Labour Minister Trevor Holder said the bill will be referred to the
standing committee on law amendments to provide the public,
municipalities and the fire and police unions a chance to comment. (Ed Hunter/CBC)
New Brunswick Labour Minister Trevor Holder has introduced
legislative amendments to the binding arbitration process for police
officers and firefighters that would take into consideration a
municipality's ability to pay for any increases.
The province's
eight cities have been calling for the change, arguing the existing
process is "broken" and has created a financial burden for them.
"Municipalities
have observed that the wages and awards determined through arbitration
are higher than wages and awards arrived at through the free collective
bargaining process," Holder said in a statement Friday.
Bob
Davidson, a labour analyst with the New Brunswick Police Association,
called the bill "unconstitutional." He pointed to the New Brunswick's Court of Appeal's recent decision that could allow 4,100 nursing home workers to go on strike in January.
"The
Supreme Court has ruled that freedom of association includes the right
to strike or fair independent binding arbitration," Davidson told
reporters outside the legislature.
"This is not fair independent binding arbitration. This is about suppressing and denying police and fire fair wage increases."
Municipalities will have zero incentive to negotiate fairly.
- Marc Doiron, CUPE
Under
the Industrial Relations Act, police officers and firefighters do not
have the right to strike and their employers do not have the right to
declare a lockout.
When negotiations fail, arbitration is used to reach a new collective agreement.
The proposed amendments to the Industrial Relations Act would require the arbitrator to, among other things, take into consideration:
The
results of a comparison of the terms and conditions of employment of
the police officers or firefighters to other employees in the public and
private sectors.
The results of a comparison of
collective bargaining settlements reached by the same local government
and comparable local governments, including those reached by employees
in bargaining units to which the act applies, and the "relative economic
health of the local governments."
The "economic
health" of the province and the local government, including, but not
limited to, changes to labour market characteristics, property tax
characteristics and socio-economic characteristics.
The employer's ability to attract and retain qualified police officers or firefighters.
The interest and welfare of the community served by the police officers or firefighters.
"Any local factors affecting the community."
Bob Davidson, a labour analyst with the New Brunswick Police
Association, did not rule out a possible court challenge if the bill is
adopted in its present form. (Ed Hunter/CBC)
"We saw all these politicians with crocodile tears when two of our members got shot and killed,"
said Davidson, referring to Fredericton Police Force constables Robb
Costello and Sara Burns, who were gunned down on Aug. 10, 2018, along
with citizens Donnie Robichaud and Bobbie-Lee Wright.
"Now they want to screw … the binding arbitration process that gets fire and police fair wages."
Davidson said the unions were blindsided by the bill because they were not consulted.
But
Holder said he met with labour leaders on Thursday to advise them the
legislation would be introduced on Friday and say there would be a
public consultation process.
"This is not being rammed through,"
he said. "This is not happening overnight. This is going to be a
thoughtful, respectful conversation."
The bill will be referred
to the standing committee on law amendments to provide the public,
municipalities and the fire and police unions the opportunity to comment
on the proposed amendments, likely in January or February, he said.
"This is an opportunity for all of us as New Brunswickers to have an open honest and respectful debate on this issue."
'Not good governance'
Davidson argued the government put the "cart before the horse."
"The
proper way of parliamentary procedure is you have an all-stakeholders
committee, you have discussions. Then after that, if you need, you
introduce legislation."
Asked whether the union would consider
court action if the bill is adopted as is, Davidson said, "We will be
looking at every avenue."
Glenn Sullivan, president of the
Atlantic Provinces Professional Fire Fighters Association, agreed
stakeholder input should not occur at the law amendments stage.
Glenn Sullivan, president of the Atlantic Provinces
Professional Fire Fighters Association, described the bill as a 'cut and
paste' of recently passed legislation in Ontario. 'We don't need Doug
Ford in New Brunswick.' (Ed Hunter/CBC)
"It needs to be done prior to, to actually determine if there's
any issue that should be brought forward as legislation," he said. "To
come forward with legislation now with only listening to one side, I
think is not good governance."
Both union leaders contend the
existing process allows municipalities to argue ability to pay and that
"most" collective agreements over the past 20 years have been reached
through negotiation, not binding arbitration.
"So to indicate that the system is broken doesn't hold true with us," said Sullivan.
Miramichi Mayor Adam Lordon, who got into a terse exchange with Davidson following the tabling of the legislation, disagrees.
"We
[the municipalities] obviously have a difference of opinion with the
union reps and we hope we can have a civilized and fact-based
discourse," Lordon told reporters.
"Our position as municipalities across this province is that the current criteria is not fair and balanced.
"We
believe that for the province to grow and to thrive we need communities
across the province that are doing the same. So this was one of a
number of priorities that we've been advocating for over the last
year-plus now."
PCs opposed Liberal bill 3 years ago
Liberal MLA Keith Chiasson said he thinks "there's good arguments on both sides."
"Obviously
the first [responders] they give essential service. We understand the
municipalities have to juggle rising costs, but they do have a
responsibility to offer that service on their territory. So we're
looking forward to see what both sides are going to say during
committee," he said, adding his party is not ruling out supporting the
bill.
The
Progressive Conservatives also opposed the changes at the time. Holder
said he spoke against the changes in 2016 because there was no
consultation. His party's approach will allow for a "robust, open public
debate," he said.
Discretion will be 'severely limited'
The
Canadian Union of Public Employees New Brunswick and the New Brunswick
Committee of Municipal Employees issued a joint statement Friday,
opposing the bill.
"The
neutral third party's discretion will be severely limited to compensate
for municipal councillors' fiscal blunders," said CUPE NB president
Brien Watson.
"This
is what is happening in Saint John, where they want to make front-line
workers pay for council mistakes in issuing massive corporate tax
exemptions."
Marc
Doiron, a CUPE Firefighter and Municipal Committee representative,
described the bill as an "unnecessary remedy to an imagined problem."
The legislation will have "a perverse effect, because municipalities will have zero incentive to negotiate fairly," he said.
Other proposed changes
Under
the amendments, the binding arbitration process would be conducted by a
single arbitrator instead of the current three-member board that
includes representatives of the union and municipality.
In
addition, the parties would be required to provide the arbitrator with
documentation of their issues in advance of the hearing, and the
arbitrator would be required to, upon request of either party, provide
written reasons to show how various criteria were considered.
More
details on the process to be used by the standing committee on law
amendments will be available in the coming weeks, Holder said.
Councils
in Fredericton, Edmundston, Campbellton, Bathurst, Dieppe, Miramichi,
Moncton and Saint John all voted earlier this month to support the
changes for when a municipality and fire or police union can't reach a
negotiated contract.
Contracts with firefighters in Fredericton, Moncton and Saint John are set to expire at the end of the year.
The province committed to consider reform as part of a report on Saint John's fiscal sustainability earlier this year.
With files from Jacques Poitras
Officer saw 'something' before man's death
CBC News ·
A
police officer whose cruiser struck and killed a 22-year-old Miramichi
man told an inquest Tuesday he saw "something" just before the accident.
Const. Arthur McLean arrives at a coroner's inquest in Miramichi on Tuesday. ((CBC))
Const.
Arthur McLean initially testified he didn't see Christopher (Max)
Comeau while he was driving his police cruiser near the Morrisey Bridge
on the evening of Aug. 3, 2006.
McLean then stated he had seen
"something." Later in his testimony, he said he saw a face and later
still he said he'd seen a silhouette of a body.
McLean
didn't brake until after his windshield shattered and he had initially
thought a duffle bag had been thrown at his car, he said.
WhenMcLean got out of the cruiser, he saw a sneaker in the road and found Comeau lying several metres away,he testified.
Comeau,
who was deaf and suffered from serious tunnel vision, had been walking
home from a day of tubing with his cousins on the river.
Toxicologist
Joanne Cadeau testified on Monday Comeau's blood alcohol level was more
than twice the legal limit for a driver at the time of the incident.
After the drinking, Comeau's vision, co-ordination and reaction time would have been impaired, Cadeau said.
Members of Comeau's family left the courtroom during McLean's testimony on Tuesday.
"I
don't think we'll ever have any closure.It's been very tough on our
family, on myself on my brother, like, why do we even have to sit
through this?" said Comeau's cousin, Anya Connolly.
Comeau's mother also didn't sit through the statements of McLean, who hasn't returned to work since the accident.
Fredericton
city police conducted an investigation into the incident and concluded
the police officer was not at fault. No charges were laid.
Lost weight
McLean said he's lost 30 pounds and has post traumatic stress disorder.
"It's certainly tough," said Comeau's stepfather, Csaba Kazamer.
"My wife of course, she's very upset, but our goal is to try to make things better. We want to hear the facts."
The purpose of the six-day inquest is to make the facts surrounding Comeau's death public, said coroner Dianne Kelly.
About one-third of the expected 25 witnesses testified in the first two days of the Miramichi inquest.
Four jurors are responsible for deciding if Comeau's death was preventable.
Yesterday, Bob Davidson purportedly on behalf of the New Brunswick Police Association, held a
press conference with respect to the Art McLean matter. In addition, the New Brunswick Police
Association issued a written press release to the same effect. Both Mr. Davidson's comments
and the press release represent a complete and purposeful mischaracterization of the facts and
circumstances surrounding the McLean matter and the City's actions to date.
It should be noted that neither Mr. Davidson, nor the New Brunswick Police Association, have
any formal standing or role with respect to this matter. The City's police members are
represented by the Miramichi Association of Police Professionals ("MAPP"), an association
which dropped its membership in the New Brunswick Police Association many months ago. Mr.
Davidson's inflammatory and mean-spirited comments should be viewed in this light.
It should also not be lost that in the New Brunswick Court of Appeal's decision, dated
September 22, 2011 in this matter, the Court concluded its reasons by stating:
"Obviously, this ruling does not preclude the municipality from pursuing the
termination and frustration issues in accordance with the process set out in the
Police Act.
"On Monday, December 12"', management of the Police Force, along with the City Manager,
reviewed the entirety of the matter and the Chief of Police decided to withdraw the Notice of
Arbitration and request to terminate Constable McLean. The City is returning him to duty in the
very near future. Yesterday, the City met with its lawyer and instructed him to notify the
Arbitrator of this decision. Constable McLean has been provided notice of this decision as well.
In the circumstances, the City will refrain from making any further comments as it is a personnel
matter.
230548.v3
**************
Bob Davidson of the NB Police Association was reached for comment, and had this to say:
"This
is welcomed news, and will mean a lot to the McLean family as Christmas
is fast approaching. As well, heading into the new year, the family can
look forward to less stress and more stability. Finally, the people of
Miramichi who rallied behind the McLean family deserve a lot of credit,
and they should know that without their opposition to this, it might
still be ongoing."
***************
Yesterday a Facebook
group called "Stop the persecution of Art McLean or support Art McLean
and his family." In one day the group had over 1000 members, and
hundreds of comments and opinions. You can see the page HERE
McLean fills vacant spot as PC candidate
2019-07-17 | 0 comments |
- Peggy Mclean, former City Councillor, is appointed as Conservative
candidate after Tilly O’Neill-Gordon drops out due to health concerns
as per a press release issued earlier today by the Conservative Party of
Canada.
On April 13th three people ran for the nomination, but all three
would later be disqualified due to undisclosed irregularities during the
nomination campaign. The party then looked to the local riding
association for an option #2, and ultimately decided to appoint Tilly as
the candidate.
In a sudden turn of events brought on by a yet again delayed hip
surgery, Tilly bowed out leaving the candidate’s slot empty with less
than 100 days before an election.
Sources told Miramichi Online that up to three other people contacted
the party to ask to be considered as a candidate if they chose to
appoint one. The following press release ends all that suspence:
July 17, 2019
For immediate release
The Conservative Party of Canada announced former Miramichi city
councillor Peggy McLean will be their candidate in Miramichi-Grand
Lake. McLean was a city councillor from 2012 to 2016.
“Peggy is going to be a fantastic candidate that will put the people
of Miramichi-Grand Lake first,” said Andrew Scheer, Leader of Canada’s
Conservatives.
McLean is a mortgage broker in Miramichi, Vice President of the Josie
Foundation, and a board member for numerous organizations include
Hospice Miramichi.
“I’m excited to be the candidate, and am eager to get out in our
communities and show how a Conservative government will make life more
affordable in Miramichi-Grand Lake,” said McLean.
“I’m ready to join
Andrew Scheer’s team and share his positive Conservative vision for the
region.”
Former Conservative MP for Miramichi, Tilly O’Neill-Gordon, said
she’s here to support the Conservative Party and their candidate
“I’m pleased to see the party act quickly to get a candidate in place
for our riding, and I know the Conservative Party with Andrew Scheer
will help Canadians get ahead,” said O’Neill-Gordon.
The Conservative Party exercised section 11 of its nomination rules
and procedures following the disallowance of a previous candidacy
arising from the nomination. Following input from members, the party,
the party’s elected National Council, and Leader, the decision was made
to appoint Peggy McLean after Tilly O’Neill-Gordon announced her
resignation due to health reasons.
McLean is a member of the Rotary Club, and serves with organizations
such as Hospice Miramichi and The Josee Foundation. McLean served as
councillor for the City of Miramichi from 2012 to 2016. She ran for
mayor twice and for MLA once:
May 2012 wins council seat with three vote margin over Tanker Malley (LINK)
May 2016 McLean finishes second of three vying to unseat Cormier as Mayor (LINK)
November 2016 finished behind Lordon and Lynch in Mayor’s race (LINK)
September 2018 McLean finishes third for PCs in Mirmaichi MLA race (LINK)
Election predictions are murky in Miramichi-Grand Lake
New Brunswick's largest federal riding includes a wide range of views
Jacques Poitras · CBC News · Posted: Oct 17, 2019 7:00 AM AT
Wanda Northrup (left) and her sister Wendy Northrup both say they aren't
sure which Miramichi-Grand Lake candidate they're going to vote for on
Oct. 21. (CBC)
Sisters Wendy and Wanda Northrup are so in sync with each other
that they finish each other's sentences — even when they're trying to
sort out who they'll vote for in next week's federal election.
"I
don't like Trudeau," Wendy said as the pair arrived at the Foodland
grocery store in Minto, in the southwest corner of the Miramichi-Grand
Lake riding.
She was quick to add: "I've always been
Conservative but I'm not sure this time. The NDP, I think if I vote for
them, I'm just taking a vote from somebody else."
"But if everybody thinks like that, you get no change," Wanda answered. "I think I'm voting NDP … I'm tired of the other two."
"Very tired," Wendy agreed.
"It's always one or the other, and look at us," Wanda said.
"They make all these promises," Wendy added. "Some promises happen but we're still in debt."
Doaktown Coun. Art O'Donnell said the idea of voting Liberal scares him. (CBC)
The indecision afflicting the Northrup sisters speaks to the
murky electoral picture in Miramichi-Grand Lake, the province's largest
federal riding and perhaps the most difficult to figure out.
Through
the woods in Doaktown, Coun. Art O'Donnell, a provincial candidate for
the populist People's Alliance last year, had surprisingly good things
to say about the first-term Liberal incumbent.
"I've met Pat Finnigan many times and he's a gentleman and he's been good to me."
But, he said, the idea of voting Liberal, of supporting Justin Trudeau, scared him.
The
Fredericton riding is getting lots of attention during this campaign as
the scene of a possible Green Party breakthrough. But Miramichi-Grand
Lake is where a different kind of anti-establishment vibe could affect
the outcome on Oct. 21.
"I'm not sure which way this riding's going to go," O'Donnell said. "I think people really do want an alternative."
But, he added, newer parties haven't been quick enough to nominate well-known candidates.
Norma Jean Dickison took a break from gardening to share her thoughts on the upcoming federal election. (CBC)
"There's mixed feelings, and they can change any time, at the
last minute," said Norma Jean Dickison as she pulled out her flower beds
for the fall across from the Doaktown Tim Horton's. "No one knows for
sure how people are going to vote."
The constituency sprawls
across the province's midsection, running from Minto, near Fredericton,
up to Boiestown and Doaktown on the Upper Miramichi, and over to a slice
of Kent County and mostly francophone Rogersville and Baie Ste. Anne.
It then continues north to take in the city of Miramichi and communities up the coast, including Neguac and Tabusintac.
In
its more than 17,000 square kilometres, there are anglophones,
francophones and several First Nations. It is dominated by traditional
industries such as forestry and fishing.
The riding of Miramichi-Grand Lake encompasses parts of the counties of Northumberland, Kent, Queens, Sunbury and York. (CBC)
"I have a mini-representation of the province here," Finnigan said as he campaigned at a seniors' residence in Boiestown.
The
businessman from Rogersville was first elected in 2015, winning 47 per
cent of the vote, thanks in part to the Trudeau wave that swept all 32
ridings in Atlantic Canada.
He's running on his own reputation
and on the government's record, pointing to the Canada Child Benefit
introduced by the Liberals, their middle-class tax cut and the move of
the pension eligibility age back to 65 from 67.
He also credits
Trudeau with salvaging the North American Free Trade Agreement, almost
cancelled by Donald Trump, and with signing a trade agreement with the
European Union that opened new markets for lobster fishermen in the
constituency.
"We have a record to talk about," he said. "It's a different conversation [than four years ago], but a good one."
Pat Finnigan is the Liberal incumbent in Miramichi-Grand Lake. (CBC)
But the Liberal wave of 2015 has receded, and provincially, voters here have shown a willingness to try new things.
In
last year's provincial election, the People's Alliance won two of the
five ridings that overlap with Miramichi-Grand Lake, and came within 35
votes of capturing a third. In another corner of the federal
constituency, a provincial Green MLA was elected.
The populist
success of the Alliance would seem to open the door to a new party like
the People's Party of Canada (PPC), and candidate Ron Nowlan says he's
seeing some interest from voters.
"I'm surprised at the support.
A lot of doors will say, 'You don't even have to keep talking. We're
going to vote for you guys anyway.'" But, he added, "The majority say,
'I don't know what I'm going to do.'"
Nowlan worked on People's
Alliance MLA Michelle Conroy's campaign in Miramichi last year and says
many of her supporters are backing him, though so far not a lot of her
campaign volunteers have signed up to work for him.
They are "either busy or just don't have the time to give us volunteer support."
Ron Nowlan is the People's Party of Canada candidate in Miramichi-Grand Lake. (CBC)
It's also not assumed that Alliance voters will go to the PPC.
"I
don't think anybody's voting for [PPC Leader Maxime] Bernier," said
Rodney Hoyt of Minto. "He's too far away in Quebec. We've got problems
down here that are different than Quebec."
Nowlan agrees.
"People don't understand the different platforms at the federal level
and the provincial. It's a very different ball game."
People's
Alliance Leader Kris Austin has refused to endorse any federal party,
making it hard to predict where his supporters will go on election day.
"I
hear people say they're possibly going to go Conservative, some others
are going PPC and I'm sure there are others of our supporters who will
go to the other parties as well … We're a diverse party in our
membership and people will do what best suits them."
Peggy McLean, the Conservative candidate in the riding of
Miramichi-Grand Lake, served on Miramichi city council from 2012-2016.
(Conservative Party of Canada)
Nowlan isn't the only candidate making Miramichi-Grand Lake more unpredictable than usual.
There
are also two candidates with Conservative ties — the party's official
candidate, Peggy McLean, and an independent, Allison McKenzie, who was
nominated as a Conservative and then disqualified.
McKenzie beat
two other contestants for the party nomination in April, but after the
convention she and her two rivals were all rejected over unspecified
irregularities.
Former MP Tilly Gordon-O'Neill then stepped in as the Conservative candidate, only to withdraw for medical reasons.
Allison MacKenzie is running as an independent candidate in Miramichi-Grand Lake. (Jacques Poitras/CBC)
McLean was then chosen to carry the party colours, only to have McKenzie jump into the race as an independent.
"That's
just exactly what our democracy needs, is more voices creating honesty
and integrity and making a voice for everyone in the riding," McKenzie
said.
She dismissed the possibility that she'll take away
Conservative votes from McLean and make it easier for Finnigan to win
for the Liberals. "I'm planning on taking this and coming right up the
middle," she said.
McLean is warning voters to stick with the party that has a chance of taking power.
"There's
power in numbers," she said. "If you're looking at voting for somebody,
if their party stands a chance of forming government, you'd like to be
on the same side as government. You'd like to have a voice and have some
representation."
Hoyt, in Minto, is receptive: he said he won't support a new party.
"Liberal or Conservative, because I trust them," he said. "I don't trust the other ones."
McLean
is campaigning on the theme of affordability, echoing national
Conservative themes of attacking Liberal spending and the party's carbon
tax, while promising to bring back measures like boutique tax credits
that lower the cost of living.
"People are very, very concerned about being able to pay their bills," she said.
Congenial race
She
calls her Liberal opponent Finnigan "a really nice guy," and Finnigan
refuses to criticize the Conservatives for their difficulty in settling
on a candidate to run against him.
"I've got to sell myself," he said. "I'm not going to put down anyone else to prop myself up."
He
said that comes from his years operating a business. He founded an
agriculture co-operative in Rogersville and started Mr. Tomato, a
produce store in the village.
That taught him to get along with everyone — even the provincial MLAs from four different parties within the federal riding.
"I've
been in business all my life and I know you have to build
relationships," he said. "Our politics are different, but if it's about
helping someone or some community, they know I'll be at the table."
The
congenial tone between McLean and Finnigan, and the lack of excitement
over candidates from other parties, may be another reason why
Miramichi-Grand Lake is so hard to read.
"It's extremely quiet," Austin said. "There's not a lot of buzz … and I don't know what that means."
David Raymond Amos Surprise Surprise Surprise (Not really)
David Raymond Amos For the record even though I am a candidate in this election I have to have someone vouch for me in order to vote Go Figure
Murray Brown I thought this election was all about climate change??? Nobody appears too worried about it in this riding.
David Raymond Amos
Reply to @Murray Brown: Trust that they are in Fundy Royal right now
Michel Jones
Reply to @Murray
Brown: The liberals like to fear monger school kids into stress then say
the Conservative do nothing to fix the problem.. Trudeau said Sheer
will cut services yet Liberals denied benefits to veterans and gave Omar
Khadar 10.5 million dollars.. How can anybody not see through this
dangerous situation.
Michel Jones The
election is not as murky as some might suggest, most candidates
including the incumbent are most likely decent people willing to serve
the public.. This election is about Justin Trudeau, he ran on his family
name without earning it, who refuses to take responsibility and will
fire anybody that disagrees with him.. It's very clear that only a
Conservative government will unite Canadians, develop the energy sector
and remove the tax on home heating bills and the carbon tax on gas...
More than ever, the choice is clear.
David Raymond Amos
Reply to @Michel Jones: Dream on
Michel Jones
Reply to @David
Raymond Amos: You may be right but I've never wished so much for a Prime
Minster to be voted out of office... I don't hate the guy, he just
doesn't belong in Canadian politics.
Marc LeBlanc I ask myself one simple question when deciding how to vote
The current government has been in power for the last four years
Is the province better off than it was four years ago?
David Raymond Amos Reply to @Marc LeBlanc: Survey says???
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