Daily News Archives » Page 25 of 231 » CHMA, Voice of the Marshes

Next steps for Dorchester Fire Hall include net zero analysis and hiring of design consultant

On today’s show, we get the details on recent steps approved by Tantramar council towards building a new fire hall in Dorchester. The current Dorchester Fire Hall was built in 1947, and fire chief Greg Partridge says the department has outgrown it. We speak with Tantramar CAO Jennifer Borne about the decision to hire Catalyst Consulting Engineers to oversee a geotechnical investigation of the property, a net zero analysis, and the hiring of a design consultant.

Plus in news briefs, Tantramar announces a road closure on Main Street between Dufferin and Wellington today as well as possible disruptions to traffic downtown near Rose’s Independent Grocer; and the Mount Allison President’s Speaker Series is back tonight with University of Alberta professor Kim Tallbear.… Continue

Sackville Ceasefire Now member denied right to present to council

On today’s show we listen in to Tuesday’s Tantramar council meeting, as a resident who was denied the right to present on a technicality got up to the podium and asked again to be heard, only to be shut down by Mayor Andrew Black. CHMA spoke with Black and Sackville Ceasefire Now member Sarah Kardash about what happened and why.

Plus in news briefs, Tantramar council decides to hire a recruiter to find a director of protective services after a closed discussion on the matter, and the CCAA men’s basketball national tournament kicks off today at Mount Allison’s McCormack Gymnasium. … Continue

Mass firing of Mt A dining services workers echoes situation at UNB last year

If you had a feeling of deja vu when you heard the news last week that Mount Allison’s dining services staff had received termination notices, there’s a good reason. The situation is nearly identical to one that took place about a year ago at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton.

In both cases, the universities issued Requests for Proposals (RFPs) to companies interested in competing for the dining services contract at the schools, and in both cases, the unionized workers under existing collective agreements were not guaranteed successor rights in those RFPs. That means the winning bidders had no obligation to take over those collective agreements.

At both Mount Allison and UNB, it meant a slew of termination notices to workers, after the companies with union agreements did not win renewed contracts. .

Adrienne Paradis is a national servicing representative for CUPE. She says the change of dining contractors in Fredericton was disruptive and painful for workers in her union, but it wasn’t always that way. The union doesn’t have copies of the RFPs issued by UNB over the years (“I’m not going to lie,” says Paradis, “they’re very hard to get ahold of.”) But Paradis is convinced that 2023 marked a change in how union contracts were treated in UNB’s RFP process.

“In talking with the members that have been there for 40-plus years, and speaking with previous representatives… There was never termination letters given.… Continue

Moncton’s newest gay bar set to open this summer thanks to Mt A student entrepreneur

A Mount Allison student is finalizing plans to open a queer friendly nightclub in Moncton, after getting bitten by the entrepreneurship bug during her time at Mount A.

Arianna Roach is a student in Commerce and Women and Gender Studies, attending part time this year, so that she can make time to work on her new business, ARIS Nightclub, which she plans to have open in time for Pride Month in June.

Roach says that after seeing promotions for The Pitch, a Dragon’s Den style competition put on by Venture Space Mt A, she enquired about the school’s entrepreneurship programs, and was told her first step was to come up with an idea. So she asked herself what was missing in her world.

“I had just turned 19, and I was looking for bars to go to for myself,” she recalls. Since the closure of Pink Flamingos in Moncton in 2021, the city had been without a gay bar. “I took that idea and rolled with that,” says Roach.

Non-queer folks often don’t realize the importance of a safe and welcoming LGBTQ+ social space, says Roach, but after a year and a half working on pitching ARIS Nightclub, she’s getting pretty good at explaining it.

“It’s almost like when guys get together for a football game, or girls get together for a wine night or whatever,” explains Roach. “You like to be with your community, people who are like you, share the same ideas, experiences, opinions.”… Continue

At meeting tonight, residents can weigh in on New Brunswick’s anti-poverty strategy

A review of New Brunswick’s strategy to battle poverty is underway, and the Southeast Regional Service Commission is hosting a series of public meetings to gather input from New Brunswickers. The first meeting happens tonight at the Church by the Lake in Middle Sackville. On today’s show, we hear from the commission’s Marc André Chiasson and Moving Forward Together Cooperative volunteer Wendy Keats about why residents should consider adding their two cents to the province’s Overcoming Poverty Together plan.

Plus in news briefs, the Sackville Ceasefire Now Coalition is planning a procession to Sackville Town Hall tonight in time for Tantramar council’s regular monthly meeting at 7pm, and the former owner of the Sackville Tribune-Post is in danger of bankruptcy after filing for creditor protection. … Continue

Artist-in-residence brings outside perspectives to MtA music students

Hear from Celebrated Saxophonist, Jess Gillam, who was in Sackville as Mount Allison University’s Bragg Artist-in-Residence.

And in other news, what to expect at Tantramar’s Tuesday night council meeting and more on Memramcook Municipal Council’s move to benefit from trends in rural tourism.

… Continue

How the mass firing of Mt A dining services workers echoes the situation at UNB last year

On today’s show, we talk with Adrienne Paradis, a national servicing representative for CUPE, who shares the story of what happened last year when UNB, like Mount Allison, changed its food service provider without a guarantee for the collective agreements in place for workers. Paradis says the onus is on universities to “do the right thing”, and protect collective agreements through their Request for Proposals process.

Plus in briefs, the Vogue Cinema is off the market but has not been sold; the province is inviting people share ideas of how to combat poverty at a meeting next Tuesday; and The Thirsty Whippet pub is set to open Saturday in Dorchester.

… Continue

Mount A student entrepreneur poised to open Moncton’s newest gay bar

On today’s show, we talk with Mount A student and entrepreneur Ariana Roach about her new project: ARIS nightclub, a “safe and inclusive space for the 2SLGBTQIA+ community in Moncton.” Roach talks about the need for a Moncton gay bar, and her unexpected experience catching the entrepreneurship bug through workshops and competitions on offer at Mount Allison.

Plus in news briefs, town engineer Jon Eppell explains Tantramar’s drinking water testing regime, and the CCAA Men’s Basketball Nationals come to Mount Allison next week. … Continue

‘Everyone is welcome’: new weekly event offers space to be creative for free

Alana Morouney knits at the Connections Lab at the Sackville Commons last Sunday afternoon. Photo: Jon Claytor.

A new Sunday afternoon event called the Connections Lab, is giving people a space to work on creative projects in a warm, welcoming place.

About 20 people showed up to the first edition, including a table full of children. Participants brought knitting, made water colour paintings, and drawings.

“These are grey days,” said organizer Alana Morouney.

“We wanted to have a space where people can feel creative and feel like they can do things that has few barriers.”

“So when you come in today you don’t have to pay for anything, you don’t have to buy a cup of coffee on your way in. It’s free.”

Connection Lab will take place at the Sackville Commons, every Sunday during the month of March from 2:00 pm until 4:00 pm. … Continue

Beal and Borne on the discrepancies between municipal, provincial and federal taxes in Tantramar

On today’s show, we revisit a January conversation with Tantramar treasurer Michael Beal and CAO Jennifer Borne about why taxes are up in the municipality. Beal and Borne talk about the issues they see with how taxes are determined for federal and provincial properties versus private residential and municipal properties, and what they’d like to see in terms of municipal financial reform.

Plus in news briefs, a rash of overdoses in PEI cities sparks a warning about possible fentanyl in the illegal drug supply, and the proposals are in for a new website for the municipality of Tantramar. … Continue

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