Interview Archives » Page 5 of 8 » CHMA, Voice of the Marshes

Green MP Kevin Arseneau says NB needs to focus on food sovereignty

Arseneau says that New Brunswick’s current import/export system is flawed (image: Green Party NB).

The provincial government published a press release on August 17th, the day the election was called, advertising a new project to improve New Brunswick’s food system.

Details of the plan have not yet been shared with the public.

AAF Minister Ross Wetmore describes the province as having a “thriving food-producing sector,” but aims to expand it to feed more New Brunswickers.

Green MP and Agriculture, Aquaculture, and Fisheries critic Kevin Arseneau is deeply unsatisfied with the government’s lack of focus.

In a press release from the Green party published the same day, Arseneau called for “genuine action” from the government to improve the province’s food sovereignty.

CHMA’s Meg Cunningham called Arseneau to ask exactly what he would like to see happen.

M: So I’m interviewing you today about the press release sent out on August 17. And in that press release, it said that you proposed a bill back in May that had to do with food security. Are you able to talk about that a little bit more?

K: Absolutely. Well it was the second time we bring [brought] in a bill in the legislature, I think David Coon had brought one in 2015. And then we reworked it and resubmitted a newer version of that bill, just I guess, before a summer hit just before COVID, actually. And so in that bill, there’s many, many aspects to it.… Continue

Interview: Green candidate Megan Mitton on upcoming election

Green candidate for Memramcook-Tantramar, Megan Mitton

Local journalist Bruce Wark speaks with former MLA and now candidate for Tantramar-Memramcook, Megan Mitton.

You can check out the Wark Times coverage of this interview here.

So far, Mitton is facing only one other opponent in Memramcook-Tantramar, Liberal Maxime Bourgeois who is a lawyer in Memramcook.

The Progressive Conservatives and the NDP say they haven’t chosen their local candidates yet.

Etienne Gaudet, who ran for the Conservatives in 2018, says he will not be running again this time.

CHMA will bring you interviews with all candidates as they become available.

Interview transcript:

Bruce Wark:
What do you think of the premier calling an election yesterday?

Megan Mitton:
I think it’s very unfortunate. It’s an unnecessary election during a pandemic. And, frankly, it is putting New Brunswickers at risk. Democracy is absolutely important. But we do have a minority government that has been working for two years and could have continued to work, without an election. This was an election that was made for political reasons to to try to get a majority, and get more power.

BW:
Now for you in Memramcook-Tantramar, what would you say the big issues are as you run for reelection?

MM:
Well, I would say health is absolutely a priority. And I think it’s been a priority even before the pandemic for people. But especially with the pandemic, that’s come into sharp focus. And I think mental health as well.… Continue

Reproductive Justice NB weighs in on the possible closure of Clinic 554

Reproductive Justice NB is a volunteer organization working to save Clinic 554 (image: Facebook).

By Meg Cunningham

The uncertain future of family practice Clinic 554 affects thousands of New Brunswickers who rely on the clinic for medical care.

Lack of government funding for abortion procedures put the clinic in financial crisis, causing the building to be put up for sale in 2019.

Clinic 554 does not just provide abortions, they are also the only actively trans and queer inclusive medical providers in the province.

The clinic is also a leader in opioid replacement, which helps people with addictions in recovery.

Meg Cunningham chats with spokesperson for Reproductive Justice New Brunswick, Jessi Taylor, to discuss the impact of the clinic’s closure on New Brunswick’s marginalized peoples.

M: Could you describe what RJNB is for those who may not have heard of your organization?

J: Yeah, Reproductive Justice New Brunswick is an organization that came together initially in a crisis and we’re actually like, still dealing with the fallout of that crisis. When the Morgentaler Clinic first closed, and then what we are as we work towards reproductive health services, but unfortunately, like a lot of our work has had to be very much focused around abortion because the province continues to break the Canada Health Act in restricting services in the province. So a lot of the work that we’re known for ends up being about abortion but reproductive justice is a model that actually goes much more beyond abortion to something that’s holistic.… Continue

Nature’s Route talks farming during COVID-19

Nature’s Route farm is working away to bring farm vegetables to Sackville (image: Facebook).

Nature’s Route farm has been a consistent figure at the Sackville, Dieppe, and Moncton farmers’ markets since 2007.

Owner Kent Coates has managed to provide his customers with his produce despite the constantly changing environment due to COVID-19.

Owning a farm is always busy, but Coates says that the pandemic has added new obstacles every day.

Meg Cunningham had the chance to chat with Coates about how Nature’s Route has managed to keep working through COVID-19.

M: My first question is How is Nature’s Route adapted to COVID-19 so far?

K: It’s been busy. That’s probably the best description. There’s been a lot of adaptation. Certainly the first two or three months have changed every week, there seemed to be two or three significant changes that required completely revamping the labor planning and the marketing plan. Those were the two big ones that got hit the hardest was our staff plan for 2020. And the other one was the marketing plan and because the farmers’ markets all closed for the end of March and April and May in Moncton and Dieppe. So those were pretty big adjustments that are constantly changing. And we were able to do quite well at setting up systems on the farm and keeping our staff safe. I’m still very happy with the way that’s going. And the Sackville Farmers’ Market, even when it was closed, we kept going to the same location with several of the vendors and it actually worked out really well.… Continue

Nova Scotia Composer Joseph Fitzner talks Musical Influences and Personal Reflections

Joseph Fitzner graduated from Mount Allison University just this past May, but they still remember the feeling of trying to hold on to those final moments in the conservatory before campus closed due to Covid 19:

“It was so strange going into the final semester. [I am in] the final stretch, wanting to rush to the finish line and then the faculty strike happens, but then everyone’s super relieved because the faculty strike only lasts a week. Everyone’s like, oh, everything’s gonna be just fine. And then I remember so vividly being at that mandatory concert [Music students at Mount Allison are required to attend a certain number of mandatory concerts put on through the school]. Intermission comes, all the students pull out their phones and check their email, and then it was so chaotic. Everyone’s running around being like this is when they tell us everything’s canceled. None of us have recitals. There’s no more classes. And it was just a huge mess, and then we all sat back down and listened to the rest of the concert. It was an amazing concert. We had all kind of talked during intermission and been like, we never want this to end. So I remember giving multiple standing ovations with multiple encores because we just didn’t want the night to end. And it was a really amazing night. I’ll never forget it, but it was also kind of like the beginning of the end.”… Continue

The Check-In: Tantramar Seniors College

Tantramar Senior’s College offers non-credit courses to members in Amherst, Sackville, Moncton and Shediac. The charitable organization coordinates volunteer teachers in a wide variety of skill and knowledge areas, and provide class sessions and workshops to their members, who are all aged 50 or over.

Normally, classes are in-person in various locations, but starting this September, the Tantramar Seniors College will be going online, with 15 classes available to members all over the Tantramar region, from the comfort of their very own homes.

Erica Butler called up Senior’s College president Heather Patterson to find out more.

The college normally offers dozens of different classes, though this year there’s about 15 courses on offer. Since transportation will no longer be an issue, all members will have access to all courses, regardless of where they are.

Some classes, like French Conversation, will have limited capacity.

Just one in-person class will be offered. Spaced out Cycling for Seniors starts on October 1 in Sackville, offered by local cyclist Kate Bredin.

Registration starts mid September for classes beginning the end of September. There’s a four day registration window where people can email in their desired courses on a first come, first served basis.

Course listings are available online now.

… Continue

Music in the Making: David Dunham on studying music and personal songwriting

David Dunham graduated from Mount Allison University this past spring with a Bachelor of Music. Despite the program focusing primarily on classical music, David’s album Red (released just this January) is not a classical album:

“It’s a mixed pot, a lot of different stuff. There’s really psychedelic rock kind of stuff, there’s some more prog rock kind of stuff, this weird electronic track. I find it hard to talk about it and describe it concisely.”

Even if David is not composing classical music, university was still an important part of his growth as a musician:

“Honestly, one of the biggest things I’ve taken from university, [was not] a singular thing. It’s the mindset of how to practice. Like, yeah I’ve learned a bunch of cool pieces and played very cool stuff and that’s all fine, but the biggest takeaway for me from university is that I know how to learn music better. So that’s definitely had an impact on writing and recording my album because in terms of composition I’d say that there’s probably not really that much direct influence from the pieces that I played in university or all the classical music I had to listen to throughout my degree; that didn’t really influence the music. But I think honestly my composition courses definitely did help. It’s hard to pin down exactly what I would have learned that would have transferred over [but] I definitely feel like I feel more comfortable writing any kind of music now than I did four years ago.”… Continue

Sappyfest’s pandemic year: Sackville’s biggest festival reinvents itself in 2020

Lido Pimienta performing at a pre-COVID Sappyfest in 2017. Photo: Tiana Feng.

2020 marks the 15th year for Sappyfest, but the arts and music festival won’t be celebrating this milestone with giant tents and concerts this year.

After the COVID shutdown made the regular festival impossible, organizers decided to pivot, and see what they could make happen without gathering hundreds of people together on Bridge Street in Sackville.

Erica Butler called up creative director Steve Lambke to find out more about what Sappyfest will look like in this pandemic year.

Steve Lambke: There’s no tent. There’s no live concerts. We are doing some things online. But our guiding principle once we started to reinvent this was, we knew we would be doing a number of things online and we’ll be using, you know, the internet and stuff, but as much as possible, we’re trying to think of things that could still have some sort of activation in real life.

Creative Director Steve Lambke says one of those projects is a collection of new poems, stories, comics and graphic works designed to elicit the experience of attending Sappyfest in person.

The publication is called Fifteen Dreams, and available by mail-order.

Sappyfest is also coordinating a call centre where folks can dial in to hear a musical performance or have a conversation with a Sappyfest volunteer.

There’s a participatory theatre project happening online via Zoom, and radio projects happening in collaboration with CHMA.… Continue

Music in the Making: Graeme Zinck on his passion for songwriting and the power of music

Graeme Zinck, former Computer Science student at Mount Allison University, graduated this May and will be pursuing a Masters Degree at Waterloo University in the Fall. After graduating against the backdrop of a global pandemic, Graeme reflects on songwriting in quarantine:

“A lot of my music comes to me just sort of spur the moment. So with the first song [in the new album], Story, I was just feeling pretty upset about how everything had turned out with COVID and being unmotivated during this time is a very real problem. And part of that made me realize just how important people are to me and how challenging it is to move on with so few people to connect with at the moment. So, in that situation where I was like, oh this is weird, I suddenly had this idea of, oh, I should write something! And then suddenly, I just teleported into an alternate universe, and started jotting ideas down. And then a few hours later it’s like, oh bam, I guess I have a song. Of course, that’s only the first step because writing the the basic idea of a song is one thing and then turning that into recording takes a lot of time and a lot of work. . . I started fiddling around with piano thinking, okay, this is generally what I’m going to do, it’s pretty basic and simple. And that’s when I realized that there’s so much more you can do with simple things.… Continue

Don’t Get Fooled Again: graphic novel aims to help defend against fake news

by Erica Butler

Image from Won’t Get Fooled Again: A Guide to Fake News, by Erin Steuter and illustrated by Alan Spinney. Image: @SpinneyAlan

Erin Steuter wants to help you win the fight against fake news.

Steuter heads up the department of sociology at Mount Allison University, where she focusses her research on critical media studies.

Her latest book is Won’t Get Fooled Again: A Guide to Fake News, a graphic novel produced with artist Alan Spinney of Moncton.

Won’t Get Fooled Again is presented through fictional characters encountering actual instances of fake news and figuring out how to deal with them.

Erica Butler spoke with Steuter about her book, and started off asking her about the choice to create a graphic novel.

TRANSCRIPT:

ERIN STEUTER: When I was thinking about how to communicate fake news, I was really aware that people were starting to kind of be silent and sort of stop talking. In fact, there’s been some research that shows that people are afraid of accidentally repeating fake news, or being embarrassed that they had been caught out by fake news. And so their response is to stop talking about like, controversial issues, which is very concerning. And so I really wanted to facilitate conversations about fake news among people, you know, in coffee shops, sports bars, students hanging together, family dinner tables, saying, “Oh, you know, do you think this is fake? How do you know? How would we find out?… Continue

Category: Interview