Atlantic Canadian Politics Thread

[EnvisionSaintJohn]

Originally Posted by TitleRequired

The consequence free community of drug abusers has got to end. Just like they did in Zurich’s needle park.

Absolutely, but what needs to follow is the start of massive investments into the communities that were most plagued by the drug and homelessness crises. Higgs talks a big talk in terms of cracking down on drug use, but he avoids talking about what he plans to to make housing more affordable, healthcare more accessible, and our city’s more livable.

He’s been in power for 6 years and the best we are getting is a bunch of dog whistles and a promise to cut PST by 2%.

Higgs has no concrete vision for the future of our cities, just more empty promises. Holt at least has a hopeful vision for NB and its cities, and a willingness to invest in infrastructure and initiatives to make our cities more desirable places to live. These problems will continue to plague our cities if our municipalities remain critically underfunded as they have under the Higgs PCs. Higgs won’t even deliver on comprehensive tax reform… why should we believe he’ll deliver on forced rehab and cleaning up our streets when he’s already had 6 years in office. The homelessness and drug epidemic has never been as worse in NB as it has been under the Higgs government.

[sailor734]

Originally Posted by EnvisionSaintJohn

Have you done much travelling outside of NB? I think I remember you saying you’ve visited BC at least…

Saint John’s open drug use and homelessness problems are nothing compared to what’s goes on in downtown Vancouver, Toronto, New York, San Francisco etc.
How about building homeless shelters? Or affordable rental housing? Holt and Coon at least support solutions to build shelters and affordable rental housing, while Higgs is largely opposed to financing such solutions. Cracking down on crime and promising forced rehab isn’t enough to deal with the homelessness, open drug use, and crime epidemic. We need to support far more comprehensive solutions than that, and Higgs just ain’t the premier to support the ambitious solutions needed to address these problems from the ground up. Higgs is a frugal penny pincher to put it lightly, and a cheap c**t to put it bluntly.

Again, he’s been in power for 6 years, and our healthcare system is critically underfunded… why should we believe anything he promises regarding forced rehab or getting tougher on the open drug use that is plaguing our city centres?

I don’t think his promises are worth much on these issues, yet this thread is getting clogged up by this open drug use/ forced rehab campaign promise from Higgs.

There’s so many more important election issues than what to do about hard drug users in Uptown Saint John and other NB cities. I’d rather not let Higgs and Steve Outhouse dictate the narrative on this forum regarding the upcoming election… surely, there’s more pertinent topics to the subject of this forum that could more useful to discuss in this thread?

In answer to your first question regarding travel outside NB...... Halifax, Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Boston, NYC, Washington DC, Orlando, Miami, Naples, Tampa, Nashville, Chicago, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, LA, Seattle, London, Wells, Salisbury, Oxford, York, Edinburgh, Dublin, Galway, Sligo, Cork, Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Paris, Geneva, Lucerne, Gstaad, Rome

I'm well aware of social issues in major cities. Saint John may not have their numbers but we are well on the way to having just as big of a problem (or bigger) on a proportional basis. Because of our size it's also more "in your face"

All big cities had a skid row but it was usually well away from nightlife, tourist areas and the financial district.....often that's not the case today. Sure, Waterloo seems to be the epicentre but take a walk on Germain, King or Prince William.......

Whether or not people feel comfortable walking the main streets of NB's 3 largest cities in daylight is very much a pertinent election issue. I suspect we will be hearing a lot on the topic in the weeks to come.

[TitleRequired]

After last nights by election loss in Montreal, do we need to recalibrate what is considered a “safe” liberal seat?

[TitleRequired]

Originally Posted by sailor734

In answer to your first question regarding travel outside NB...... Halifax, Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Boston, NYC, Washington DC, Orlando, Miami, Naples, Tampa, Nashville, Chicago, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, LA, Seattle, London, Wells, Salisbury, Oxford, York, Edinburgh, Dublin, Galway, Sligo, Cork, Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Paris, Geneva, Lucerne, Gstaad, Rome

I'm well aware of social issues in major cities. Saint John may not have their numbers but we are well on the way to having just as big of a problem (or bigger) on a proportional basis. Because of our size it's also more "in your face"

All big cities had a skid row but it was usually well away from nightlife, tourist areas and the financial district.....often that's not the case today. Sure, Waterloo seems to be the epicentre but take a walk on Germain, King or Prince William.......

Whether or not people feel comfortable walking the main streets of NB's 3 largest cities in daylight is very much a pertinent election issue. I suspect we will be hearing a lot on the topic in the weeks to come.

I was in London two years ago, and Rome thsi year and there was little rot. This is very much a North American issue.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by TitleRequired

After last nights by election loss in Montreal, do we need to recalibrate what is considered a “safe” liberal seat?

Dominic LeBlanc's federal seat (Beausejour) is certainly safe.

[sailor734]

Originally Posted by TitleRequired

After last nights by election loss in Montreal, do we need to recalibrate what is considered a “safe” liberal seat?

One recent projection even suggested there was an outside chance of the Liberals finishing 3rd or 4th. Slight, but not outside the realm of possibility.

When even the CBC suggests the defeat could be bigger than Michael Ignatieff's you know the Liberals are in serious trouble.

https://newsinteractives.cbc.ca/elections/poll-tracker/canada/

I think they will still hold 4 seats in NB but there is a chance they could be reduced to 3.

[TitleRequired]

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-bruns...ing-for-all-green-zones-update-1.7325284

Five sites under consideration. Access to city services, public transportation and sidewalk access are key criteria, while also being on a city owned lot.

Transit Access: https://saintjohn.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapSeries/index.html?appid=835773aa511845568f56b1aed27f5e0f

Any city owned lots with transit and sidewalks you can think of?

[TitleRequired]

Originally Posted by sailor734

One recent projection even suggested there was an outside chance of the Liberals finishing 3rd or 4th. Slight, but not outside the realm of possibility.

When even the CBC suggests the defeat could be bigger than Michael Ignatieff's you know the Liberals are in serious trouble.

https://newsinteractives.cbc.ca/elections/poll-tracker/canada/

I think they will still hold 4 seats in NB but there is a chance they could be reduced to 3.

In practicality I looked at 338s projection and the election results last night and they track pretty much 100% within the margin of error of the projection.

The interesting item was the liberals only attained 4.8% in the riding the ndp retained; when projected to attain 10%.

[sailor734]

Originally Posted by TitleRequired

In practicality I looked at 338s projection and the election results last night and they track pretty much 100% within the margin of error of the projection.

The interesting item was the liberals only attained 4.8% in the riding the ndp retained; when projected to attain 10%.

What will be interesting is how many Liberal MP's will announce in the coming months that they will not be reoffering........for "personal reasons" or "to spend more time with family".....especially if they have reached the time served needed to qualify for a pension

[EnvisionSaintJohn]

Originally Posted by sailor734

In answer to your first question regarding travel outside NB...... Halifax, Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Boston, NYC, Washington DC, Orlando, Miami, Naples, Tampa, Nashville, Chicago, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, LA, Seattle, London, Wells, Salisbury, Oxford, York, Edinburgh, Dublin, Galway, Sligo, Cork, Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Paris, Geneva, Lucerne, Gstaad, Rome

I'm well aware of social issues in major cities. Saint John may not have their numbers but we are well on the way to having just as big of a problem (or bigger) on a proportional basis. Because of our size it's also more "in your face"

All big cities had a skid row but it was usually well away from nightlife, tourist areas and the financial district.....often that's not the case today. Sure, Waterloo seems to be the epicentre but take a walk on Germain, King or Prince William.......

Whether or not people feel comfortable walking the main streets of NB's 3 largest cities in daylight is very much a pertinent election issue. I suspect we will be hearing a lot on the topic in the weeks to come.

Drugs and crime don’t hold development back in the cities you’ve listed, many of which had far worse problems than Saint John has seen so far.

The only long term solution to alleviate these problems and save our city centres from drugs and crime is gentrification a long with massive investments in affordable housing, public health, and other infrastructure to make our cities more livable.

This hyper fixation on locking up homeless drug users in rehab or jail might play well for a certain part of the voting public (I think you’re too intelligent to be duped by this btw) but it it’s not a long term vision or strategy for the future of New Brunswick’s cities.

Higgs has shown us time and time again that he’s not willing to make the massive public investments needed to improve the human development situation in the province.

2% cuts to PST, anti trans rhetoric, and forced rehab for the worst drug users might are some pretty short sighted planks in the PC platform. Not exactly the policy priorities anyone should want to see from their provincial government in the middle of a housing crisis and homelessness epidemic. Moreover, this province’s healthcare system is critically underfunded and understaffed, while our public school is one of the worst in Canada. Furthermore, NB has some of the lowest levels of income, literacy in the country… along with some of the highest levels of poverty.

The priorities of the NB PC’s and the interests of the people of NB are fundamentally misaligned. Even if Susan Holt might not support as hard line of an approach to the drugs and crime situation as Blaine Higgs, I think it’s abundantly clear that she supports a far more positive long term version for New Brunswick and it’s cities than Blaine Higgs.

Will be interesting to see how these campaigns unfold. Higgs is a lot of things, but he’s certainly not stupid. Holt and Coon should be mindful of who they are up against and be cautious not to devote too much time and effort to attacking and each other, as that would play right into Higgs’s machiavellian playbook.

[TitleRequired]

Originally Posted by sailor734

What will be interesting is how many Liberal MP's will announce in the coming months that they will not be reoffering........for "personal reasons" or "to spend more time with family".....especially if they have reached the time served needed to qualify for a pension

How much of their own $ to they want to put on the line will be the tell. The economics of running for office as a liberal is getting problematic, at best.

I expect the conservative nomination races to be very well contested, accordingly. The price of admission is balanced by the likelihood of winning.

[sailor734]

Originally Posted by TitleRequired

How much of their own $ to they want to put on the line will be the tell. The economics of running for office as a liberal is getting problematic, at best.

I expect the conservative nomination races to be very well contested, accordingly. The price of admission is balanced by the likelihood of winning.

Good point. I haven't seen any recent reports on party fundraising but last I heard the CPC was greatly outperforming the Liberals. Very few people want to back the likely loser.

As to the CPC nominations, I agree. As things stand right now, in many ridings, it's the CPC nomination vote that will decide the next MP.

[adamuptownsj]

Originally Posted by TitleRequired

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-bruns...ing-for-all-green-zones-update-1.7325284

Five sites under consideration. Access to city services, public transportation and sidewalk access are key criteria, while also being on a city owned lot.

Transit Access: https://saintjohn.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapSeries/index.html?appid=835773aa511845568f56b1aed27f5e0f

Any city owned lots with transit and sidewalks you can think of?

I heard this from the clerk at the dry cleaner's, so do not take it seriously, but it makes sense: 38 McAllister, across from the race track. Bus route nearby, just far enough from Glen Falls School per city parameters. She said it was surplus SJ Energy land which they were making available to the city for this.

I am still really confused what the 'yellow zones' are. How do they not defeat the concept of the 'green zones' if you can just pitch a tent anywhere if you don't care for the sanctioned sites?

[TitleRequired]

The key bullet points from the PCs for the Nb election.

Whether it’s the HST cut, supervised injection sites, the carbon tax, or respecting the role of parents in education, Blaine Higgs and the PCNB have clear, common sense positions that are opposed by Liberal Leader Susan Holt and Green Party Leader David Coon.

[TitleRequired]

Originally Posted by adamuptownsj

I heard this from the clerk at the dry cleaner's, so do not take it seriously, but it makes sense: 38 McAllister, across from the race track. Bus route nearby, just far enough from Glen Falls School per city parameters. She said it was surplus SJ Energy land which they were making available to the city for this.

I am still really confused what the 'yellow zones' are. How do they not defeat the concept of the 'green zones' if you can just pitch a tent anywhere if you don't care for the sanctioned sites?

That’s insightful, for a variety of reasons.

1. Agree that this site would meet the confines of the requirements.
2. Why is SJ energy camping out on prime commercial real estate without a plan to use or divest?

Recognizing (2) is assuming sj energy owns this lot; I haven’t confirmed one way or another if that is true.

[adamuptownsj]

Originally Posted by TitleRequired

That’s insightful, for a variety of reasons.

1. Agree that this site would meet the confines of the requirements.
2. Why is SJ energy camping out on prime commercial real estate without a plan to use or divest?

Recognizing (2) is assuming sj energy owns this lot; I haven’t confirmed one way or another if that is true.

Assuming it's true- or there's a similar site nearby I'm missing- this corner isn't exactly high demand, and certainly hasn't been historically. Popeye's and Port City Kia are both relatively new. The giant lot at 534 Rothesay isn't moving fast at $3.7M.

I'm less bothered by a utility holding onto land than the city government or do-nothing-but-pay-the-tax types. Could be contaminated, have had a purpose that vanished or never materialized, or who knows what. Maybe there was supposed to be a substation here, or is supposed to be one by ~2040. The city owning several utterly empty lots between Paddock (which has developed nicely lately) and Peters, and one on the corner of Princess and Canterbury, is way more egregious.

[TitleRequired]

Any reason the city wants to corporatize SJ energy? The rational provided by Gary Sullivan is less than persuasive.

I'm simply not getting the track being laid down.

[TitleRequired]

Originally Posted by adamuptownsj

Assuming it's true- or there's a similar site nearby I'm missing- this corner isn't exactly high demand, and certainly hasn't been historically. Popeye's and Port City Kia are both relatively new. The giant lot at 534 Rothesay isn't moving fast at $3.7M.

I'm less bothered by a utility holding onto land than the city government or do-nothing-but-pay-the-tax types. Could be contaminated, have had a purpose that vanished or never materialized, or who knows what. Maybe there was supposed to be a substation here, or is supposed to be one by ~2040. The city owning several utterly empty lots between Paddock (which has developed nicely lately) and Peters, and one on the corner of Princess and Canterbury, is way more egregious.

That is more than fair. I just see the routine complaining by the city of vacant lots, so its easy tio be taken aback by when a city owned organization isn't using land to it's potential.

[sailor734]

Originally Posted by TitleRequired

Any reason the city wants to corporatize SJ energy? The rational provided by Gary Sullivan is less than persuasive.

I'm simply not getting the track being laid down.

I have to figure the city wants to get their hands into the piggy bank.....AKA "dividends"

They tried this some years ago and were stopped by SJ Energy's unique structure AFAIR

As a customer I am VERY happy that city hall has no direct control over SJE

[EnvisionSaintJohn]

If Centracare had never been shut down, I’d imagine many of the problematic homeless and addicts talked about in this would be there?

I just can’t envision the Higgs PCs actually spending money on the type of facilities and infrastructure needed to deal with this problem that has been exponentially growing on their watch.

Higgs is suddenly talking tough on this issue because of the upcoming election (shocking ) but if he somehow gets re-elected, does anyone actually expect his government to follow through? Higgs is so obsessed with the budget and paying down the debt, I’m highly skeptical he’d support spending what’s needed to deal with these problems properly.