Your View

September 2006

Sept. 11, 2006 - 1:15 p.m.

This upcoming election will be the first one in which I will not be casting a vote. Pains me to say that, but I'm just so upset that I am forced to have to elect either Joan MacAlpine or Gene Devereux. Moncton West does not have any NDP or any other party representation. I've always believed in voting for the PERSON, not the party, and in this case I cannot support either one of these people. It's a shame, because now until the next election I won't be able to complain about the government.

- Elizabeth Tuff, Moncton

Sept. 11, 2006 - 3:49 p.m.

Everyone wants their child to receive a good education and parents of autistic children are no different. For the most part autistic children have received only babysitting services instead of the quality learning education that all school children in New Brunswick have been promised. Now, things could change for the better. Shawn Graham's Liberal Party has made a very solid commitment to provide UNB-CEL autism training for 100 additional teaching assistants and Methods and Resource teachers each year for four years.

The UNB-CEL course was developed with input from the ASNB. Offered first at the pre-school level it gained national recognition and has helped supply the badly needed Autism Support Workers and Clinical Supervisors to work with pre-school autistic children. The course has been modified to provide training in the context of the school environment. This will allow hundreds of autistic school children to receive a real education. The Liberals have made a very solid commitment that will go along way towards helping autistic children live a fuller, richer life.

Thank you Mr. Graham and the Liberal Party for this commitment to autistic children.

- Harold L Doherty

Sept. 7, 2006 - 2:50 p.m.

I also moved here in march 2006 and was disgusted to learn that Saint John's sewer was flowing untreated in the Bay of Fundy. I've read about third world countries with better water treatment than here. What's the government waiting for (Federal, provincial & municipal)? Are they waiting that someone contract hepatitis or STD's because they walked on broken seringe on shore? I also believe that tourism is greatly affected by this, contaminated beaches does not attract tourism. I always have this picture in my head of someone swimming side by side with a diaper. No need to tell you I've never touched the water here this summer. I went to Parlee beach in Shediac instead but with those gas prices, I did not get as much sun as I wanted but at least the water was decent.

My question is: What's stopping the government to invest 100M to get rid of this problem once and for all which will enhance the quality of life of the resident, attract tourism (cruise ship & other) and keep our own citizen in the city for the summer?

- Marcel Vienneau, Saint John

Sept. 6, 2006 - 8:18 a.m.

I have been a special care home owner for eleven years and recently built a new one- level home for 12 residents. It is equipped with sprinkler & fire alarm system, nurse pull alarms in every room, and full intercom in bedrooms. Obviously this didn't come cheap and was not funded in any way by government. Since November 1995 we have cared for some very ill residents in our two homes. Severe lung disease, diabetes, alzheimers, catheters, stroke patients, terminal cancer and wound care, to name a few of the cases my staff have successfully managed. They have gone beyond the call of duty for the betterment of our residents. All this work for less than $9.00 per hour. Many of these girls could work in higher paying positions but enjoy having the time to spend with the residents in this smaller home-like atmosphere. Will either party consider giving special care homes the same consideration as daycares by instituting a funding program to supplement staff salaries? It's called the QIFS in the daycare system and it increases staff salaries by approximately 25% above what the facility can afford to pay. All this to improve the care for children. Well I say our seniors deserve the same. Help us reduce turnover rates and attract well trained staff to our homes by offering a funding program for salaries. Special care homes are still the most cost effective way for government and tax payers to meet the needs of our aging population. The $4 per day is appreciated and will help meet the growing expenses but will do little to help salaries. Please consider this suggestion.

- Jan Seely
President Region 2 Special Care
Home Association

Sept. 6, 2006 - 2:18 p.m.

Thank you CBC for bringing to light once again the scam the auto insurance companies have pulled over our eyes. Premier Lord and his cohorts were responsible for lowering the rates following the last election - what is his plan thig time? Perhaps Mr. Graham and the Liberals would have more clout!

- Maryann Moore, Sussex Corner

Sept. 2, 2006 - 2:03 p.m.

As a parent of a 12 yr old son with Autism, my question is as follows. What are each of the political parties specifically saying about providing trained Teacher Assistants at the Autism Support Worker Certification level to students with autism. This training is available at UNB College of Extended Learning. With over 1000 students with autism in NB...and only 80 or so trained ASW TA's, it is obvious more need to be added to the public school system. Most autistic students are not receiving a real education, but rather glorified babysitting.

Also, what are the political parties saying about proper residential facilities for adults with autism???

- Dawn Bowie

Sept. 1, 2006 - 5:47 p.m.

If there were one issue deserving to be addressed, it is New Brunswick's economic future. First, with a declining population and more seniors over the next two decades, New Brunswick will face a fiscal crunch. And the problem is further exacerbated by the outflow of many of our better educated. This spells a bleak future for New Brunswick if there isn't a coherent plan to prevent this scenario.

Second, the New Brunswick school system has among the worst achievement scores of any province on national and international assessments. This is another reason for us to be concerned. The present government brought forward the Quality Learning Agenda with a goal of raising the achievement of New Brunswick students to third place in Canada. A laudable goal, but we're half way there and there is little indication of any improvement. Premier Lord stated that the Quality Learning Agenda was "the cornerstone of our strategic, ten year economic growth agenda." If that is true it seems that it is doomed to failure. Unfortunately, educational reform in recent New Brunswick has resembled the rearrangement of deckchairs on the Titanic.

Third, the province needs to aggressively recruit immigrants. New Brunswick is a great place to live compared to too many places in the world, but we might have to work very hard to convince people to move here rather than another province. We have a great many foreign students here and we should be laying out the red carpet for them in the expectation that we can convince them to remain here. Many Koreans are now in the province and many are thinking of immigrating here. I hope we give them a reason to stay. Do we have the services to make them feel part of our communities?

Education, because of its effects on future economic prospects, should be an issue. It's not. Immigration is imperative to our economic future. As an election issue, it isn't even on thre radar.

I feel confident about our future, don't you? Passing out cheques is no substitute for a coherent public policy that addresses our future.

- Allan Nelson

Sept. 1, 2006 - 5:38 p.m.

The harbour clean up is a huge issue for me. I just moved to the city in Oct. 2005. I was appalled to learn that there is raw sewage being dumped into the harbour. I have recently learned that the job to clean the harbour will run the Province upwards of $100M. The Federal Government pledged $8M (why bother) and we of course have to come up with the rest. Where are we going to find the money for this critical job and what priority does this issue have with the candidates?

- Annmarie West

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