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.