FREDERICTON – As tourists head to New Brunswick’s famous islands to experience a little bit of paradise this summer, all is not well for islanders. New Brunswick’s six island communities continue to be troubled by loss of services and inadequate infrastructure.

“The neglect of the needs of our rural communities by successive governments is all the more evident in New Brunswick’s six island communities, due to their relative isolation from the mainland,” said Green Party leader David Coon. “The Department of Rural Affairs and Community Development that I have proposed would be on top of the problems unique to island communities.”

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FREDERICTON – The Green caucus has been repeatedly calling for preventative health measures to be adopted for alcohol use, and now the Auditor General has found that NB Liquor has failed to promote the responsible consumption of alcohol in New Brunswick as required under the NB Liquor Act. 

“The Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Centre of Excellence in Moncton estimates that 200 children experience prenatal exposure to alcohol annually.  The resulting brain damage can occur long before a person knows they are pregnant.  There is no cure, so public education campaigns are the only way of preventing this lifelong disability.  NB Liquor is failing women and children in its public mandate,” said David Coon, Green Party leader and MLA for Fredericton-South

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FREDERICTON – On National Indigenous Peoples Day, Green Party leader and MLA for Fredericton South David Coon is requesting that a committee of the Legislative Assembly, such as the Social Policy committee, hold hearings to hear from Indigenous people about reconciliation this fall.

“If the Legislature were to hold hearings and invite Indigenous people to share what reconciliation means to them, it could be a real opportunity for our elected officials to hear directly from the Indigenous people of this province,” said Coon.

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FREDERICTON – Green Party leader and MLA for Fredericton South David Coon says the latest effort to evict some of his constituents to avoid the rent cap would have been impossible if Service NB Minister Mary Wilson and government backbenchers had voted in favour of his amendments to plug the leaks in the rent cap bill.  

“Now the chickens have come home to roost, thanks to the refusal to eliminate the loopholes from the bill, but it is renters, like my constituents, who are paying the price,” said Coon.  “It is inhumane to force people from their homes, and even more so for the elderly.  The Premier should ask the Speaker to recall the Legislature, so we can stop this madness and protect renters from retribution.”

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SUNNY CORNER - This morning, NB Green Party Leader David Coon joined candidates Chad Duplessie (Miramichi Bay-Neguac) and Julie Guillemet-Ackerman (Southwest Miramichi-Bay du Vin) at a press conference to outline their priorities for their ridings after listening to voters at the door and at gatherings.  

“I have knocked on hundreds of doors across the riding and one thing is sure: people are tired of having no real representation.  We haven’t had an MLA for almost a year and it has shown up in the local governance reforms, it shows in how our health services are run, how local infrastructure decisions are made and I could go on,” says Duplessie. “Local governance reform was intended to fix the crisis facing local democracy but in the case of Entity 22 the process has only created confusion, distrust and division. I truly believe that the only way for the people of Miramichi Bay-Neguac to have true representation in Fredericton is to vote Green.”

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FREDERICTON – New Brunswick Green Party leader and MLA for Fredericton South David Coon is joining Sonia Furstenau, Leader of the BC Greens, and Peter Bevan-Baker, Leader of the PEI Greens, in calling on the Prime Minister and Premiers across the country for a national tax on the windfall profits of oil and gas companies.

 “New Brunswickers are really struggling with the rising costs of living, including gas, food and home heating,” said Coon.  “I am joining my Green provincial colleagues from across the country to call on the Prime Minister to establish a one-time tax on the windfall profits of the oil companies and redistribute the revenue to Canadians. In fact, during question period I asked Premier Higgs if he would join me in this effort.”

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FREDERICTON – Green Party leader and MLA for Fredericton South David Coon will present a motion in the Legislative Assembly this morning requesting that the Legislative Assembly designate September 30th as the Day for Truth and Reconciliation in New Brunswick. 

 “Over the course of more than 100 years, some 150,000 Indigenous children were ripped from their families and forced to attend church and government-run Residential Schools,” said Coon. “Officially recognizing this day is an important step towards reconciliation in New Brunswick.”

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FREDERICTON – Kevin Arseneau, the MLA for Kent North and Green caucus advocate for Developing and Strengthening Communities, has released a video of his attempt to travel between his home near Rogersville and the Legislative Assembly in Fredericton using only New Brunswick’s fractured public transportation system.

“A good and reliable public transportation system could be used by all New Brunswickers,” said Arseneau. “But, this requires the political will to remove barriers, ensuring better coordination between rail, intercity bus and municipal transit while investing in strategic infrastructure.” 

 

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FREDERICTON – This afternoon, during a meeting of the Standing Committee on Economic Policy, Green Party leader and MLA for Fredericton South David Coon proposed amendments to Service NB Minister Mary Wilson’s Bill 96: An Act to Amend the Residential Tenancies Act that would make it more difficult for landlords to “renovict” a tenant.

“It’s a well-known secret among landlords that if you are looking to cash in on increasing market rents in the face of rent cap – evict your tenants under the guise of major renovations and bring in all new tenants at high rents,” said Coon. “This is the biggest loophole in the government’s rent cap bill that needs to be closed.”

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