The rainbow flag is flying at Confederation Building as Pride Month begins
There was a rousing start to Pride Month celebrations in Newfoundland and Labrador. A ceremony at Confederation Building included the raising of the rainbow flag, and singer Karla Pilgrim brought a personal touch to the event.
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CBC
23 minutes ago
- CBC
Spruce Lake vote delayed again after opponents wrap up concerns about expansion plan
A vote on the proposed expansion of the Spruce Lake Industrial Park was delayed again Tuesday night after Saint John council heard the last of 75 people who lined up to speak against the project. The only people left to appear at a public hearing are those who support the expansion, which the city is spearheading to drive economic growth. The hearing on the rezoning needed to get the expansion underway began May 12 and, with so many people wanting to speak against the plan, has spread over three nights so far. It will continue June 16 at council's regular meeting. The proposed expansion is aimed at attracting medium or light industry that's clean and non-emitting to the industrial park in the rural Lorneville area of southwest Saint John. After the latest round of speakers, Mayor Donna Reardon said that in her 13 years either as a city councillor or the mayor, she has never seen anything like the response the Spruce Lake proposal has received. "Lorneville residents, there's seven to eight generations," she told reporters."They've lived there for a long time. "They have a community down there and they know each other. They work together. So it's not a surprise that they would come out within this force. I'm not surprised at all to have them here. And I think their voices need to be heard." Normally, public hearings happen within one council meeting," Reardon said. "We would hear both sides, we would have an opportunity to ask questions, and then we would make that decision based on our comments, so that's fair ball," she said. "If you're hearing only half of the story — you really need to have the other to get the balance and to make a proper decision. And we need some time to do that." She said she's not surprised Lorneville residents have come out in force to comment on the industrial park plan. "I'm not surprised at all to have them here. And I think their voices need to be heard." The chamber and lobby were filled as they were the previous two nights with 80 to 90 people, most of them opponents concerned about how the expansion will affect the environment and the quality of life in the rural community. The decision to continue the hearing later in June, when supporters are to speak, was met with anger from people who'd expected a decision by the end of the night. Adam Wilkins, co-chair of the Lorneville Community Liaison Committee, which aimed to find a path forward between staff and Lorneville residents, said he suspects the delay was premeditated. "There didn't seem to be many people here supporting the project, and I'm not sure if they were already tipped off that this was gonna happen, but it really seemed like a premeditated plan by council to push it," he said. Wilkins also said the 75 people who have spoken were a "great representation" of the community's concerns. Dozens of questions read to council Resident Barbara Gilliland came with a list of 70 questions, which she read one by one to council. The questions, broadly, were about the need for the proposal, the impacts, and how the impacts will be mitigated. Wilkins, the last Lorneville resident to speak, took aim at city staff in his address over the proposal that came from the task force meetings. "If a proposed project is so amazing, so generationally transformative and so without risks, then shouldn't the project sell itself?" Wilkins said. "Shouldn't [city staff] not feel the need to author a 100 page report that goes out of its way to purposefully deceive, disparage and discredit Lorneville and the members of the task force?" he asked, referring to comments in the city's updated plan. Reardon interjected and said she would not have speakers "bad mouthing staff". Councillor accused of bias Wilkins and others also aimed criticism at Coun. Brent Harris over a blog post published on the councillor's website on May 15 that community members perceived as support for the project. Wilkins accused Harris of "leaking" information about what will come in the park should the rezoning application move forward. In his post, Harris talked about the expansion's "transformational" opportunities and balancing them with Lorneville concerns. Harris wrote of the positives of the expansion but said he would continue to listen. In an earlier version — captured and saved by Wilkins — Harris said the city had received two letters of intent, one for a data centre and the other for a hydrogen ammonia processing facility. Lack of information about potential developments is a key reason community members are wary of the expansion. Harris later changed the wording of his original post to "advanced manufacturing processing facility," and said his original post was a mistake. But Wilkins was suspicious. "Why is he privy to that, or why is he allowed to leak that information that puts that out into the public, when the community spent 11 months trying to understand what actually would be coming and how we can ask questions and figure that out," Wilkins asked. Reardon said supporters will not have more than three nights to express their positions and wants time for staff to address community concerns. "There were 70 questions tonight," she said. "We've kept a track of questions and concerns over the last two meetings. Those are the things that councillors were looking to have answered by staff."
CBC
23 minutes ago
- CBC
More pets, fewer vets: N.B. struggles to keep up with animal care demand
Social Sharing New Brunswick is short of veterinarians, just as pets adopted in great numbers during the pandemic grow older and need more care — and the only Atlantic Canadian school training vets is at its enrolment limit. Dominique Griffon, dean of the Atlantic Veterinary College in Prince Edward Island, said New Brunswick has only three-quarters of the veterinary professionals it needs. Before the pandemic, the shortage was primarily for vets treating farm animals, she said. Now, however, there's a shortage in the small-animal field because pet ownership grew so much during the pandemic. Griffon said vets have become more specialized, similar to what's happening in human health care. "Where we used to have maybe one veterinarian to do everything, now we may have 10 specialists, and then one generalist," she said. There are two main strategies to overcome this kind of shortage, she said. The first is to train more veterinarians in Canada, and the second is to hire more internationally trained vets. Until now, she said, about 75 per cent of Canada's vets are Canadian trained and 25 per cent have been trained outside the country. Mary-Ellen Thémens, registrar of the New Brunswick Veterinary Medical Association, said while there's a shortage of vets in certain areas, the overall numbers are hard to determine. Thémens could not provide a total for the number of vets practising in New Brunswick now, but the most recent data collected by the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association shows 355 vets working in the province in 2023. Thémens echoed Griffon's comment about a surge in pet adoptions during the pandemic being a contributing factor to the current situation. "People were isolated, so they took to having companion animals to fill the void of their social contacts," she said. Many of those animals are now getting health problems, she said, making the shortage of care even more acute. Griffon said the Atlantic Veterinary College is doing a feasibility study to find out how to increase the number of students it can train. Right now, the school can train 70 students a year but has reached its cap. "At the moment, there are not enough seats for all Canadian students who would be suitable candidates." That means vets are leaving Canada to be trained, she said.
CBC
24 minutes ago
- CBC
Viens, Ward lead Canada past Haiti before rowdy crowd in women's soccer friendly
Social Sharing Evelyne Viens scored twice in front of her home crowd on Tuesday night. Only it didn't quite feel like a home game for Canada. Viens had two first-half goals as Canada rolled to a two-game sweep over Haiti with a 3-1 win in a women's international soccer friendly. The vast majority of the 18,321 rowdy spectators on hand at Stade Saputo, however, supported the visiting side. "It was between pleasant and strange," said Viens, a 28-year-old from L'Ancienne-Lorette, Que. "It was a good crowd, and we hoped we'd get a better fan base for us, but still a good atmosphere." Fans from Montreal's large Haitian community decked the stands in the country's blue, red and white colours, chanted "Haiti! Haiti!" and cheered loudly at every touch of the ball — even a routine clearance. When Haitian captain Melchie Dumornay scored on a penalty kick during first-half stoppage time, the building erupted. "I thought it was brilliant in terms of the atmosphere, what the fans brought," Canada coach Casey Stoney said. "It was not in our favour, but at the same time, it just shows how beautifully diverse this country is." The Haitian women's national team does not play games or practise in Haiti after security concerns forced the team to close its training centre years ago. Tuesday's match was a taste of what it would feel like. "We knew that in Montreal, we'd be playing at home," Haiti coach Malou Quignette said. "It was `magnifique.' We played with 13, I don't even know how many — 18,000." One fan invaded the pitch in the 88th minute and briefly hugged Haiti's Roseline Eloissaint before security rushed in to escort him off the pitch. Many more jumped over the barrier around the field while players applauded the crowd after the match. One fan running proudly with a Haitian flag dodged a few security guards to the crowd's delight before getting tackled. "I expected there to be a lot of people because I know there are a lot of Haitians in Montreal, who love football," said Dumornay, a star for Lyon in France. A pair of goals by Viens leads Canada to another win over Haiti 11 hours ago Duration 3:08 Ward gets 1st Canadian senior team goal As for what else happened in the game, Holly Ward tallied her first Canadian senior national team goal and added an assist. The 21-year-old Vancouver Rise FC forward made her second senior appearance. "Oh my gosh. I have so many emotions," she said. "This is genuinely something I've dreamed of for my entire life." Captain Jessie Fleming provided two first-half assists for Canada. Seventh-ranked Canada also beat No. 53 Haiti 4-1 on Saturday in a farewell game for veteran midfielder Desiree Scott in her hometown of Winnipeg. The Canadian women improved to 5-0-0 against Haiti with Tuesday's win. Seven minutes in on Tuesday, Canada's Olivia Smith needed to be carried off the field on a stretcher after a Haitian clearance hit her in the face at the edge of the 18-yard box. Stoney said Smith was being assessed for a concussion after the match. A number of fresh faces filled Stoney's starting 11. Defender Zara Chavoshi made her senior debut, while Ward and Emma Regan of AFC Toronto in the Northern Super League also featured in the young, experimental lineup. The Ward selection certainly paid off. She doubled the lead with a header on Fleming's cross in the 23rd minute, before setting up Viens for her second with a superb through ball to make it 3-0 just 42 minutes in. "Really bright spark," Stoney said of Ward. "We've seen what she's been doing in the NSL, but to be able to step into this level against a physically strong Haitian team ΓÇ° I thought it was a real bright spark." Canada fended off two Haitian chances in the first half. Louis Batcheba's shot from inside the box sailed over the bar in the 32nd minute and Gabrielle Carle slid to block a chance from Sherly Jeudy in the 40th. Fans finally jumped out of their seats when Dumornay converted her penalty low to the bottom right corner after Canadian defender Marie Levasseur fouled Kethna Louis. "We were expecting it. It wasn't explicitly said, which I think it maybe should have," defender Gabrielle Carle said of the atmosphere. "I think some people weren't expecting this. Growing up in Quebec and Montreal, you know that there's a very proud Haitian population here. "It was really cool to experience that." Haiti controlled more of the play in the second half — giving the crowd more energy. "When we started to keep the ball, the crowd was quiet, like we had to have more of the ball," Stoney said. "If we keep the ball, we keep control of the game, the crowd doesn't become a factor." Dumornay had a chance to cut the lead to 3-2 with a shot from just outside the six-yard box in the 68th. She almost scored again when she pounced on a turnover in second-half stoppage time, but Canadian `keeper Sabrina D'Angelo got her arm out for a miraculous save.
