July 29

The New Brunswick government says it has initiated a review into its Right to Information and Protection of Privacy Act.

Finance and Treasury Board Minister René Legacy says this is evidence of government’s commitment to transparency and accountability, and the review will look to reduce restrictive rules and enhance public access to information.

Legacy says the reform will help ensure New Brunswick’s laws are in line with public expectation and modernize right-to-information legislation.

The last review of this kind happened in 2022.

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A New Brunswick fire department says it’s looking at how to handle an increase in fires at encampments in the city of Saint John. 

In 2024, the Saint John Fire Department’s firefighters were dispatched to 466 fires at homeless encampments. 

That is 31 per cent more than the encampment fires the department responded to in 2023. 

Fire chief Rob Nichol told the C-B-C the increase in such fires has put pressure on their resources and has played a role in their department spending about 500-thousand dollars more than originally budgeted. (CBC News)

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The New Brunswick Government says it will invest 9.2-million dollars into services that support addressing gender-based violence.

The provincial government says the funds will be used to help improve services — bolstering the quality and accessibility for residents as the province continues to grow.

Some of the funding will go directly to supporting individuals experiencing gender-based violence.

The government says that could look like the purchase of toiletries, clothes, food or rent.

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Prime Minister Mark Carney took a tour of some of the oldest Acadian houses in New Brunswick this weekend.

The prime minister visited the village yesterday to highlight the Acadian culture, ahead of the Fête Nationale de l’Acadie, on August 15th.

Families in this village worked trades such as weaving and fishing.

Carney tried his hand at cleaning wool, was told about a barter system where people exchanged merchandise for fish and was offered sugar pie and a traditional drink called Pijoune, made with water, sugar and ginger.

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B-C’s premier says if Atlantic Canada’s ferries are seeing a major reduction in fares due to federal subsidies, so should the ferries on the west coast.

Yesterday, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced fares are being cut in half for passengers, vehicles and commercial traffic on federally supported Eastern Canada ferry services and Marine Atlantic.

B-C Premier David Eby (EE’-bee) says while he realizes Carney is following through on an election promise, he questions why the same help isn’t being provided to the B-C ferry system.

Eby says Ottawa should provide the same per capita funding to B-C for ferries that any other province gets. (The Canadian Press)

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