- Patricia W. Elliott

Locally owned papers tend to do comparatively well in the media market. However, as demonstrated by the sorrowful history of media concentration, press barons will shutter newspapers rather than offer them to local buyers. At best, they'll sell the whole chain to another sprawling, indebted corporation.

Sadly, we've reached a point where even if one link were broken off the chain, its physical assets will have been stripped and swallowed into the maw of CEO bonuses and company debt. All that's left to buy is a once-proud banner and a payroll liability.

The public suffers.

As a journalism instructor, I've often shown students The Paper, a 1994 film in which journalists frantically track down a rumour that two young black men arrested for murder were set up. It ends in a late-night fist fight to stop the presses and get the story right.

Last Tuesday, Postmedia announced Saskatchewan's two major urban dailies will henceforth be printed in Estevan. Not a big stretch for Regina, which lost its press to Saskatoon in 2016, but for the now-homeless Saskatoon Star Phoenix, it will be 470 km away. As production deadlines become ever-tighter and physically distant, and reporters are separated from each other in home-based pods, it inevitably becomes harder to get the story right.

While I peruse my morning paper, I know my students are waking and reading many of the same stories, albeit through social media, where it's free. Their eyeballs are drawn to ads that generate revenue not for the papers that produced the stories, but for behemoths like Facebook and Google. 

This demonstrates another regulatory gap, one that has left Ottawa trying to herd online revenue back to Canadian newsrooms while the money stampedes south, leaving Bill C-18 in the dust.     

Some fine reporting has been generated through Heritage Canada's Local Journalism Initiative (LJI), but the systemic problem of media concentration remains unabated. For Postmedia, getting public dollars to replace journalists who were laid off to increase company profits is a sweet deal.

A smart move broadened LJI funds to local nonprofit community television. But again, this is happening in an environment dominated by huge corporations — Bell, Telus, Rogers and Shaw. Since the mid-1990s, Big Cable has shuttered more than 200 community access stations, leaving an estimated 90 per cent of the Canadian public without access to genuinely local community TV.

The beast grows larger. The Competition Bureau seems powerless to stop a Rogers-Shaw merger. 

Meanwhile, people still crave news. In-depth storytelling from diverse perspectives has grown large audiences. Newspapers that still control their own budgets are responding with large-scale investigations, essays and podcasts. 

Journalism teachers can equip students with technical skills and knowledge to navigate these shifts. What we can't do is equip them for the ravages of monopoly capitalism. Federal regulators must step up, and step hard, to break the chains.

This column is part of CBC's Opinion section. For more information about this section, please read this editor's blog and our FAQ.

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At the time, Trudeau promised to look into how the contract was awarded and pledged to ensure that "Canada is not signing contracts with the lowest bidder that then turn around and leave us exposed to security flaws."

"We will have some real questions for the independent public service that signed these contracts, and we'll make sure that this is changed going forward," he said. "It's high time that happens."

ArriveCAN no longer mandatory

The Globe and Mail reports the six companies that received the ArrriveCan contracts include Distill Mobile Inc., which was paid $5.1 million, and Macadamian Technologies Inc., which got $1.8 million. The other firms, which received much smaller amounts, are BDO Canada LLP, Optiv Security Inc./Optiv Canada Inc., KPMG LLP and Level Access. 

The Canada Border Services Agency says $54 million has been budgeted for the operation and development of the ArriveCAN app up to this coming March.

The app was launched during the pandemic as a communication and screening tool to ensure travellers arriving in Canada complied with pandemic border measures. It later became a way for travellers to show their vaccination status.

The app was made optional in October. Travellers no longer need to use it to report their vaccination information — but many of them can still use a feature of the app that allows them to fill out a Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) declaration form before arriving at customs.

Few travellers used the advance declaration tool at the airports where it was available during the month of October.

CBSA provided CBC News with the number of air passengers who used the app in Montreal's Trudeau airport, Toronto's Pearson airport and Vancouver's international airport — the only airports where the advance declaration feature was available at the beginning of October. CBC cross-referenced those numbers with the number of international arrivals at those airports for the same month.

Out of the roughly 2.4 million arrivals at those airports, just over 320,000 travellers — roughly 13 per cent —  used the app.

In a report obtained by Radio-Canada that has yet to be made public, the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages said Ottawa undermined the language rights of Canadians.

The case is now being heard in Federal Court, where the government will have to explain its management of the application. Launched in April 2020, ArriveCAN was used to record proof of vaccination against COVID-19 for all travellers wishing to enter or return to Canada.

The complainant in this case, Darius Bossé, claimed Ottawa should not have mandated the use of the application knowing the problems associated with the display language. He wanted to return to Canada from the United States in the summer of 2021 and used an English version of the application that did not allow him to switch to French.

"When I am required to make personal statements about my health and location, it is absolutely essential to me that communication with the Canadian government takes place in the official language of my choice," Bossé said.

Unilingual application

The application's language issues began as early as its launch in 2020, according to documents filed by Ottawa in Federal Court.

At that time, the iPhone version allowed travellers to choose a display language, but that feature was "defective" because it did not consistently respect the user's chosen language, according to a federal government affidavit.

In addition, language preference was not always taken into account by screen readers, which are essential for users with special needs.

The government admitted to the court that it decided to "remove the language feature" in December 2020.

Users were then forced to use a version of the app based on their cell phone's operating language, with no clear guidelines for changing it as needed.

It wasn't until August 2021 — after Bossé's complaint — that the government offered more precise explanations to users who wanted to communicate with Ottawa in the official language of their choice.

And it wasn't until November 2021 that the government released an application for iPhones that allowed users to switch languages after downloading, according to the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages.

The federal government filed the English version of its affidavits with the Federal Court on Sept. 26. The French versions were filed on Dec. 1.

Lawyer Darius Bossé, who is the claimant in this case, says he should have been able to easily use either official language when he was communicating with the federal government information about his health and location. (Simon Lasalle/Radio-Canada)

Frustrated user

While travelling in the United States in 2021, Bossé tried to obtain the French version of the ArriveCAN application without success.

Having access only to the English version of the application on his cell phone, he tried to indicate on his user profile that French was his preferred language for communicating with the federal government.

Despite this, he had to continue using the English version of the application during his 14-day mandatory quarantine period. According to him, the choice of language for the operation of a cellphone is "personal" and should not affect his language rights.

After filing a complaint, Bossé won his case before the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages in the spring of 2022.

In its report, the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages noted that the Public Health Agency of Canada "was aware" of the difficulties in operating the application in the user's language of choice on iPhones.

The report adds that the agency "did not inform the public [...] either of this fact or how to proceed to access the app in their preferred official language."

In June 2022, Bossé turned to Federal Court to try to prove that the agency had violated his language rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Official Languages Act. He is seeking damages of $22,500.

"The Constitution states that people have the right to be served by the federal government in the official language of their choice. For me, it is important that the Federal Court formally recognize this," he explains.

In an affidavit filed in Federal Court last September, the head of the ArriveCAN app, Chulaka Ailapperuma, confirmed that he faced numerous technical challenges related to the display language on Apple platforms in 2020 and 2021.

Possible solution

An expert hired by Bossé responded in a separate affidavit that the government should have been able to allow ArriveCAN users to change the language of the display within the application itself.

Gregory Cerallo, founder of Sidekick Interactive Inc. points to examples of bilingual applications created by Environment Canada, the SAQ or Hydro-Québec, all of which offer this feature.

"In my experience, inserting or maintaining a custom language feature in a mobile application poses an additional, but not insurmountable, challenge," Cerallo says.

He calculates that developing this feature would have cost an extra $72,000.

In all, Cerallo estimates that developing an application like ArriveCAN should not have cost more than $2 million.

Instead, the federal government spent tens of millions in connection with the creation and implementation of the application.

A news release from the New Brunswick Farm Products Commission blames the increase on rising production costs faced by dairy producers and processors.

It says dairy farmers are paying more for feed, machinery and equipment repairs, fuel and oil, custom work and hired labour.

The commission says the price adjustment also covers increased costs borne by dairy processors, including for packaging, manufacturing, transportation and distribution.

The commission says farmers will receive 1.7 cents more per litre from the price increase, while processors will get 2.4 cents more per litre.

It says pricing for the school milk program will remain unchanged for the current academic year.

Increase announced last fall

In November, the Canadian Dairy Commission said the so-called farm gate price for dairy will increase by 2.2 per cent starting in February.

The Crown corporation oversees Canada's supply managed dairy system. It sets farm gate prices, which are the amounts that farmers will receive for their product.

In Canada, the dairy industry operates under what's known as a supply management system, where the prices that producers get for things such as milk, cream, yogurt and cheeses are set at a level that is supposed to ensure production and sustainability for the industry. 

Prices can vary at the retail level, but one of the effects of supply management is to set a baseline price that farmers can expect for their basic product when it leaves the farm.

The commission raised the farm gate price by 8.4 per cent last February, just as inflation was walloping every part of Canada's economy.

The group then took the almost unprecedented step of raising prices a second time in the same year, by another 2.5 per cent, starting Sept. 1.

The new prices coming into effect Feb. 1 are approved by the provinces.

The New Brunswick government says it will transfer $40 million over the next decade to the province's regional service commissions to fund economic development, newcomer retention and labour force development.

The spending was announced Tuesday a month after local governance reforms required the commissions to offer more services. 

The funding will be allocated to 10 of the 12 commissions based on a per capita formula. The Fundy Regional Service Commission around Saint John area and the Capital Regional Service Commission around Fredericton are excluded because they have separate agreements with the province.

"This is actually focused on a couple of key issues around population growth, making sure we maintain that growth, making sure that we meet our labour market demands," Trevor Holder, the province's minister of Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour, told reporters. 

Daniel Allain, New Brunswick's minister of Local Government and Governance Reform, says the move is meant to allow each region to decide what works best for them. (Shane Magee/CBC)

Holder and Daniel Allain, the minister of Local Government and Governance Reform, said the funding will allow each region to decide what works best for their area instead of having decisions made by the province.

"Fredericton is not that smart. People in regions are smarter," Allain said during a press conference in Moncton attended by various mayors, regional commission staff and others.

The ministers said the government will sign performance-based funding agreements with the commissions.

The 12 commissions, which began in 2013, were originally mandated to provide services like solid waste and regional planning. They could opt to also offer some other services like regional tourism promotion and economic development.

Local government reforms that kicked in Jan. 1 expanded the required services to economic development, community development, regional tourism promotion, regional transportation and cost sharing on regional recreational infrastructure.

On economic development, the ministers said the commissions can take on the task in-house or use a third-party organization. 

Moncton, Dieppe and Riverview had jointly funded an economic development agency called 3+ Corp.

Roland LeBlanc, CEO of the commission, said the Southeast Regional Service Commission that includes those communities had already opted to carry out economic development. He said some 3+ employees now work for the commission and the mandate will expand to the region. 

"So a bit of a change with this new funding — very exciting for the region — it gives us a great opportunity to invest in workforce development, workforce retention and population growth," Leblanc said. 

Moncton Mayor Dawn Arnold hopes the funding will help to retain people in the community. (Shane Magee/CBC)

Moncton Mayor Dawn Arnold said much of the existing immigration services funding is focused on permanent residents, which left international students and others largely to volunteer groups to support. 

"We need to be able to provide the proper services to attract, retain and give newcomers that real sense of belonging in our community," Arnold told reporters, saying it's hoped the funding will allow that to happen.

Dan Murphy, executive director of the Union of Municipalities of New Brunswick representing communities across the province, told reporters the funding is a good start. 

"What we've been looking for anytime we deal with the province is a long-term period that it's agreed to. Ten years is certainly a good start for that," Murphy said. 

Allain told reporters the province will be making more announcements in the future about the other aspects of the commissions and local governance reforms.

The province is also introducing a tiered pricing system. 

"It doesn't seem like a fair system," said Salma Burney, a moderator on the Camping New Brunswick Facebook group, which has about 19,500 members. She also co-owns a private campground.

Burney said she's seen nothing but frustration in response to the cost increases at provincial parks. 

"If they're owned by taxpayers, then why do taxpayers have to pay twice as much to use something where their tax dollars have gone to?" 

Mount Carleton Provincial Park is a popular destination for camping and hiking. (Tourism New Brunswick)

For example, renting the Maple heritage cabin at Mount Carleton Provincial Park used to cost $113.04 a night in August. Renting that same cabin during the same month this year will cost $225, almost double, and that doesn't include taxes.

Seasonal rates are also going up.

A seasonal RV campsite with electricity at Mactaquac Provincial Park cost $1,652.17 in 2022. This year prices vary between $2,000 and $3,250, depending on water and sewage availability and the type of electrical hookup requested. Again, those prices don't include tax.

Park entrance fees are increasing by 50 per cent, from $8.70 to $13.04, plus taxes.

And at Parlee Beach Provincial Park, a fee designated for beach maintenance that is tacked onto the entrance fee is increasing by 66 per cent, going from $2.61 to $4.35, taxes extra.

The province has also proposed raising some of these fees annually until at least 2025. 

Prime Pricing

New Brunswick is introducing high-season and low-season rates this year. According to the province's website, May 19-22 this year and July 1 to Sept. 4 are considered high season. 

It means that camping sites will cost about 25 per cent more during those summer months and the May long weekend compared to the rest of the year. 

A campsite at New River Beach, near Saint John, with electrical and sewer hook-up will cost $44.00 a night in June, but $55.00 a night in July. (Tourism NB)

Visiting Sugarloaf Provincial Park and using an unserviced campsite, a site designated for pitching a tent without electricity or water, will cost $24 during the low season. But during the high season the cost of that same spot will jump to $30.

A site for a night at New River Beach with access to a 50-amp electrical outlet and sewer hook-up will cost $44 a night in June, but increases to $55 a night in July.

"I was a bit shocked to say the least," said Matt Richard, who has had a seasonal spot at Mactaquac Provincial Park for his family's camper the last two years.

He said his family has loved their time at the park, but watching prices increase is a tough pill to swallow when services haven't improved.

"Everything is going up, but to go from $1,750 to now $2,250 and you still have no sewer hook-up, that's a drastic increase."

He said he expects he and his family will only get a camping spot for the occasional weekend this summer and will likely pass on the seasonal camping.

"Camping is one of those nice things that is an affordable thing to do with the family," Burney said. "It shouldn't be cost prohibitive, but now they're putting it in a level where, you know, the lower-income people can't just enjoy a simple camping trip with their family." 

The province said one of the reasons for the bump in fees is the addition of 'an accessible playground, washrooms, family area' at Parlee Beach, shown here in August 2022. (Shane Magee/CBC)

Tourism, Heritage and Culture Minister Tammy Scott-Wallace would not be interviewed about the fees. Instead, spokesperson Mark Taylor sent a statement about what the fee increases pay for.

He cited new accessible family washroom buildings at several campgrounds, upgraded and winterized shelters, "significant capital improvements to power/sewage/water services onsite" at the largest campgrounds and "an accessible playground, washrooms, family area and other infrastructure at Parlee Beach." 

That email also said, "many of the new spring/fall rates are lower than the previous rate for the entire camping season." 

As a comparison, an unserviced tent site at Mactaquac Provincial Park cost $26.96 last year. This year that same site will cost $2 less outside the high season. But between July 1 and Sept. 4, and the May long weekend, it will cost $30, or $3 more than last year, not including taxes.

Burney said creating a price tier between July and September precisely targets when kids are out of school for the summer and family vacations begin. She worries that could mean lower income families will suffer the most, either having to pay more or schedule time away from school and work in order to avoid paying steeper rates. 

"It can frustrate the parents because they're trying to get everyone together," said Burney. 

Fees, fees, fees

Burney said she's also seen sentiment sour toward increasing fees. 

"There is a fee to make a booking and then if you cancel there's a fee to cancel. There's a fee for everything. They charge for firewood. They charge for this, they charge for that, they nickel and dime you," said Burney. 

These increases come at a time when New Brunswick's Provincial Parks have become wildly popular. An increase in people getting into outdoor activities came during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the department's annual reports the vast majority of campers in provincial parks are New Brunswick residents.

This summer some cabin prices at Mount Carleton Provincial Park will be double what they were last year. (Shane Fowler/CBC News)

The email from the Department of Tourism, Heritage and Culture also stated, "Most fees have not been increased in several years and these fee increases impact nine provincial parks."

But campsite fees for those parks were raised in 2020, according to the province's annual report on fees. Prices increased three years ago at Mount Carleton, Mactaquac, Herring Cove, New River Beach, Parlee Beach, Sugarloaf, Murray Beach and La République provincial parks.

Fees are being introduced for North Lake Provincial Park, where there have been none since it opened last July 1. 

Park entrance, beach maintenance and cabin fees were last raised in 2016.

Higgs made his comments after two weeks of angry public meetings that saw dozens of New Brunswickers slam his plan to replace French immersion.

"It never was a sure thing," he said of the new model announced in December. "If it was, there wouldn't much point in having consultations. It was a proposal to say 'is there another way that we can achieve better success?'"

The model was described as a "framework" when it was unveiled in December. It would see all anglophone kindergarten and elementary students spend half their day learning English and half learning French.

Education Minister Bill Hogan said last week that 'nothing at this point is written in stone.' (Ed Hunter/CBC)

That's more French than what non-immersion students get now but much less than the existing, optional immersion program.

Higgs also said last fall immersion had to be replaced this coming September, not by the original planned date of fall 2024 — a key point that prompted his previous education minister, Dominic Cardy, to leave the position last fall.

But in recent weeks, Education Minister Bill Hogan and his deputy minister for anglophone schools, John McLaughlin, have said they're open to alternatives.

Hogan said last week that "nothing at this point is written in stone," and McLaughlin told a committee of MLAs the 50-50 model was a proposal but there was no decision yet "about whether to proceed with this model or something different."

Higgs echoed those comments Wednesday.

It was his first chance to respond to the three public meetings in Moncton, Saint John and Fredericton, which had a total of more than 900 people attending and no one speaking in favour of the change.

Chris Collins, executive director of Canadian Parents for French in New Brunswick, said the group 'is very encouraged by the fact there appears to be a softening of the ground' by the premier. (Jacques Poitras/CBC)

"I haven't had a final proposal or a suggestion of next steps," the premier said, adding he'll be meeting with Hogan, McLaughlin, the Progressive Conservative cabinet and caucus to discuss what was said at the public meetings. 

"Then we'll decide, based on the recommendations, what we learned and the recommendations that came out of the department as a result of that."

Progressive Conservative MLA Andrea Anderson-Mason urged the government to "pump the brakes" on Jan. 20 because of the impact of reduced teaching time in English on a new literacy curriculum and on students with learning challenges.

Hogan said last week there would still be time to reopen registration for French immersion this fall if the government opted for that. 

Canadian Parents for French's New Brunswick executive director, Chris Collins, said the group "is very encouraged by the fact there appears to be a softening of the ground" by the premier.

"We're encouraged that there seems to be some change in the posturing," he said.

Rates will rise on average by 6.9 per cent each year in 2023 and 2024.

The Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board (UARB) issued a 203-page decision ratifying most of the elements in a settlement agreement reached between Nova Scotia Power and customer groups after Houston's government legislated a rate, spending and profit cap on the utility in November.

The board said approval was in the public interest and the increase is "reasonable and appropriate."

"The board cannot simply disallow N.S. Power's reasonable costs to make rates more affordable. These principles ensure fair rates and the financial health of a utility so it can continue to invest in the system providing services to its customers," the three-member panel wrote.

"While the board can (and has) disallowed costs found to be imprudent or unreasonable, absent such a finding, N.S. Power's costs must be reflected in the rates."

In addition to the 14 per cent hike, the board maintained Nova Scotia Power's current return on equity of 9 per cent, with an earnings band of 8.75 to 9.25 per cent. It agreed in principle to establish a decarbonization deferral account to pay for the retirement of coal plants and related decommissioning costs, and implemented a storm cost recovery rider for a three-year trial period.

Tory Rushton, the minister of Natural Resources and Renewables, says without Bill 212, Nova Scotians would have seen an even higher rate increase. (CBC)

The board rejected several items in the agreement, including rolling some Maritime Link transmission capital projects into consumers' rates.

Nova Scotia Power welcomed the ruling in a statement, describing it as "the culmination of an extensive and transparent regulatory process over the past year."

Natural Resources and Renewables Minister Tory Rushton said the UARB decision was not what the government wanted, but he did not indicate the government has any plans to bring forward legislation to overturn it. 

"We're disappointed by the decision today. We've always been very clear that we were standing by ratepayers right from the get-go but we also respect the independent body of the UARB and their decision today."

Pressure from the province

Houston claimed the settlement breached his government's legislation, known as Bill 212, which he said was intended to protect ratepayers. It capped rates to cover non-fuel costs by 1.8 per cent. It did not cap rates to cover fuel costs or energy efficiency programs.

Bill 212 was passed after the board concluded weeks of public hearings into Nova Scotia Power's request for an electricity rate increase, its first general rate application in 10 years. Nova Scotia Power is a subsidiary of Halifax-based Emera, which is a publicly traded company.

The legislation triggered credit downgrades from two credit rating agencies who said it compromised the independence of the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board.

In its decision, the board accepted that legislation was intended to protect ratepayers but did not preclude increases in rates.

"Given the exclusion of fuel and purchased power costs when these were expected to cause significant upward pressure on rates, it also did not preclude large increases in rates. Instead, the protection afforded by the Public Utilities Act amendments appears to be focused on N.S. Power's non-fuel costs, with several amendments targeting N.S. Power's cost of capital and earnings."

The board noted the province was the only intervenor in the rate case to object to the settlement.

Opposition reaction

Rushton said despite the outcome, Bill 212 achieved its goal, which was to protect ratepayers.

"Without Bill 212 the rates would have actually been higher," he said. "It would have double-digit rates for this year and next year and now it's single digits."

NDP Leader Claudia Chender said the end result is that Nova Scotians are still facing "incredibly unaffordable power."

"It's really unfortunate for a lot of Nova Scotians who are heading into a freezing weekend where heat is not optional."

Chender said a different legislative approach is needed to change the regulatory system, and more needs to be done to help people pay their electricity bills.

Liberal MLA Kelly Regan echoed that sentiment.

"There are lots of people who can absorb this. There are a lot of people who cannot, and those are the people that we should be worried about right now. This is why we've been saying all along the government needs to actually give money directly to Nova Scotians who need help with power rates."

Rushton said the government has introduced programs to help Nova Scotians pay for heat, including raising the income threshold to access the Heating Assistance Rebate Program and creating incentives to install heat pumps.

'... it's getting difficult for us to pay'

In downtown Halifax on Thursday afternoon, the news of the rate increase was met with frustration.

"That is very difficult for us to hear," said Simran Kaler, who rents a home with other tenants.

"... it's getting difficult for us to pay. Like last month, the whole rent was $800 for the electricity bill and that's really very high. For me, it was $100, I had to pay $100 for two months because we live in a big house and so many people are there all on rent, so I had to pay $100 for two months and that's very high for me."

Cardy worries the plan to replace French immersion hasn't been tested and if it's introduced, will interfere with the new science of reading program that officials in the Department of Education have been working on for years.

"That's going to be watered down and washed away a little bit with all the chaos going on around the second-language program and all for nothing," he said.

"Because this is now not an evidence-based, data-driven process, it's now purely politically driven and we've seen the results of endless political interferences in New Brunswick's education system. It doesn't work. It makes things worse."

Tried out in some classrooms

Development of the new literacy program, called Building Blocks of Reading, has included consultation with teachers, the development of new materials and classroom pilots for kindergarten, Grade 1 and Grade 2 students.

Cardy, who resigned as minister in October, said that this is in stark contrast to the new plan for the French second-language curriculum, which would eliminate immersion in favour of a program where all students spend half their day in English and half in French.

He said the French framework was "just literally invented politically over the course of the last few months."

Mount A prof helped develop curriculum

The new reading curriculum has been in the works since 2015, when Department of Education officials started hearing from teachers who said they didn't have what they needed to help struggling readers.

That prompted a move to the new program based on the science of reading and away from the approach known as balanced literacy.

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Mount Allison psychology professor Gene Ouellette, who researches literacy acquisition and language development, is a consultant on the new early literacy curriculum.

"The science of reading is basically what I do for a living in terms of research and have for 20-plus years," he said. "And so it's very timely now to see that governments and education departments are looking towards that direction."

Mount Allison psychology professor Gene Ouellette has been studying language development and literacy acquisition and teaching for more than 20 years. (Submitted by Gene Ouellette)

When he was first contacted by education officials in 2020, Ouellette said he was asked for "a little input" on the new program under development.

"I really thought the intent was excellent, and I loved to see the direction, but it wasn't quite necessarily compatible with the science of reading," he said. "So I ended up sending them back 25 pages of notes on it. Those notes were the beginning of a collaboration."

Ouellette said researchers usually just talk to other researchers, and teachers just talk to other teachers, so to be directly involved in developing curriculum that will be used in his home province has been rewarding.

The new science of reading program has five components, one of them being phonics, but Ouellette stressed it is not a return to the reading program from the 1970s and '80s,, when students sat at their desks doing worksheets.

Teaching based on research

"The science of reading basically means we're going to teach reading based upon research and the science of what we know about child development and how their reading brain develops," Ouellette said.

"Your oral speech and language is the foundation — how it's built upon your ability to process sounds, how it relates to vocabulary. So there's a lot of other components, but phonics is one piece. It's not simply a return just to to old-fashioned phonics."

Literacy comes first

Cardy said the new literacy program was his "singular focus" in his time as minister, because it is "at the very heart" of the problems the education system faces.

The early results from pilots of the new literacy curriculum based on the science of reading are encouraging and Prof. Gene Ouellette believes the province is heading in the right direction. (Gagliardi Photography/Shutterstock)

The province has long struggled with low literacy rates. The most recent test results show just 59.5 per cent of Grade 4 students met the desired standard for reading in 2021-22.

"Giving more kids the chance to be properly literate is going to vastly improve some of the other issues that we regularly talk about around the school system," Cardy said. "Like the problems with discipline and classroom composition."

• Child literacy declined by 29% over a decade, says N.B. child and youth advocate

He said students who get to grades 4 or 5 without the ability to read often act out or withdraw.

"My team spent years putting a carefully timed package together that started off with the literacy reforms that we're talking about now," Cardy said.

After the literacy reforms, he said, the next issues to tackle are streaming and improvements to the inclusion program in schools, and then second-language training.

"All of those have to come in sequence."

Ouellette has lived in New Brunswick for more than 15 years and has seen the many changes to French immersion over the years.

He said those kinds of changes are something he hopes the new science of literacy curriculum will avoid, because it is based on scientific research.

"That's the thing with science is you don't have to throw out this approach and change it." Ouellette said. "You can just tweak it as more research is done and more findings come in.

"It evolves and then we make incremental changes to programs so we can stop abandoning programs and adopting something 100 per cent new every couple of years."

Time to set priorities

Ouellette believes it's time the government decided what it is going to prioritize — second-language acquisition or literacy.

"We're spending all this time and money developing this literacy program because it was recognized that it's an issue in New Brunswick, so now are you going to sacrifice some of that? Like what is the priority? 

     If the proposed new universal French program goes ahead it September, it would see all kindergarten and Grade 1 students learning in French for half of each day. (Vanessa Blanch/CBC)

Ouellette said the proposed French program that would have students spend half of every day in French, and half in English is "not compatible with anything we know" about human development, nor language development.

Based on research he believes the Grade 3 entry point for French Immersion was the best compromise for the acquisition of literacy, and language.

"If we could focus on boosting oral language in the first language and developing literacy in the first language through kindergarten, Grade 1 and Grade 2, and start immersion in Grade 3 — it's kind of the best of all worlds," he said.

"Why we abandoned that I'm not sure. And now to go a half day in each [language] — I don't see how you're going to have first-language or literacy development."

Cardy said ignoring the years of work that have gone into the new literacy program by rolling out an ill-conceived French program at the same time will be demoralizing for public servants, but ultimately students will pay the price.

"This is not right for the kids of this province," he said.

"We cannot inflict an emotionally driven program that is not properly developed, that is not properly resourced — not just because it's wrong on the face of it for French-language instruction but because it's going to damage other things like teaching our kids to read."

It's not hard to understand why the Conservatives would want to make that argument. But the Liberals had a majority from 2015 to 2019 and somehow managed to avoid banning hunting rifles during those four years. It's also equally plausible that the government's pratfall in this case has only made it harder for them to do anything else on firearms in the future.

"Any time you deal with guns, you're dealing with an enormously complex and emotional issue because you have two very passionate and rightfully passionate communities," Holland said.

He's not wrong. But the Liberals should know that by now, having experienced the divisive saga of the now-defunct long-gun registry.

Liberals are obviously inclined — either by personal belief or electoral calculation — to pursue stricter gun control. And they no doubt understand how much trouble the issue can create for Conservatives.

But regardless of their intentions, the Liberals suffer if they appear clumsy and bumbling — especially when they're still trying to recover from a difficult year during which their competence was in question.

It's a "mammoth" undertaking and it's causing "a lot of anxiety," Keating said.

"Teachers are certainly wondering about if they'll have to switch schools. You know, unilingual teachers are wondering where they will end up, if they're in a school where French isn't currently offered.

"So there are so many questions right now in a system that is already unstable" from COVID-19, and other issues, such as "significant learning gaps," and increased mental health issues, she said.

The association appreciates that the government's been "brave enough to start this conversation," said Keating.

"Now that it's been started, we're hopeful that they'll continue to be brave and restart the planning process with our professional team of educators at the Department of Education to build that firm foundation that we all need in order to grow a very solid, stable education system."

She suggests the "restart" should begin with class composition and wants to see some clear targets, with funding and the human resources in place to deliver.

Earlier this week, Premier Blaine Higgs said a decision on the changes will be made based on the public consultations, and recommendations from the education department.

Weather warnings were issued on Friday and Saturday when wind chill values ranged from -33 to -45 and caused more than 29,000 N.B. Power customers to lose power. 

Those Environment Canada warnings ended by Saturday evening. 

As of 11:26 a.m. A.T. Sunday, 2,567 customers were without power in the Acadian Peninsula, Charlotte Southwest, Central York Sunbury, Moncton Riverview Dieppe, Northumberland Miramichi and Restigouche regions. 

Dominique Couture, an N.B. Power spokesperson, said most of the current outages were reported late Saturday or Sunday morning. 

She said the utility has restored power to 94 per cent of the customers impacted by the extreme weather event.

Chief Eric Stubbs reiterated the Ottawa Police Service's position that no vehicle-based protests will be allowed in the city as the first anniversary of the Freedom Convoy demonstrations that clogged the downtown approaches.

Speaking to reporters before a police services board meeting, Stubbs said Ottawa police have been monitoring and working with intelligence sources and talking to protest organizers, but wouldn't divulge any specifics of what they've heard in terms of the potential size of any demonstration.

He said police have a "scalable" plan prepared so they can respond depending on the number of protestors that do arrive in the city.

"Our goal is not to have a vehicle-based protest, and if someone attempts a vehicle-based protest then we will take action to dismantle it fairly quickly," Stubbs said.

He also said he supports the idea of reopening Wellington Street, but that the security needs of the downtown core as a whole need to be reassessed by the agencies that are responsible for keeping them safe.

"Wellington Street is a piece of that, and I would prefer that all the issues are looked at in their totality," Stubbs said.

Thursday's meeting will come after some MPs recently recommended the federal government take over ownership of Wellington. 

"I don't like the way it looks right now — it's a reminder of the convoy," Mayor Mark Sutcliffe said of the barricades last week, adding that he's eager to hash out a long-term plan for Wellington with the federal government. 

But several pedestrians who spoke to CBC Ottawa Saturday say they're all for keeping motorized vehicles off Wellington.

A place of 'tranquillity'

"I just love the calmness, especially on my commute to work [in Gatineau] in the mornings," said Mohsin Bhujwalla, who also cycles on the road. 

"It's lovely to have that tranquillity and be able to not be distracted by noise pollution and fumes."

Local runner Christiane Lalonde agreed the barriers should stay. 

"It would maybe hopefully attract people and turn this street into a more high-[foot]-traffic area and bring a bit of life to the city."

Barricades like this one have been installed at various intersections along Wellington Street for nearly a year now. (Guy Quenneville/CBC)

Police have 'learned their lesson' 

Paul Champ, the lawyer representing downtown residents in their class-action lawsuit against convoy participants, agreed with Sutcliffe that if the goal is to prevent another large-scale protest, the barricades are no longer needed.

"I'm not worried in the least about ... trucks possibly trying to come back," he said. 

"I think police have learned their lesson, and all the public authorities have learned their lesson — as well as the protesters themselves."

CBC asked the Ottawa Police Service on Saturday if they are planning any security measures around the area as the one-year anniversary of the protest nears but did not immediately hear back. 

Business group worried

Kevin McHale, the executive director of the Sparks Street Business Improvement Area, said he also wants the barriers gone. 

Like Champ, McHale said he's confident the police would quash any copycat convoys. He pointed to how officers handled disruptions during last spring's Rolling Thunder motorcycle rally.

Officers didn't use barricades but tactical teams moved in swiftly and quickly used tow trucks to remove prohibited vehicles.

"The techniques are there in order to make sure it doesn't happen again," McHale said.

As for Wellington Street's future, McHale said he's worried about the impact on downtown traffic flow and tourism should vehicles be banned from the area for good. 

"What we saw this summer was a very empty, barren space that ended up just being occupied by a few lone protesters of all kinds of different causes and government vehicles racing back and forth," he said.

     A person walks along Wellington Street last February. The street next to Parliament Hill has been closed to motorized vehicles since convoy protesters were cleared away in the winter of 2022, and city councillors will discuss the status of the barricades later this week. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press)

Ayesha Madura, who was also out on Wellington Saturday, was mixed on the issue.

She said it's easier to ride her bike to work, but conceded driving into Ottawa from Gatineau has become "tricky" now that motorists can't ride through Wellington. 

"Rather than going straight to the ByWard Market, I have to loop around," she said. "Which is kind of inconvenient."