(WEA-Atlantic-Alerts)
Environment Canada has issued weather warnings throughout the Atlantic provinces.
Northern Nova Scotia and southern New Brunswick are both under freezing rain warnings.
Other areas of both provinces — along with P-E-I — could be in for a mix of ice pellets, snow and freezing rain.
Twenty to 25 centimetres of snow is possible in northwest Cape Breton with 10 to 15 centimetres possible on the south coast of Newfoundland.
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(NB-Escapee-Charges)
More charges have been filed against an inmate who escaped from a correctional facility in New Brunswick.
On February 12th, the man jumped the fence at the Southeast Regional Correctional Centre in Shediac — and he remained at large until March 23rd.
The inmate has been charged with failing to make a scheduled court appearance while he was on the run.
He’s also charged with obstructing an R-C-M-P officer on the day he was captured. (CTV News)
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(NS-Power-Update)
The new C-E-O of Nova Scotia’s privately owned electric utility says the firm has hit key milestones in its recovery from last year’s cyberattack.
Vivek Sood says the utility has reconnected every smart meter in the province after the ransomware attack disrupted communications last March.
At the time, the utility was forced to start estimating many customers’ power usage, which led to complaints about bills that had jumped significantly.
The company also confirmed yesterday that it had deleted all customer social insurance numbers it had on file, a commitment it made to the Privacy Commissioner of Canada. (The Canadian Press)
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(NS-Writes-Off-Debts)
The Nova Scotia government is writing off 10.3-million-dollars worth of uncollected debts.
These include unpaid loans, fees and fines that are unlikely to be repaid.
The largest debt is for unpaid ambulance fees, valued at 2.9-million-dollars, followed by unpaid student loans at 2.3-million-dollars, and 1.7-million-dollars in uncollected loans from the Nova Scotia Farm Loan Board.
Finance Minister John Lohr says this is a routine annual practice and that the government will keep trying to recover those debts. (The Canadian Press)
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(NL-PUB-Fuel-Prices)
The public utilities board in Newfoundland and Labrador says it will temporarily adjust maximum prices for several types of fuel on a daily basis, outside its regular pricing schedule.
In a release, the agency cited “volatility in market commodity prices in recent weeks” as the reason for the change.
Maximum prices for gasoline and diesel motor fuels, furnace oil, and stove oil heating fuels will be established by the board five days a week, Tuesday through Saturday.
The adjustments will be in effect for most of the province with some exceptions.
The board will continue to adjust propane prices on Fridays. (The Canadian Press)
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(Atl-Minimum-Wage)
Minimum wage is increasing across Atlantic Canada beginning today.
P-E-I will have the highest minimum hourly pay in the region at 17 dollars, up from 16 dollars and 50 cents.
New Brunswick will continue to have the lowest minimum wage in the region, at 15 dollars and 90 cents an hour, up just 25 cents.
Nova Scotia’s minimum wage is also increasing by 25 cents, and will hit 16 dollars and 75 cents beginning tomorrow.
In Newfoundland and Labrador, the new minimum hourly pay will hit 16 dollars and 35 cents tomorrow, which a 35 cent increase.
(The Canadian Press)
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(Atlantic Update by The Canadian Press)
