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Vogue Cinema on course for tax sale in January, with nearly $70k in taxes owed

The Vogue Cinema in downtown Sackville, NB. Photo: Erica Butler

The Vogue Cinema is headed for tax sale this January, unless owner Jeff Coates can make good on nearly $70,000 in back taxes owed to the provincial government.

The provincial Finance and Treasury Board posted an Expression of Interest on the property at 9 Bridge Street in an attempt to contact Coates.

A tax certificate from the board shows that Coates’ numbered company owes $69,236.37 in unpaid taxes as of this month. The 2024 tax levy on the property was $7,509.79.

At tax sale, the bidding on the building will start with the amount owing to the province. The earliest the theatre could go up for sale would be January 2025. Before that, the property will continue to accrue taxes and fees, meaning the minimum bid could be closer to $78,000 by the time it goes up for sale.

But any liens on the property will be dissolved by the tax sale. That means that more than $65,000 in debt owed to the Canada Revenue Agency could disappear. The debt was registered against the property in 2022, and dates back to money owed as of 2017, according to registration documents available through Service New Brunswick.

Coates’ numbered company is also the subject of a bankruptcy filing by the Westmoreland Albert Community Business Development Corporation, who say Coates owes them about $76,000.

On June 4, the Court of King’s Bench ruled the company bankrupt, after a hearing where Coates did not appear.… Continue

Councillor says elected DECs help keep party politics out of education, defends legal spending

A battle over policies meant to protect the rights of trans kids in the New Brunswick public school system extended into the courts earlier this year, with two Charter challenges against the provincial government’s changes to Policy 713: one led by the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, and one by the Anglophone East District Education Council (DEC).

Now a new court battle has begun with its roots in the Policy 713 controversy: Minister of Education Bill Hogan is taking the Anglophone East DEC to court to seek its dissolution. That means the Tantramar family of schools could find itself under the direct leadership of the province, instead of an elected council.

According to a report by CBC’s Shane Magee, the case for the dissolution of the DEC will be heard by Moncton’s Court of King’s Bench on November 14, nearly a month after a provincial election slated for October 21.

CHMA spoke with Anglophone East DEC councillor Kristin Cavoukian last week to learn more about the council’s position in both its case against the province, and the provincial case against the DEC. We started off asking Cavoukian about a recent DEC decision to pursue an appeal of Judge Tracey DeWare’s decision to deny the council legal standing in its Policy 713 case.

“Our lawyers believe that some errors were made,” says Cavoukian, “and that an appeal is a worthwhile thing to do. None of us are ready to give up on this fight yet.”… Continue

How $26k in scholarships grew from a $2500 commitment from MLA Megan Mitton

On today’s show, we take a look at how Memramcook-Tantramar MLA Megan Mitton put up some of her own money to help set up medical education scholarships to help bring new doctors and nurse practitioners to the region. This fall, about $26,000 in scholarship funding is available to students willing to come practice in Tantramar and Strait Shores after they graduate.

Plus, the Vogue Cinema is headed for tax sale in January 2025, unless owner Jeff Coates can pay off nearly $70,000 in back taxes owed to the provincial government. … Continue

Lesley Crewe takes ‘Death and Other Inconveniences’ on tour, with stops in Sackville and Amherst

Lesley Crewe is the author of sixteen novels, including The Spoon Stealer, Nosy Parker, and Relative Happiness, which was adapted into a feature film in 2014.

Originally from Montreal, Crewe has lived most of her life in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.

Crewe’s latest book is Death and Other Inconveniences, and the writer is now on tour through the Maritimes, coming to Sackville and Amherst this Wednesday, July 17th.

Local reader and fan Judith Cane called up Crewe to talk with her in advance of her stop in Sackville:

Crewe will be at Tidewater Books on Wednesday, July 17, from 2pm to 3:30pm, to sign books. Then she’ll be at the Four Fathers Memorial Library in Amherst at 7pm Wednesday for a reading and signing.

… Continue

Councillor says elected DECs help keep party politics out of education

On today’s show, we talk with Anglophone East District Education Councillor Kristin Cavoukian about a court action filed last week by Minister of Education Bill Hogan, seeking to dissolve the Anglophone East DEC. Cavoukian talks about the DEC’s decision to appeal a judge’s decision in its recent case against the province, and what’s at stake with the possible dissolution of the elected district council.

Plus in news briefs: Mount Allison’s Athletics Director is gone suddenly; Tantramar council decides to take a break from scheduled council meetings until August 26; and funding comes through to add pedestrian bridges to maintain a one kilometer walking loop around the new retention pond.… Continue

New doctor coming to Port Elgin, full time nurse practitioner for Tantramar

Horizon’s director of primary health care for Zone 1, Richard Lemay, had some good news to share on Wednesday evening at a public meeting about health care held in the Port Elgin Regional School. Lemay told the crowd of about 70 people that Horizon has signed a contract with a new physician to work at the Port Elgin and Region Health Centre starting sometime in early 2025.

Richard Lemay, Horizon’s director of primary health care for Zone 1, after a public meeting in Port Elgin on July 10, 2024. Photo: Erica Butler

The clinic lost its full time nurse practitioner this spring, and has been operating with an NP working just two days a week. That NP will wrap up their work in Port Elgin on August 31 this year, leaving a gap with no primary care provider based out of the clinic for several months. Lemay says Horizon is working to fill the gap, and is still not sure how long it will be, because it’s not yet clear exactly when the new physician will start.

“The plan is for that person to probably be here, early 2025, after Christmas,” said Lemay. “We can’t share any more details right now because he has to share information with his patients right now to inform them first. But probably this fall, we’ll be able to tell you exactly when the person is going to start. And we’ll keep you informed.”

During the Q&A session of the meeting, one resident asked about the longevity of the contract for the physician, which prompted Dr.… Continue

Listen in: Community Health Care Meeting in Port Elgin

Community healthcare meeting at Port Elgin Regional School, July 10, 2024. Photo: Erica Butler

About 70 people gathered in the gymnasium of the Port Elgin Regional School on Wednesday evening to hear from and ask questions of a number of health care officials from Horizon and Medavie Health Services. The meeting was hosted by Memramcook-Tantramar MLA Megan Mitton.

Presenters included:

Richard Lemay, Horizon’s director of primary health care for Zone 1
Dr. Ravneet Comstock, family physician and primary care lead for Horizon
Ginette Pellerin, Vice-President, Extra-Mural Program Operations, Medavie Health Services
Jean-Pierre Savoie, Vice-President, Ambulance New Brunswick, Medavie Health Services
Martine Des Roches, Vice President, NB Health Link, Medavie Health Services

Here’s the full audio of the presentations and the Q&A that followed:

… Continue

Port Elgin to get new doctor in 2025, Horizon still trying to fill gap until then

On today’s show, a crowd of Strait Shores and region residents heard some good news on Wednesday evening, as Horizon officials announced the hiring of a new primary care physician who will be working out of the Port Elgin and Region Health Centre. CHMA spoke to Richard Lemay, Horizon’s director of primary health care for Zone 1 to hear about the new hire, as well as get an update on the state of affairs at the Tantramar Primary Care Clinic.

We also hear from MLA Megan Mitton who organized the public meeting in Port Elgin, as well Strait Shores mayor Jason Stokes. … Continue

Water quality monitoring in New Brunswick faces an uncertain funding future

“Everything is connected to water,” says Brittany Cormier, executive director of EOS Eco Energy. “And we are as well.”

Every summer since 2019, EOS sends out people into the brooks and streams of the region’s watersheds to observe and record conditions. The teams measures things like pH, temperature, and dissolved oxygen, and they also observe wildlife, plant growth, and check for eutrophication, or excessive algae growth.

But because there’s several watersheds inside EOS territory, these water quality monitoring teams have been working on a rotating basis around the region, one year visiting the Cape Tormentine peninsula, another going to Dorchester and Rockport, and another going to sites in the Tantramar River Watershed.

Image from Integrated Watershed Management Plan for Chignecto Area Watersheds, February 2024

Cormier says that plan was a good start. “It helped us get a bit more of a snapshot of the local streams and rivers,” says Cormier. But this year, EOS’s water quality team will start a new program. “We just made the decision this year to go forward with an annual water quality monitoring plan,” says Cormier. “We chose 12 sites across those three areas, and we’re going to commit to those.”

It’s one of the recommendations in EOS’s new Integrated Watershed Management Plan for Chignecto Area Watersheds, which it published in February. Committing to fewer sites, but doing monitoring annually, will give a better picture of what’s happening in watersheds from year to year, and it will more quickly build up the ten years of data that’s needed to establish a baseline for the region.… Continue

EOS streamlines water quality monitoring, and faces an uncertain funding future

On today’s show, we talk with EOS director Brittany Cormier about how the organization keeps tabs on the region’s brooks and streams with funding from the New Brunswick Environmental Trust Fund, which will run out of money in 2027. Cormier and MLA Megan Mitton share their thoughts on the future of funding for the dozens of organizations in the province who monitor their local watersheds.

Plus in briefs, Horizon Health and Medavie Health Services officials will be in Port Elgin tonight for a public meeting, and the Festival by the Marsh kicks off an 11-day music and theatre festival tonight with Saltwater Moon, at Marshlight Theatre.… Continue

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