Latest news with #Sackville
CTV News
a day ago
- Business
- CTV News
Habitat for Humanity New Brunswick, provincial government build new home for family
The Government of New Brunswick announced a new home built for a family in the Sackville district of Tantramar thanks to a partnership with Habitat for Humanity New Brunswick. The non-profit organization receives up to $100,000 per unit from the provincial government towards the construction of new homes, a news release from the province said. 'It's critical that we continue to find more pathways to home ownership,' said David Hickey, minister responsible for the New Brunswick Housing Corporation. 'By working with our partners in Habitat for Humanity, we're able to bolster medium-density housing options for those who need them.' The three-bedroom bungalow is the 22nd affordable home built by the partnership since 2023. 'It's a pleasure to work with the government of New Brunswick to make home ownership possible for families like this one,' said Perry Kendall, CEO of Habitat for Humanity New Brunswick. 'We know the need is great, and this partnership is an effective way to get people into safe, secure housing.' For more New Brunswick news, visit our dedicated provincial page.
Global News
6 days ago
- Business
- Global News
‘Denied and obfuscated': Ford government forced to release Eglinton LRT, Ontario Line emails
The Ford government has been ordered to release seemingly innocuous emails containing an outdated schedule for the Eglinton Crosstown LRT and details of construction work on the Ontario Line, which it has fought for years not to make public. Since the summer of 2023, Global News has been trying to obtain access to emails between former Metrolinx CEO Phil Verster and Premier Doug Ford's chief of staff, Patrick Sackville, using freedom of information laws. The government refused to disclose six months' worth of messages between the pair covering the first half of 2023. It argued that the messages contained economically sensitive information and advice to the government, among other reasons. Releasing them, Ontario claimed, could lead to economic harm, make it harder to enter into new contracts and disincentivize staff from providing frank advice to politicians. Story continues below advertisement A lengthy freedom of information appeal followed. During that process, Global News confirmed Sackville had lost months' worth of texts after resetting his cellphone. Global News also agreed to only pursue a portion of the messages between the two men to speed up the hearings. The appeal ended, after close to two years, with the Information and Privacy Commission ordering the government to release several pages of withheld messages. A spokesperson for the premier's office said decisions on what to release and what not to are made by non-political staff. 'Non-partisan public officials apply exemptions to records as applicable under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act,' they wrote in a statement. 'As noted in the decision, the adjudicator did uphold the application of exemptions in this appeal.' The ruling said the government was right to withhold one of seven pages. It was ordered to release the other six. Duff Conacher, the co-founder of the advocacy group Democracy Watch, said he believes that governments use the lengthy appeal process to slow the release of unflattering information. 'Anyone in government knows the freedom of information system can easily be played through the exemptions and loopholes and complaint process to drag out and keep things secret for two, three years — even longer,' he said. Story continues below advertisement Eglinton Crosstown LRT schedule One of the documents the government fought for almost two years to keep secret is a grainy cellphone photograph of an outdated schedule for the completion of the Eglinton Crosstown LRT. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Parts of the schedule are illegible in the image, which Verster emailed to Sackville in the spring of 2023. The schedule, titled 'T- Schedule,' looks to be a draft from June 15, 2023. At the bottom of the schedule, one line is titled 'final occupancy,' which appears to indicate completion of the project. The date listed is Sept. 12, 2023. A spokesperson for Metrolinx said the final occupancy would be a key milestone but does not necessarily indicate a full opening of the line. 'Construction partners set target schedules for their work, however the outcomes of testing and commissioning ultimately decide an opening date,' they said in a statement. Story continues below advertisement The government has recently said it is hoping the Eglinton Crosstown LRT will be open in September 2025. Two years after the date listed in the draft document. View image in full screen A draft schedule for the Eglinton Crosstown LRT from June 2023. 1 In order to block the release of the schedule, Ontario argued that making the image public could harm the economy. The adjudicator who ordered its release disagreed. 'I note that the proposed schedule at page 70 of record 1 is from 2023 and it has been well known for many years that the ECLRT opening is behind schedule,' the adjudicator's decision said. 'I have no evidence that the publicly available information about the delayed opening of the ECLRT has hindered Cabinet Office or Metrolinx in their ability to enter contracts for other transit projects.' James Turk, the director of the Centre for Free Expression at Toronto Metropolitan University, said the long fight to withhold the documents was indicative of the government's approach to sharing information. Story continues below advertisement 'It's fairly consistently a government that is opposed to any reasonable standard of transparency,' he said. 'It often will claim differently, but when you look at its actions — there are untold media requests for information that are obstructed or denied or obfuscated.' Ontario Line sidewalk complications The second document released to Global News through the appeal appears to be a similarly mundane email from Verster to Sackville. The communication is dated April 21, 2023, with the subject line, 'Unforeseen structural stuff at Hudson Bay store.' It was sent by Verster to a number of high-ranking officials, including Sackville, the chief of staff at transportation and Ontario's top civil servant. 'Just to give you a real and practical sense of why these transit projects has (sic) so much unpredictability,' Verster wrote. He attached a series of photographs showing that tunnelling operations for the Ontario Line around Bay and Queen streets in Toronto had encountered issues. Specifically, he raised concerns about a false floor holding up the sidewalk outside the Hudson Bay Store. Story continues below advertisement 'We have paused work to ensure the pavement (see pdf) stays in place and will now find a new way to support the pavement and continue excavation,' he added. An image sent by Phil Verster to explain construction snags with the Ontario Line. 1 Releasing that email — the government and Metrolinx had argued — could also come with economic repercussions. The adjudicator rejected the claim. 'Neither Cabinet Office nor Metrolinx have provided sufficient evidence to show how the actual information in the email in record 2 or the specific details in the attached photographs… could reasonably be expected be injurious to the financial interests of the Government of Ontario or the ability of the Government of Ontario to manage the economy of Ontario,' the adjudicator wrote. Conacher, who reviewed the documents, said they should have been released two years ago, without the need for an appeal. Story continues below advertisement 'I don't see a reason why they would have been redacted because they're just showing information about a delayed construction project and some reasons for the delay,' he said, 'which is information the public has a right to know.'
CTV News
24-06-2025
- General
- CTV News
Visiting HMCS Sackville
Atlantic Watch We visit HMCS Sackville to find out about the world's last remaining Corvette and the role she played in the Battle of the Atlantic
CBC
23-06-2025
- Health
- CBC
N.S. has the most ticks in Canada — here's how to protect yourself
Head of the Lloyd Tick Lab shares prevention tips and what to do if a tick latches on The Nova Scotia government recently put out a reminder for people to protect themselves against tick-borne diseases, saying tick populations are growing in every part of the province — in both urban and rural areas. Vett Lloyd, a biology professor at Mount Allison University in Sackville, N.B., and the head of the Lloyd Tick Lab, shared tips with CBC Radio's Information Morning Nova Scotia on how to deal with the insect. This interview has been shortened for length and clarity. LISTEN | Information Morning Halifax's interview with tick expert Vett Lloyd: Media Audio | Information Morning - NS : Tick-borne illnesses and tick removal techniques Caption: The provincial government is reminding people to protect themselves against tick-borne diseases. It said tick populations are growing in every part of the province, both urban and rural. Vett Lloyd, head of the Lloyd Tick Lab, talks about tick populations and preventative measures for tick season. Open Full Embed in New Tab Loading external pages may require significantly more data usage than loading CBC Lite story pages. Does Nova Scotia have more ticks than usual this year? Unfortunately, yes we do. It was a good winter for ticks. It was a mild, long, cool fall [and] a long, cool spring — a perfect season for ticks. Unfortunately, people are finding them and when we go out, we're finding huge numbers of ticks too. Congratulations to all of Nova Scotia. You win not only the regional contest for who has the most ticks, but nationally. New Brunswick is following behind. P.E.I. is getting a steadily increasing number of ticks. The thing is, once a female tick grabs a blood meal in the fall she will then be able to lay about 2,000 to 3,000 eggs. Their populations can increase really quickly. How is this information tracked? They're not being tracked in a national way, so they're tracked by proxy — so how many people submit pictures of ticks to the government tick-tracking site, eTick. We monitor them indirectly by the number of people who send them in to get tested. And obviously we're only encountering a small number of ticks and some people who are just used to them just kill them and get rid of them. Lyme disease is the main concern with ticks, but we've seen other pathogens that are showing up in recent years. How much of a concern is anaplasmosis? Veterinarians have been monitoring anaplasmosis for the past 10 years or so and they've seen it increase in frequency and also — along with the ticks — spreading northward. Anaplasmosis is a scary disease. If you get sick from it, you get very, very sick and you end up in the [emergency room]. If you're lucky, your ER doctor will realize quickly the fact that you've run out of blood cells. It does respond to treatment, as long as you get treatment. Is anaplasmosis potentially fatal? Yes. Can you get multiple kinds of illnesses from ticks? Can you get anaplasmosis and Lyme disease? Unfortunately, ticks are basically crawly bags of pathogens, so they will frequently have more than one pathogen and they can pass it on, which means that you just get extra sick. It's not just Lyme disease and anaplasmosis. We're also worried about babesiosis, which is a type of parasite. Those are the big ones coming up in this region. It's grim, but at the same time, people need to get outside and enjoy the outside. Quivering inside isn't going to help. There's also pediatric Lyme arthritis. Last summer, a memo was sent by the provincial medical officer of health to health-care practitioners to look out for it. What do you know about that? In an older adult, you would expect arthritis. But if you have an eight-year-old or a 10-year-old suddenly developing arthritis — particularly if it's just in one knee, but not both knees — that memo served to alert physicians that they should think about Lyme disease in that case. So with more Lyme disease, it's showing up in kids. Kids are small, they run around outside and they emit a lot of carbon dioxide, so they're super attractive to ticks. If there's more ticks, are we more likely to see tick-borne illnesses? Unfortunately, yes. But we can modify that to some extent by people just becoming more alert about prevention and doing tick checks. We know they're attracted to moist, warm areas, so people need to check armpits, groins and all of that. How do we properly remove ticks? If you're coming in from outside, do a tick check. That's a really good line of defence. Before you go outside, there are prevention things you can do. There are really good tools for dogs, various tick repellents and things that kill the ticks before the ticks feed long enough to give disease. There are also Lyme vaccines for dogs. For humans, the idea is that we have less hair so we're better at finding ticks [on ourselves]. From the ticks' perspective, we don't smell as good [as dogs]. The tick sprays, bug sprays that say they're good for ticks, are generally a good idea. If you're in a high-risk area, you can get clothing that has a repellent in it — commercial or you can make it yourself. When you come in, do a tick check. Strip down. Yes, check moist areas, but if your tick is hungry it could be anywhere. You're looking for freckles with legs. Freckles are not supposed to have legs. If they do, get it off you. There is a lot of mythology about how you remove ticks. Getting it off you is the main point. The bit that will be left embedded in your skin is the mouth part, which is not actually a risk to you. You don't want to squish the tick gut contents back into your bloodstream and you don't want to smear it on cuts.
CTV News
04-06-2025
- General
- CTV News
Ground search underway for missing 70-year-old New Brunswick woman
A search is underway in southeastern New Brunswick for a missing 70-year-old woman from Taylor Village. The Sackville RCMP says Ann Cafferty was last spoken to around 10 a.m. Monday and reported missing the next day. Police believe she may have left her home near the 1200 section of Taylor Road on foot. They say they have followed up on several leads to try and find her but have so far been unsuccessful. Both police and her family are concerned for her wellbeing. Cafferty is described by the RCMP as having a medium build with short hair and dark blue or green eyes. Police have also released a photo of the woman, however it is believed to be outdated. A clothing description is not available. Police, Ground Search and Rescue teams, and other RCMP Specialized Policing Services, including Police Dog Services, are in the area searching for her, according to Wednesday evening news release. Police are asking anyone who may have seen Cafferty on Monday, who may have surveillance footage of her walking in the area, or who has information that could help find her, to call the Sackville RCMP at 506-364-5023. For more New Brunswick news, visit our dedicated provincial page.
