Saint John has finally received the last chunk of the $80 million it needs to clean up its harbour — and end its status as the only Canadian city to have untreated sewage running in open creeks through its core.
'It won't be in my lifetime, but in my three granddaughters' lifetime? Possibly there'll be fishing back in the harbour.'
—Mayor Norm McFarlane
Greg Thompson, New Brunswick Southwest MP and New Brunswick regional minister, hand-delivered the federal government's $26.6-million commitment to Saint John Friday morning.
"It's already in the bank, if you will," Thompson said.
Thompson said the federal money was available for the city to begin the cleanup as soon as possible, with municipal officials saying they are set to begin immediately.
The provincial government committed $26.6 million toward the $80-million cleanup project in the fall of 2006, only days after Premier Shawn Graham and his cabinet were sworn in.
The City of Saint John had also agreed to contribute a third of the costs.
The city releases 16 million litres of raw sewage into the harbour daily — the equivalent of six Olympic-sized swimming pools.
Sewage outfalls still release 46 per cent of Saint John's waste untreated into local creeks, rivers and the harbour itself.
As part of the cleanup project, those outfalls will be shut down over the next few years and the effluent diverted to treatment plants.
Mayor Norm McFarlane said this was, in his opinion, the most important announcement in the city's history.
"When I first moved to Saint John in 1953 I can remember being along the harbour and you used to get salmon, you used to get shad — you'd never get that out of there today," McFarlane said.
"It won't be in my lifetime, but in my three granddaughters' lifetime? Possibly there'll be fishing back in the harbour."
City engineer Paul Groody said the first $8 million portion of the federal money, delivered in March 2006, went towards designing a wastewater system.
He said the new money will let shovels hit the dirt as soon as an environmental impact study is completed on a new waste management facility.
"That process will take we believe another several months: we can't predict exactly how many," Groody said.
"Once that's completed we will be calling for tenders for the new east wastewater treatment facility.
"
Groody said the whole project would take five years to complete.
Thompson also announced $34 million for the province to go toward projects to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions and air pollutants.
Saint John has received the last chunk of the $80 million it needs to clean up its harbour — and end its status as the only Canadian city to have untreated sewage running openly through its core. The New Brunswick government is not supporting women's issues, the Opposition Tories say. A 44-year-old Moncton man facing 12 charges in connection with a fatal accident in Salisbury last fall has waived his right to a preliminary hearing. Opposition leader Jeannot Volpé says people who earn the least will hurt the most this year, thanks to this week's provincial budget. Moncton is gearing up to host next week's national University Cup hockey championship, a tournament that could draw 2,000 people to the city. By mixing flu pandemic vaccine with proprietary boosters, researchers with the U.S. government hope to have enough vaccine to protect people in case of a flu pandemic.
Toronto's largest neonatal intensive care unit has contained the outbreak of a serious bacterial infection and expects to fully reopen within a week or two, an official says. Tiny mutations in DNA that occur spontaneously may increase the risk for autism, researchers say. The buzz surrounding the final Harry Potter novel leaped up a notch this week, after U.S. publisher Scholastic announced a massive first print run and promotional campaign. But Raincoast Books, the Canadian publisher of the global hit series, is keeping its Potter plans under wraps for a bit longer.
CBC Radio Two listeners can expect a new evening schedule featuring jazz, live performance and contemporary music beginning Monday. Heritage Minister Bev Oda has made a flurry of arts funding announcements in the past week, ahead of Monday's federal budget. A top European Google executive has confirmed that the internet search giant is developing a cellphone, according to a Spanish news report. The layer of volcanic dust, pollution and other aerosol particles that blocks sunlight and helps counter global warming has thinned since the early 1990s, according to a new NASA study. Scientists from Canada and Denmark want to build a joint weather station on Hans Island, the isolated rock in the High Arctic that has been at the centre of a long-running territorial dispute between the two countries. David Radler, a former business partner of Conrad Black and the expected main prosecution witness at Black's upcoming fraud trial, agreed to pay $28.7 million US as part of a settlement with the SEC. The federal Liberals propose cutting greenhouse-gas emissions by targeting industries that emit the most, capping the total per company and charging those that exceed them. When Finance Minister Jim Flaherty stands to deliver his second budget Monday afternoon, it's likely one eye will be on his speech and the other on the next election. Travellers should get used to delayed flights as more and more planes clog air traffic routes, a U.S. aviation official said.
Vancouver police are expected to lay charges against two unnamed suspects accused of orchestrating a scam that tricked people into purchasing worthless airline vouchers. Hundreds of flights in the United States were cancelled Friday as an approaching winter storm expected to bring heavy snow moved up the East Coast. Minus three regulars, the Montreal Canadiens put their two-game win streak on the line Friday in Pittsburgh against NHL-leading scorer Sidney Crosby and the Penguins. Maple Leafs captain Mats Sundin is on the verge of becoming the club's all-time leading scorer, but he's more concerned with helping Toronto make the playoffs. Edmonton skips Kevin Martin and Randy Ferbey booked their spots in the playoff round with victories Friday at the Canada Cup curling competition in Kamloops, B.C.
News RSS