On today’s show, we stop in to the Sackville Memorial Hospital as the SMH foundation launches its 2024 campaign to raise $225,000 for the purchase of specialized equipment for the hospital’s day surgery program. We hear from foundation board chair Bill Evans, former patient Jaryd Morrisey, and Horizon director Christa Wheeler-Thorne, who gives an update on hospital services in Sackville.
Plus in briefs, health advice on eclipse safety and measles vaccination updates from New Brunswick’s public health officers.… Continue
Production still from ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’, film by Darcy Worth. From left to right, Sarah Tardif plays the role of Jennie, Maya Noëlle plays the role of Jane, Morgan Grant plays the role of John.
Mount Allison launched its screen studies program during the pandemic, but this year, it broadened its scope when graduating student Darcy Worth pitched an independent study project to write and produce a short film. And this weekend, that short film, “The Yellow Wallpaper”, will premiere at the Motyer-Fancy Theatre.
Worth dropped by CHMA to talk about the project:
About two dozen fellow students worked on the film, says Worth, including actors, production designers, hair and makeup artists, costume designers and set builders. Before coming to Mount Allison, Worth studied and worked in film. “So when I heard about screen studies and what they were doing, I thought, wouldn’t it be cool to do a sort of independent study and actually make something and give the other students the experience of working on a film?”
Worth’s film is based on the 1892 short story by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, “The Yellow Wallpaper”, a story of a woman with misunderstood postpartum depression who is trapped by her physician husband for a rest cure treatment, which eventually causes her to lose her grip on reality.
“It’s terrifying and creepy,” says Worth, “and sadly, still very relevant in terms of how we treat a lot of conditions today.”
Worth says he fell in love with the story immediately, and saw its potential for a visual medium.… Continue
On today’s show, we talk to Darcy Worth, a graduating student in Mount Allison’s screen studies program who is premiering his short film, The Yellow Wallpaper, at the Motyer-Fancy Theatre this Friday.
Plus in news briefs, road closure on route 106 could last till May, inquest into death of Darrell Mesheau to start next week, and New Brunswick’s minimum wage goes up 55 cents.… Continue
A public transportation advocacy group says that if the federal government doesn’t make key changes and investments, passenger rail outside of Central Canada is doomed.
That’s why Transport Action, and its regional affiliate Transport Action Atlantic, are calling for Canadians to sign a parliamentary petition demanding measures to preserve and grow passenger rail service in Canada. Over 4500 Canadians have so far signed the petition, which closes April 7, and is sponsored by Taylor Bachrach, a member of parliament from BC, and NDP transport critic.
Tim Hayman says that the current trains being used to run The Ocean are at the end of their useful life, and may not be viable much past 2030. The Transport Action Atlantic president says VIA is ready to go with the long process to procure new trains, but needs a substantial funding commitment from the federal government to start the process. The alternative, says Hayman, “is potentially the end of all passenger rail service outside of the Quebec City—Windsor corridor, which is obviously a situation we don’t want to find ourselves in.”
President of Transport Action Atlantic, Tim Hayman. Photo: Transport Action Atlantic
Transport Action’s petition is calls for a federal commitment in this year’s budget towards renewing the long-distance fleet. It also calls for the government to give passenger rail, and VIA Rail itself, some legal standing, much like its counterpart in the US, Amtrak.
VIA is a crown corporation but has no rights over any of the rail network it uses to transport passengers in Canada.… Continue
The Sackville Community Garden hosted a fundraiser in the form of a seed swap at Ducks Aren’t Real on Saturday. The event was hosted by Sarah Evans, co-owner of the bistro and a member of the garden’s organizing group. The event, called Seedy Saturday, was attended by dozens of gardening enthusiasts.
In other news, The Southeast District RCMP are hosting a community engagement session at the Sackvillle Tim Horton’s on Friday April 5th.
Tantramar councillor Bruce Phinney outside of the Moncton courtroom where a judge heard his application for the release of the Montana report on the Sackville Fire Department. Photo: Erica Butler
Tantramar councillor Bruce Phinney had his day in court Thursday, as he brought his request for the public release of 20 recommendations about the Sackville Fire Department to a judge in New Brunswick’s Court of King’s Bench.
But Judge Jean-Paul Ouellette didn’t see fit to order the release of the recommendations, saying that he felt that New Brunswick’s Right to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (RTIPPA) was very clear in requiring town clerk Donna Beal not to disclose the information because it would reveal “the substance of records made by an investigator… in relation to a harassment investigation or a personnel investigation.”
The report in question was a workplace assessment of the Sackville Fire Department conducted by Montana consultants in the summer of 2021, after a series of allegations by volunteer firefighters of harassment and bullying were reported by local journalist Bruce Wark.
Phinney’s brief on the matter argued that the report was in fact not a personnel investigation, but an assessment of the management of the department.
Although he has yet to publish his decision on the matter, Judge Ouellette indicated on Thursday that he planned to uphold the town’s position, that the full Montana report as well as all of its 20 recommendations were fully protected under New Brunswick’s RTIPPA law.… Continue
On today’s show, CHMA was in a Moncton court room on Thursday as Councillor Bruce Phinney applied to have a judge order the release of the 20 recommendations of the Montana report, a workplace assessment of the Sackville Fire Department conducted in 2021. We hear from Phinney, as well as some of his supporters in his quest for public access to information, Kevin Scott, Eddie Cole, Laura Landon and Bruce Wark.
Plus in briefs, Mountie Night athletes of the year announced, and the Southeast District RCMP are hosting Coffee with a Cop next week.… Continue
In the stands at the Tantramar Veterans’ Memorial Civic Centre Photo: Scott Cormier
A number of Tantramar councillors are throwing their support behind the possible expansion the town’s new rink fee subsidy program to include high school hockey, at a cost of between $3,200 and $11,000.
Staff are recommending against expanding the program, which in its current form is expected to cost the municipality about $43,000 in discounted fees to Sackville Minor Hockey and the Sackville Skating Club.
Director of Active Living Matt Pryde told council that the new discount program replaces the Recreation and Sports Subsidy Pilot Program, which provided registration fee rebates directly to parents, in an effort to increase access and enrolment in high-cost sports.
Pryde told council that due to the competitive nature of high school hockey, where kids have to try out to make the teams, the program wouldn’t have the effect of expanding the number of kids able to register, which is why high school teams were not included in the original subsidy program. The two high school hockey teams have about 18 players each, said Pryde.
Pryde recommended against including the high school teams in the program, but his report presented two other options for council: to either give the teams discounted fees for their practice times, which would cost the town about $3200, or extend the discount to both games and practices, which would cost the town about $11,000.
Councillor Josh Goguen said he was torn over the options, and pointed out that high school hockey teams, unlike Sackville Minor Hockey, were bringing in revenue from ticket sales at games.… Continue
Vigil participants gather at town hall in February around clothing symbolizing the thousands of children killed in Israel’s continuing assault on Gaza. Photo: Bruce Wark
Tantramar Council had its first ever open discussion on Monday about a longstanding request from local group, Sackville Ceasefire Now.
The discussion came about after a petition signed by 226 people was presented by assistant clerk Becky Goodwin, requesting, “that Tantramar Council write a letter to the Right Honourable Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada, to request that the federal government call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza, the release of all hostages, and an increased flow of humanitarian aid.”
A report on the petition listed two options for council: either write the letter or don’t. There was no staff recommendation, because as Goodwin told councillors, the issue is one of governance, and it was up to Mayor and council how to proceed.
In the end, councillors spent about ten minutes discussing the Sackville Ceasefire Now request and then moved on without a resolution either way.
According to explanations from staff at the end of the meeting, there was no option available to councillors on Monday to start a formal response to the request. The only response possible can only happen at council’s April 9 meeting, or at any future regular meeting of council, when any councillor can submit a notice of motion. That motion would then appear on council’s agenda the following month for discussion and a vote.… Continue
