On Tuesday’s Tantramar Report:
The federal NDP candidate for Beauséjour says she called the RCMP after she was subjected to a violent racist attack in Sackville. Evelyne Godfrey says she was going door-to-door in late August gathering signatures for her nomination papers when a man who lives on Queens Road began shouting racial epithets, some directed at NDP leader Jagmeet Singh, and some at Godfrey herself. She says the man disappeared into his house, emerged with a knife and stabbed one of the tires on her rented campaign car causing it to deflate. Godfrey says the RCMP constable who investigated the incident made it pretty clear that the man would be investigated for allegedly committing a hate crime.
Beauséjour has a full slate of six candidates running to represent the riding in parliament:
- Dominic LeBlanc (incumbent) is running for the Liberals,
- Shelly Mitchell is running for the Conservatives,
- Evelyne Godfrey is running for the NDP,
- Anna Girouard is running for the Greens,
- Jack Minor is running for the People’s Party,
- and Isabelle Chiasson is running for the Free Party Canada
Sackville town council meets tonight for their monthly special council meeting. They will start with a closed meeting at 6:30pm, to hear from the local RCMP detachment. Then at 7pm the public agenda begins, with a discussion of changes to council’s procedures by-law, as well as the town’s workplace harassment and violence policy. Council will also discuss the purchase of road salt for the winter, and the fall pride parade. Residents can attend Sackville town council in person, or watch or participate online. This will be the first meeting since the pandemic began where the observation gallery will be open at full capacity. Pre-registration to attend council in person is no longer required.
The Canadian Union of Public Employees is set to begin province-wide strike voting today. More than 22,000 CUPE members in the province are in a legal strike position, some having been without a collective agreement for almost five years. Eight CUPE locals could take a strike vote starting today. The local that represents hospital workers could do so later this month.
The Mount Allison campus is coming alive today with first and second year students participating in a Learning Day. Academic orientation events and sessions will happen on campus all day long. Then tonight, all students can attend a keynote event called Pilei Nipi, a Mi’kmaq term meaning “new leaf in a tree.” The event features a smudging ceremony and a talk from 2017 Mount A grad Xavier Gould, an award-winning, multidisciplinary queer Acadian artist, actor, comedian, and spoken-word poet.
As vaccination numbers inch higher, we chat with local pharmacist-owner Charles Beaver about best practices for those who are vaccinated, and how the relaxation of public health restrictions might affect this year’s flu season. The Corner Drug Store is offering drop-in vaccination days coming up on Thursday September 9, Saturday September 11, and Tuesday, September 14.