Latest news with #SaintJohn-based
CBC
18-04-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
N.B. comedian fears being 'locked up,' cancels U.S. show
James Mullinger is always looking for good fodder for jokes, but he may draw the line at being detained by police or border officials in the United States. The Saint John-based comedian recently cancelled an upcoming show in Houlton, Maine, with reports of entertainers encountering problems in the U.S. during the current trade dispute. "I love my job but not so much that I'd want to be locked up for two weeks … although it would probably make for good material," he joked. "But my wife needs me at home. If I didn't have people dependent on me I would possibly take the risk." The British-born comedian, who moved to New Brunswick more than a decade ago, had the venue and date booked and his paperwork in order, but it "seemed risky" making the trip to Maine in the current political climate. "It just felt like not the right time," said Mullinger. "I didn't want to get swept up in either misinformation or propaganda or necessarily believing everything you hear. But it just seemed risky hearing that there are performers being locked up [even though] they're there with the correct paperwork." Mullinger said he's never cancelled a show so it's not a decision he took lightly. "Whether it be personal injuries, physically or otherwise, personal family tragedies, terrible weather, I will always make sure [the show] happens," he said. Canadian artists losing U.S. opportunities Angela Campbell, the executive director of the Imperial Theatre in Saint John and a board member of the Canadian Association for the Performing Arts, said it's unfortunate but understandable that some performers fear crossing the border right now. "We want Canadian artists to go to the States, we want to introduce them into those markets, we want to give them that access. We want to do the same here [for U.S. artists]," she said. "[But] there's uncertainty right now on how their immigration policies will affect us. We're seeing some really unfortunate stories about Canadian artists having real trouble once they get into the U.S. and trying to get into the U.S." Campbell said performing artists are losing opportunities to perform in the U.S. so need to be supported more at home in Canada. "It's one of the conversations we're having at the national level," said Campbell. "How do we support Canadian artists … if they are seeing a decrease in touring availability in the U.S.? How do we backfill that for them and support them until they can start touring internationally again?" Mullinger said Canadians need to more actively support homegrown comedians at a time like this. "Canadians can do their part this summer," he said. "When they are deciding what comedy shows to go to, choose Canadian performers. There are Canadian comedy festivals booking solely American comedians … Let's treat Canadian comedians the same way we treat Canadian food. Embrace them and support them." Mullinger said these are not anti-American sentiments. He loves Maine and will return to doing shows there when it feels safe again. He also wants to continue to nurture the bonds that exist between people in both countries. To that end, he is organizing replacement shows near the border in St. Stephen and Saint Andrews that he hopes Americans will cross the border to attend. "I hope we can get the people of Maine and New Brunswick together in a room and we can all laugh together because, really, the things that certainly people in power want to do is divide us. This is a time more than ever for comedy to bring us together and unite us … and all just have a big hug and a big laugh together."
CBC
17-04-2025
- Business
- CBC
'Risk of insolvency' at parent company of N.B. nuclear developer
Social Sharing Saint John-based Moltex Energy Canada Inc. is hoping potential new owners for its overseas parent company will breathe new life into its development of small modular nuclear reactor technology in the province. But the company acknowledges that cash flow problems at its U.K.-based parent company have slowed down those efforts. There is "a risk of insolvency" at the parent company, Moltex Canada CEO Rory O'Sullivan acknowledged in an interview. An administrator is now looking for buyers for the U.K. company's assets, which include Moltex Energy Canada. "As a technology development company we need to almost continuously be fundraising to keep progressing technical milestones," O'Sullivan told CBC News. "And, because we need parent company authorization to raise new capital, we have not got that authorization. "That has slowed us down. And so that's why we're looking forward to new owners as soon as possible." The U.K. administrator overseeing the sale, Azets Holdings Ltd., said in a statement that the holding company had been unable to get majority shareholder consent for new investments or a sale of assets. That led directors to decide on March 17 to put the company under Azets administration. "The decision taken to place the company in administration is in no way a reflection on the operations of, or proposition within, the subsidiary companies," the statement said. Potential buyers for Moltex have until May 7 to submit bids for the company's assets, and it should take two to three months for the sale to close. WATCH | 'That has slowed us down': Moltex CEO on possible sale: N.B. nuclear developer hoping for new owner 50 minutes ago Duration 1:50 O'Sullivan said he is "very confident" that Moltex Canada will still be operating later this year. Nuclear power doesn't emit greenhouse gases, so it's a key element of N.B. Power's strategy to reduce emissions that contribute to climate change. Since 2017, Moltex Energy Canada is one of two companies that have been at work in Saint John developing small modular nuclear reactors. The company received $5 million from the New Brunswick government in 2018 and almost $50 million from the federal government in 2021. The other company, ARC Clean Energy, has also run into problems. Goal was to be ready by 2030 ARC had hoped its first SMR would be ready by 2030, the date for phasing out the use of coal at N.B. Power's Belledune generating station. But last year, Bill Labbe, the CEO who made that commitment, left the company, and utility officials said that date was no longer feasible. ARC has made no announcements about its progress since May 2024. "We are unsure whether or not ARC will be ready at that point or not, but we'll continue to work with ARC," N.B. Power CEO Lori Clark told the legislature's public accounts committee in February. "They are looking for investors now. … We also have to have a Plan B in the event ARC isn't ready." That could include buying small reactors from companies not operating in New Brunswick. Ontario Power Generation was recently granted a licence by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission to build its first SMR, a competing model by GE-Hitachi, at its Darlington power station. ARC spokesperson Sandra Donnelly said in a statement Wednesday that it aims to complete design work by 2027 so it can apply to the commission for a license to build its first reactor. She said that would require funding from private investors and governments. O'Sullivan told a committee of MLAs in 2023 that Moltex's nuclear waste recycling technology would be ready by 2030 but its reactor would not be. He said Wednesday that the cash flow problems at Moltex's U.K. parent company have put the timeline "a couple of years behind that." But he said the company's nuclear waste recycling technology — which would reprocess waste from the Point Lepreau nuclear station — means there's a market for its products even if N.B. Power buys reactors from another supplier. Utility spokesperson Elizabeth Fraser said in an email statement that the U.K. sale process would have "no immediate impacts" on N.B. Power's technical support of Moltex. She said there was nothing new to report on its shopping around for other possible reactors. Some experts, including a former chair of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, have questioned Moltex's plan, arguing the possibility of reprocessing waste and reducing the cost and risks of storing it is unproven. Moltex recently announced what O'Sullivan calls "excellent waste-recycling results" that will allow it to sell its technology to other potential buyers when it's ready. The CEO said despite a lot of federal election discussion about developing conventional energy such as oil and gas to reduce Canada's dependence on the U.S., he's not worried about nuclear energy being sidelined. "Nuclear is really by far the ultimate solution for energy security concerns," he said. "It's clean, it provides reliable electricity and it's affordable. It's competitive. … I'm actually more optimistic than ever about [the] nuclear role because it addresses the climate concerns and it addresses energy security concerns."
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
A sister's search: What it's like to have a loved one on the street, battling addiction
Dyllan Taylor Humphrey spent most of a recent Saturday walking the streets of Moncton in search of her homeless younger brother. Eventually, she found him in the parking lot of a convenience store, digging through a garbage bag. "It's a strange thing to love somebody with an addiction, but it's a crazier thing to walk a moment — not in their shoes — but in their environment," she said. Her brother, whom the CBC has agreed not to name, has struggled with drug addiction for 12 years and been homeless since last fall. Taylor Humphrey lives in Belleisle, about 150 kilometres southwest of Moncton. When she heard from people who've been keeping an eye on her brother that he wasn't doing well, she drove to the city to make sure he was alive. "I felt scared and just disbelief that this is how he's living," said Taylor Humphrey, who hadn't seen her brother for four months. "And tremendous guilt." WATCH | 'It's eye-opening and mind-blowing': The number of people without a place to live has risen steadily for several years across New Brunswick. In Moncton, Saint John and Fredericton, about 1,543 people were homeless for at least a day in March, according to the latest count by the Saint John-based Human Development Counci. In the area that Taylor Humphrey searched in Moncton, it's not uncommon to see small groups of people huddling on vacant lots in oversize jackets and blankets, or people pulling shopping carts full of their belongings, looking through garbage. "I had no idea that the homeless community was this large, and I saw ages from 20 to 60s," she said. "It was mind-blowing seeing people at their most vulnerable state just out on the street." According to the Human Development Council's latest data, 768 people were homeless for at least a day in March in Moncton compared with 724 in December 2024. (Pierre Fournier/CBC) Taylor Humphrey and her two brothers were raised in a rural community, and their parents split up when they were young. She described her childhood as "a little chaotic," but she has fond memories of her youngest brother, who she said was an honours student and athlete growing up. She was not prepared for how she found him in Moncton. "It almost looked like a piece of him was missing," Taylor Humphrey said. "I don't think I've ever really seen him in survival mode like that." It was a relief to give her thin, exhausted brother a hug. Taylor Humphrey also gave him Gatorade, food, and a bag of warm clothes, including new shoes because he didn't have a pair that fit. For her, one of the hardest parts of having a loved one who's an addict and homeless is reconciling the life they are living with the person they used to be. "We know them as a different person," she said. "I saw my brother as a little boy. I saw my brother cry at Brother Bear, the movie. I saw my brother sneak into my room when we were kids because he was scared to sleep in his room." Dyllan Taylor Humpfrey and her two younger brothers, pictured here, grew up in a small, rural community in New Brunswick. (Submitted by Dyllan Taylor Humphrey) But when her brother started using drugs at 15, and she told her mother, the family dynamic changed. "I always felt it was my job to protect him," Taylor Humphrey said. "I was supposed to be a secret keeper. So when I had to tell my mom, it really put a toll on our relationship." Her brother's drug use was like a cycle, shifting between good days and bad, she said. "I found a way to have a relationship with him with boundaries because, unfortunately, with addiction that's what you have to do." Today, Taylor Humphrey said, she is triggered by things in daily life that make her think of her brother, and she carries guilt about her own circumstances — including having a place to call home. "When I lay down in my room at night, and I'm safe and I have a roof over my head and I think, 'Where is he tonight? Is he somewhere safe? Is he warm?'" People who've never been in the situation she faces can be quick to judge and accuse family members of not doing enough, she said. Why not take the person who is struggling off the street and into their own homes, some wonder. Taylor Humphrey finds the issue more complex. "I have two young kids and I unfortunately can't do that," she said. "I don't want my children to know him like that. I want my children to know him for the vibrant human being he is." A need for resources, compassion After Taylor Humphrey found her brother looking through garbage that Saturday, he ate and slept in her car for a few hours before she dropped him off at Ensemble Moncton, a harm reduction organization that provides a safe injection site and connects drug users with resources. Thirteen overdoses were called into 911 the day Taylor Humphrey was in Moncton. Keith Guptill, the deputy chief of operations, says those calls have become the norm. "This is not new to Moncton," he said. "Back in the day, you heard of an overdose here and there. It's unconscionable that it's eight to 10 a day." Keith Guptill, the deputy chief of operations with the Moncton Fire Department, says his crew responds to an average of eight to 10 overdose calls a day in Moncton. (Katelin Belliveau/CBC) And some overdoses are now even more dangerous because of a combination of street drugs. First responders often use naloxone — commonly referred to by the brand named Narcan — in emergencies. Guptill believes a batch of tainted drugs circulating in Moncton, which could be fentanyl laced with other drugs such as a benzodiazepine, makes it more difficult to reverse overdoses. "Narcan doesn't have the same effect on that kind of drug because it doesn't impact benzodiazepine," he said. "So the complicated part is not knowing what drugs they've got on board." An opioid-related overdose impacts the part of the brain that tells the body to breathe, according to the New Brunswick Department of Health. And the risk of overdose increases when opioids are mixed with other street drugs. Scott Phipps, the Ensemble executive director, said his staff are noticing younger people walking through their doors. "The reality is they don't want to die," Phipps said. "They're coming here because they know that somebody's watching over them. And if anything happens, they'll be there to make sure that they don't die." Scott Phipps, executive drector of Ensemble, says staff are seeing an increase in seniors, families and people with full-time jobs looking for support finding shelter. (Katelin Belliveau/CBC) Ensemble has a registered nurse on site for minor ailments, and staff try to help people find housing and connect with their families. "We do see family members that will bring their loved ones here just for that knowledge that they are being helped," Phipps said. Taylor Humphrey has seen her brother try to get his life back on track. Last fall, she said, he was on a waitlist for the intensive day treatment program offered by Horizon Health Network, which tries to help people in the Moncton area reduce or manage addiction. He was told he would have to wait six weeks to three months to get in. As he waited, he relapsed and ended up back on the street. "Addicts don't have time to wait … because tomorrow is not guaranteed," Taylor Humphrey said. CBC News tried to find out from Horizon what current wait times are for the program but did not get a response. After that Saturday, Taylor Humphrey saw her brother again four days later. The clothes and the backpack she gave him had already been stolen. Seeing how he lived now, and the shelter where he has slept in the past, underscored the need for compassion and additional resources. "Everyone is trying to survive here," she said. "You can't even close your eyes without having the shoes stolen off your feet." Taylor Humphrey doesn't want to believe this is the way her brother's story ends, and she tells him he deserves a good life. "We just have to set him up again and hope that his day comes soon where he decides to make a change."
CBC
15-04-2025
- Health
- CBC
A sister's search: What it's like to have a loved one on the street, battling addiction
Dyllan Taylor Humphrey spent most of a recent Saturday walking the streets of Moncton in search of her homeless younger brother. Eventually, she found him in the parking lot of a convenience store, digging through a garbage bag. "It's a strange thing to love somebody with an addiction, but it's a crazier thing to walk a moment — not in their shoes — but in their environment," she said. Her brother, whom the CBC has agreed not to name, has struggled with drug addiction for 12 years and been homeless since last fall. Taylor Humphrey lives in Belleisle, about 150 kilometres southwest of Moncton. When she heard from people who've been keeping an eye on her brother that he wasn't doing well, she drove to the city to make sure he was alive. "I felt scared and just disbelief that this is how he's living," said Taylor Humphrey, who hadn't seen her brother for four months. "And tremendous guilt." WATCH | 'It's eye-opening and mind-blowing': Woman recounts what it was like to search for her homeless brother in Moncton 38 minutes ago Duration 4:56 Dyllan Taylor Humphrey spent an entire Saturday looking for a brother battling addiction on the streets of Moncton. During her search, she was confronted with the harsh realities of the increasing number of homeless people in the New Brunswick city. The number of people without a place to live has risen steadily for several years across New Brunswick. In Moncton, Saint John and Fredericton, about 1,543 people were homeless for at least a day in March, according to the latest count by the Saint John-based Human Development Counci. In the area that Taylor Humphrey searched in Moncton, it's not uncommon to see small groups of people huddling on vacant lots in oversize jackets and blankets, or people pulling shopping carts full of their belongings, looking through garbage. "I had no idea that the homeless community was this large, and I saw ages from 20 to 60s," she said. "It was mind-blowing seeing people at their most vulnerable state just out on the street." Taylor Humphrey and her two brothers were raised in a rural community, and their parents split up when they were young. She described her childhood as "a little chaotic," but she has fond memories of her youngest brother, who she said was an honours student and athlete growing up. She was not prepared for how she found him in Moncton. "It almost looked like a piece of him was missing," Taylor Humphrey said. "I don't think I've ever really seen him in survival mode like that." It was a relief to give her thin, exhausted brother a hug. Taylor Humphrey also gave him Gatorade, food, and a bag of warm clothes, including new shoes because he didn't have a pair that fit. For her, one of the hardest parts of having a loved one who's an addict and homeless is reconciling the life they are living with the person they used to be. "We know them as a different person," she said. "I saw my brother as a little boy. I saw my brother cry at Brother Bear, the movie. I saw my brother sneak into my room when we were kids because he was scared to sleep in his room." But when her brother started using drugs at 15, and she told her mother, the family dynamic changed. "I always felt it was my job to protect him," Taylor Humphrey said. "I was supposed to be a secret keeper. So when I had to tell my mom, it really put a toll on our relationship." Her brother's drug use was like a cycle, shifting between good days and bad, she said. "I found a way to have a relationship with him with boundaries because, unfortunately, with addiction that's what you have to do." Today, Taylor Humphrey said, she is triggered by things in daily life that make her think of her brother, and she carries guilt about her own circumstances — including having a place to call home. "When I lay down in my room at night, and I'm safe and I have a roof over my head and I think, 'Where is he tonight? Is he somewhere safe? Is he warm?'" People who've never been in the situation she faces can be quick to judge and accuse family members of not doing enough, she said. Why not take the person who is struggling off the street and into their own homes, some wonder. Taylor Humphrey finds the issue more complex. "I have two young kids and I unfortunately can't do that," she said. "I don't want my children to know him like that. I want my children to know him for the vibrant human being he is." A need for resources, compassion After Taylor Humphrey found her brother looking through garbage that Saturday, he ate and slept in her car for a few hours before she dropped him off at Ensemble Moncton, a harm reduction organization that provides a safe injection site and connects drug users with resources. Thirteen overdoses were called into 911 the day Taylor Humphrey was in Moncton. Keith Guptill, the deputy chief of operations, says those calls have become the norm. "This is not new to Moncton," he said. "Back in the day, you heard of an overdose here and there. It's unconscionable that it's eight to 10 a day." And some overdoses are now even more dangerous because of a combination of street drugs. First responders often use naloxone — commonly referred to by the brand named Narcan — in emergencies. Guptill believes a batch of tainted drugs circulating in Moncton, which could be fentanyl laced with other drugs such as a benzodiazepine, makes it more difficult to reverse overdoses. "Narcan doesn't have the same effect on that kind of drug because it doesn't impact benzodiazepine," he said. "So the complicated part is not knowing what drugs they've got on board." An opioid-related overdose impacts the part of the brain that tells the body to breathe, according to the New Brunswick Department of Health. And the risk of overdose increases when opioids are mixed with other street drugs. Scott Phipps, the Ensemble executive director, said his staff are noticing younger people walking through their doors. "The reality is they don't want to die," Phipps said. "They're coming here because they know that somebody's watching over them. And if anything happens, they'll be there to make sure that they don't die." Ensemble has a registered nurse on site for minor ailments, and staff try to help people find housing and connect with their families. "We do see family members that will bring their loved ones here just for that knowledge that they are being helped," Phipps said. Taylor Humphrey has seen her brother try to get his life back on track. Last fall, she said, he was on a waitlist for the i ntensive day treatment program offered by Horizon Health Network, which tries to help people in the Moncton area reduce or manage addiction. He was told he would have to wait six weeks to three months to get in. As he waited, he relapsed and ended up back on the street. "Addicts don't have time to wait … because tomorrow is not guaranteed," Taylor Humphrey said. CBC News tried to find out from Horizon what current wait times are for the program but did not get a response. After that Saturday, Taylor Humphrey saw her brother again four days later. The clothes and the backpack she gave him had already been stolen. Seeing how he lived now, and the shelter where he has slept in the past, underscored the need for compassion and additional resources. "Everyone is trying to survive here," she said. "You can't even close your eyes without having the shoes stolen off your feet." Taylor Humphrey doesn't want to believe this is the way her brother's story ends, and she tells him he deserves a good life. "We just have to set him up again and hope that his day comes soon where he decides to make a change."
CBC
08-03-2025
- Business
- CBC
Saint John energy company says it hit milestone in recycling nuclear waste for energy
Moltex CEO Rory O'Sullivan says the goal is to reduce future liability of nuclear energy use A Saint John-based nuclear engineering company says it has hit a milestone in its aim to reduce waste coming from nuclear energy by turning that waste into usable energy. The company — Moltex Clean Energy — is developing a process to extract usable energy from nuclear waste in what it calls the waste to stable-salt process. This process takes the "high-level waste" from existing nuclear fuel that comes from nuclear generating plants and creates new fuel out of it, said company CEO Rory O'Sullivan on Information Morning Saint John. The company announced success this week in extracting what O'Sullivan called "long-lived hazardous materials" out of nuclear waste. "Nuclear waste has been one of the big impediments of nuclear power because of that long radioactivity of the waste," O'Sullivan said. And while there are existing processes to manage nuclear waste, that waste isn't generally well accepted by the public, "whereas the concept of recycling the waste, and getting more energy out of it, and reducing the amount of long-lived hazardous radioactive products is very appealing," he said. The company is aiming to use the process to power a 300 megawatt small modular reactor at the Point Lepreau Nuclear Generating Station. Moltex expects that SMR to be operational by the early 2030s. The process — according to information released by Moltex — takes nuclear fuel and separates it. What starts out as a "bundle of fuel," which is 100 per cent "high-level" waste, becomes 98 per cent "intermediate" waste by removing what's called "fuel salt" and other products. The high-level waste accounts for roughly one per cent of the total waste, according to the company. This extracted "stable salt" would be used to create energy and the leftover "intermediate waste" has a footprint three times less than the original fuel bundle, Moltex said. Reduced liability for future generations Warren Mabee, director of energy and environmental policy at Queen's University, said the technology holds great promise. "This is one of the most important things I think that the nuclear industry has to figure out — how to deal with waste that comes from these plants," Mabee said. "Despite the fact that nuclear energy is now more than half a century old, we really haven't cracked that nut. This announcement is just one step closer to hopefully having solved that problem." O'Sullivan said that while putting nuclear waste in ground repository is safe, it's also a large and costly endeavour and that using parts of the waste for fuel makes more economic sense. The project is funded by the Federal Strategic Innovation Fund and the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency and has partnerships with national stakeholders, such as reactor supplier Candu Energy.
