Charlottetown mayor wants Federation of P.E.I. Municipalities to step in on Park Street dispute
'This is not just about Charlottetown,' Mayor Philip Brown warned as he responded to the P.E.I. government's move to give itself planning power over the Park Street parcel of land that hosts outreach services for vulnerable Islanders. That followed a vote by Brown's council to deny the province a variance to let the services stay in that part of Charlottetown. Brown spoke with Louise Martin of CBC News: Compass about the standoff.
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CBC
9 hours ago
- CBC
Rob Lantz confirms he won't run for permanent leadership of P.E.I. Progressive Conservatives
Social Sharing Premier Rob Lantz says he won't seek the permanent leadership of P.E.I.'s Progressive Conservative Party, after previously saying people had been asking him to run for the position. The news came in a social media post Wednesday afternoon. "After much consideration, the best decision for Islanders and the PC Party is to continue my role as interim leader until the party selects a new permanent leader," the message said. "Until that time, I am dedicated to continuing to serve as premier." His office later confirmed to CBC News that the post was real and that Lantz will not run for the leadership. Lantz became P.E.I.'s premier on Feb. 21 as he took over the interim leadership of the party in the wake of Dennis King's sudden resignation from both roles in February. King went on to accept a federal appointment as Canada's ambassador to Ireland. Lantz had initially said he wasn't interested in the job permanently, telling CBC News: "I may very much enjoy doing this job and regret that I don't put myself forward for that permanent leadership." He released a statement in late May saying he would no longer rule out doing just that. "Many Islanders have approached me about reconsidering my stance on running for the leadership of the PC Party," he said in the statement. "I owe it to those who have been encouraging me to have a conversation with them and hear what they have to say — and that's what I am doing right now." WATCH | As P.E.I. PCs work on leadership convention plan, Premier Rob Lantz says he's being urged to run: As P.E.I. PCs work on leadership convention plan, Premier Rob Lantz says he's being urged to run 14 days ago Duration 2:31 The interim leader of Prince Edward Island's Progressive Conservative Party says he's not ruling out a run for the permanent leadership of his party. That's a change from a few months back. The PCs haven't set a date for their leadership convention yet, says party president Sydney Gallant (shown), but that isn't stopping the talk in Island political circles. CBC's Wayne Thibodeau has more. The latest message, on Wednesday, seems to indicate that Lantz has made up his mind for good. "I appreciate the support from those who encouraged me to reconsider my original position," it said. Until a new leader is chosen, it added, "The province needs someone focused on the day-to-day job of governing, with a seat at the national table, delivering on the priorities of Islanders, and I am committed to doing just that." Other candidates for post Montague-Kilmuir MLA Cory Deagle and Stratford lawyer Mark Ledwell have announced leadership bids, and the party's president, Sydney Gallant, has said a party search committee is actively recruiting candidates. No date has been announced for the leadership convention. That's partly because two byelections must be called by August at the latest in districts formerly held by King (Brackley-Hunter River) and former education and early years minister Natalie Jameson (Charlottetown-Hillsborough Park). The provincial Liberals are also without a permanent leader, with MLA Hal Perry holding the job on an interim basis. That party's leadership convention is scheduled for Oct. 4. P.E.I.'s Green Party chose a permanent leader this past weekend, with Borden-Kinkora MLA Matt MacFarlane receiving 507 votes to clinch the job. Former Green Party MLA Hannah Bell was the only other candidate, earning 147 votes. The New Democratic Party of Prince Edward Island, which does not hold any seats in the legislature, is led by Michelle Neil.
CBC
18 hours ago
- CBC
More funding first, says Charlottetown police about joining new P.E.I. joint enforcement unit
Social Sharing Charlottetown police Chief Brad MacConnell says he's seen the province fund various policing initiatives, but that funding is often not sustained, leaving police departments on the hook for commitments made by the province. Last month, a letter sent by MacConnell and Charlottetown Mayor Philip Brown to Justice Minister Bloyce Thompson was made public. It outlined some of the reasons why the Charlottetown Police Services would not be joining a new Joint Enforcement Team aimed at tackling the illicit drug trade and organized crime. The team is made up of members from Summerside Police Services, the Kensington police agency and RCMP. The province is spending $800,000 on the project. MacConnell has seen similar initiatives in the past and they haven't worked out, he said, such as when the previous provincial government created a similar group to tackle biker gangs. "The government had certainly the best intentions to form a task force to deal with outlaw motorcycle gangs, but I can tell you logistically it broke down. Partners retreated. Bikers are still here. And Charlottetown police were left with expectations to try to manage that," he said. "We certainly realize drug enforcement and drug issues are at the forefront of Islanders' minds. While we agree in the spirit of this initiative, we have concerns over logistics, over sustainability of the model." 'We'd like those core issues addressed' MacConnell pointed out despite Charlottetown police not being part of the program, there is still a lot of collaboration such as Charlottetown aiding with technology and digital forensics. "There are some core fundamental policing issues that have to be addressed in regarding the funding of policing here on Prince Edward Island, especially in the capital area, and Charlottetown in particular," he said. "So, we'd like those, you know, core issues addressed before we jump into a situation where we're increasing public expectation and we're not going to be able to deliver." The province had previously provided funding for four Charlottetown police officers to help patrol the area around the Community Outreach Centre on Park Street. There were two more which were going to be funded, but because of city council voting against keeping those services running, that money never came through, MacConnell said. MacConnell also thinks Charlottetown police aren't being recognized for the role they play in drug enforcement already, he said. "Our drug enforcement teams are out pacing any of the other drug enforcement units, I think, in Atlantic Canada. Certainly, I think there is a lack of recognition for that, for the great work Charlottetown is doing," MacConnell said. "I think it is quite unfair for the province at this point to cast any shadow over the city of Charlottetown and our police services when we are just trying to meet the demands of our own mandates." Council questions lack of consultation The issue came up during the regular meeting of Charlottetown's city council on Tuesday night. Coun. Terry Bernard wanted council to have a role in deciding if the city's police would be part of the program. "Decisions are being made that we know nothing about. That's not the way council is supposed to operate. It's more of a concern for me that the process here is you have a level of government asking another level of government, 'Will you join us?' And so, it is not up to staff or the mayor alone to make that decision to say, 'No, we're not.' It's council as a collective," Bernard said during the meeting. Deputy Mayor Alanna Jankov backed up Bernard's position, saying she would have liked to know about the letter and that it could be "politicized" in the P.E.I. Legislature before Thompson made it public. Brown didn't think the letter he signed would be made public by Thompson, he said. "I thought there was a breach there between the two offices," Brown said during the meeting, adding that he thought the correspondence was going to be private. "The chief assisted with the response because of his background in this field." MacConnell believes the matter was operational in nature and didn't need to come to council for approval, though he acknowledges more information should have been provided on what the province was asking city police to do.
Winnipeg Free Press
03-06-2025
- Winnipeg Free Press
`This House' makes world premiere, exploring Black history through a family's legacy in Harlem
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Near the end of 'This House,' a heart-wrenching opera given its world premiere last weekend, the matriarch Ida poignantly intones messages to her family on stage and to the audience. 'History's the only thing to survive,' soprano Adrienne Danrich sings before adding: 'You may have left us, but we will never leave you.' A rumination on love, aspiration, coping and the unyielding weight of the past, the roughly two-hour work that opened Saturday night at the Opera Theatre of St. Louis mixes the living and ghosts ambiguously in a Harlem brownstone. Ricky Ian Gordon's lush score brings to vivid life a libretto by Lynn Nottage and her daughter Ruby Aiyo Gerber, weaving impacts of the Civil War, Great Migration, Black Power movement, AIDS crisis and gentrification. There are five more performances through June 29. 'I just wanted to be able to tell all of these really important moments in Black history,' Gerber said, 'but as they relate to one family up into the current moment, so that there is not this erasure as if the past was the past, which I think increasingly now, especially as we see more and more censorship of Black history, is kind of this pervasive narrative.' Writing began when Gerber was a college senior Now 27, Gerber started 'This House' as a play in 2020 during her senior year at Brown while the coronavirus pandemic unfolded. Her mother, the only woman to win a pair of Pulitzer Prizes for drama, for 'Ruined' and 'Sweat, ' suggested Gerber adapt it with her into an opera composed by Gordon, Nottage's partner on 'Intimate Apparel' at Lincoln Center Theater. Opera Theater of St. Louis commissioned 'This House' for its 50th anniversary festival season as its 45th world premiere. 'Equal parts a family drama, a ghost story and a meditation on inheritance and memory,' company general director Andrew Jorgensen said. Ideas were exchanged when Gordon, Nottage and Gerber met at a Providence, Rhode Island, hotel. Among the changes, an escapist duet the librettists centered around Barcelona was changed to Valencia so as not to be similar to Stephen Sondheim's 'Company.' 'Being a mother-daughter you can be so honest,' Gerber said, recalling her mom telling her of one flowery passage: 'That's corny and I don't think it works.' Nottage still lives in the Brooklyn parlor house where Gerber grew up. 'We have different muscles. I'm someone that comes from the playwriting world,' Nottage said. 'Ruby's comfort zone is really poetry and language. and so I thought that between the two of us, we could divide and conquer in some ways.' Opera is set in Harlem brownstone In the resulting story, a house at 336 Convent Ave. was bought in 1919 by Minus Walker, a sharecropper's son. Zoe, a present-day investment banker (soprano Briana Hunter), and husband Glenn (tenor Brad Bickhardt) mull whether to move back to the house and subdivide the property. Zoe's brother, poetic painter Lindon (baritone Justin Austin), doesn't want to leave the house. and his lover Thomas (bass-baritone Christian Pursell) suggests they travel to Spain. Hunter tapped into anxiety, fear, pain and grief to portray Zoe. 'She's an ambitious woman, and she has been through a lot of really horrible, traumatic events through her family,' Hunter said. 'I understand the desire to kind of escape that. She's kind of a classic case of you can't avoid things forever.' Eight of the 10 characters are Black. There's a love triangle, pregnancies and surprise deaths. The house itself sings in 12-tone chords. Ida's Uncle Percy (tenor Victor Ryan Robertson) is a numbers runner who jolts the first act with an aria 'Drink Up!' 'Sportin' Life on steroids,' Gordon said, referring to the dope dealer in 'The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess.' 'We all are haunted by our past, and we all are haunted by our ghosts,' Gordon said. 'The question of living one's life is how does one reconcile the past and go on? How do you move into a future unbridled and free enough to be liberated and not imprisoned by the past?' Conductor has a penchant for contemporary works Daniela Candillari led her third world premiere in less than two years after Jeanine Tesori's 'Grounded' at the Washington National Opera and Rene Orth's '10 Days in a Madhouse' at Opera Philadelphia. Gordon originally envisioned the orchestra as chamber sized to hold down expenses, but Candillari pushed to add instruments. Conducting this is different from leading Verdi or Puccini. 'You can have two conductors read the score in a very different way,' she said. 'Having that direct source. a living composer who can tell you: This is what I heard and this is how I meant it and this is what this needs to be, that's incredibly invaluable.' Forty-eight players from the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra were in the deep pit at the Loretto-Hilton Center for the Performing Arts, a venue with a thrust stage and difficult acoustics. James Robinson, the company's former artistic director, returned to direct the performances and is likely to bring the staging to Seattle Opera, where he became general and artistic director in September 2024. 'It is kind of a ghost story, and I think that's the most important thing, knowing that we're able to bounce back and forth between time periods efficiently,' he said. For Danrich, portraying Ida has a special resonance. She is a St. Louis native and is staying at a hotel three blocks from where she grew up. 'My cousins, my grandmother, my grandfather, me, my sisters, we all lived in that big old house and we called it the big house,' she said. 'I was like, yep, this is my house. I'm actually basing her movements and her mannerisms off of my mother.'
