New Brusnwick

[jdobbin]

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/new-brunswick/sto...0/nb-votes.html

Any early predictions? Too close to call? Any issues that will shape the vote?

[geoffrey]

Well with talk like this:

Allison Brewer, who leads the provincial NDP but currently doesn't have a seat in the legislature, welcomed the election date.

"I'm really excited about the challenge: I haven't campaigned as a candidate before," she said.

I can nearly gaurntee that the NDP isn't going to win.

[jdobbin]

I can nearly gaurntee that the NDP isn't going to win.

If it's close, she could be a spoiler. I just don't know how people are feeling in New Brunswick.

[geoffrey]

I can nearly gaurntee that the NDP isn't going to win.

If it's close, she could be a spoiler. I just don't know how people are feeling in New Brunswick.

Lord has really picked up the province out of the gutter, it's hard to turn your back on a man that's done so much. That being said, this gas price fixing is a serious issue that will scare away some of his base.

[cybercoma]

I can tell you, I usually vote conservative....but I'm disgusted by the price regulations for gas they put in place. I'm going to have to see the candidates and what they're running on though before I make a decision.

[jdobbin]

I can tell you, I usually vote conservative....but I'm disgusted by the price regulations for gas they put in place. I'm going to have to see the candidates and what they're running on though before I make a decision.

Are you in New Brunswick? Who are your local candidates? Any good?

[Charles Anthony]

I'm going to have to see the candidates and what they're running on though before I make a decision.

I would like to make a bold suggestion: turn the tables.

Listen to all of the candidates who come to your door and after their "yeah, I want to bring back democracy and save the whales and yadda yadda yadda" speech, explicitly tell them what YOU want and expect from them if they get elected.

[cybercoma]

The election is going to be Sept. 18, but Bernard Lord didn't call the election the day he announced it. Which is odd.

Regardless, I don't know who the candidates are yet. Heck, I just moved here and don't even know who my MLA is.

[jdobbin]

Any predictions on who will get in next week?

It doesn't look it anyone is running away with it in this last weekend before the vote.

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/15092006/2/nati...ion-monday.html

[cybercoma]

Any predictions on who will get in next week?

It doesn't look it anyone is running away with it in this last weekend before the vote.

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/15092006/2/nati...ion-monday.html

If the article is true and New Maryland is the area that will show how this election will fall, look for the conservatives to pull this one out. There's plenty of support for the PC Team out that way.

And don't expect NDP Leader Allison Brewer to win her seat. There are plenty of her signs around town, but very few if any of her signs on people's lawns.

[jdobbin]

If the article is true and New Maryland is the area that will show how this election will fall, look for the conservatives to pull this one out. There's plenty of support for the PC Team out that way.

And don't expect NDP Leader Allison Brewer to win her seat. There are plenty of her signs around town, but very few if any of her signs on people's lawns.

It looks very close. Any weather that might affect the vote?

[cybercoma]

If the article is true and New Maryland is the area that will show how this election will fall, look for the conservatives to pull this one out. There's plenty of support for the PC Team out that way.

And don't expect NDP Leader Allison Brewer to win her seat. There are plenty of her signs around town, but very few if any of her signs on people's lawns.

It looks very close. Any weather that might affect the vote?

Should be a nice day tomorrow.

[jdobbin]

Should be a nice day tomorrow.

It should be interesting. New electoral boundaries, nice day, close polls, two charismatic leaders. Incumbent gets the advantage so it probably comes down to local candidates. Can they get their vote out?

[cybercoma]

Should be a nice day tomorrow.

It should be interesting. New electoral boundaries, nice day, close polls, two charismatic leaders. Incumbent gets the advantage so it probably comes down to local candidates. Can they get their vote out?

they've all been very adamant about offering free rides to the polls, etc....

12 hours to go and we'll see. Polls just opened and I'm off to vote.

[August1991]

The Liberals win, and Lord loses.

But what's this I read that NB (pop. 760,000) has 55 MLAs. 55! And each one earns $60,000 per year plus a tax-exempt annual "office" allowance of $25,000. [Link]

What earth shaking decisions does NB face that require all that brain power? What heavy responsibilities justify that salary?

BTW, Maine with about 1.3 million people has about 150 members in its House. They each earn around $10,000 annually. [Link]

[jdobbin]

The Liberals win, and Lord loses.

But what's this I read that NB (pop. 760,000) has 55 MLAs. 55! And each one earns $60,000 per year plus a tax-exempt annual "office" allowance of $25,000. [Link]

What earth shaking decisions does NB face that require all that brain power? What heavy responsibilities justify that salary?

BTW, Maine with about 1.3 million people has about 150 members in its House. They each earn around $10,000 annually. [Link]

Congrats to the new Liberal government. Third terms are often one time to the well too many. Lord is probably still good for federal politics if he is interested. Look at Vic Toews.

As for salaries. A bit of a cheap shot. It's a full-time job. Nurses, teachers and police earn more money.

Why would a teacher, nurse or police officer want to accept less money to be an elected official.

Maine legislators are part-time. They barely sit in the house.

[geoffrey]

That's still a huge amount of MLA's. Alberta has 5 times the population and only 86 MLA's. New Brunswickers have nearly 500% more represention in it's provincial government than Federally.

A little bit of waste IMO. The salaries are reasonable however, considering we pay our Alberta MLA's slightly less than $80k here... a tad less then your Quebec 126 MLA's (less represented then Alberta and significantly less than New Brunswick) at slightly over $80k.

[cybercoma]

New Brunswick has many vastly different areas, culturally and economically. It's the only province that's officially bilingual...and looking at the populations of different areas in the province will show you why. It makes sense that we would have more MLAs to represent the incredibly diverse population here.

[jdobbin]

New Brunswick has many vastly different areas, culturally and economically. It's the only province that's officially bilingual...and looking at the populations of different areas in the province will show you why. It makes sense that we would have more MLAs to represent the incredibly diverse population here.

I see no reason why there should less MLAs than what New Brunswick has now. It's probably just right for the territory covered and the requirements of a government and an opposition.

[mcqueen625]

I can nearly gaurntee that the NDP isn't going to win.

If it's close, she could be a spoiler. I just don't know how people are feeling in New Brunswick.

Lord has really picked up the province out of the gutter, it's hard to turn your back on a man that's done so much. That being said, this gas price fixing is a serious issue that will scare away some of his base.

Lord picked us out of the gutter?? It's quite obvious that you don't live in New Brunswick, ebcause thigs here are definitely not rosy. Bernard Lord's idea of diversifying the economy of a community is to open a call centre. These operations for the most part are nothing but modern day sweat shops, who pay next t5o minimum wage and lousy working conditions, where the supervisory staff are allowed to verbally abuse or fire people just because they don't meet some determined quota which seems to change all the time.

Hospitals in many communities ahve either been closed entirely, or have been turned into community first aid posts. Young people, both English and French are packing up and leaving the province in droves, and the Premier had the nerve to brag that the unemployment rate has gone down. That rate decline has more to do with the many people who ahve left and not an actual improvemnet in employment rates.

Hooray! Hooray! Bernie went down to defeat. Sure he won his riding in Moncton, but that has more to do with the fact that for the last 7 years the money tap has been turned up full for Moncton, while the rest of the province does without.

[mcqueen625]

New Brunswick has many vastly different areas, culturally and economically. It's the only province that's officially bilingual...and looking at the populations of different areas in the province will show you why. It makes sense that we would have more MLAs to represent the incredibly diverse population here.

New Brunswick might be officiall bilingual but the truth is that less than 17% of the population speaks French. Let's be truthful here they are not even using the term bilingual anymore.The term now is duality, which is something entirely different. It means that we now have a province practicing segregation based on language. We have three entirely set-ups for education, English, French, and French Immersion, with the third option "not designed nor expected to produce fluently bilingual graduates", according to former Education Minister, Elvy Robichaud.

[cybercoma]

I think the biggest problem in NB is the doctor situation. I moved here six months ago and it's practically impossible to get a family doctor. There aren't even any clinics in Fredericton that provide services for women unless you're in UNB or under 25. If you're over 25 and not a student and just moved to Fredericton....you're SOL.

[geoffrey]

I think the biggest problem in NB is the doctor situation. I moved here six months ago and it's practically impossible to get a family doctor. There aren't even any clinics in Fredericton that provide services for women unless you're in UNB or under 25. If you're over 25 and not a student and just moved to Fredericton....you're SOL.

I think that's the same everywhere in Canada, you need to be a ethnic speaker to get a doctor in Calgary. Otherwise your SOL.

[August1991]

I think the biggest problem in NB is the doctor situation. I moved here six months ago and it's practically impossible to get a family doctor.

I don't want to seem churlish but maybe if there were fewer MLAs and they were paid less, there would be more money to attract doctors.

If the choice is between having more doctors or having more MLAs with higher salaries to represent professionally the "incredibly diverse" regions of NB, I know which side the politicians will side on.

[jdobbin]

I don't want to seem churlish but maybe if there were fewer MLAs and they were paid less, there would be more money to attract doctors.

If the choice is between having more doctors or having more MLAs with higher salaries to represent professionally the "incredibly diverse" regions of NB, I know which side the politicians will side on.

If they had no MLAs in New Brunswick, it would pay for three or so doctors for their full seven years in school.

Assuming $3 million in salaries for MLAs (we won't go into cabinet ministers here), they could double the residency programs in most provinces but that would only assist in getting already trained doctors a job following med school.

Consistently, the biggest shortage of doctors has come from too few openings in med schools. $3 million a year would open up a few dozen slots.

However, in the end, the total salaries of the MLAs in New Brunswick amount to a drop in the bucket for getting more doctors into place. Their salaries amount to less than one large high school's payroll.