Latest news with #Marystown
CBC
5 days ago
- Health
- CBC
68-year-old dead following Monday afternoon crash in Marystown
Police are investigating a motorcycle-vehicle crash in Marystown that left a 68-year-old man dead. In a news release, the RCMP said it received a report of a collision involving a motorcycle and an SUV at the intersection of Route 210 and Route 220 in Marystown around 4:15 p.m. N.T. on Monday. Police say the motorcycle driver was travelling north on Route 210 when it struck an SUV turning left from Route 220. Both drivers were transported to Burin Peninsula Health Care Centre for treatment. "The man who was operating the motorcycle died in hospital. The driver of the SUV sustained non-life threatening injuries," the RCMP said. The investigation, which includes the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, is ongoing.
CBC
28-05-2025
- General
- CBC
How a judge handled an 'unprecedented' 1,041 disputed ballots in a tight N.L. recount
A new report explains how a judge dealt with an "unprecedented" number of disputed ballots during a federal election recount in a rural Newfoundland riding recently won by the Conservatives. Justice Garrett Handrigan's report, dated Monday, says the candidates and their teams had flagged 1,041 ballots needing closer examination after the recount ended on May 13 in the riding of Terra Nova-The Peninsulas. "All counsel agreed that this was an unprecedented number and they seemed genuinely perplexed about how to address them appropriately," Handrigan wrote in his decision. Typically, recounts produce far fewer disputed ballots, and lawyers for each candidate are able to argue whether each should be accepted or dismissed, the judge said. "It was evident that we would not be able to do that this time," he wrote. The recount was ordered by Elections Canada after the initial tally following the April 28 federal election showed Liberal candidate Anthony Germain ahead of Conservative Jonathan Rowe by 12 votes. The margin was narrow enough to trigger an automatic judicial recount, led by Handrigan, a provincial Supreme Court judge. The recount began in Marystown in eastern Newfoundland on May 12. The official winner — Rowe, by 12 votes — was announced on Friday, nearly two weeks later. Handrigan said he suggested the lawyers should divide the ballots into categories and then argue whether the votes in each category should be kept or rejected. The lawyers were hesitant at first. But the judge reminded them that while he would consider their arguments, it was ultimately his responsibility to decide which ballots would be counted, his report said. Elections Canada ballots are grey, with white rectangles containing each candidate's name and party. A white circle to the right of each rectangle is where voters are supposed to mark their choice. But on many of the disputed ballots — "maybe as many as half," Handrigan's report said — voters had left their mark in the rectangular box. In some of these so-called "rectangle ballots," voters had also left a mark in the circle. Germain's lawyers argued Handrigan would be disenfranchising those voters by dismissing their ballots. They also argued that the practice of marking ballots in the rectangular boxes "may be unique to Newfoundland and Labrador." However, lawyers for Conservative Jonathan Rowe said Handrigan had to stick with the Canada Elections Act, which says any ballot not marked in the circle next to the name shall be rejected. In the end, Handrigan rejected the so-called "rectangle ballots." A table accompanying his report shows he dismissed about 675 of the disputed ballots. He accepted 167 ballots for Germain and 193 for Rowe — a difference of 26 votes. More than 41,000 people voted in the riding, and 819 ballots were ultimately rejected, according to the Elections Canada website. By comparison, the the riding of Central Newfoundland had the second-highest number of rejected ballots in the province at 492.
National Post
23-05-2025
- Politics
- National Post
Conservative Jonathan Rowe wins Terra Nova-The Peninsulas after judicial recount
After a recount, the NL district of Terra Nova-The Peninsulas goes to Conservative Jonathan Rowe. Article content Article content Rowe, who originally lost the district, claimed victory over Liberal Anthony Germain on May 23 by 12 votes, 19,605 to 19,593. Article content That was the initial margin of victory Germain initially won by when the votes were counted on April 29. No winner could be declared on Election night, as the special ballots — the mail-in votes for the region — were not counted. Article content Article content That slim finish triggered an automatic recount. That's done if the difference between candidates 'is less than one one-thousandth of the total votes cast,' according to Elections Canada. Article content Article content Article content What is a judicial recount? Article content According to Elections Canada, a judicial recount is a formal means of verifying the count of the votes cast for an electoral district. It is presided over by a Supreme Court judge who sits in the electoral district where the election results are validated. Article content In the case of Terra Nova-The Peninsulas — previously known as the district of Bonavista-Burin-Trinity and representing some 71,000 residents — that courtroom was in Marystown. The judicial recount started on May 12 and took two weeks to complete. According to Elections Canada, the delay in finalizing the results from April 28 was because of water work being done in Marystown. Article content 'Things were delayed as the water was shut off in Marystown this week so the town could replace its chlorination system. As a result, all public buildings were closed, so the recount team had to pause,' wrote a spokesperson in an email. Article content Article content Article content During the recount, there were some 1,000 ballots in dispute. Article content Originally, Germain won the district with a razor-thin 12-vote margin when he finished with a total of 19,704 to Rowe's 19,692. Article content In a statement published on social media, Germain thanked 'incredible volunteers, dedicated supporters and everyone across our community in Terra Nova-The Peninsulas.' Article content
CBC
23-05-2025
- Politics
- CBC
After nearly 2 weeks, results of Terra Nova-The Peninsulas recount expected Friday
A marathon judicial recount to determine the MP-elect for the Newfoundland riding of Terra Nova-The Peninsulas is expected to finish on Friday. The recount started in Marystown on May 12, nearly two weeks ago. Liberal candidate Anthony Germain won the initial count by only 12 votes over Conservative candidate Jonathan Rowe. A judicial recount will automatically be triggered if the number of votes separating the winner and a runner-up is less than 0.1 per cent of the total votes. More than 41,000 votes were cast in the newly redrawn riding on election night. The recount, overseen by Supreme Court Justice Garrett Handrigan, was expected to take between two and three days, but an unprecedented 1,041 ballots needed to be reviewed before the recount could be completed. WATCH | Ballots have been counted since May 12: The candidates and residents of Terra Nova-The Peninsulas are still waiting to know who won the federal election 11 hours ago Duration 1:45 The election was April 28, but there are no official results yet to declare either Liberal candidate Anthony Germain or Conservative candidate Jonathan Rowe the winner of the riding of Terra Nova-The Peninsulas. As the CBC's Heather Gillis reports, that's expected to change Friday. Some of those disputed ballots might include those rejected on election night. In all, 579 were rejected in the initial count. A rejected ballot can be accepted during the recount process if the recount teams — which include representatives for each candidate — unanimously agree that the ballot should be reclassified. The recount was also delayed on Wednesday after public buildings in Marystown were forced to close due to a scheduled water shutoff in the town. A spokesperson for Elections Canada said Wednesday that ballots were stored securely during the delay. Once Handrigan's decision is made, it will be shared with Elections Canada — who will then make the announcement of a winner. Handrigan won't provide a written or oral decision on the matter.
CBC
22-05-2025
- Politics
- CBC
How do you get a Liberal and a Conservative to see eye-to-eye? Make them wait for a recount
Liberal Anthony Germain and Conservative Jonathan Rowe have something in common — a strong desire to get this election recount over and done with. It's been almost four weeks since Canadians headed to the polls in a federal election, and there's still no clear winner in the riding of Terra Nova-The Peninsulas in Newfoundland and Labrador. A long and complicated recount, delayed by municipal affairs, has left the rival politicians in limbo as they wait to see who will head to Ottawa, and who will go back to their day job. "I wouldn't say either one of us is getting much sleep," Rowe said as he joined Germain for an interview with As It Happens host Nil Kӧksal on Thursday. "This thing just seems to keep going and going and going," piped in Germain. "So I have nothing but empathy for my honourable opponent." Too close to call Election night was tense for Germain and Rowe. It was was neck-and-neck all evening, and it took more than 20 hours after the polls closed before Elections Canada released the final tally. Germain, a CBC broadcaster-turned-teacher, defeated Rowe, an engineer, by just 12 votes — 19,704 to 19,692. The razor-thin margin triggered an automatic judicial recount, which was made more complicated by the fact that more than 1,000 ballots were in dispute. The process was further delayed on Thursday when a scheduled water shutdown in Marystown, N.L., where the recount is taking place, forced all public buildings to close. An Elections Canada spokesperson told CBC they expect to finish counting on Friday. But the candidates aren't holding their breath. "I don't know, Jonathan, do you think we'll actually find out tomorrow or not?" Germain asked his opponent on Thursday. "We've been hearing tomorrow for a long time, haven't we?" Rowe replied. 'One of us has got to get to Ottawa really quick' Part of the struggle, both candidates say, is figuring out what to do with their lives when their futures are uncertain. Germain quit a job teaching English in Labrador to run for the Liberals, and says he misses his students. "Saying goodbye to them was really, really hard. And if things don't go my way tomorrow, I'll probably be on a plane to go back to teaching them," he said. Rowe, meanwhile, has been on an unpaid leave of absence from his engineering job since August, and has been picking up the occasional shifts at a local nursery, "planting a few flowers [and] trying to sell a few apple trees." "The first thing I'm going to be doing if I lose is strapping up my work boots and rolling up my sleeves and getting back to work," he said. While both men have professional lives they've left behind, they're also eager to potentially start down a new career path, though it will be a bit like starting at a new school part-way through the semester. "One of us has got to get to Ottawa really quick," Germain said. "Here in Clarenville, there's always a running joke. Our family's always late for church," Rowe said of his Newfoundland hometown with a chuckle. "I think the Lord may be punishing me. We're gonna be late to get to Ottawa as well." Despite everything, Germain and Rowe say they have no regrets. Both men say they've run a civilized campaign they're proud of, and have learned a lot about the election process along the way.
