Fundraising continues for people affected by devastating fire in downtown Sackville
Fundraising is ongoing to support people affected by a devastating fire in downtown Sackville.
The blaze destroyed Joey’s Restaurant and the apartments of four students and a university staff member that were located upstairs. No injuries were reported.
The fire began on Friday morning. Local roads were closed as firefighters fought the blaze, using water brought in water from Silver Lake in addition to municipal fire hydrants.
A newly-purchased excavator from local contractor Beal & Inch Construction was brought in to tear down the building to keep the fire from spreading.
Mount Allison said in a Facebook post that university officials were in contact with the people whose apartments were destroyed and would provide them with short-term accommodations and other necessities. The university also offered counselling on Saturday.
The university also said that about 20 students living in the area were affected.
They left their homes due to the smoke and it was unclear when they would be able to return home. The university said it was in contact with many of those students and would stay in touch to determine how it could support them.
The university set up an intake centre in the basement of the university chapel to accept donations from the community such as clothing, personal hygiene items and gift cards. … Continue
Investigate environmental factors potentially causing ‘atypical neurological decline,’ group tells province and feds
Patients and families struggling with symptoms of a neurodegenerative illness are calling for a new investigation into potential environmental causes of the condition.
Their demands come 13 months after the province announced that the “neurological syndrome of unknown cause” doesn’t exist.
The provincial Green Party held a news conference on Tuesday alongside people affected by the condition.
There are now 147 people “demonstrating a rapid onset of severe neurological symptoms,” according to the group. They said more than a third of those patients are under 45 years old.
Listen to the audio report:
Medical testing has shown that many of the patients were exposed to “multiple environmental toxins,” said Stacie Quigley Cormier, whose stepdaughter is among the patients.
In particular, she pointed to the herbicide glyphosate, which is widely used in forestry and agriculture.
“We want to confirm that in recent months, patients have tested positive for multiple environmental toxins, including glyphosate, with detectable levels between four and 40 times the average limit,” she told reporters.
Few details were immediately available, but she said “many patients have been tested.”
Her stepdaughter, former Mount Allison University student Gabrielle Cormier, is one of the youngest patients affected by what officials previously called a neurological syndrome of unknown cause.… Continue
Online ‘toolkit’ to help communities facing coastal erosion and flooding
A Sackville-based organization has launched a new Internet-based “toolkit” to help people in Atlantic Canada to adapt as the climate crisis results in increasingly erratic weather and rising sea levels.
CLIMAtlantic, a regional hub that provides information to help people deal with the effects of climate change, started operations in 2021 with funding from the federal government.
On Tuesday, the group launched the Coastal Adaptation Toolkit, which is mean to “help Atlantic rural coastal communities and property owners plan for the effects of climate change.”
Users respond to a series of questions about conditions at a specific site, such as as natural or human-made features that may offer some protection from flooding.
The system also queries users about policies that are in place locally, such as an emergency management plan.
The answers to those questions result in an automatically-generated report with a detailed list of possible measures to address the risk of flooding and coastal erosion.
It’s not a substitute for professional advice, but can serve as a first step for people facing extreme weather events like Hurricane Fiona, which hit Atlantic Canada last September.
“This is for educational purposes and information purposes,” said Sabine Dietz, executive director of CLIMAtlantic, in an interview with CHMA.
During the online launch, CLIMAtlantic also screened a new 12-minute documentary highlighting adaptation actions in the region.… Continue
Undervalued workers can’t fill gaps in female-dominated care sector, says Mount Allison researcher
A Mount Allison University researcher has been looking around the world for ways to address problems in the community-based care sector, which is composed primarily of low-wage female workers.
Professor Rachelle Pascoe-Deslauriers partnered with the NB Coalition for Pay Equity for the research project.
She spoke to CHMA about the study ahead of the Valuing Care Work Summit, which took place on Friday at Mount Allison.
She said there’s been little or no improvement in the sector since she launched the project in Jan. 2022, particularly as inflation hits the bottom line of low-wage workers.
Her study looked at places comparable to New Brunswick, with market economies, a mix of private and public service provision, and aging populations.
Those places include countries like England, Scotland, Wales, Australia and New Zealand, along with provinces including British Columbia, Manitoba and Nova Scotia.
The care sector includes people who look after seniors, people with disabilities, mental illnesses and others requiring support either at home or in residential facilities.
More than 11,000 workers in New Brunswick make up the community-based care sector, according to the NB Coalition for Pay Equity.
Poor working conditions in that sector have come under closer scrutiny following the arrival of COVID-19.
The care sector in this province is overwhelmingly made up of women whose wages range from $16.50 for special care home workers to $18.80 for family support workers.
The coalition states that wages should range from about $25 to $29 dollars per hour.… Continue
Undervalued workers can’t fill gaps in female-dominated care sector, says Mount Allison researcher
Listen to Tantramar Report for Wednesday, March 15, 2023:
Correction: An earlier version of today’s Tantramar Report stated that residents plan to gather this evening for a community housing meeting. In fact, that meeting is happening tomorrow, Thursday, March 16, between 6 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
… Continue
‘We’re left to fight for scraps’: Underfunding of community sector leaves majority-female workforce exhausted
Nonprofits and charities that make up the community sector perform essential work, but underfunding has left their majority-female workforce exhausted.
That was the message from an advocacy group that demonstrated in the provincial capital on International Women’s Day, calling on governments to invest more in the community sector.
“We’re left to fight for scraps of money among each other,” said Elise Pelletier, communications officer and political analyst for the Moncton-based Regroupement féministe du Nouveau-Brunswick.
Women make up 80 percent of the workforce in nonprofits and charities, according to a 2020 report (PDF link) published by the Canadian Women’s Foundation.
It’s an area of the economy that provides essential caring work but which is “funded through an inadequate model consisting of unpredictable individual donations and gifts, earned income, and government service and project contracts,” the report states.
Many of the services provided by the community sector affect the well-being and survival of women struggling with issues like homelessness or domestic abuse.
Groups such as Crossroads for Women — which operates an emergency shelter in Moncton for women, trans and non-binary people and their children — saw a surge in reports of domestic violence after COVID-19 resulted in lockdowns beginning in March 2020.
“It’s quite worrying for us to witness that, and to see a provincial government raking in a surplus, while we know specifically which organizations need more funds,” Pelletier said. … Continue
Underfunding of community sector leaves majority-female workforce ‘exhausted,’ say advocates
Listen to Tantramar Report for Thursday, March 9, 2023:
Peaceful occupation of Mount A admin building to continue ‘indefinitely’; student group demands university divest millions from fossil fuels
Listen to Tantramar Report for Monday, March 6, 2023:
University finances under scrutiny as Mount Allison officials appear at legislative committee
Mount Allison officials told MLAs this week that university revenues aren’t keeping up with expenses, even as tuition continues to rise.
“This is true for most universities, and so the simple math is that tuition goes up every year, ” said Robert Inglis, VP of finance and administration, during a meeting of the Select Committee on Public Universities.
The all-party legislative committee routinely holds hearings where public universities report on their operational highlights and field questions from MLAs.
Hearings began on Tuesday morning with a presentation by Inglis, flanked by Jeff Hennessy, Mount A’s university provost and VP academic and research.
Listen to the report that aired on CHMA:
Altogether, Mount Allison has a $54.5 million budget for its current academic year. But with $55.7 million in expenses, it will run a deficit of more than a million dollars.
Fifty per cent of the university’s revenue comes from tuition and student fees, and this year’s budget includes a three per cent tuition hike.
That brings tuition fees to nearly $10,000 for full-time domestic students, and closer to $20,000 for international students.
Another 43 per cent of Mount A’s revenue comes from provincial grants. Compared to tuition, those funds have increased slowly over the years.
Minister of Post-Secondary Education Trevor Holder announced last year that universities in New Brunswick would receive a 1.5 per cent increase in operating grants, with an additional one per cent incentive linked to growth in enrolment. … Continue
‘The simple math is that tuition goes up every year’: Mount Allison officials talk finance at legislative hearing
Listen to Tantramar Report for Wednesday, March 1, 2023: