(Year-NB-Holt-History)
New Brunswick’s premier says her government is working on updating the province’s policy on sexual orientation and gender identity in schools.
Susan Holt says the updated document will have recommendations from the child and youth advocate as well as bringing back some points from the original Policy 713.
She says she hopes to have it “sorted, finalized and done before the end of this calendar year.”
The previous Progressive Conservative government made changes to the policy so that students under 16 who are exploring their gender identity must have parental consent before teachers can use their preferred first names or pronouns at school.
(The Canadian Press)
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(NB-Electricity-Rebate)
The New Brunswick government has confirmed its promised electricity rebate will kick in next month.
Premier Susan Holt’s newly elected Liberal government released details about the rebate yesterday, saying eligible residential electricity customers will soon receive the 10 per cent discount on their monthly electricity bill.
The amount of the rebate will be equivalent to the provincial portion of the harmonized sales tax.
Holt issued a statement saying her government is working with N-B Power, Saint John Energy, Edmundston Energy and the Perth-Andover Electric Light Commission to administer the rebate, which will be displayed on electricity bills as “G-N-B 10 per cent rebate.”
(The Canadian Press)
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(NB-New-Schools)
New Brunswick’s provincial government says it will build four new schools and upgrade four others to meet the needs of its growing population.
The total cost to the province is expected to be 14.6-million-dollars.
Construction is scheduled to begin next year.
The province says two of the new schools will be francophone to ensure minority language and education rights are protected and promoted.
(The Canadian Press)
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(NL-Que-Churchill-Falls)
Newfoundland and Labrador and Quebec have announced a new arrangement involving the Churchill Falls hydroelectricity plant.
That arrangement will see Quebec pay 30 times more for power from the Labrador plant.
The current contract was signed in 1969, and sees Hydro-Quebec buy the lion’s share of power from the facility for less than half a cent per kilowatt hour.
This allows for Hydro-Quebec to make substantial profits as part of a contract that has long been a thorn in the side of Newfoundland and Labrador.
(The Canadian Press)
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(NS-Disaster-Recovery-Funding)
Nova Scotia is set to receive disaster recovery funding from the federal government.
Emergency Preparedness Minister Harjit Sajjan says the province will receive close to 67-million-dollars in funding through the Disaster Financial Assistance Arrangements program.
The money is intended to help with response and recovery costs that came from wildfires and extreme rainfall and flooding last year, as well as from 2019’s storm Dorian.
Last year turned out to be one of the worst wildfire seasons Nova Scotia has ever seen, causing extensive damages while forcing more than 16-thousand people from their homes.
(The Canadian Press)
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(NB-Failure-To-Stop)
A 33-year-old man Boiestown, New Brunswick man is facing a number of charges following an incident in Ludlow.
R-C-M-P say officers responding to a reported theft Saturday at a business ended up in pursuit of a suspect and a second person in a vehicle.
The Mounties used a tire deflation device to stop the vehicle before the suspect fled and was later arrested.
The suspect is charged with assaulting a police officer with a weapon, flight, dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, resisting arrest and theft.
(The Canadian Press)
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(NB-Postal-Strike-Licence-Renewal)
The New Brunswick government is reminding drivers in the province they only need to renew their driver’s licence once.
The province says New Brunswickers who have renewed their driver’s licence online and received confirmation don’t have to do anything else.
Drivers are also being encouraged to sign up for email reminders during the postal strike, as mailed reminders for licence and registration renewals are on pause.
Anyone doing renewals in person will get a temporary driver’s licence plus a letter from the Justice and Public Safety Department to show as proof during the strike.
(The Canadian Press)
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