All of these things need to be addressed if we are truly going to eliminate food insecurity. It is going to take a robust group of leaders who can begin to tackle all these issues at a policy level.

We need long-term solutions that factor in growing demand, increase in population and climate change.

Food banks play a critical role in filling the gaps. That's why places like Greener Village (and there are many) have "learning kitchens," which focus on food education.

It's why 60 per cent of what we spend on food goes to local and fresh food, and our hampers mirror this percentage in fresh and frozen food given to clients. Assumptions that food banks distribute unhealthy food are not true.

It's why we create many different hampers for people with different dietary, health and cultural needs.

It's why we work to divert edible foods from landfills and to make sure that we can get them to the people who need them most.

So while we wait for good, sustainable systemic solutions to the challenges of hunger and food insecurity, food banks will continue to be here — every month of the year.

We will continue to sustain lives, fill gaps and innovate to address a growing problem.

And, we will be here for those times when life throws you a curveball that you didn't expect.

Mike Munro and his partner Lauren Martin own and operate the only pharmacy on the small island off the southwestern tip of New Brunswick. They are proposing a joint credit union and health centre take over the former Scotiabank location.

They presented the proposal to Grand Manan village council recently, hoping to gain support.

"It is still a bit of a long road, but we've made some key steps," Munro told Information Morning Saint John.

"It would be nice because we wouldn't be at the whim of one of the big six banks anymore," Munro said. "It would be looking out for our community as opposed to you know shareholders' bottom line."

The Grand Manan Scotiabank was the island's only bank for over a century. (Roger Cosman/CBC)

According to Finances and Consumer Services New Brunswick, a credit union is a financial co-operative. Members own and operate it, and anyone who uses the bank is a member. 

Profits are shared among owners, the agency's website says, and the union is governed by a volunteer board of directors elected by the membership.

The village of about 2,400 lost its only bank last August, when the Scotiabank closed after almost 100 years of service. Now, the closest bank is about 2½ hours away from the island by ferry and car.

Munro said this has had a huge impact on the local residents and businesses.

"[It's] tough on the small community. And it can lead people to to think that maybe things could change or get worse," he said.

Online banking is still available, but that does not help the cash-only business owners, employers and seniors who don't use the technology.

Munro said island residents can fill out a form about what they're hoping to see at the new credit union. He said since the presentation to council, hundreds have filled out forms saying they want to volunteer, or they want to help invest. 

"So it is going quite well considering it's only been public for about a week," he said. "Everybody who wants to be involved and everybody wants to help will increase the chance of making this reality."

ATM, loan services 

Next steps include meeting the requirements of the Credit Union Act to gain government approval, which is a roadblock he hopes to clear before the end of the year.

"We're optimistic, but still cautious that there's some roadblocks ahead," he said.

If all goes to plan, the credit union would have an ATM, personal and retail banking, and in time it could expand to provide small-loan services.

Alison MacDonald, spokesperson for Atlantic Central, the trade association for credit unions in Atlantic Canada, said there are six New Brunswick credit unions in total, and none are on islands. In Atlantic Canada, there are a total of 44 credit unions, she said.

Health centre plan

The plan for the health centre could happen even earlier than the bank, Munro said. Right now, going back and forth to the mainland involves a $27 ferry, the cost of fuel, and at least two hours of travel time. 

"It can be quite expensive to go do something such as, you know, physiotherapist, massage therapist, acupuncture or something that we don't really have on on the island ourselves now," he said.

The plan is to get some health professionals willing to come over to the island on a rotational basis.

"We're hoping late spring or early summer we'd be all set up in place and ready to start seeing patients," he said.

The goal is to get people to feel some hope.

"We want to try and fill that space with a bit of positivity and say look at this beautiful place," Munro said.

"These are all the things that we can start bringing back to this island, and hopefully that will help change some attitudes, and people will think seriously about looking at this as a place to live and work."

New Brunswick's top court has handed another revenue-sharing victory to the Madawaska Maliseet First Nation, just weeks before its retail tax agreement with the province is due to expire.

The province is obligated to hand over to the band government 95 per cent of the profits from video gambling machines at the Grey Rock Casino on the reserve, the ruling says.

The New Brunswick Lotteries and Gaming Corporation argued it had no legal obligation to share the revenue, insisting it was "essentially a policy decision, involving various social and economic factors," that could be made at its discretion.

But the New Brunswick Court of Appeal disagreed in a Jan. 12 ruling written by Justice Raymond French and signed by the two other justices who heard the case, Ernest Drapeau and Charles LeBlond.

"The Gaming Commission does not have the residual discretion it claims, and Madawaska ought to be paid its share of the net profit for the video gaming devices at the casino," the ruling said.

The case involves video lottery revenues from the Grey Rock Entertainment Centre located on the Madawaska Maliseet First Nation in Edmundston. (Submitted by Grey Rock Entertainment Centre)

French wrote that the commission "could not identify what the social and economic factors would include" if it were a discretionary decision.

The commission also claimed the term "video gaming devices" in provincial legislation referred only to Atlantic Lottery Corporation machines that used to be at the casino — not the machines owned by the casino that are there now. 

French rejected that, saying the plain meaning of the phrase "video gaming devices" also covered the gambling machines in place today.

The ruling upholds a Court of King's Bench decision last year that found the band met all the requirements to be covered by the revenue-sharing provisions in the law.

Separate deal

"We said, and courts at both levels accepted, that that meant New Brunswick was required to share its gaming profits from the Grey Rock Casino with Madawaska," said Nick Kennedy, a lawyer who argued the band's case.

"So in our view it was very straightforward." 

Kennedy said because the tax and gambling deals are separate agreements, the video gaming revenue won't be affected by the looming expiry of the tax deals.

According to the court ruling, Madawaska's 95 per cent share of profits from video lottery terminals was $1.8 million in 2015.

But after the casino opened on the reserve that year, the gaming corporation reduced what it was paying. The amount dropped to less than $10,000 in 2018, after the Atlantic Lottery Corporation removed the last of its machines.

The tax deals require the province to remit 95 per cent of tobacco, diesel, gasoline and sales tax revenue from on-reserve retailers to band governments.

New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs, speaking of tax revenue-sharing, said last week the province had made offers of alternative funding models, but First Nations chiefs have not come to the bargaining table. (Jacques Poitras/CBC)

The Higgs government announced in 2021 it would terminate those agreements, the same year First Nations successfully argued that carbon tax revenue should be included.

The deals with six Wolastoqey bands, including Madawaska, expire at the end of this month. 

On Monday, Liberal leader Susan Holt criticized Premier Blaine Higgs for what she called a "confrontational, my-way-or-the-highway approach" and said he should return to negotiations to reach tax agreements acceptable to everyone.

Liberals agree with First Nations 

She said her party supports the First Nations position, and Higgs is setting back efforts at reconciliation with Indigenous people.

"We're really concerned about the fact that these tax-sharing agreements are expiring and nothing has been organized in their place," Holt said.

Higgs and Aboriginal Affairs Minister Arlene Dunn should "cancel the cancellation" until new agreements can be struck, she said.

The premier said last week the province has offered new agreements that would have the province fund health, housing, social assistance and education programs on reserves, but that bands have not come to the table. 

A $15-million rate rebate N.B. Power has been promoting to customers as a "good news" benefit they will begin to receive in April will likely be clawed back from the same customers in 2024 and provide no advantage at all, evidence presented to the New Brunswick Energy and Utilities Board suggests. 

Likened to a $15-million "yo-yo" that will be flung to ratepayers this year and then yanked back 12 months later, the rebate is facing heavy criticism from one utility expert, who calls it a financial conjuring trick or, in his words, "accounting legerdemain." 

"The company's yo-yo proposal … is irresponsible," wrote Robert Knecht, who analyzed the rebate in a package of evidence he submitted regarding N.B. Power's application for an 8.9 per cent rate increase. 

The 8.9 per cent rate increase and one per cent rebate are separate issues being dealt with by the utilities board simultaneously, but both are scheduled to begin for N.B. Power customers in April.

Robert Knecht is a senior consultant at Industrial Economics Inc. in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He has testified in multiple N.B. Power hearings and calls its plan to pay rate rebates while it's losing money 'irresponsible.' (Industrial Economics)

Last month, N.B. Power acting president Lori Clark announced that under new rules created by the New Brunswick government, the utility is required to deliver rebates or impose surcharges on customers each April depending on whether it is over or under budget on revenues and expenses by Oct. 31 of the previous year.

This year, N.B. Power was showing a paper surplus of $28.5 million on its accounts in October and, based on that, announced a partial rebate of $15 million would be paid to customers as outlined by the province's new rules. 

In a briefing for reporters Dec. 15, Clark called it a "good news story for customers" that would help soften the effect of a large rate increase.   

She said the rebate would be delivered through a one per cent credit on power bills over 12 months beginning in April and would effectively lower the proposed 8.9 per cent rate hike to 7.9.

 "It is prescribed by regulation and we'll follow that regulation," said Clark. 

"The one per cent credit is as a result of improved hydro flows, as a result of improved export margins, and a hedge transaction that we have benefited from in this year," she said.

But not mentioned at the time was that N.B. Power's October surplus was known to be transient, and customers would eventually be made to pay the rebates back. 

That's because most of the temporary positive results were caused by a surge in the value of financial "hedges" N.B. Power bought to protect itself against the prices for oil, coal, natural gas and uranium rising this year. 

Prices did rise, and that inflated the value of the hedges when they were measured in October. 

But that gain was offset by the higher fuel prices.  

 N.B. Power showed a surplus in its revenue and expense accounts in October as fuel pricing hedges it bought became increasingly valuable. However, it's now exercising the hedges at its generating plants, such as the oil-fired station at Coleson Cove, turning that temporary surplus into a deficit. (Roger Cosman/CBC)

However, N.B. Power consumes most of the fuels it uses in winter, after the October measurement, and so those expenses weren't counted. 

By next spring, when both the hedges and the high fuel prices are accounted for, the utility and Knecht both estimate the illusory October surplus will be replaced by a significant full-year deficit. 

"Rather than showing a net under-collection for the first seven months of 2022, the Company actually reports a favourable balance," wrote Knecht about the N.B. Power accounts as of October. 

"When the offsetting higher fuel costs are recognized this winter, the variance accounts will presumably drop into a significantly unfavourable position." 

That expected end-of-year "unfavourable position," which will include the $15 million being paid to customers on the basis of the brief October surplus, will be factored into next October's calculations and then have to be recovered back from customers beginning in April 2024.

Virtually all N.B. Power customers, including residential and business customers, will share $15 million in rate rebates beginning in April. However, N.B. Power expects to grab the money back through a surcharge in 2024. (Shane Magee/CBC)

In an email Monday, N.B. Power suggested it is possible for positive things to happen to its finances between now and next October, and there are "too many variables" to know for certain if customers will have to repay rebates they get this year.

But that is not what the utility is saying in its own evidence to the Energy and Utilities Board.

"There will be a 'yo-yo' effect," N.B. Power writes in its official explanation of what will likely happen to those who get a rebate this year.   

"The amount reimbursed in 2023/24 will have to be clawed back from customers in 2024/25."

The decision to track actual revenues and expenses of N.B. Power, and have it issue rebates or impose surcharges, was made by the New Brunswick government to try to compensate for the utility regularly under-performing its profit targets.

Knecht was hired to analyze N.B. Power's rate proposals by acting public intervenor, Rick Williams. He doesn't believe the utilities board has the authority to reject N.B. Power's rebate plan, but said it makes no sense to him that the utility is giving out money this year it expects to be demanding back next year.

"The objective of the legislation change is to allow N.B. Power to recover its … shortfall," Knecht wrote. 

The New Brunswick chapter of Canadian Parents for French has released a poll by the research firm Leger suggesting the Opposition Liberals now have a big lead over the PCs in voting intentions.

It also suggests the plan to replace immersion is deeply unpopular. 

"It tells me that the government of New Brunswick is not in sync with the people of New Brunswick," said the chapter's executive director Chris Collins. 

According to the poll, taken in December, 72 per cent of respondents said their opinion of Premier Blaine Higgs had deteriorated "over the past few months."

 Chris Collins of the New Brunswick chapter of Canadian Parents for French, said he hopes the poll results will persuade some PC members of the legislature to push back against the replacement of immersion. (Jacques Poitras/CBC)

The same percentage told the pollster they agreed it is "important for anglophone parents in New Brunswick to have the opportunity to send their child(ren) to a French immersion school."

Asked which party they'd most likely vote for if an election were held now, 40 per cent of respondents said the Liberals compared to just 22 per cent for Higgs's PCs.

The Greens were at 15 per cent, the NDP at 12 and the People's Alliance at nine.

The next provincial election is scheduled for Oct. 21, 2024. Higgs said in December he hasn't decided whether to lead the party into that campaign or retire. 

The government announced in December it will replace immersion starting next fall for students entering Grade 1 and kindergarten.

Those students will instead spend half their days in what the province called "exploratory learning" in French. That's more time than what non-immersion students get now but less time than the immersion program.

Collins said he hopes the poll results will persuade some PC members of the legislature to push back against the replacement of immersion. 

"I think it will change the minds of members of the legislative assembly who are on the precipice of losing their seats in areas like Moncton, Saint John and Fredericton," he said.

"I think there's going to be a lot of dissension in caucus when people are seeing those kinds of numbers on their premier, and they're thinking, 'How does this set me up for the next election in '24?"

On Monday night, Education Minister Bill Hogan took part in the first of several public meetings on the changes.

During a series of vetted questions and scripted answers, Hogan said it was still possible the new model could change.

"Let me be clear," he said. "There's still a chance for New Brunswickers to have their say."

In the Leger poll, 63 per cent of respondents said they were against "abolishing" French immersion.

In response to another question about the policy change, only 22 per cent of respondents agreed that immersion "must be abolished and a new French as a second language program should be implemented."

A far larger share, 55 per cent, agreed that "the current French immersion program should be maintained, but make it accessible to more students, even if they are not in immersion programs." 

The 18-point gap in voting intentions in favour of the Liberals over the PCs is a bigger lead than what the Liberals have enjoyed in recent surveys by Halifax-based Narrative Research.

The last Narrative poll from November 2022 had the Liberals ahead 39 to 30. 

Leger said it conducted its web-based survey of 500 New Brunswickers from Dec. 15 to 23, a period that included the announcement on replacing immersion.

Because the poll was done with an online panel and not a random sample, the firm said it was impossible to calculate a margin of error. But it said a poll that size using a random sample would be accurate to within 4.4 percentage points 19 times out of 20.

The company said the results were weighted by gender, age, mother tongue, education, region and presence of children in a household to reflect New Brunswick's population.

In the first of several public consultation sessions about New Brunswick's new approach to teaching French to anglophone students, Education Minister Bill Hogan said Monday night that he's eager for parents to participate and share their thoughts. 

But he was called out by one participant who called the whole exercise a "con job." 

Through Twitter, someone named Chris asked, "How can you possibly call this a consultation when you have cancelled [French immersion] registration and announced the plan before you consult?"

Hogan announced the changes to the way French is taught last month. The changes mean more French for non-immersion students, but less than immersion students currently receive. 

Hogan assured people the goverment will listen to their concerns during consultations about French-language instruction in the province, and the current plan can still be changed. (Government of New Brunswick/YouTube)

Hogan said he appreciated the "candour" of questioner Chris during the livestream on the government's YouTube channel.

But he said the department has been consulting various groups and individuals over the past year.

"We've also benefited from the findings of the outstanding consultation work that was done through the Official Languages [Act] review and the report on second-language learning," Hogan said. "We used all this information to develop a proposal."

And Hogan promised that "changes are coming."

"Let me be clear," he said. "There's still a chance for New Brunswickers to have their say." 

Hogan reminded the audience about a number of public consultation sessions that will be held around the province, starting Tuesday:

• Jan. 17 at the Gowan Brae Golf Club in Bathurst.

• Jan. 19 at the Delta Beauséjour in Moncton.

• Jan. 24 at the Delta Saint John.

• Jan. 25 at the Delta Fredericton.

Each will be held from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

There will also be two virtual sessions — one on Jan. 31 and the other on Feb. 2.

And online survey will continue to be available until Feb. 3. As of Monday morning, Hogan said, the department had received 6,500 responses. 

Less French by middle school

With the new program, the percentage of instruction students will get in French will drop from 50 to 40 per cent when they reach grades 6 to 8 in middle school.

Under the existing immersion program, students receive 80 to 90 per cent of their instruction in French.

Students entering grades 2 to 12 in September who were already enrolled in French immersion can continue in that program through to high school graduation.

The changes will take place at the start of the 2023 school year, with final details of the plan to be announced this spring, following the public consultations.

Questions vetted in advance

The questions for last night's session with Hogan were submitted by people through social media and vetted by education officials in advance. Hogan's answers appeared to be scripted. 

One of the questions came from someone who identified themselves as a New Brunswick teacher and, according to the moderator Tiffany Baskin, "[seems] to be a French immersion teacher." 

The person wrote, "I don't want to teach oral French all day. I want to teach reading, writing, math, art, science, social studies and health. You will probably end up losing teachers with this new program."

In response, Hogan said there's been some confusion about "what an average day will look like." 

He said students need "reading and writing experiences" in order to develop language skills. 

"These skills will be developed through French-language arts and exploratory learning."

Students will be exposed to French in a variety of subjects "in fun and engaging ways," Hogan said. "This includes lots of play and learning activities."

Will all teachers have to be bilingual?

Another participant wanted to know who's going to teach all this in primary grades. She asked, "Are you now going to require all teachers to be bilingual?"

Hogan said no.

"We will continue to need English-speaking teachers for the portion of the day that students are learning in English."

But he acknowledged that "there will continue to be challenges when it comes to recruitment, retention and training of French second-language teachers."

He said more "professional development opportunities" will be created for existing teachers and the department will be "ramping up" recruitment efforts.

• N.B. radically rethinks French second-language education 
• No French immersion could lead to weaker bilingual services, teacher association says

He said the department is already "working on an aggressive recruitment campaign over the past few months."

Officials are also trying to remove barriers for international recruitment, he said.

Hogan was also asked whether the department consulted the teachers' association, and he said the group had been involved since "early on in discussions."

"We've always asked them to be part of the process because we know how valuable their input is — particularly when it comes to issues of staffing. We very much want teachers and the teachers' associations to come to the table and to talk to us about what we're proposing."

Those with unique needs

Several parent expressed concerns about children who are already struggling with some basic concepts in English and worry the new model will just make it more difficult for them to succeed. 

Hogan acknowledged there is "plenty of data that shows children with additional social, emotional or behavioural needs are currently disproportionately placed into the English prime program."

"This has been creating imbalances between classrooms, behavioural challenges and increased pressure regarding inclusive education practices for years."

Hogan said students who currently have personalized learning plans, known as PLPs, will continue to do so. 

He was also asked what models were used to develop the proposed program. 

Program tried out in 1990s

One of the prototypes was a program that was used in the anglophone north school district in the late 1990s and early 2000s that used a 50-50 split between English and French, Hogan said. The Grade 12 oral proficiency assessment results were among the highest in the province, with 97 per cent reaching the conversational level.

Hogan said students "even outperformed last year's graduating cohort of early immersion students."

At least two participants worried about how newcomers, especially those who speak anything other than French or English will be integrated into the new program. 

Hogan said individual plans will be created "that address the specific needs of students," but he didn't offer any specifics. 

Former Speaker Chris Collins can't sue the New Brunswick Legislature over how it handled harassment allegations against him, a Court of Queen's Bench justice has ruled.

Justice Terrence Morrison says the principle of parliamentary privilege, which has protected the independence of parliaments from other branches of government for centuries, applies in the Collins case.

"I can envision no greater a threat to the autonomy of the Legislative Assembly than outside interference into the discipline, sanction, and/or removal of one of its members," Morrison writes in the 25-page ruling.

Collins is also suing the provincial government and former premier Brian Gallant. The decision doesn't affect those parts of the lawsuit, which can continue.

The case centres on harassment allegations against Collins by a former employee that became public in April 2018.

A subsequent report by an independent investigator, commissioned by the legislature, found the complaint was "founded in part," and Collins later offered what he called a "complete and unreserved apology" in front of reporters.

But last April, Collins filed a lawsuit, saying Gallant and the legislature abused their authority and breached his privacy and his employment contract, effectively ending his political career. Collins ran for re-election as an independent in 2018 and lost.

He claims Gallant's office revived an old allegation against him and pushed the legislature to act on it to punish Collins for rejecting a Liberal motion attacking then-Opposition leader Blaine Higgs.

The suit against Gallant and the provincial government can still go ahead. (CBC)

Morrison's ruling cites a 2020 Ontario Court of Appeal ruling on Senator Mike Duffy's lawsuit against the Senate over its handling of his expense claims. The court ruled that the Senate's proceedings were privileged and it could not be sued.

The Supreme Court of Canada later refused to hear Duffy's appeal of that decision.

Morrison says in his decision that the facts in the Duffy case are "strikingly similar" to the Collins case. 

Duffy argued that interference by then-prime minister Stephen Harper's office in the Senate investigation of his expenses meant that parliamentary privilege no longer applied, an argument the Ontario Court of Appeal rejected.

Collins made a similar argument about Gallant's alleged role in influencing the actions of the clerk and deputy clerk of the legislature, as well as the legislative administration committee which oversees discipline cases.

The legislature's lawyer Jamie Eddy persuaded him that Collins's allegations "fall within the scope of the established parliamentary privilege over discipline of its members, authority over its internal affairs and authority over its internal parliamentary procedure," Morrison wrote.

Collins was ordered to pay $2,000 for the legislature's legal costs. 

Gallant has disputed Collins's claims in his own statement of defence. 

There is no date yet for when the remaining part of the lawsuit would go to trial.

"When you react to social media, when you react quickly to the 24/7 news cycle, you find yourself taking decisions, saying things that exacerbate the strongly held opinions of the people who are putting out those points of view," Morneau told host Matt Galloway on CBC Radio's The Current.

"The decision in the last election campaign to use the vaccine mandate as a wedge issue — I didn't see that as something that was helpful."

Morneau made the remarks during an interview to promote his new book — Where To From Here, A Path to Canadian Prosperity.

The former finance minister said in his book that by letting the news cycle and social media dictate his decision-making, Trudeau lost sight of fiscal prudence and the goal of securing Canada's long-term prosperity.

Morneau wrote that he wanted to ensure that the pandemic benefits received by Canadians were large enough to help them survive the lockdowns, but not large enough to act as a disincentive to work.

Morneau said that the government's focus on message management and communications ultimately trumped fiscal prudence.

"After looking at all the options and variables, we submitted a range of weekly incomes justified by our carefully considered calculations, only to be overruled by the prime minister and PMO, who rejected our recommendations in favour of distributing $2,000 per month or $500 a week because the numbers 'sounded good,'" Morneau wrote.

A healthy tension

The prime minister, Morneau said, is an "excellent communicator" but remained at arm's-length from the details of policy implementation.

"It appeared, in many instances, that the prime minister floated above the issues he confronted, choosing not to get his hands dirty in dealing with the mechanics and implications of the issues before him," Morneau wrote in his book. 

While many senior executives in the business world also trust specialists to deal with the details, Morneau wrote, they have to understand and grapple with the messy aspects of getting things done.

"Good management, in any capacity, is not about conveniently turning a blind eye to remain above the fray," he wrote. "It's about keeping both eyes open to foresee risks and consequences, and taking steps to avoid or at least minimize them."

Morneau told CBC that he was keeping the long-term prosperity of the country in mind when making short-term economic and fiscal decisions, while Trudeau was focused on messaging. 

"That meant that the time that he was spending was there, and not necessarily on those longer term challenges, things that consumed me about how we were going to be successful in the long term," he told Galloway.

Finance Minister Bill Morneau walks with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau before tabling the budget in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa in 2018. (Justin Tang/Canadian Press)

Morneau said the fact that he and Trudeau were focused on different things did generate a healthy tension that led to progress on key issues like climate change and poverty reduction.

"We had a respectful and cordial relationship," Morneau told The Current."We worked together. There was always tension, as there should be between a finance minister and prime minister, but he was always respectful to me and I certainly was always respectful to him."

But in his book, Morneau claimed that workplace tension often left him at odds with his boss — especially when it came time to decide how fast pandemic benefits should be wound down.

"We lost the agenda," Morneau wrote. "During the period when the largest government expenditures as a portion of GDP were made in the shortest time since the advent of World War II, calculations and recommendations from the ministry of finance were basically disregarded in favour of winning a popularity contest."

Inflation and the Bank of Canada

In his book, Morneau said that political operatives behind the scenes often manipulated policy direction for the sake of message management, usurping his role.

"Carefully crafted and strategically employed, they drove conclusions before an elected cabinet minister could finish reading the briefing documents, let alone reach a reasoned conclusion on the subject and consider the best way forward," he wrote.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has accused Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem of "surrendering his independence" to Trudeau by embarking on a "money-printing" binge in response to the pandemic-driven economic crisis.

Poilievre has said he believes Macklem contributed to inflation through the bank's measures to support the economy during the pandemic, and that he'll fire the governor if he becomes prime minister.

Morneau, meanwhile, said he thought the Bank of Canada took the right approach to the pandemic and the subsequent inflation crisis.

"I believe that the separation of the Bank of Canada to make decisions that are in the right long-term health of Canada is critically important," he told Galloway.

"From my perspective, I've watched carefully and I've seen them reacting, in my estimation, appropriately to the inflation challenge."

Louis Léger, a longtime Progressive Conservative staffer, operative and volunteer, confirmed to CBC News on Tuesday that he's leaving the position, nominally the top political adviser to a premier.

"It's time," Léger said in a text to CBC News. "I never intended on staying this long."

He would not agree to an interview.

Léger's departure coincides with several controversial moves by the government on language issues and calls for a party vote on Higgs's leadership from some francophone members of the PC party.

Moncton South PC MLA Greg Turner said those controversies, and speculation about whether Higgs will stay on as leader for the 2024 election, had no role in Léger's decision.

Moncton South PC MLA Greg Turner said language controversies, and speculation about whether Higgs will stay on as leader for the 2024 election, had no role in Léger's decision. (Jacques Poitras/CBC)

"I don't read anything into that at all," said Turner, the party's caucus chair. "It's a very, very amicable separation." 

Turner said Léger told the PC caucus Monday night that he'd reflected on his future during a Christmas vacation.

"He found he'd contributed a lot over the time he was in that position and felt it was a good time for him to relax a bit more and take some time off."

Liaison to Acadian community

Léger was widely seen as the most influential francophone in Higgs's government and was frequently the go-between with Acadian organizations wary of the premier's approach to language issues.

"It's a big loss," said Alexandre Cedric-Doucet, president of the Acadian Society of New Brunswick.

"Mr. Léger played a diplomatic role, maintaining the relationship between the Premier's Office and the Acadian and francophone communities." 

Léger advised Higgs after the party won the most seats in the 2018 election and then spent weeks jockeying with Liberal  Brian Gallant over who would govern the province.

When Higgs prevailed, Léger became his chief of staff.

There was no immediate official announcement from Higgs about Léger's departure or about who would replace him. (Jacques Poitras/CBC)

Doucet said it was hard to assess Léger's contribution, especially on language issues, but said he had likely influenced Higgs to not make decisions that would have been even worse for francophones. 

There was no immediate official announcement from Higgs about Léger's departure or about who would replace him.

Turner pointed out that chief of staff "is a high-pressure, high-intensity job," and most people in the position don't last four years. 

Léger first became involved with the PC Party as as youth member during Richard Hatfield's time as premier. He is the son of Omer Léger, a Hatfield-era cabinet minister. 

Léger worked as a political staffer to provincial and federal PC cabinet ministers and also worked as a communications consultant. 

He was also on the board of the Conservative Fund, the fundraising arm of the federal Conservative Party.

"Andy C" appears to be a reference to Andy Carson, a senior executive with Irving Oil. 

The name was redacted in an email chain between department officials who were working on a government effort last winter to support Irving Oil Ltd.'s attempt to win higher petroleum margins from the EUB. 

"Have you heard anything from Andy C?" read the original email between civil servants, which was released to the CBC in February with the last five letters blanked out.

   An email to Blaine Higgs from his chief of staff, Louis Leger, on Jan. 5 showed the premier was deeply involved in a government effort to help with Irving Oil's request for fuel price increases. (GNB)

However, late last week the full sentence was provided following a CBC News complaint to the New Brunswick ombud's office about a number of redactions in material supplied by the department.

The full complaint has not been resolved, but in a letter last Friday the department's deputy minister Tom MacFarlane wrote to disclose that one of the redactions involved blanking out the name "Andy C."

"The Department has reviewed the previously withheld records and engaged in discussion with the Office of the Ombud," wrote MacFarlane. "Please find enclosed a revised record."

CBC's request for information from the department centred on a Jan. 5 application by Irving Oil to the New Brunswick Energy and Utilities Board to raise petroleum wholesale margins in New Brunswick by amounts that, if awarded, would have cost consumers about $1 million a week in increased fuel costs.

Shortly after the increase was applied for, a letter over the signature of Mike Holland, the minister of natural resources and energy development, was sent to the EUB in support of Irving Oil's request for an "expedited" review of its application.

Holland was criticized by a number of parties for contacting the independent board, but records obtained by CBC News following a right to information request showed he had little to do with writing the letter or the decision to send it. 

It was produced by a team of civil servants working for days on strategies on how the government might assist Irving Oil and was submitted directly to Premier Blaine Higgs for approval.

The  "Andy C" email was written late in the day Dec. 29 by assistant deputy minister Bill Breckenridge to department director Heather Quinn as senior officials scrambled to prepare for a briefing requested by Higgs on Irving Oil's plans to ask for fuel price increases a week later.

MacFarlane, the deputy minister, was notified at 7 p.m. on the 29th of the premier's desire for an update and, despite the hour and the holidays, immediately sent instructions to Breckenridge to find details.

Tom MacFarlane, deputy minister of natural resources and energy development, revealed last week that 'Andy C' was the name hidden in the release of emails to CBC News last winter. (Jacques Poitras/CBC)

"Can someone confirm with IOL [Irving Oil Ltd.] or EUB if the request has been made and if not when it is expected," wrote MacFarlane.

At 8:40 in the evening, Breckenridge did the same to Heather Quinn. 

"I hope you had a nice Christmas," read his note "And I hate to bother you but as per the following: have you heard anything from Andy C?" 

No one in the Department of Natural Resources connected to those emails was available Friday to confirm if Andy C is a reference to Irving Oil executive Andy Carson, what he was being consulted about, or why the department tried to keep the name secret.

Carson is Irving Oil's director of energy transition and a former head of the company's public affairs division. 

Irving Oil Ltd. applied to the EUB for 'urgent' wholesale price increases in January but abandoned the application in March. Government documents revealed the province attempted to find ways to help the company. (Devaan Ingraham/Reuters )

If the redaction was meant to dispel any impression the department was coordinating with Irving Oil about its desire for price increases, Higgs has already acknowledged the two bodies were in contact. 

In a March interview he said there had been discussions with the company about its troubles and what it wanted prior to the application being made in January.

"I was aware of what they were seeking to do," Higgs told CBC News.

"They would have been presenting their case to cabinet, some members, not necessarily all members."

Initially, the Department of Natural Resources claimed it was not required to disclose "Andy C" under exceptions allowed if doing so would be "harmful to a third party's business or financial interests." However, that argument has been abandoned.

Carson did not respond to an email asking if he knows whether the reference in the government correspondence is to him.

Irving Oil eventually abandoned its application for higher wholesale prices in March.

Wendy Flowers, the village's former treasurer and clerk, said she worked through 2022  helping co-ordinate the merger of Minto and Chipman, which took effect on Jan. 1 as a result of local government reform.

She said she was assured throughout the process that her job was secure and that she'd remain employed, in some capacity, after the two villages were merged.

But on Dec. 15, Flowers said she was called into a meeting by Don Ferguson, the transition facilitator working for the Department of Local Government and Local Governance Reform, and handed a letter of termination.

"I was shocked. I didn't really know what to say," Flowers said.

"[Ferguson] said … there is no reason, it's without cause, that my position was being eliminated and then I had until the next day at three o'clock to remove my personal belongings from my office."

The Village of Minto was merged with the Village of Chipman and surrounding local service districts to create the municipality of Grand Lake. (Shane Fowler/CBC)

Flowers said she was first hired by the village in July 2016 as both the clerk and treasurer for the municipality.

In November 2021, the provincial government announced it was slashing the number of local government entities by forcing mergers of dozens of municipalities and neighbouring rural areas, and combining remaining rural areas into new, larger rural districts.

Local Government and Local Governance Reform Minister Daniel Allain led the initiative, which saw 22 per cent of the provincial population go from living in unincorporated local service districts to living in enlarged municipalities, as of January.

Minto and Chipman were two municipalities that were combined, along with a handful of local service districts to create Grand Lake.

Flowers said part of her work in 2022 was helping prepare the Village of Minto for the planned merger.

"We were taken by surprise, obviously, when the minister announced the amalgamation of Minto and Chipman — two independent villages," Flowers said.

"But we were quickly assured that there would be no job losses. Everybody, all hands, were needed. We needed everybody to be on board to make this work."

Applied for several new positions

Flowers said a position of chief administrative officer for Grand Lake was posted in advance of the merger, which she applied for and was interviewed.

She said she lost to Michelle Dickinson, the former clerk and treasurer for the Village of Chipman, however, Flowers said she was told she'd still work with the new municipality as clerk.

Flowers said a position for treasurer was then posted, which she also applied for, however, the notice of termination was given shortly after.

She said since her firing, she hasn't heard any follow up about the treasurer position she applied for, and has also noticed the municipality has since posted a job opening for a municipal clerk.

Flowers said she hasn't applied for that posting, adding she thinks it would be "pointless."

"I had the job and I was dismissed from it, so even though they say that it's been without cause, it certainly doesn't make me look good."

Asking for more severance

The Act Respecting Local Governance Reform received royal assent in December 2021 giving Allain special powers with respect to the transition of communities into new municipalities.

One of those sections specifically gave Allain the power to fire a municipal employee with reasonable notice, or with payment instead of notice.

That section of the act is cited in Flowers's termination letter, along with an offer of 16-weeks pay in lieu of notice, in exchange for giving up her right to take legal action against the Village of Minto, the municipality of Grand Lake, the province or the minister.

Daniel Allain, New Brunswick's minister of local governance reform, announced in 2021 plans to cut the number of local government entities from 340 to fewer than 100. (Ed Hunter/CBC)

Flowers hasn't agreed to those terms, and in response, Andrew Rouse, her lawyer, wrote a letter to Ferguson to say that Flowers should have been given the role of clerk for the new municipality, considering Chipman's former clerk had already been hired to be the new chief administrative officer.

"ln addition, the Minister and his staff, repeatedly assured all employees that if they were no longer able to keep their job due to the amalgamation, an alternative position would be found for the employee," Rouse said, in his letter.

"Wendy was also assured by you that she would not lose her job."

Rouse, in his letter, said Flowers is prepared to accept 15-months pay in lieu of notice as a result of her termination.

Allain did not provide an interview about Flowers's termination, and whether the same was done to municipal staff working in other villages that were part of mergers.

Vicky Lutes, a spokesperson for his department said in an email the goal was to ensure a role for all employees, and that it was achieved in the vast majority of entities.

"There were limited instances where the goal wasn't achieved," she said. "Given that these are human resource-related matters, we cannot comment on specifics."

Protecting municipal staff important: union

When local government reform was announced, the understanding was that firing municipal staff would be "the last possible resort," said Dan Murphy, executive director of the Union of Municipalities of New Brunswick.

"What we had understood from the department from the get-go is that they were going to try to minimize any type of job loss whether it was going to be by finding a position in another municipality or another … position within the municipality," he said.

Dan Murphy, executive director of the Union of Municipalities of New Brunswick, said the union told the Department of Local Government and Local Governance Reform that it would be important for municipalities to keep as many of their staff as possible. (Kandise Brown/Submitted)

Murphy said he doesn't know how many municipal staff have been fired as a result of local government reforms.

However, he said his union had communicated to Allain's department how important it would be to keep as many municipal employees as possible.

"We've mentioned to the department over and over again, you know, the importance of protecting municipal staff and ensuring that we don't lose that knowledge base," he said.

"There's a lot of years of experience, a lot of administrators, who are very good and know what's going on … so that experience is going to be really important."