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Friday, January 24, 2014

Province May Get More Involved In The UNB Strike

Back to work legislation could be in the cards to end the strike at UNB....according to Labour Minister Jody Carr, the government's priority is the students, and they don't want to see 4 weeks elapse which would mean the semester would be lost.

Carr says they respect the need for both parties to work on it together adding they will monitor the situation over the weekend with more to say early next week.

The teachers have been on strike since midnight on January 13..... the first faculty strike in UNB's history.


VIDEO: Sign Unveiling at the Y's New Home


The next time you drive to Sobey's from Churchill Boulevard look to your right.  You will see a brand new sign for the new Y which will be built there. 

Saint John Y President and CEO Shilo Boucher tells CHSJ News they are happy to have the community's support.

Boucher says it was nice to hear from the grade 5 class at Hazen White-St. Francis who are also looking forward to the new Y.

Several motorists honked their horns driving by the sign unveiling.


The new Y is slated to open in the late fall of 2015.




Simm's Building To Be Demolished Next Week

It's going to take a while for West Siders to get used to this one.

The Simm's Building on Simm's Corner will be demolished starting next Wednesday.

Some of the material of the iconic glass-fronted factory will be processed and re-used as clean fill on the site, while the remaining debris will be hauled away. The entire process should take about 10 weeks.

Traffic isn't expected to be effected although the company has said they will let us know if that changes. No word on what specifically will be done with the site in the future.  The company was founded here in 1866.

Emergency Youth Shelter Gets $480,000, Will Be Built By Fall

The Safe Harbour youth shelter has received a major boost from the provincial government--and some new jobs will be created at the same time.

The province is investing $480,000 dollars to hire and train 12 journeymen and 24 apprentices to help build the emergency housing facility. Health and Inclusive communities minister Dorothy Shepherd says she's excited about how the project will help youth.

The Saint John Construction and Mechanical Associations are also kicking in $100,000 dollars each.

The emergency housing facility is expected to be completed by September at the former site of the St James Anglican Church on Broad Street.


UNB Strike Weighs Heavy On Nursing Students



As the strike drags on, students at UNB Saint John are getting more nervous and frustrated.

Amanda Linfield is a fourth year nursing student who tells CHSJ News if they don't finish their classroom hours it will impact their perceptorship which in turn means they can't write a national exam in June.

She says if they can't write the exam in June they have to wait until October to write it meaning several months without work even if they do graduate.

UNB Saint John Vice-President Robert Mackinnon and others from administration speaking to the students hosting a demonstration at the Tucker park campus.

University Students To Stage Demonstrations

University students who fear their semester will be lost by the continuing strike by university professors at U-N-B are demanding the two sides get back to the bargaining table. 

The strike is almost 2 weeks old and there's no sign of a resumption of negotiations despite talk of that earlier in the week. 

Students at the campuses in Saint John, Fredericton and Moncton will be staging demonstrations today to show how frustrated they are.

Natural Gas Bills Going Down

Homeowners and small businesses in the province who use natural gas are going to see their bills go down thanks to a decision by the Energy and Utilities Board. 

For homeowners, the reduction will amount to $100 a month or so and the cut for small businesses will be even higher. 

Enbridge Gas told the E-U-B  the order will wind up costing 1.8 million dollars but the Board points out natural gas customers had been promised better prices than they are currently being charged.

Fire At Harbour Station

Fire crews were called to Harbour Station just 40 minutes before the start of the basketball game between the Mill Rats and Halifax. 

Platoon Chief Barry Oickle says there was a fire blazing away at one of the concession booths. Oickle says they found an electrical steamer was on fire. It was quickly extinguished and the area ventilated. 

The fire department was considering an evacuation of the arena but, in the end, that wasn't necessary and the game went on as scheduled.