Thursday 17 January 2019

Methinks the SANB spin doctors had lots to say about Auditor General Kim MacPherson's annual report while CBC blocked me AGAIN N'esy Pas?

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Methinks the SANB spin doctors had lots to say about Auditor General Kim MacPherson's annual report while CBC blocked me AGAIN N'esy Pas?

 


https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/auditor-general-report-kim-macpherson-1.4980002




---------- Original message ----------
From: Viafoura <support@viafoura.zendesk.com>
Date: Thu, 17 Jan 2019 17:04:46 +0000
Subject: [Request received] I must say the SANB spin doctors had lots
to say about Auditor General Kim MacPherson's annual report while CBC
blocked me AGAIN N'esy Pas/
To: David Amos <motomaniac333@gmail.com>

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---------- Original message ----------
From: "Gallant, Brian (LEG)" <Brian.Gallant@gnb.ca>
Date: Thu, 17 Jan 2019 17:32:21 +0000
Subject: RE: I must say the SANB spin doctors had lots to say about
Auditor General Kim MacPherson's annual report while CBC blocked me
AGAIN N'esy Pas/
To: David Amos <motomaniac333@gmail.com>

Thank you for writing to the Leader of the Official Opposition of New
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If this is a media request, please forward your e-mail to
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---------- Original message ----------
From: Jody.Wilson-Raybould@parl.gc.ca
Date: Thu, 17 Jan 2019 17:04:37 +0000
Subject: Automatic reply: I must say the SANB spin doctors had lots to
say about Auditor General Kim MacPherson's annual report while CBC
blocked me AGAIN N'esy Pas/
To: motomaniac333@gmail.com

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---------- Original message ----------
From: Newsroom <newsroom@globeandmail.com>
Date: Thu, 17 Jan 2019 17:04:38 +0000
Subject: Automatic reply: I must say the SANB spin doctors had lots to
say about Auditor General Kim MacPherson's annual report while CBC
blocked me AGAIN N'esy Pas/
To: David Amos <motomaniac333@gmail.com>

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---------- Original message ----------
From: David Amos <motomaniac333@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 17 Jan 2019 13:04:32 -0400
Subject: I must say the SANB spin doctors had lots to say about
Auditor General Kim MacPherson's annual report while CBC blocked me
AGAIN N'esy Pas/
To: Catherine.Tait@cbc.ca, pablo.rodriguez@parl.gc.ca,
sylvie.gadoury@radio-canada.ca, Alex.Johnston@cbc.ca, pm@pm.gc.ca,
premier@gnb.ca, Gerald.Butts@pmo-cpm.gc.ca, blaine.higgs@gnb.ca,
robert.gauvin@gnb.ca, Hon.Dominic.LeBlanc@canada.ca,
brian.gallant@gnb.ca, serge.rousselle@gnb.ca, David.Coon@gnb.ca,
Kevin.A.Arseneau@gnb.ca, megan.mitton@gnb.ca, kris.austin@gnb.ca,
rick.desaulniers@gnb.ca, michelle.conroy@gnb.ca,
Larry.Tremblay@rcmp-grc.gc.ca, Gilles.Blinn@rcmp-grc.gc.ca,
jan.jensen@justice.gc.ca, Nathalie.Drouin@justice.gc.ca,
hon.ralph.goodale@canada.ca, Brenda.Lucki@rcmp-grc.gc.ca,
mcu@justice.gc.ca, Jody.Wilson-Raybould@parl.gc.ca,
David.Lametti@parl.gc.ca, andrea.anderson-mason@gnb.ca,
oldmaison@yahoo.com, andre@jafaust.com, Jacques.Poitras@cbc.ca,
steve.murphy@ctv.ca, Newsroom@globeandmail.com,
news@kingscorecord.com, news@dailygleaner.comnews919@rogers.com
Cc: david.raymond.amos@gmail.com, jesse@viafoura.com,
marc.martin@snb.ca, Kim.MacPherson@gnb.ca, darrow.macintyre@cbc.ca,
support@viafoura.zendesk.com


---------- Original message ----------
From: Viafoura <support@viafoura.zendesk.com>
Date: Wed, 16 Jan 2019 19:25:42 +0000
Subject: [Request received] Fwd: YO Pierre Poilievre I just called and
tried to reason with David Lametti's minions and got nowhere fast
Surprise Surprise Surprise N'esy Pas P...
To: David Amos <motomaniac333@gmail.com>

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https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/auditor-general-report-kim-macpherson-1.4980002

'Living beyond our means': Auditor general troubled by debt growth

Kim MacPherson says New Brunswick's net debt has reached $13.9B, while
funded debt hits $17B
Elizabeth Fraser · CBC News · Posted: Jan 16, 2019 12:04 PM AT

134 Comments
Commenting is now closed for this story.


Marguerite Deschamps
Je pense qu'il nous faut les jeux de la francophonie afin de nous
faire oublier tous ces tracas. Ha! Ha!

Marc Martin
@Marguerite Deschamps









cheryl wright
I think we need an overhaul of all of our crown corporations. nb
power, nb liquor, nb cannabis and their ceo salaries. we also need a
way to increase revenue NOT spending, at least not without a good
return. whenever we get a new person in charge they don't need to get
new paint and furniture in their rooms. we don't need to change names
of of committees and organizations every 3 months - it is a waste of
money


Marc Martin
@cheryl wright

*nb liquor, nb cannabis *

These are the only 2 that actually makes money provide good jobs with
good benefits and you want to sell them to private ? Why ? So you can
save money on booze and pot ?


cheryl wright
@Marc Martin never once said to sell or privatize but rather take a
look at the bonuses and salaries of the ceos


Marc Martin
@cheryl wright

Maybe of NB Power, but I doubt the people from nb liquor,and nb
cannabis earn the same thing..


Kevin Perley
@Marc Martin Considering the recent layoffs are Cannabis NB, and the
fact that article said some of those folk were making $23 an hour to
work in retail, yes. My wife is a level 2 dental assistant and she
doesn't make that much money.


Fred Brewer
@Marc Martin
Whoa, slow down there Marc. NB Cannabis has not been in operation for
a full year yet, so how can you claim they make money? They recently
had a massive layoff. I think 60 NB Cannabis employees got laid off.


Gil Murray
@Fred Brewer I don't think M. Martin ever lets facts get in the way of
his opinions.


Marc Martin
@Kevin Perley

*and the fact that article said some of those folk were making $23 an
hour to work in retail, yes. My wife is a level 2 dental assistant and
she doesn't make that much money.*

So because your jealous you want them to sell the corporation to
private so they can create minimum salary jobs....I am glad your not
the finance minister...


Marc Martin
@Fred Brewer

Well firs they are always sold out....Seems to be the business is
doing good, and those massif lay off are because they don't have
enough stuff to sell to keep the employees.


Gil Murray
@Marc Martin
Really?
Poor inventory planning due to lack of wholesale supply?
Poor cash flow planning to ensure JiT inventory demands can be met?
Revenue projections exceed actual income before non-cash adjustments?
How many more do you want?


Marc Martin
@Gil Murray

*Poor inventory planning due to lack of wholesale supply? *

Who says that you ? Like I will believe you.....

*Poor cash flow planning to ensure JiT inventory demands can be met? *

I have no idea where you get your info from, you have access to these
documents ?

*Revenue projections exceed actual income before non-cash adjustments? *

They do ? I haven't seen any documentation for that, have you ?


Ha ha


Harold Benson
@Marguerite Deschamps The litigant should appear anytime now.


Tim Raworth
@Marguerite Deschamps Ahh, No.










Marc Martin
They should have sold NB power instead of listening to the population
who didn't want too sell it to a province they hate because of their
language...


Rosco holt
@Marc Martin
Nope, the only thing wrong with NBPower is government meddling.
Sorry, but I prefer control over a basic necessity like electricity to
stay in the province.

Privatization has never delivered the savings that was promised. Just
look at our phone/ internet bills.


Paul Estey
@Marc Martin I would have to say that Shawn Graham not winning a
second term after announcing his decision to sell the Utility would
say that he didn't have the support of the majority of the Province.
Again it had nothing to do with Language as you constantly harp
about....its individuals like yourself that are dividing this province
on the 2 linguistic groups....you make everything a language issue....


Marc Martin
@Rosco holt

*Nope, the only thing wrong with NBPower is government meddling. *

eh we are losing 1 million a day each time Point Lepreau is closed, we
are going to have to pay over 4 billion to repaire or demolish
Mactaquac...What about the 4.5 billion we where going to get for the
sale and all the salaries we would have saved....


Marc Martin
@Paul Estey

*Shawn Graham not winning a second term after announcing his decision
to sell the Utility would say that he didn't have the support of the
majority of the Province.*

Id say ATCON had a bigger influence. The only reason why he didn't
sell was because he wanted to gain votes amongst the English
population, up north there was even petitions to sell NB Power.

*Again it had nothing to do with Language as you constantly harp about....I*

Actually it did, the backlash over this sale... » more


Marguerite Deschamps
@Marc Martin, they like to harp about the language issue all the time,
yet they accused us of doing it. Who started playing the language card
first one here as is most often the case?


Rosco holt
@Marc Martin
Nope again. Mainly the private sector wanted NBPower sold and Graham
dealings in the backroom, saying you'll know the details of the deal
after it signed rubbed me the wrong way, just has the extra mural deal
has.

When a copy of the agreement comes out most of it is heavily
edited(blacked out) out of the privacy and the protect of business
secrets.

Politicians can't be trusted.


Tim Raworth
@Marguerite Deschamps Is like was said before, the only reason Hydro
Que wanted NB Power was to block Muskrat falls. After the 10 year rate
freeze [ next year] our rate would go through the roof. Also
purchasing would have moved to Que so local business would be left
out. Its was simply a bad deal.


Marc Martin
@Tim Raworth

*After the 10 year rate freeze [ next year] our rate would go through the roof*

Your not too good at math are ya ? How much money would you have saved
in electricity bills ? a few thousand at least. To that you can remove
4.5 billion on our province depth we would have paid less taxes !!!
Another few thousand at least right ? How about all the salary we
would have saved and the million a day Point Lepreau cost us each time
its closed ??? Better yet no Mactaquac to refurbished at 4.5 billion
+...

*Also purchasing would have moved to Que so local business would be
left out. Its was simply a bad deal.*

And so ?« less


Marc Martin
@Rosco holt

* saying you'll know the details of the deal after it signed rubbed me
the wrong way*

The deal was out here was even a conference and news on this..They
where buying NB Power and all the effectives with it, Point Lepreau
was going to be their after it was completely renovated, Mactaquac was
going to be theirs. Millions over millions we have have saved...


Rosco holt
@Marc Martin
You really believe what politicians say?
I don't trust any of them especially when they hide to do their
dealings and no, we wouldn't have save anything, Quebec would have
made us pay.

They were only interested in transmission to block NFLD and would have
resold the rest.







Lou Bell
Well at least 10 % of the province is just below borderline bilingual
after 50 years . The other 90 % are not, no matter how much the
government tries to paint it ! All for votes !


Marc Martin
@Lou Bell

Stats say the opposite.







Jeff LeBlanc
Boy I can't wait for those Francophone Games! That'll distract us from
our debt problem real good!


Marguerite Deschamps


@Jeff LeBlanc, I knew it all along that you were looking forward to those games!









Tim Raworth
The National Post published a report done by the Frazer Institute in
2012. Its findings report that Ontario spends the most on bilingual
services, $600 million. New Brunswick, Canada’s only officially
bilingual province, spends the second most annually at $85 million.
Quebec rounds out the top three with an annual bilingual cost of $50
million. Its time to stop the bleeding.


Roland Godin
@Tim Raworth
The majority of members of parlement are and have been unilingual
English, we could throw the mismanagement of public finances at them
by thrumping the issue, eh! As for les langues officielles just 0,06%
of the debt, am I being short changed...et voilà.


Tim Raworth
@Roland Godin That was 2012 and I am sure is much more than that now.
And does not include things like Francophone games etc. How many
teachers, nurses etc. could we hire or retain with that money. Its
funny how when the English says something, the French reply back, its
all about language. But from where I sit, its you folks are the ones
that "its all about language, Yours" Nothing else matters.


Marc Martin
@Tim Raworth

*Frazer Institute in 2012*

You fail to mention the author of that editorial has been found
criticizing over and over the French language and none of the amount
have proof behind it , its all speculation.


Tim Raworth
@Marc Martin So say you.


Marc Martin
@Tim Raworth

Says what he wrote..you cant deny facts.


Roland Godin
@Tim Raworth
And effort spells the same in les deux langues officielles...EH!








 Albert Wade
The province is bankropt. Time for third party management. When will
someone admit that bilingualism isn't sustainable?


Roland Godin
@Albert Wade
Agree with you, the English langue officielle is unbalancing the budget...eh!


Emilien Forest
@Roland Godin

Completely..


Dan Lee
@Roland Godin
Sigh......your right............


Marc Martin
@Albert Wade

Where do you see this is because of bilingualism in the article?


Rosco holt
@Albert Wade
Trickledown economy is unsustainable.


'Living beyond our means': Auditor general troubled by debt growth

Kim MacPherson says New Brunswick's net debt has reached $13.9B, while funded debt hits $17B


Auditor general Kim MacPherson presented her annual report on Wednesday. (CBC)
New Brunswick's auditor general went after the province's overall finances in her annual report Wednesday, saying the debt has reached a historic high.

Kim MacPherson said the net debt has reached $13.9 billion and the funded debt has ballooned to $17 billion, money the province is legally required to pay.

"If we were to pay today all of the bond issues that are outstanding, we have funded debt to $17 billion, so it is a higher number," she said at a news conference Wednesday.

The report also took a closer look at the education system and the impact of frequent change on student learning, at how quickly WorkSafeNB gets injured people back to work, and at whether politicians are meddling too much in the rate-setting process of NB Power.

This is MacPherson's eighth year producing an annual report and every time she has said the same thing: "The province is living beyond our means."

"Consecutive deficits, the pace of growth of our net debt is not sustainable for the long term."
If the province put $100 million toward the debt each year, it would take 170 years to pay it off — with an annual service cost of $667 million, she said.

At a news conference, Finance Minister Ernie Steeves said the government agrees with MacPherson's evaluation of a dire debt situation.

"We plan to do more to curb spending and return to balanced budgets by March 2020 or sooner," Eves said.

CBC News
'The system needs to stabilize'
 Auditor-General Kim MacPherson said there have been five different provincial education plans in the past 15 years. 1:03

Too much spending 


MacPherson said one of the main drivers of New Brunswick's growth and net debt is capital spending, a problem worsened by the maintenance that has been put off.

"With 750,000 people in New Brunswick that have to pay for it," she said "We have a huge issue with deferred maintenance of the infrastructure that we already have."

MacPherson said she did find it encouraging that the province recorded a small annual surplus of $67 million in 2018, collecting higher tax revenues and transfers from the federal government, while underspending its budgeted expenses for the year.
But MacPherson said she is more concerned about a long-term financial picture aggravated by a growing net debt.

Compared with other provinces, she said, New Brunswick has the highest net debt per capita — $18,300 per person.

She again called on the provincial government to set targets for controlling and reducing debt.

Education lacks stability


Taking a closer look at education, the annual report found the school system lacks stability and said frequent changes have caused disruption for students and affected their performance.

MacPherson said there have been five different provincial education plans in the past 15 years.
Although she recognized 10 years is a long time, MacPherson recommended the Department of Education maintain its current 10-year education plan until it expires in 2026.
With only one year to implement, the labour market could not meet demand.-Kim MacPherson, auditor general
"You need stability," she said.

Steeves promised the government will keep its hands off the existing education plan but did not promise to completely stop making changes.

"We will not interfere with the implementation of the 10-year education plan, but we will look for ways to improve on it."

Steeves said he agreed there has been too much political interference in the education program.

French immersion changed 


She also pointed to three major changes in the French immersion program in the past 10 years, including a reversion in 2017 to Grade 1 as the early entry point to the program instead of Grade 3.

The former Liberal government of Shawn Graham changed the entry point from Grade 1 to Grade 3 in 2008.

The recent change forced school districts to hire teachers who did not meet the language requirement, MacPherson said.

"With only one year to implement, the labour market could not meet demand," she said.

In the November throne speech, the Blaine Higgs government said it would stop "throwing out programs only because another party introduced them," promising to work within the existing 10-year education plan brought in by the previous Liberal government.

Politicians told not to interfere with NB Power


In her report, MacPherson also slams previous governments for the capping or freezing of NB Power rates, which she said violates the utility's independent rate setting role.

She said it also hurts NB Power's ability to work as a business, which could later hurt the province's long-term financial statements.

During the 2018 provincial election, then-premier Brian Gallant said the Liberals would introduce legislation to freeze rates for some customers over the next four years and force NB Power to cut jobs and spending if re-elected.

"History of past governments imposing rate caps or freezes impacts NB Power's authority to carry on as a business and self-sustain operations," MacPherson's report said.

NB Power is supposed to be an independent company, so its assets, liabilities and debt are not on the province's books. (CBC)
MacPherson asked elected officials to respect the independent rate-setting regulatory process, or else there could be a significant impact on the province's consolidated financial statements in the future.

NB Power is supposed to be an independent company, she said, and its assets, liabilities and debt are not on the province's books.

"Each time you see the government sort of intervene in the rate-setting process, it causes you to reflect on whether or not NB Power is, in fact, an independent company and whether or not it is self-sustaining," she told reporters.

She said the utility is intended to generate profits year after year, but lately "the profits haven't been that great."

Steeves said this government will leave decisions about rate increases up to the regulators, the Energy and Utilities Board.

"[The premier] wants to respect that process," he said.

Things slow at WorkSafeNB 


MacPherson also released her second performance audit on WorkSafeNB, saying the Crown corporation's claims management system is "reasonable" and consistent with best practice, but had not done a good job of helping injured workers return to work in a timely fashion.

Her office discovered WorkSafeNB did not properly track the medical progress of injured workers or refer them for specialized treatment fast enough. And there's no tracking of medical or recovery progress for injured workers.

MacPherson's report says claims costs have risen more than $300 million. (Canadian Press)
"There is a lot WorkSafe can do that's going to reduce the time the injured worker is off work by ingraining in their processes this focus on return to work, that will in turn reduce the duration of the claim, which should also eventually reduce the claim cost," she said.

Claims costs have risen more than $300 million in the past five years, the report said.

New Brunswick employers were hit with another increase to their WorkSafeNB premiums this year to cover benefits for injured workers.

Starting Jan.1, they are paying $2.65 for every hundred dollars of payroll — almost double what they were paying two years earlier.

Steeves said the government will be starting a WorkSafe task force that will try to reduce rates.

 

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