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Monctoncore Dec 3, 2014 8:57 PM

Atlantic Canadian Politics Thread
 
I thought with the recent discussions going on in the Moncton Event Center thread I would ask, what are peoples thoughts on Brian Gallant and the liberals so far? I don't think its been long enough to make a decision, but I would love to see other peoples views.

So far they have:

- Made or making changes to abortion laws
- The push for a Moratorium on all Fracking
- Brian Gallants views on the Moncton Event Center

MonctonRad Dec 3, 2014 10:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Monctoncore (Post 6830022)
I would love to see other peoples views.

So far they have:

- Made or making changes to abortion laws
- The push for a Moratorium on all Fracking
- Brian Gallants views on the Moncton Event Center

#1 - disagree
#2 - strongly disagree!!!!
#3 - what an idiot........

There are some strong Liberal members of the legislature, but it is already evident that Gallant is stifling debate within his caucus on a number of issues, including fracking and abortion. I have a strong suspicion that in many cases, it will be "Brian's way or the doorway", which is the same sort of arrogant behaviour which did Shawn Graham in.

Gallant is too young, and doesn't have the experience to practice nuanced politics. Compromise is often necessary in politics and proper decision making requires realism in order to achieve good results.

JHikka Dec 4, 2014 2:46 AM

As this is the Atlantic Canada forum i'm renaming the thread so that it's not specifically targeted at one individual/group. Similar measures were taken in the Canada forum with regards to their thread title.

Monctoncore Dec 4, 2014 1:33 PM

Thanks JHIKKA, that works fine, I just was hoping to see a debate on all sides, people can feel free to comment on there thoughts on PEI premiers resignation, Stephen McNeil or on Paul Davis.

pierremoncton Dec 4, 2014 3:30 PM

I'm not a fan of partisan politics. I voted Green (which seems to be a habit of mine) because I felt they had the most coherent and stable platform (no wishy-washy messages and "details coming soon" placeholders like the others -- especially the Liberals). Having said that, let's see what the Liberals do.

For everyone: complaining on an internet forum will not help your case unless you also contact the premier and your MLA, regardless of how you judge their character and intelligence. Please share your opinions with them!

#1. No strong opinion, but at least he pulled through quickly. Regardless of moral beliefs, the province has a legal obligation to obey the Canada Health Act.

#2. I agree with the moratorium, but that in itself means essentially nothing. It was a way to buy votes from the 'no' crowd without committing to anything. Just watch: fracking will proceed.

#3. Too early to tell. I agree with mmmatt (from the events centre thread) that he's putting on a show (like on fracking).

The dumbest part of the Liberal platform is the plan to spend $1B on roads. I intended to vote Liberal until that came out of his mouth. Maybe the government can be convinced to redirect a few million from that budget to the events centre. Contact your MLA and make a good case.

L'homard Dec 4, 2014 3:50 PM

Since this is about politics, Moncton Couns. Hicks and Bourgeois just moved and seconded a motion (not sure which one moved it or seconded it) to fire city manager Jacques Dube.
Now, THAT'S politics, lol.

MonctonRad Dec 4, 2014 4:55 PM

:previous:

That's interesting. In many ways, Hicks and Bourgeois are the official opposition on Moncton city council. I wonder what provoked their vote of non confidence?

I must admit that I have not been impressed with Dube myself. He arrived at city hall as sort of the star to replace Ian Fowler (although they do not actually occupy the same position in the bureaucracy), but in any event he has been a disappointment in that regard.

While my opposition to Dube is more rooted in the fact that Moncton seems to be slipping along listlessly under his watch, I'm sure that Hicks and Bourgeois would be more worried about economic concerns. That seems to be their raison d'être.

Monctoncore Dec 4, 2014 5:55 PM

Did Bourgeois not plan on leaving council? I thought he was leaving?

Also see on CBC that Bourgeois was the one who proposed this idea, he mentioned that the city could save more than 250 thousand dollars by getting rid of the city manager.

"Councillor Daniel Bourgeois has just suggested the city can save more than 250-thousand dollars by eliminating City Manager's position. #nb by Kate Letterick via twitter on 12/4/2014 at 10:55:59 AM"


'Mayor LeBlanc also apologized to Jacques Dube for any embarrassment. Says it is unfortunate this came up during budget discussions. #nb by Kate Letterick via twitter on 12/4/2014 at 11:41:31 AM"

L'homard Dec 4, 2014 8:10 PM

Yeah, the city's star has not risen under the Dube reign, for sure. In his defence, the city did hire a guy to replace Ian, and for the life of me I cannot think of a single event that particular gentleman has lured to the city. I stand to be corrected if I am wrong on this, just saying I'm not aware of any events. There is much rumour and inuendo about why Moncton will never get another mega-concert as long as Dube is city manager. I won't repeat it here for several reasons: I dunno what the board policy is on outrageous rumours; I don't want to be sued for slander; and I don't want the board to be sued for slander, lol!

MonctonRad Dec 4, 2014 9:10 PM

:previous:

One has to be concerned about these things yes. I believe it's OK to state a negative personal opinion, but if you post wrongful information on the board (stated as fact) that could impact on a project or a person's career, then you could be at risk for liable.

An example would be "I've heard that condo project "X" used substandard plumbing and because of this, their toilets are all backing up"

A post like this could seriously damage the reputation of the builder and the building owner and could impact on the ability of the owner to sell units in the building. If untrue or simply hearsay, then yes, I think you could be placing yourself at risk for litigation.

On the other hand, if you simply stated that the same condo project had hideous yellow vinyl siding that you detested, than that is just a personal opinion and no one is going to sue you over that........

Monctoncore Dec 6, 2014 2:05 PM

Here is a link to the 2015 Municipal and Rural Community Funding and Equalization Grant and Tax Base... There may be something I am just missing... but according to this grant program things do not look evenly distributed.

Fredericton: $1.7 million
Miramichi: $5.6
Moncton: $5.3
the most questionable is.....

Saint John: $20.9 million

I assume there must be a reason for this, I just wonder why it is so much, without any explanation as to why the closest to them is 5.6 million?




http://www2.gnb.ca/content/dam/gnb/D...inancement.pdf

MonctonRad Dec 6, 2014 3:02 PM

:previous:

The reason is that the City of Saint John is on life support.

In greater Moncton, all three municipalities are growing and have relatively healthy assessments. In greater Saint John,whatever growth that is occurring (and it's pretty tepid growth) is in the KV and thus outside city limits. The tax base in Saint John is thus unable to keep up with the demands of the operational costs of supporting civic infrastructure. These demands are pretty high, especially given all the heavy industry in the city.

The solution to me would be not to throw more provincial money at Saint John (unfair to all those people who live more than an hour from the city). The solution instead would be to force civic amalgamation of Rothesay, Quispamsis, Grand Bay, Westfield and perhaps even Hampton into a larger regional municipality so that every resident of the greater Saint John area contributes equally to the regional tax burden.

I imagine a well funded police force and well equipped fire department for Saint John would be more meaningful for a resident of Rothesay than it would be for somebody from Moncton or Fredericton.......

Please note that there is a place for provincial involvement in helping to fund new capital projects, but municipal governments should do responsible (if at all possible) for ongoing operational costs.

An example would be a new water treatment and filtration plant. The more senior levels of government should help with the capital costs of establishing the new plant (especially if the upgrade is necessary to comply with new regulations). Once the new plant is up and running however, the ongoing costs of running the plant should be a civic responsibility.

Monctoncore Dec 6, 2014 3:07 PM

That makes more sense to me, thanks for the info MonctonRad

JHikka Dec 6, 2014 6:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MonctonRad (Post 6833545)
The solution to me would be not to throw more provincial money at Saint John (unfair to all those people who live more than an hour from the city). The solution instead would be to force civic amalgamation of Rothesay, Quispamsis, Grand Bay, Westfield and perhaps even Hampton into a larger regional municipality so that every resident of the greater Saint John area contributes equally to the regional tax burden.

Any provincial politician willing to do this would have to do this in full knowledge that they would lose the ridings of Rothesay, Quispamsis, and Kings Centre for as long as they ran. People live outside of Saint John because they want nothing to do with the City and it's politics. Does it suck for the people who live in the City? Absolutely. Is suburban sprawl part of the reason why Saint John is so poorly financed and run? Absolutely. Do I think Greater Saint John should be amalgamated? Absolutely. Any politician doing it has to understand that they would face tremendous pressure from the 'burbs to prevent this from happening.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MonctonRad (Post 6833545)
I imagine a well funded police force and well equipped fire department for Saint John would be more meaningful for a resident of Rothesay than it would be for somebody from Moncton or Fredericton.......

Given how well funded the police and fires forces are in Saint John, Valley residents may not want anything to do with them (hint: they're heavily financed and still run a deficit each year). KV has its own Fire and Police services as is.

Honestly nothing gets my blood boiling more than suburban sprawl in SJ.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Monctoncore (Post 6833513)
the most questionable is.....

Saint John: $20.9 million

I assume there must be a reason for this, I just wonder why it is so much, without any explanation as to why the closest to them is 5.6 million?

This is mostly due to slow growth and a lack of revenue thereof. All of the other cities in the province are growing at higher than a 1% rate except for Saint John. It's suburbs are doing fine, of course, but the City is crippled. IIRC, part of the $20M comes from Saint John reorganizing its public pension plans, but that may just be my shoddy memory. I'm sure one of the perpetually negative reporters in NB will, at some point, cover Saint John's financial woes in the near future, and why it receives such a large sum of money compared to the others.

Monctoncore Dec 6, 2014 7:37 PM

Thanks JHIKKA, that gives me a better understanding, I have a lot to learn when it comes to NB.

pierremoncton Jan 15, 2015 8:40 PM

Victor Boudreau pushing to save $600M in program review
Taxpayers warned that New Brunswick is 'on the edge of a fiscal crisis'

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-br...view-1.2902029

Quote:

[Boudreau] also announced a 14-community tour where he will seek public input on potential areas to cut or how to raise additional government revenue.

Boudreau said in the report that significant changes will need to be made in order to reach the government’s financial targets.

“A cultural shift in New Brunswick is required. We can’t keep doing things the way we have been doing them and expect different results,” Boudreau said.

[...]

In the discussion document, the provincial government is asking citizens to come prepared to discuss three questions:

1.What does a thriving New Brunswick look like to you 10 years from now?

2.Thinking of all of the things government spends money on to provide the residents of New Brunswick with services, what are three things that you think government could stop doing to save money?

3.With all of the financial challenges facing our province, what three things do you think government could do to raise money?
Thoughts?

I'd say amalgamation and the elimination (or reduction) of duality, but I don't even have a slight idea of how much these changes could save. According to cbc.ca commenters, duality costs trillions of dollars, but I don't know if I should trust them...

JHikka Jan 15, 2015 9:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pierremoncton (Post 6876363)
Thoughts?

I'd say amalgamation and the elimination (or reduction) of duality, but I don't even have a slight idea of how much these changes could save. According to cbc.ca commenters, duality costs trillions of dollars, but I don't know if I should trust them...

I'd love to see a Provincial Government that is actually proactive in improving the province and cutting costs rather than holding roundtables to discuss doing so. Boudreau can use the same old lines all he wants but if they don't actually do anything what's the point?

Amalgamation is possible but i'm not sure how much overlapping and duplicated services are costing municipalities/province on an annual basis. Some politicians i've spoken to have discussed regionalizing services more than amalgamating as people who live in rural areas dislike the idea of amalgamating with larger urban centres. I think there are some people in this province who feel as though they can live in the woods, expect all the services of a proper municipality, and then cover their eyes and ears as the province's financial situation worsens.

One thing I would get on board with is allowing French and English students to ride the same school buses (!!!) as they each get their own for oftentimes similar routes, particularly now that Franco schools are being built in primarily Anglo areas of the province (Quispamsis, Fredericton). Boudreau has already shot this idea down, though.

riverviewer Jan 17, 2015 12:16 PM

An excellent response by Stephen Downes to all of the options on the table to fix NB’s deficit from the Jan 15th edition of the Moncton Free Press.

Steven quotes various options and responds as to why each may or may not help much with expected dollar amounts.

He concludes that the extra funds can come from expenses cuts, but also need to come from rolling back some of the tax cuts where they generated no increased economic activity, making the Bermuda-based empire pay the full costs of business *unless* there is competition, and finally from job creation.

https://monctonfreepress.ca/post/56168

UptownJeff Jan 18, 2015 1:13 AM

2 areas that should be addressed immediately are duality and amalgamation. I am fine with bilingualism but duality in a province with less population than Ottawa is nothing short of insane. I beleive however that king Peter has already stated that that is a scred cow.

riverviewer Jan 18, 2015 2:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by UptownJeff (Post 6879253)
2 areas that should be addressed immediately are duality and amalgamation. I am fine with bilingualism but duality in a province with less population than Ottawa is nothing short of insane. I beleive however that king Peter has already stated that that is a scred cow.

Management ratio is the cost for duality. The question is: Do we have double the managers? The answer is no. What we have is a division of employees each reporting to a manger on one or the other side of duality. Same number managers and employees whether they are in two streams or one.

A teacher of 30 students in a French school is still a teacher for 30 students in a blended school. The school still only has one principal.

Where is the savings?


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