N.W.T. MP Rebecca Alty in cabinet should make 'big difference,' some say
Many northerners say they're excited to have an MP at the federal cabinet table. Nadeer Hashmi reports.
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CBC
an hour ago
- CBC
Province 'grasping at straws' for solutions for Centennial Bridge, residents say
Social Sharing The province is considering subsidizing bus passes, shuttling people from one side to the other and even launching a water taxi to make up for the loss of the sidewalk on Miramichi's Centennial Bridge. But some residents aren't convinced those options will cut it. The bridge deck is set to undergo much-needed upgrades over the next two years, but the plans don't include preserving the sidewalks, which some rely on as a cheap, accessible and healthy way to travel between Miramichi and Chatham. Transportation Minister Chuck Chiasson said in an interview on Maritime Noon that the department has been in talks with the City of Miramichi about other options, and that he is open to hearing from the community to find a solution. Some residents believe none of the options consider vulnerable populations, and that they miss the mark when it comes to preserving the connection residents have with walking the bridge that links their community. WATCH | 'The sidewalk on the Centennial Bridge is my freedom' Shuttles, buses and boats: province proposes alternatives for Centennial Bridge sidewalk 2 hours ago Duration 2:42 Some residents say they're open to the idea of finding a different way across the river, but for others it just won't work. Daniel McGraw was born with cerebral palsy which restricts his ability to walk more than a few feet at a time. He relies on the sidewalk when he crosses the Centennial Bridge several times a week on his mobility scooter. He was part of a group of nearly 50 people who participated in a protest last month in response to the sidewalks being removed. While he said he appreciates the province is making an effort to try and address concerns, he thinks the ideas being tossed around are only realistic for people without a disabilities. "I'd probably be better off buying a lotto ticket and winning the lottery than fitting this thing on a bus," he said, adding that most bus services he has tried in the area aren't wide enough for his scooter to turn in. A shuttle service would drive people from one end of the bridge to the other from the morning into the evening to coincide with people's work schedules, Chiasson said. He also said shuttles would be accessible but did not provide any details. McGraw said he can't afford a bus pass, and believes other residents have resorted to walking or cycling the bridge to save on costly gas prices. "People can afford to walk because it's free," he said. While Chiasson did mention bus passes could be subsidized for people who need the assistance, he didn't say who would qualify or how much of the cost would be covered. Water taxis are the option McGraw could most likely get behind, he said. But he pointed out that they would need to be made accessible for all. Miramichi Deputy Mayor Paddy Quinn said some community members are excited about the idea of a water taxi but he questions the idea when he considers how long the service could run in a given year. "I think there's a certain cachet to taking a water taxi across the beautiful Miramichi River," he said. "Is it a viable option? It is while the water's running, so to speak. What does that look like in January and February?" Brittany Tremblett lives in Sussex but she has fond memories of walking across the Centennial Bridge when she used to visit her grandmother. "When I was a kid, it was like my dream to walk across it with my grandmother … and we did do that together one time and I had the best time," she said. When she heard about the plans to remove the sidewalks, she felt sad for others who, like her, feel a connection to the bridge. "I thought, well there goes one of the best memories." Tremblett said walking the bridge offers a unique perspective of the river for newcomers and regulars alike. "I think it is a really cool experience," she said. "Especially as a kid, it was just so much fun to be right there, see the water." 'It always comes down to cost' When previous governments began plans to revamp the bridge more than 10 years ago, Chiasson said the intention was always to keep a sidewalk in the long run. But he said there isn't enough space to install a sidewalk on the new bridge deck that could meet today's safety standards. "It's not that there's no will to put a sidewalk, it's that it's not possible to put it on the deck of the bridge," Chiasson said. By today's standards, there needs to be a barrier between pedestrians and traffic in a zone in which cars drive faster than 50 km/h. "That would add a big amount of weight to one side of the bridge and would throw the bridge off balance," Chiasson said. Quinn said governments need to work together to come up with a solution sooner rather than later for a growing population that needs viable public transit. "Our population went over 19,000 for the first time in a long time in the last couple of weeks," he said. He believes that options on the bridge deck should be exhausted before any of the other possibilities are considered. To keep a sidewalk option, Chiasson said, it would mean building a walkway as an extension, along the outside of the current bridge barriers — an undertaking he estimates at more than $50 million. He said the possibility of adding a sidewalk in the future "is always there" but that it would likely demand federal funding. Quinn said it would be unrealistic for citizens to have a reduction of services on the bridge after a decade of talks to fix it. He said the city is still pushing the department to consider a solution. "We have not given up," he said. As for McGraw, he believes provincial and federal governments might be reacting differently to citizen concerns if the issue was happening in a larger city like Fredericton, Moncton or Saint John.
CBC
an hour ago
- CBC
Sisson tungsten mine one of several critical mineral projects eyed by N.B. government
Social Sharing The Sisson Mine project north of Fredericton appears to be back on the front burner thanks to a surge of interest in developing new sources of critical minerals and an infusion of cash from the U.S. government. At a first ministers' meeting this week, Prime Minister Mark Carney identified critical minerals as one of several sectors targeted for growth. Premier Susan Holt made specific mention of potential tungsten, indium and antimony mining projects in New Brunswick. According to Natural Resources Canada, critical minerals are materials considered essential to Canada's economic or national security, its position in global supply chains or its transition to a digital, sustainable and low-carbon economy. The province is working to identify its resources, determine the best way to develop them and ensure the needed infrastructure is in place, Holt said, adding she was happy to hear the federal government wants to be a partner. That followed an announcement by Northcliff Resources in early May that it was awarded $20.7 million from the U.S. Defence Department and a conditional $8.2 million from the Canada government to help develop tungsten production at the Sisson Mine project north of Fredericton. Tungsten is dense and resistant to heat, wear and corrosion. It's used in alloys for military applications, engines and turbines. The Sisson tungsten deposit is the largest in the world, according to David Lentz, head of the geology department at the University of New Brunswick. Northcliff obtained provincial environmental approvals in 2015 for an open pit mine on 12.5 square kilometres near Napadogan and Stanley, with conventional processing facilities, as well as a plant where tungsten concentrates would be made into ammonium paratungstate, a salt used to make other tungsten products. Estimates are that the project would cost more than $500 million to fully develop, employ about 300 people — more during construction — and operate for about 27 years. The federal government green-lit Sisson in 2017. But the company didn't have financing for the project and not much if anything has happened since. The company did not respond to inquiries in the last couple of weeks from CBC News and Radio-Canada. Tungsten prices slumped in 2015, and none has been mined in Canada or the United States since then, according to Natural Resources Canada. More recently, things have turned around. Both tungsten and molybdenum, also present at the Sisson site, play a key role in many defence and aerospace applications and are growing in importance for energy storage batteries and other green transition technologies, Northcliff said in a news release. "Tungsten carbides are an integral part of the tools that are used to shape metals, alloys, wood, composites, plastic, and ceramics and to power the oil and gas, mining and construction industries," the company said. Sisson could become a source of tungsten in the "near-term," according to Natural Resources Canada. With China producing about 80 per cent of the world's supply, Sisson would strengthen and diversify the supply chain, Andrew Ing, Northcliff's president and CEO. said in the release, and it would have North American standards for transparency, environmental protection and social licence. The new money from the U.S. and Canadian governments will be used for things like engineering and updated feasibility studies to satisfy conditions of environmental approvals and financing and to figure out whether to go ahead with construction, said Ing. The provincial government has also expressed support for the project. "Even if our neighbours haven't been the friendliest lately, I don't think we're uncomfortable selling a commodity used to make cell phones, to strengthen steel, at a fair price," New Brunswick Natural Resources Minister John Herron said, referring to poor trade relations with the U.S. Meanwhile, productive talks have taken place with First Nations, he said, stipulating there is no path forward without their participation. CBC inquiries to the Wolastoqey Nation, which represents six communities in New Brunswick, and to Sitansisk Chief Allan Polchies were not answered by publication time. Chiefs of the communities signed a deal in 2017 to get a share of future provincial royalties from the mine, but several later said they still opposed the project, as does traditional Chief Ron Tremblay of the Wolastoqey Grand Council, which concerns itself with matters outside First Nation communities. Tremblay said he sent a letter to the premier with concerns about Sisson about a month ago, but he was referred to the Wolastoqey Nation group. He maintains that he has standing, that the mine site is unceded territory and that proper consultation has not taken place, nor consent given. The council's first priority is to protect the Wolastoqey homeland, waterways and air for the next seven generations, said Tremblay. "There's no way we will support Sisson," he said. "It's a project that will damage the water and the land forever." Some members of the Wolastoqey community, including grandmothers, camped at the proposed mine site for an extended period, vowing to protect the Nashwaak watershed, which Tremblay said, includes salmon spawning grounds and forest land used for hunting and gathering. Northcliff went to court in 2023 to get injunctions against their obstruction of preparatory work. Discussions will have to take place with many stakeholders before mine development, said Herron, and environmentally responsible rules must be set. Northcliff was already granted an extension to begin construction of the mine by December by the provincial Department of Environment and Local Government. Herron said it is reasonable to expect another extension. Besides Sisson, the dormant Mount Pleasant mine, north of St. George, also has a significant amount of tungsten, according to the provincial Department of Natural Resources, and seven other tungsten projects are at various stages of exploration in the province. The department has identified potential sources of 21 other critical minerals. A global drilling company based in Moncton sees the greatest opportunities in more zinc, copper and nickel mining in the Bathurst area, where a lot was mined in the late 1900s, but not much exploration has happened recently. "Right now those prices are at close to record highs," said Denis Larocque of Major Drilling, who is "sure" there are more deposits nearby that could be mined. Mining practices have changed substantially in the last few decades in terms of safety equipment and procedures and environmental impact, said Larocque. In drilling, for example, his company's equipment now has a system to filter and recirculate water, reducing the amount needed by 90 per cent, he said. However, a federal auditor general report that came out just last year found a lack of information on the adverse effects of mining on the environment and a lack of engagement with Indigenous communities.
National Post
an hour ago
- National Post
Toronto parents rally to save job of long-serving principal at arts high school
For more than three decades, Barrie Sketchley has led Rosedale Heights, an art-focused high school near Toronto's tony Rosedale-Moore Park neighbourhood. Article content Now more than 80 years old, Sketchley's fate will be decided on Monday when the board of trustees votes to approve — or reject — suggestions on principal assignments made by Toronto District School Board (TDSB) staff. Sketchley is expected to be forced to leave the school he helped build into something students and parents say is pretty special. And they are outraged and upset, racing against the clock to save his job. This is all happening against a backdrop of a number of controversies involving Canada's largest school district. Article content Article content Just last week, Ontario's Progressive Conservative government introduced legislation to give the province more oversight over local school boards. Article content Article content It was two weeks ago that parents and students first heard that Sketchley was expected to leave. The TDSB has a policy on transferring principals between schools; while this is meant to ensure that good principals are being moved around, parents haven't always been happy with the decisions. Article content When Zara Kheiriddin, a 15-year-old Grade 10 student at the school, first found out that Sketchley was going to be moved, she acted quickly: with a friend, she organized a petition to keep him — and secured nearly 300 signatures from fellow students and teachers before Sketchley himself shut it down. Article content 'It's like, resounding, that most of students and parents and the staff, too, want him to stay,' said Zara. 'It's the school where I've felt the safest personally from, like, bullying and typical other — the kind of stuff you get in other schools.' Article content Article content Zara is the daughter of National Post columnist Tasha Kheiriddin, who, in turn, wrote to Ontario Education Minister Paul Calandra expressing concern over Sketchley's transfer. Article content Article content 'The community is asking for fairness, respect for a principal who has given everything to public education, and the right to maintain leadership that reflects the school's unique mission and values,' Kheiriddin wrote. 'I urge you to look into this matter immediately.' Article content 'It just shows that not only do they disrespect parents, they're disrespecting a valued educator who's given so much to the community. That they would force him out in this way is appalling,' said Kheiriddin in an interview.
