gadd, a Mount Allison University graduate and mother of three children, one of the petition’s co-authors.
She warned about issues including a wave of infections hitting the families of teachers and other staff who might be vulnerable to severe COVID.
Since then, reports have emerged of high rates of staff absenteeism, particularly at schools in the Moncton region.
For more on this story, CHMA spoke to Connie Keating, president of the New Brunswick Teachers Association and co-president of the New Brunswick Teachers Federation, the union representing teachers.
Keating is also a longtime teacher who studied at Mount Allison University. In an interview on Friday, she said absenteeism is a major issue across the province.
But it’s unclear whether COVID-19 is the culprit, she said, because reliable data isn’t available.
Students renew call for Mount A to divest from fossil fuels ahead of climate strike
Climate justice activists at Mount Allison University and their supporters will be getting their hands dirty on Friday as part of student-led climate strike actions happening around the world.
Their handprints will cover a banner painted with images from the fossil fuel industry – an oil well and two smokestacks belching black smoke – and bearing the words “People Not Profit.”
“That’s what we’re trying to do,” said student activist Kate DesRoches. “Put the people over the profit, literally.”
DesRoches is a member of Divest MTA, a student activist group that campaigns for Mount A to move its investment funds out of fossil fuels.
She said there’s a tension between what students learn in the classroom about climate change, and how the university uses its money. You can listen to her interview with CHMA here:
The artwork is part of student-led actions happening internationally as part of the Fridays for Future movement.
Divest MTA is part of a movement calling for institutional investors around the world to move trillions of dollars out of fossil fuels.
Universities have multimillion dollar funds called endowments which they use to generate cash.
By the end of 2020, Mount Allison’s endowment was worth more than $170 million, according to information publicly available on the university’s website. … Continue
Self-reported COVID-19 cases decline at Mount Allison
The number of active COVID-19 cases at Mount Allison University has declined, according to self-reported case data which the university released this week.
There are currently 15 self-reported cases of COVID-19 in the university community, Mount A said Tuesday in its weekly update.
That’s a significant decline compared to last week, when the university reported a spike in cases.
Of the current active cases, eight are off-campus and seven are in residence.
The total number of cases in the university community reported since early January has reached 303, an increase of 27 compared to last week.
In its previous update, the university reported an overall week-over-week increase of 102 cases.
Public Health reports 16 deaths
Meanwhile, Public Health reported Tuesday that COVID-19 hospitalizations have shot up by 30 cases since last week’s update, bringing the total number to 129.
The number of people receiving intensive care reached 16, an increase of three compared to last week. There are five people on a ventilator, a decline of two.
The province also recorded 16 new COVID-19 related deaths over the past week, for a total death toll of 336 people in New Brunswick since the pandemic began.
New Brunswick lifted all remaining COVID-19 restrictions last week.
… Continue
Watershed health checkup with EOS Eco Energy; Chignecto Isthmus update expected today
Listen to Tantramar Report for Friday, March 18, 2022:
Petition calls for indoor masking in NB schools until end of April, local residents divided
Children returned from March Break across New Brunswick on Monday just as the provincial government lifted all remaining COVID-19 restrictions.
An online petition is calling for the province to maintain universal indoor masking in schools until at least the end of April.
“Removing universal masking protection in schools will negatively impact any member of the school community who is at risk, which is counter to the principles of inclusion in New Brunswick schools,” the petition states.
“It puts families in the position of needing to remove children from school to protect their vulnerable family members.”
The petition had garnered more than 1,300 virtual signatures by Thursday.
For more on this story, CHMA spoke to Kathleen Gadd, one of the authors of the petition. She’s a Mount Allison University graduate, and a mother of three young children living in Miramichi.
“The school day represents a long exposure, if you happen to have somebody in the class who is contagious with COVID during the school day,” she said. “So the school, I think, is an important setting.”
CHMA reached out to local parents via social media, and they expressed conflicting views on the topic via Facebook.
“I worry that cases in schools are not being reported, and I also worry about the amount of kids who will be sent to school sick, because a parent cannot afford to take time off work,” said Danielle Pellerin, who has children in Grade 1 and Grade 5.… Continue
Climate change and flooding in the Tantramar region
Listen here to Tantramar Report for Monday, February 21, 2022:
Ariel Posen is making ‘Headway’ in a post-pandemic world
Since his debut album in 2019, Ariel Posen has been solidifying himself as one of Canada’s most poetic singer/songwriters. His album “Headway” from 2021 is certainly no exception. Host of the Morning Show and the Sunday BBQ, Joe Hubley, caught up with Ariel for a conversation on his very busy 2021. From a headlining tour across North America, releasing two albums and an EP, as well as a handful of various collaborations (John Mayer, City and Colour, The Ballroom Thieves, Bahamas, Cory Wong, and more), it’s safe to say that Ariel Posen had a full plate. However, he ate it up and clearly still has an appetite, as 2022 is lining up to be just as colossal of a year for the Winnipeg slide guitarist. Ariel Posen and Joe Hubley cover it all in this CHMA exclusive interview.
“It made me realize that performing
isn’t just what I do, it’s who I am.”
~Ariel Posen on being back on stage for the first time since the pandemic.
… Continue
Friday on TR: New system to report sexual misconduct; municipal reform committee meets; storm wallops N.B.
On today’s Tantramar Report:
Mount Allison University has launched a new way for people to report sexual misconduct, harassment or assault on campus.
The move comes as part of an ongoing effort to respond to decades-long concerns about sexual violence on the Mount A campus.
In November 2020, then-student Michelle Roy posted an image of herself on social media, in graduation attire and holding a sign accusing the school of supporting rapists.
Since then, the university has brought in a third-party organization to respond to and support survivors of sexual violence, commissioned an independent review of its practices, and hired Sexual Violence Prevention and Education Coordinator, Dr. Tasia Alexopolous.
CHMA reporter Erica Butler called up Dr. Alexopolous this week to find out more about REES, and how it might impact sexual violence on campus.
Also on today’s show: Sackville town council’s municipal reform committee held its first ever-meeting this week. Erica Butler was there and brings us some highlights.
Plus more local news and information:
Tantramar Climate Change Week
The 10th annual Tantramar Climate Change Week starts on Saturday with an information booth at the Sackville Farmers’ Market.
A series of free online events organized by Eos Eco-Energy takes place throughout the week, including a climate change virtual trivia night next Friday, Feb. 11. You can find the full schedule online at eosecoenergy.com.
Friday on TR: Amalgamation process begins; NB returns to Level 2; First Nation asks for help finding missing woman
Today’s feature on Tantramar Report:
The province has appointed the facilitator who will oversee the amalgamation of Sackville, Dorchester and surrounding areas.
Chad Peters is currently CEO of a Moncton-based communications firm, and former manager with Southwestern Energy Resources, the company behind controversial fracking exploration in New Brunswick in the early 2010s.
Peters is also a former staffer in the Progressive Conservative legislative office, and ran for the PCs in a provincial by-election in Moncton East in 2007. He had announced his candidacy for mayor of Moncton in January 2020, but did not run in the 2021 election. Peters had his first meeting with Sackville staff and council this week.
CHMA’s Erica Butler called up Sackville Town Councillor Bill Evans, who has been a vocal opponent of amalgamation, to hear about the first meeting.
Also on Tantramar Report:
Missing woman from St. Mary’s First Nation
Saint Mary’s First Nation has asked for support in locating Erin Maureen Brooks.
The 38-year-old woman was last seen on Dec. 27 at St. Mary’s Smoke Shop in Fredericton, according to the Indigenous community.
She’s described as five-foot-two-inches tall and 115 pounds, with multiple tattoos, including the word “Boo” on the left side of her chest.
In 2018, Brooks shared a post on social media as part of a campaign for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, stating that if she ever went missing, “someone took me against my will or worse.… Continue
Task force optimistic about hospital services; Mount Allison union calls on province to “preserve and enhance” hospital
The leaders of a community task force on rural health care say they’re optimistic services at the Sackville Memorial Hospital will be restored.
The Mount Allison Faculty Association is also throwing its support behind the movement to restore hospital services.
Former Sackville mayor John Higham is one of the co-chairs of the Memramcook-Tantramar Rural Health Action Group.
In a statement, Higham said the group felt encouraged by year-end meetings with Horizon Health Network.
Officials from the regional health authority “have given us hope that the cutbacks against which we protested last year will indeed be temporary,” Higham said in the statement.
The emergency department at Sackville Memorial Hospital is currently open between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. seven days a week following service reductions.
But Horizon officials say they’re committed to restoring 24/7 emergency care, according to the statement from the Rural Health Action Group.
Officials from the health authority have also indicated they intend to return to a full complement of acute-care beds, along with “further investments in additional services,” according to the statement.
It said the health authority has also agreed to work with the local action group on marketing efforts meant to retain and recruit doctors, nurses and other staff in the region.
In December, Horizon announced the acute care unit at Sackville Memorial would close, and those beds would be used for people awaiting long-term care. … Continue