Thoughts of a Common Man

Health Minister Addresses Local Liberal Association

(This article is the unedited version of the article published in the Sackville Tribune Post, Sackville, NB, Canada, on June 04, 2008)

During the open public meeting prior to the Annual General Meeting of the Tantramar Liberal Association provincial Health Minister Michael Murphy spoke to local citizens on issues related to the reformed health care system.

The main point of interest was the assurance that he had no intention to cut beds at the Sackville Memorial Hospital and that governments plans to create two hundred plus new nursing home beds for seniors would not threaten the number of provincial hospital beds. It is his intention to use the freed up space in the various hospitals to increase the number of surgeries and reduce wait times throughout the province.

Murphy also pointed out that under the new system patients will now have the choice of staying in their own communities and wait for services or go to another location anywhere in the province and receive those very same services sooner.

With the reduction in the of Health Care Boards there would more resources made available which Murphy feels will provide a more standardized health care system at a reduced cost which is badly needed because the provincial economy is growing only at about three percent rate while health care costs are growing at a rate of about six percent.

With reference to seniors being needlessly being housed in high priced hospital rooms, Murphy stated, with the commitment of his government to construct two hundred plus new nursing room beds over the next two and one years there will be a greater savings and reduce the financial burden on the entire health care system and will better serve the seniors who can be looked after outside the hospital environment.

In other areas the Minister foresees improved in the seniors prescription plan, improved ambulance service, at home self care initiatives and the retention of all paramedic graduates within the province.

Following his presentation Murphy fielded questions from the floor during which he stated he has full confidence and supports the Minister of Education and his proposed changes within the French Immersion program. In regard to uranium drilling issue within the province the Government House leader Murphy indicated that although he has authorized free water testing in the community of Harvey he presently has no concerns pertaining to Radon pollution or other chemicals and the health of New Brunswickers. He further stated should uranium mining become an issue in this province federal regulations would be in affect and environment issues would be addressed through Ottawa.

During the Annual Meeting of the Tantramar Liberal Association the status quo was maintain in membership of the executive and board members with any remaining vacancies to be filled by the executive. The elected President Janet Fotheringham will be providing a new agenda for the association over the next few weeks.

WG Macx MacNICHOL

Dorchester

To The Editor:

Tax Payers have Proof They are Victims

The release of the recent provincial Auditor General’s Report on personal income tax should give all tax payers an indication of the attitude all elected representatives have towards those who work so hard for their wages in the province of New Brunswick.

As pointed out in the report the last two governments have been over taxing every working New Brunswicker and it appears by their quotes, in some cases their silence, they have no regrets doing it.

Year after year all politicians have used terms openness, transparency and accountability to promote their political agendas and polices with the goal of being elected. How can any of those elected since 2003 explain how they allowed the excessive taxation to continue? How are they going to explain how their actions or inaction were open, transparent and accountable when it comes to their dealings with those who elected them to their present office?

The extra millions of dollars removed from New Brunswick tax payers in all regions unnecessarily should somehow be returned to those who were over taxed. Will our elected officials make the necessary amendments and return all excessive tax dollars to those who so badly need every cent they earn as soon as possible, thus being accountable?

The most shocking aspect is the provincial Finance Minister considering using the inappropriate tax money to create competitive investment and support for big business without even an expression of concern for the over taxed workers of New Brunswick and their financial problems.

It would appear all elected representatives use a special dictionary, much different than the ones used in our school system, when they define openness, transparency and accountability, maybe they should refer to the Minister of Education for the correct definition as taught in our schools.

With the pending federal, municipal and eventually province elections everyone of the voters should be very cautious when talking to a politician who uses terms such as openness, transparency or accountability they could be talking to some one who would over tax us, pass legislation or make appointments without any regard for the well being of the tax payer.

I wonder what the political definitions are for victims and reimbursement.

As one who has lived through a big company closure and has seen how families and communities have been affected, even destroyed, I am always amazed by the lack of worker protection in many provincial jurisdictions.

Governments are always bragging about their success, when they spend millions of tax payers dollars attracting investment into a province whether it be heavy industry or service companies but are totally amazed, surprised and shocked when years later a company closes it operations, leaving a community in a disastrous condition, without appropriate compensation or financial protection for it’s worker.

When a government negotiates tax breaks, loan guarantees, resource access, direct non repayable grants and various other concessions, why are there no negotiations for the future employee’s salaries, pension protection and asset controls?

How can governments justify allowing companies to come to this province rape and plunder thousands of acres of woodland, scare the earth by removing minerals and basically commit environmental genocide, to suddenly close, then dictate who will control the remaining assets without proper compensation to the province, the affected employees or communities? A responsible government would exercise more control over the disposal of the remaining assets and how they are to be dealt with to ensure the investments of the government and the affected population are protected.

The most recent incomprehensible government action was the offering of millions more in tax dollars to a company who they had no idea had already made a deal with another country and had no intention to negotiate any possible settlement concerning it’s New Brunswick holdings. This indicates the government negotiators had absolutely no idea what was going on with this company and further more had no idea of the amount of contempt the existing company had for the negotiating government and the population it represented.

There is no way a government can stop company closures but there is no excuse for not having negotiated appropriate long term protection for employees, communities, government investments as well as the small businesses that were established as the result of the government and company financial commitments.

Elected officials and negotiators love to have their photo opportunities with company officials on the opening day of a new company but recently, with the number of closures being announced, none of those officials who negotiated the sweetheart agreements with the closing companies have made any appearances in front of the cameras explaining how they allowed the province and it’s residents be taken to the cleaners by such bad corporate citizens on a number of occasions. Then, explain to all of us, what are the total actual costs to the province as a result of each closure? They should be easy to find because their red faces are glowing,, in the dark of their hiding places, from them being embarrassed by what they see happening because of their bad negotiations.

To a reasonable person, past negotiations involving concessions, government investment, tax relieve and resource availability appear to have been very poorly done, from the government side, when it came to protection of the environment, salaries, pensions and asset control.

That same reasonable person would want to know when will negotiation goals be changed and what government will step up to the plate and ensure there is adequate protection for tax dollars, communities, employees and the control over all remaining assets?

Your Waste Paper Can Save Trees

When I watch the huge trucks and trailers pass on the four lane highway loaded with logs, I can only think of the tons of unused waste paper that could be recycled and prevent the cutting of so many trees especially those considered are undersize.

Believe me, there are literally thousands of tons of paper products serving no purpose other than taking up space in attics, basements, barns, and garages throughout the province of New Brunswick. Over the past five years I have worked with an organization that raised thousands of dollars for community activities by collecting books and other paper products then arranging to have them recycled or put to other useful purposes.

Every week I hear people stating they are concerned about what is happening to the forest areas of New Brunswick and wonder what can be done to reduce the cutting of so many trees.

Part of the solution is quite simple and would have more than one benefit to all the residents concerned with saving our badly manipulated forest industry. The first step is to have residents go through their homes and other buildings and remove all the unused, unwanted old magazines, newspapers and cardboard boxes so they can be collected and delivered to a recycling program. Secondly, go through the home library removing all the out of date editions including those thirty and forty year old twenty-four volume encyclopedias which are not longer used then add them to the shredding pile. Finally, sort through all the remaining contents of the library, remove all the books and magazines which are in good or better condition and are no longer used, needed or wanted then donate them to fundraising organizations. There are many organizations that would gladly take those items to be used to raise funds for various activities.

By following these steps new found space can be created in every residence, a huge amount of paper can be put back in to the recycling system, used books are made available to others to enjoy at a reduced price, over time reduce the necessity to cut so many trees and have so many logging trucks on the highways.

A prime example of how much paper could be collected are those huge encyclopedias our parents and grandparents purchased for us back in the 60s, 70s and 80s, each weighing close to one hundred pounds. Presently there are hundreds of homes in New Brunswick that have at least one of those out of date sets, collecting dust and not being used because the new up to date editions are now available of a two ounce CD. Just imagine the tons of paper that could be put back into the system if every one of those sets were to be shredded and reprocessed.

There will always be a forest industry and a need to cut trees of the proper size to produce various needed products but better participation in a the recycling programs for all kinds of paper will reduce the cutting of trees of which many could be considered as undersize. The practice of processing of under sized trees is done because the price of logs makes it profitable and clear cutting makes it easy to do.

Those who would like to take the first step can do so by organizing such events as “Book and Paper Days” to collect as many items as possible for either recycling or re-use. By doing so, there is also the possibility of raising funds that could be used to support other activities within the community. In my opinion these types of events are easier to organize and do more to help the forests and environment than participating in attention seeking demonstrations that only have short term affects and are soon forgotten.

More importantly, by returning tons of paper back into the pulp and paper industry or putting items into the hands of others for their enjoyment at a very low cost can only be a benefit to the overall environmental management process. There is no reason for the concerned residents of this province not to participate in this type of endeavour if they are honestly interested in the welfare of our forests and the environment.

Submitted to the provincial Minister of Environment 2006-12-13

For many years the province of New Brunswick has been known as the picture province because of its’ picturesque scenery, parks, wonderful clean country roads and running clear water streams.
I now wish to inform all who will listen, that impression is deteriorating quickly especially by those residents who travel throughout this province on a regular basis. From what travelers see being done by residents of this province to the landscape and environment is shocking to them and gives the impression that many people who reside in New Brunswick do not care what happens to the landscape, what visitors think of how the area looks or the impact of the unsightly waste has on the tourism industry on which so many depend.
As a person who has been traveling to many locations in and around the southeastern region of New Brunswick, I can confirm many of our fellow residents have absolutely no concern or consideration for how they dispose of their waste or how they maintain their privately owned property. I have documented proof of what some people have done on the side roads, fields and wooded trails in this region.
The pictorial proof of the disregard for the local environment and the landscape by private citizens and businesses includes images of the illegal dumping of everything from personal garbage, household appliances, contaminated materials as well as construction waste products at illegal dump sites both on private property and along publicly owned right of ways. Many of these illegal dump sites are often along or near many of the high traffic areas which tourists use to travel through our rural areas including those of the Tantramar region such as the historic marshes, wooded areas, along coastlines and the many side roads used to connect our interesting wetlands in the out lying areas.
Recently the Maritimes has seen a tremendous downturn in the tourism industry caused by the decease in the number of exterior visitors to our area and trying to attract visitors back to our region is going to be very hard when there are illegal dump sites and numerous unsightly premises throughout our area unless serious action is taken to remedy the situation and soon.

With reference to the privately owned unsightly premises, under the present legislation it is cost prohibitive for small communities to take the necessary steps to force owners to clean their property. After speaking to a couple of municipal officials it was determined it could potentially cost anywhere from $5000.00 to $10,000.00 to force an uncooperative property owner to cleanup his premises. Therefore changes in the Municipalities Act will have to be made to make the process easier and cheaper which will take time and in the meantime the problem remains the same or could even get worst.
As a result of these environmental situations the following questions arise: 1.) How can the illegal dump sites be cleaned up and the waste disposed of legally?; 2.) How can these illegal acts be prevented and those doing the dumping illegally be held accountable and 3.) What can be done to make it possible for small communities to take action that would force property owners to cleanup and dispose of the unsightly waste at minimal costs?
The proposal in this presentation is only to deal with cleaning up the illegal dump sites and disposing of the waste from the Tantramar region because the other two situations will have to be addressed by the various levels of government and their departments so an effective enforceable strategy can be developed.
Over the past ten or so years there has been an Environmental Trust Fund operating within the province whose mandate is to support environmental projects through the community recycling program of returnable items. It is this funds and its mandate on which I wish to base this submitted proposal.

After reflecting on the situation of illegal dump sites and the disregard for proper garbage disposal by residents along the provincial roads, streams, shorelines and privately owned properties I have come to the conclusion there is a for a major cleanup program for our region which should be funded through a substantial grant from the Environmental Trust Fund.

Not only would a well thought out program and action plan be of great benefit to the environment, give a more positive perception to visitors to our area it would create a number of seasonal jobs for residents who would be recruited to cleanup those unsightly garbage within our area. The program could run from April to mid December each year and have as many as three cleanup teams situated at points through out the region. These teams would work separately within their assigned areas and work jointly should extra personnel be needed at any site within the overall area.

This program should be coordinated with local waste management enterprises which would accurately account for the recovered returnable items through the cleanup program including keeping a record of the tonnage of non recyclable waste. This process would be the method with which the success of the program could be measured as well as providing addition funding for the program from the recovered returnable items.

It would be the hope the members of various organizations within the local communities would participate in the program by reporting the locations of illegal dump sites which require cleanup. Individuals who enjoy such activities as walking, fishing, hunting, ski-dooing or other outdoor activities would also assist in this environmental cleanup process by contacting the program at a central telephone number with pollution information.

By having a program in place supported by local residents directly or indirectly, the Tantramar region would have the opportunity to greatly enhance its appearance and protect its environmental assets at the same time. The reduction of waste materials illegally disposed of within region recovered through this program would also create a number of meaningful jobs for local residents and would greatly benefit them from this six to seven month program.

From first impression there are hundreds of tons of illegal waste through out the Tantramar region with some of it situated in many picturesque locations. I personally have only seen a small part of our region but if what I have seen is any indication what is spread through out the entire there is plenty of work to be done.

I am sure anyone who reads this presentation can give the location of at least one illegal dump site they have seen and one unsightly premise in their community. Image the numbers, if every resident could do the same, the amount of garbage would be unbelievable.

I would like to see private landowners be allowed to participate in the cleanup of their small illegal dump sites through this same program for a nominal fee based on weight on a volunteer basis.

Therefore I would like to propose that a project be prepared in conjunction with local waste management enterprises and presented to the Environmental Trust Fund for a grant of $35,000.00 for startup and operational funding. I realize there are a number of aspects in setting up such a project that I have not covered but I do feel this submission contains enough material which can be used to judge the merit of the basic regional project for consideration.

Our beautiful region which stretches from Memramcook to the Northumberland Strait needs a major house cleaning which can be accomplished through assistance from the Environmental Trust Fund in conjunction with local enterprises. There are many positive results that can be accomplished by such a project of which cleaning up our region would be most beneficial to the environment and would address some the negative perceptions of the overall look of our beautiful province.

Submitted for your information, consideration, action and response.

Submitted to the New Brunswick provincial Government 2006-12-06

Presently in New Brunswick there are a substantial number of welfare recipients of which many feel tripped in the cycle of poverty and hopelessness for themselves and their families.
There will always be those who will need society’s support to have a minimum standard of living, in many cases due to circumstances beyond their control. On the other hand there those who would love to have the opportunity to participate in some type of program or effort through which they could improve their standard of living and possibly help them reach the point where they can terminate their dependency on the Social Services of the province.
With the recent political enthusiasm to help the Non – Profit organizations(Times Transcript 2006-12-06) which help those in need, there is a also an opportunity to have welfare recipients help themselves in conjunction with the Social Services department and the private sector industries.
Due to many economic circumstances there is a shortage of short term and part-time workers in the province New Brunswick to such a point where the importation of temporary workers from Russia, Mexico and Cuba has become necessary for many food producers to harvest and process their products.
At the present time in New Brunswick a welfare recipient is penalized should he or she have the ambition to attempt to work at one of those short term or temporary jobs to obtain a little extra support for those they may be responsible. It is the view of many that the best way to help someone get ahead in life is to provide them the opportunity to do so and presently New Brunswick has that great chance to help many.
The concept of allowing a welfare recipient to earn extra income equivalent to a predetermined percentage of the assistance they receive from the government (without penalty) would not only be a benefit to the welfare recipient but also to the overall economy. This new type of initiative would assist private enterprises, who require short term and part time workers at different times throughout the year, by providing a new local source of labour. This would reduce the number of foreign workers required and would prevent large amounts of labour dollars from leaving the province.
By allowing welfare recipients to earn extra dollars to supplement their government cheque without penalty would offer the opportunity for someone to start raising the standard of living for those he or she may be supporting. In many cases it would not take much new income to benefit many households and possibly put a family on the road to independence and self-sufficiently over the long term.
By implementing such a program the government would be assisting those on the welfare rolls at no greater cost other than the administration of the program. Those willing to participate in such a program could eventually become independent of the welfare system and that is where the government really starts to save some of the thousands of dollars it costs to support a recipient. Even if some of the recipients should remain on the welfare roll there is the good possibility the extra income will raise their standard of living again without extra cost to the government.
By providing the many private enterprises with a new local source of short and part time labour would allow them to possibly train and evaluate the participants over a complete season with the hope some or all of the participants would be able to obtain full time employment while raising their standard of living during that period.
By implementing such a non punitive program the government would allow the heads of families and some of its’ members to have a chance to work, possibly learn new skills and develop for the future without fear of loosing their necessary support until they reach the point where they can stand on their own. Not only would the families benefit from such a program but those in the potato, strawberry, blueberry, raspberry, and apple harvesting and processing industries, are just a few examples, would benefit as well. There are numerous other industries that would see the program as beneficial from a staffing point of view.
This program concept is not meant to make people rich but can be used to raise the standard of living on a day to day basis of some of those who in our society who need the greatest amount of assistance at minimal cost to the government support system. Changing the welfare rules is not very expensive and by doing so would create numerous opportunities and incentive for willing participants to improve their lifestyle.
Realizing there are many other administration and organizational aspects to consider there is a feeling this type of program should be given a chance in an effort to determine how many positive results could be accomplished for those in need of a chance to improve their lives and those of their dependants.

Footnote; the writer is a person who has been through dozens of crisis’s, been broke financially numerous times and has returned to a fair standard of living in his lifetime and has always grateful to those who reached out to him starting as far back 1963 with the construction industry. Although he understands there are those who will get what they can for nothing and remain where they are, he also realizes there are those who would take full advantage of any opportunities offered.
The proposed concept will not empty the welfare rolls but it will provide a few with that break in life they may need to become happier, healthier and productive in a supportive and generous society.
On the side of hardship the writer has felt the results of enterprises taking advantage of the less fortunate. Therefore he emphasizes the need to ensure those who would employ those seeking to benefit themselves in a willing and honest manner are protected from those who would take advantage of the program participants’ situation which leave them open to different kinds of abuse that would cause participants to withdraw or quite the program.