https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/systemic-racism-commissioner-advisor-resigns-1.6496419
Senior adviser to systemic racism commissioner resigns, questioning independence
Commissioner's recommendation for an immediate public inquiry was shelved after meeting with premier
A senior policy adviser to Manju Varma, the New Brunswick commissioner of systemic racism, has announced his resignation, saying he questions whether government leadership respects Varma's independence.
That comes after Varma's mid-term report, and a recommendation for the government to call a public inquiry into systemic racism against Indigenous peoples in the policing and criminal justice sector, were shelved.
Her plan to make the report public changed just hours following a meeting between Varma, Premier Blaine Higgs and Aboriginal Affairs Minister Arlene Dunn. Higgs and Dunn have steadfastly refused to call a public inquiry.
Robert Tay-Burroughs is one of two staff working with Varma. He'll stay in his position until July 4.
In a resignation letter made public on Tuesday, Tay-Burroughs said he's been troubled by "the false pretences under which we are expected to do our work."
"The limits placed by external forces on what we can and cannot say in your final report has compromised our already fragile independence," Tay-Burroughs wrote in his letter to Varma.
"It remains unclear to me that the leadership of this government can respect your independence, which raises my doubts that it will — if it ever intended to — receive your recommendations in good faith and with an open mind."
Tay-Burroughs declined an interview request. His letter describes how he's no longer convinced the work from the commissioner's office will meet the needs of the First Nations in the province "as they have articulated them to us."
The letter was posted to Twitter on Tuesday afternoon, and Varma has not responded to a request for comment. The premier has also not responded to an interview request.
The chiefs of nine Mi'kmaw communities in New Brunswick announced Monday that they'll no longer participate in the commissioner's process, alleging her report was "suppressed."
They join the six chiefs of the Wolastoqey Nation, who had previously declined to participate in the systemic racism commissioner's work, describing it as an "ill-equipped and ineffective alternative to an inquiry."
In his resignation letter, Tay-Burroughs said he wants "to live with integrity in peace and friendship with the people of these nations" and his obligation to those treaties "as a scholar, as the son of an immigrant, as a New Brunswicker, are paramount."
"My continued work with this commission does not allow me to meet these obligations in an ethical or morally acceptable way."
'Everything is on the table'
In an interview with CBC News on Tuesday, Varma said she shared a mid-term report with several stakeholders and had two weeks of feedback "before I decided I need to look at even more information."
Manju Varma, commissioner of systemic racism, says a meeting she had with Premier Blaine Higgs and Aboriginal Affairs Minister Arlene Dunn is confidential. (Pierre Fournier/CBC)
"I need to reach out to more people, because there are some things here that are surprising me, that based on my own assumptions and also my own biases — I am human — and I need to go and look at more information," Varma said.
That mid-term report was supposed to be made public on April 19, but it remained under wraps, until Mi'kmaw leadership shared a copy with the public on Monday.
Varma wouldn't say what happened at an April 13 meeting with Higgs and Dunn, describing it as confidential.
"What happened in that meeting is confidential in the same way I would hope that no one would ask me, 'Well, what happened in that meeting with the 12-year-old who sat down and shared with you their trauma?" Varma said.
"Or what happened in that meeting with that Indigenous chief that you met with?"
Varma was appointed last fall for a one-year term, with a promise to present a final report this coming fall.
She said "everything is on the table" for that report and she'll stand by her recommendations, which will come from information she's gathered, including personal stories she's heard along the way.
"It will be a collection of the voices that have been silenced thus far," Varma said.
A call for an inquiry
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Dunn said she was concerned Varma's report didn't include input from various government departments.
"I guess it was alarming from my perspective when I asked the question about some of the work that's being done within the respective departments around policing, and she wasn't aware of those things," Dunn said.
Indigenous leaders in New Brunswick have been calling for a public inquiry for the last two years, following the police shooting deaths of Chantel Moore and Rodney Levi. Separate coroner's inquest juries found their deaths were homicides.
They say it's the only forum to properly investigate systemic racism against Indigenous peoples because it could provide the power to compel government bodies to provide information.
"Unless you have that process, we're never going to get those answers," Natoaganeg First Nation Chief George Ginnish said earlier this week.
Do you have a tip about this story? Please email us at nbinvestigates@cbc.ca.
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https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/systemic-racism-commissioner-midterm-report-1.6495262
Call for immediate public inquiry shelved after systemic racism commissioner met with Higgs
Report shows commissioner planned to endorse public inquiry into systemic racism against Indigenous peoples
For the last two years, Indigenous leaders in New Brunswick have steadfastly called on the provincial government to launch a public inquiry into systemic racism against Indigenous peoples in criminal justice and policing.
Premier Blaine Higgs has just as steadfastly refused to do so, saying there are recommendations from other reviews that could address some issues.
Manju Varma, New Brunswick's commissioner on systemic racism, was poised to publicly call on the government to launch an inquiry this past spring.
But Varma's plan to release a mid-term report, which urged the government to call a public inquiry, came to a halt after an April 13 meeting with Higgs and Aboriginal Affairs Minister Arlene Dunn.
Chiefs say commissioner isn't independent
That has prompted the chiefs of nine Mi'kmaw communities in New Brunswick to say they will no longer participate in the commissioner's process.
On Monday, the chiefs released a statement saying the process isn't independent from the provincial government and alleging the government suppressed Varma's report.
"We need that inquiry," Natoaganeg First Nation Chief George Ginnish, who also co-chairs Mi'gmawe'l Tplu'taqnn Inc., or MTI, a non-profit made up of the nine Mi'kmaw communities, said in an interview with CBC.
"That's got to happen. Regardless of what government thinks, it has to happen or we're not going to be satisfied that our reality is being given the attention that it deserves, and that there will be change that will give us that hope."
They join the six chiefs of the Wolastoqey Nation, who had declined to participate in the systemic racism commissioner's work, describing it as an "ill-equipped and ineffective alternative to an inquiry."
In a statement, Varma said the report was meant to be a draft and only begins to reflect observations from some meetings she's had with organizations and individuals.
"As I continue with my consultations, I expect that my findings will continue to evolve until my final report is prepared and released upon completion of my mandate," the statement says.
"That final report will contain my final recommendations, and any suggestion that any of the proposals contained in any update released prior to that are my final recommendations, is pure speculation."
Natoaganeg First Nation Chief George Ginnish doesn't believe Varma's final report will include a recommendation for government to call a public inquiry. (Hadeel Ibrahim/CBC)
The statement doesn't say whether Varma supports a public inquiry or explain why her recommendation changed after meeting with Higgs and Dunn.
"I have little to no confidence that there's actually going to be a call for a full inquiry," Ginnish said. "And that's troublesome.
"We're back to where we started."
Five recommendations
Varma was announced as commissioner in September 2021. She was given a one-year term and a deadline of this coming October to file a final report with recommendations.
A mid-term report from her office was provided to CBC News in April, under the condition CBC not publish its contents until it is made public.
The commissioner's office never published the report, but on Monday, Mi'kmaw chiefs released a copy they received during consultation with Varma's office.
The update, written at the halfway point of Varma's one-year mandate as commissioner, makes five recommendations to the provincial government.
The first recommendation is to "launch, without delay, an Indigenous-led, co-managed public inquiry."
"The overarching conclusion is that the relationship between Indigenous peoples and New Brunswick's justice system is broken," Varma's report says.
"Indigenous peoples not only mistrust the criminal justice system, they fear it and its agents. The communities and individuals we have heard from note that they are scared that if something happens to them, 'it won't matter because it hasn't.'
"The failed prosecution in the trial for Brady Francis's death, the murders of Chantel Moore and Rodney Levi by police in the summer of 2020 underline this point, and the death of Skyler Sappier in a carceral institution this year underline this point."
A banner with photos of Chantel Moore, with one of her favourite sayings, Stay Golden, was displayed at the front of the room where the inquest into her death was held. (Jennifer Sweet/CBC)
The report also calls for the province to change place names with racist terminology against Indigenous peoples to original or traditional Wabanaki names, or names recommended by First Nations.
It also recommends a racial analysis be part of a review into how the government handled the COVID-19 pandemic. In April, the province's auditor general said his office will conduct that review.
When the recommendation for inquiry disappeared
In an interview with CBC on April 4, Varma said writing a mid-term report isn't part of her mandate, but she felt some findings or recommendations "need to start now."
"We need to start thinking about them now in order to implement them in the most efficient way," Varma said in the interview.
She said her decision to recommend a public inquiry was based on conversations with individuals and stakeholders, including leaders of the nine Mi'kmaw communities.
"There's a lot of fear among Indigenous nations regarding justice, regarding a lack of justice, regarding fear of the police, regarding fear of a fair process," Varma said in the April CBC interview.
"Those collective voices are what informed my recommendation that there be a public inquiry to do with criminalization, justice and policing."
The report, and CBC's interview with Varma, were scheduled to be published on April 19.
But before that happened, on April 13, Varma told a CBC reporter she planned to meet with Higgs about the report.
Later that afternoon, after Varma met with Higgs and Dunn, CBC was told a public inquiry would no longer be a recommendation in the report and later that the report wouldn't be made public after all.
In May, Varma provided CBC with a written statement designed to replace the mid-term report she previously planned to release. It doesn't mention any of her recommendations and includes no reference to a public inquiry.
CBC asked Higgs for an interview, but he wasn't made available.
When asked on Monday, Dunn said no one asked Varma "to shelve anything."
Aboriginal Affairs Minister Arlene Dunn said no one asked the commissioner to shelve anything. (Ed Hunter/CBC)
Dunn said the government was "astonished" to see a mid-term report, and she was alarmed to see Varma didn't have input from some government departments.
"For her to produce a report and not actually speak to the departments or them not to engage with her with regards to the work that's being done, to me would be falling short on what the expectation was in her mandate, which is to look across all those departments and to determine is there opportunities to identify the gaps and improve on processes," Dunn said.
Indigenous leaders have called for an inquiry because it would compel government departments to provide information. Varma's mid-term report also says she encouraged government departments to provide formal submissions to her office.
"Unless you have that [inquiry] process, we're never going to get those answers," Ginnish said.
"And I think that suits government a whole lot more than it suits First Nations."
Rallies, calls for change
In spring 2020, Maurice Johnson was found not guilty of failing to stop at the scene of an accident that caused the death of Brady Francis, a 22-year-old Elsipogtog First Nation man.
That verdict, and the Crown's decision not to appeal it, prompted rallies at the legislature.
A couple of months later, the police shooting deaths of Chantel Moore, a 26-year-old Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation woman, and Rodney Levi, a 48-year-old man from Metepenagiag Mi'kmaq Nation, sparked calls for a public inquiry.
Several First Nation chiefs walked out on a meeting with Higgs in June 2020, after he refused to agree to a public inquiry. Higgs said it was a federal issue.
In December 2020, Mi'kmaw and Wolastoqiyik chiefs called for the resignation of Dunn, who amended a house motion in the legislature to remove reference to a call for a public inquiry.
A few months later, the government announced it would appoint a commissioner of systemic racism.
But that appointment hasn't stopped calls for an Indigenous-led public inquiry.
A renewed call for an inquiry
The six chiefs of the Wolastoqey Nation renewed their push for an inquiry in May, after a coroner's inquest jury found Moore's death was a homicide. A separate coroner's inquest jury also found Levi's death was a homicide.
In a news release, the chiefs said the Moore inquest jury's findings and recommendations "do not address the serious nature of the tragedy, or the systemic issues embedded in the justice system."
"This reflects a failure by the Blaine Higgs government to address the root cause of Chantel Moore's death, and tragedies like it."
While Ginnish said Mi'kmaw leaders weren't sold on the process of the commissioner's work, they agreed to participate to have their reality on the record. He said they saw it as an opportunity to right historic wrongs.
"We're looking for justice for Rodney, we're looking for justice for Chantel, and every other First Nation individual, every other youth that is trying to find themselves and is stuck in a system that is stacked against them," he said.
Now, Ginnish said he always has hope, but he also has a lot of doubt.
"How do you go forward with a government that absolutely refuses to see what is right in front of them? How do you work, how do you continue to pretend that there's any justice for Mi'kmaw, Wolastoqey and Passamaquoddy in New Brunswick?"
Do you have a tip about this story? Please email us at nbinvestigates@cbc.ca.
N.B. appoints independent commissioner to address systemic racism
Manju Varma is expected to produce a final report of recommendations in September of 2022
Five months after announcing the creation of a commissioner on systemic racism, the province has appointed Manju Varma to take up the position.
"Having been an immigrant and having experienced racism growing up in this province, I personally know there is systemic racism here that must be addressed," said Varma in a news release. "As I embark on this journey, I do so with an open mind and no preconceptions."
Varma will be conducting public consultations with various groups representing people who are Indigenous, immigrants or people of colour.
She comes into the role with more than 30 years in facilitating workshops on diversity and inclusion, cultural competency and awareness training.
Varma has been the lead for the new office of Inclusion, Equity and Anti-Racism for the Atlantic Canada Opportunity Agency (ACOA) since 2020, a federal government initiative aimed at fostering its internal corporate diversity and inclusiveness.
She has worked with First Nations and communities of colour, refugees, Indigenous women, youth, and various levels of government and has published both nationally and internationally on topics such as systemic racism, mental health and inclusive communities.
"I've been fortunate, for example, I taught elementary school in Elsipogtog....I'm currently on the Truth and Reconciliation Action Committee for the Law Society...and so I'm really looking forward to honouring those relationships and accessing their expertise, the expertise of their elders," Varma told media Friday.
A public report is due by September 2022, with recommendations to address systemic racism in areas such as health care, education, social development, housing, employment and criminal justice. A total of $500,000 has been set aside, and Varma will have staff to assist in her work.
When asked about her independence in conducting her work, Varma said, "I am taking this role as an independent body, so I'm not an employee of the provincial government. That part was very important to the province to have at arm's length. It was very important to me as well."
The selection of Varma as commissioner was made by cabinet following an interview process that was led by the Executive Council Office, which is chaired by Premier Blaine Higgs.
'She has quite the task at hand'
Wolastoqiyik and Mi'kmaw leaders had criticized appointing a commissioner, citing a lack of consultation by the province and accusing Premier Blaine Higgs of trying to circumvent calls for a public inquiry into systemic racism against Indigenous people in New Brunswick.
Demands for an inquiry followed two separate killings of Indigenous people last summer: Chantel Moore of Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation in British Columbia was shot and killed by a police officer in Edmundston, and Rodney Levi of Metepenagiag First Nation was shot and killed by an officer near Miramichi.
Dean Vicaire is the Executive Director of Mi'gmawe'l Tplu'taqnn Inc. (Contributed/Charlene LaBillois)
Dean Vicaire is the executive director of the Mi'kmaw organization Mi'gmawe'l Tplu'taqnn and says the organization will work with Varma to the best of its abilities but says the task ahead of her is monumental.
"She has quite the task at hand. It's next to impossible to really get a full grasp and come to terms with the idea of our plight, which is systemic racism within the justice system," said Vicaire in an interview.
"To get a true understanding of our experience and that's a big statement...It's an open-ended sentence because where do we begin? How far back do we go? And how much time does she have? We know it's not much," said Vicaire, referencing the one year timeline.
Ultimately Vicaire hopes that Varma will champion the call for a public inquiry into systemic racism faced by Indigenous communities in the province.
"This sort of process should be by us for us, not for us by them [government], but nonetheless, it is what it is. We'll do our best so in the end we hope that there can be a call on her part to echo what the Chiefs have been saying into that inquiry...So if she's to say that, maybe it'll carry some weight, since they put her there."
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
DEAN VICAIRE
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
DELPHINE METALLIC
DIRECTOR OF ADMINISTRATION
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delphinemetallic@migmawel.org
JENNIFER COLEMAN
DIRECTOR OF INTERGOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
CORA LEE DRYSDALE
FINANCE/COMPTROLLER
TANYA MCGRAW
ADMINISTRATION AND OFFICE ASSISTANT
GORDON LABILLOIS
ELDER
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COMMUNICATIONS COORDINATOR
---------- Original message ----------
From: Gerald Bourque <kisspartyofnb@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 8 Jun 2022 16:52:36 -0300
Subject: Re: Methinks the news today about Higgy's latest plan is
interesting N'esy Pas René Legacy?
To: David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.
Thank You for the information.
---------- Original message ----------
From: David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.
Date: Tue, 7 Jun 2022 12:12:17 -0300
Subject: Methinks the news today about Higgy's latest plan is
interesting N'esy Pas René Legacy?
To: "Holland, Mike (LEG)"<mike.holland@gnb.ca>, "blaine.higgs"
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Higgs talks shale gas revival, but global price spike may not last
Experts say investment is a gamble without long-term purchase agreement
CBC News · Posted: Jun 07, 2022 7:00 AM AT
Premier Blaine Higgs has been flirting with the notion of having more
shale gas extraction in the province, but the long road ahead could
hamstring those hopes. (Ed Hunter/CBC)
Premier Blaine Higgs says he'll tread carefully with public opinion as
he encourages the revival of shale gas development in New Brunswick.
But his toughest opponent may be the uncertainties of the world market.
"The big question mark is, we've got a big price spike now, but is
that going to continue for the next couple of years or couple of
decades?" said Kent Fellows, an economist who studies the gas market
at the University of Calgary.
The premier has been talking for weeks about whether the war in
Ukraine, and the need for Europe to find new supplies of natural gas
to replace what it bought from Russia, warrants a new push for shale
gas extraction here.
Significant anti-shale gas protests occurred in Elsipogtog in 2014. (CBC)
It is a politically delicate subject, given the confrontations between
the RCMP and anti-fracking protestors near Elsipogtog First Nation in
2013.
"There's a lot to this. Believe me, I don't want to relive 2014, or
'12. I don't want to go through any of that," Higgs said recently.
"So we would need to work with communities, First Nations, and have a
general understanding of, 'Can we be of assistance here to ourselves
and others, and is the time right to do that?'"
Higgs said he's not planning to repeal a Liberal moratorium on
exploration, but wants to instead find a way to satisfy the five
criteria in that legislation, including public acceptance.
"We'd have to address those," he said.
Unstable view of gas
The bigger challenge, however, may be the hesitation of gas companies
to invest in development that may not be as lucrative in the long term
as it would be today.
Add to that the lengthy regulatory approval process and it's virtually
impossible to move quickly for short-term gain.
"There is a long lead time on getting this infrastructure in place and
it comes with a high capital cost, so you need long-term expectations
to make it pay off," says Fellows.
Should the war in Ukraine end quickly with a deal that allows Russian
gas back into Europe, prices would drop again and the business case
for a New Brunswick industry could evaporate.
That's the same question looming over another gas project Higgs is
touting: the conversion of Repsol's Saint John LNG import terminal to
allow the liquefaction and export of Canadian natural gas to Europe.
Economist Kent Fellows says while the war in Ukraine has spiked fuel
prices, there's no guarantee the prices will stay that high. (CBC)
Todd McDonald, president of Halifax-based gas trading firm Energy
Atlantica, said Repsol is unlikely to spend the money required without
a 10 or 20-year agreement to lock in a fixed price on natural gas.
And that's a commitment European politicians may hesitate to give, he adds.
An end to the war, and a return of cheaper Russian gas, might anger
consumers stuck with a locked-in higher price for Canadian gas.
"If you're in office and you say 'I've got an election in two years,
do I want to be the guy who signs up for 20 years right now?'"
McDonald said. "It's a tough call."
Higgs has linked the two gas scenarios, suggesting shale gas from New
Brunswick could be shipped via Repsol to help Europe reduce its
reliance on Russia.
"I talk about it because it's another possible solution right now,"
the premier said last week.
But McDonald said while a supply of New Brunswick-produced gas could
help clinch Respol's decision, it's unlikely to come online fast
enough.
Gas extracted in New Brunswick would be cheaper for Repsol to export
because it would travel a much shorter distance than gas coming to
Saint John from Alberta or the U.S. and be subject to much lower
pipeline tolls.
But New Brunswick's regulatory regime moves much slower than its
Alberta counterpart, said McDonald.
And Repsol's been stung before by abrupt changes in the global market.
The company opened its import terminal, known as Canaport LNG, in
2009, in partnership with Irving Oil.
Commissioned in 2008, the Canaport LNG terminal, Canada’s first
liquefied natural gas terminal, is on the north shore of the Bay of
Fundy at Saint John. (Nick Hawkins)
At the time, importing foreign gas looked like a solid bet. But the
shale boom in the United States led to a glut of cheap North American
gas on the market, making imports unattractive.
"So that facility largely sits unused for 80 to 90 per cent of the
year because of that exact equation," McDonald said.
Repsol, which bought out Irving Oil's stake in the terminal last year
and renamed it Saint John LNG, would not comment in detail.
"The company will look at any/all business that enhances or creates
value at Saint John LNG, including the potential to add liquefaction
capabilities [for gas exports] to the existing facility," spokesperson
Mike Blackier said in an email.
Buy-in
Higgs emphasized repeatedly last week that he doesn't want to take a
hard line and will be sensitive to public opinion.
"It isn't a matter of enforcing options, it's a matter of discussing
options," he said.
The Opposition Liberals say Higgs has yet to meet the five conditions
they attached to lifting the moratorium while in power:
A "social licence," or public acceptance, through consultations.
Clear information on potential impacts on air, public health and
water so that proper regulations can be in place.
A plan to lessen impacts on public infrastructure and deal with
issues such as disposal of waste water from fracking.
A consultation process with Indigenous people.
A "proper" royalty structure to ensure New Brunswick benefits from
development.
"There's nothing suggesting we have social acceptance," said Liberal
natural resources critic René Legacy.
"The premier seems to think that because of the geopolitical situation
in the world, we can toss aside environmental needs."
Jennifer Coleman, spokesperson for Mi'gmawe'l Tplu'taqnn Inc., which
represents Mi'kmaq chiefs, said the organization "has not received any
recent outreach from the provincial government on shale gas."
The Higgs government carved out a small exemption to the Liberal
moratorium in 2019 for the area in Penobsquis where Corridor Resources
was already extracting gas.
Liberal natural resources critic René Legacy says it doesn't appear
the province is close to getting "social acceptance," something
thought to be necessary before a fracking moratorium can be lifted.
(Jacques Poitras/CBC)
But so far, the company, now known as Headwater Exploration, has not
taken advantage of that exemption to explore for more gas.
Even so, McDonald said Higgs is right to relaunch a conversation on
shale gas. He says it's hypocritical that voters want quality health
care and education, but oppose the gas development that would help pay
for them.
McDonald says he believes there's a better-than-50-percent chance
European nations will eventually sign deals for North American gas.
"Yeah, I think they'll sign on the dotted line, if I were a gambling
man, for a long-term contract," he said, whether it's with Repsol or
another supplier.
"Whether Higgs can rally the public to say 'hey there is social
licence,' I just don't know. That's a tough one. That, I don't think
I'd bet on, because I've been in the business 20 years and I used to
be an optimist about that, but I've just been wrong too many times."
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The School of Public Policy, University of Calgary
906 8th Avenue S.W., 5th Flr
Calgary, Alberta T2P 1H9
Phone: 403-210-3802
Email: policy@ucalgary.ca
Leadership Team
Dr. Jennifer Winter
Program Director
Associate Professor of Economics and Scientific Director, Energy and
Environmental Policy Research Division, The School of Public Policy,
University of Calgary
jwinter@ucalgary.ca
Dr. Robert Mansell
Senior Scientific Advisor
Emeritus Professor of Economics, University of Calgary
rmansell@ucalgary.ca
Dr. G. Kent Fellows
Associate Program Director
Assistant Professor of Economics, The School of Public Policy,
University of Calgary
gkfellow@ucalgary.ca
https://gkfellows.github.io/
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On 12/30/21, David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.
> NEW BRUNSWICK ENERGY AND UTILITIES BOARD
>
> IN THE MATTER of New Brunswick
> Power Corporation and Sections
> 113(2) and 113(3) of the Electricity
> Act, SNB 2013 c.7.
>
> NOTICE OF APPLICATION
>
> TO: New Brunswick Energy and Utilities Board
>
> AND TO: All persons identified in Appendix “A” to this Notice of
> Application
>
> WHEREAS
>
> (1) New Brunswick Power Corporation (“NB Power”) is required, pursuant
> to Section 113(3) of the Electricity Act, SNB 2013, c. E-7, as
> amended, (the “Act”), to make application to the New Brunswick Energy
> and Utilities Board (the “Board”) at least once
> every three years for approval of its Transmission Revenue Requirements;
>
> (2) NB Power may, pursuant to Section 113(2) of the Act, apply to the
> Board for approval of changes to the provisions of the approved New
> Brunswick Open Access Transmission Tariff (the “NB OATT”);
>
> (3) NB Power has filed evidence with the Board in support of this
> Application.
>
> NOW THEREFORE NB Power applies to the Board for the following:
>
> (1) An Order approving NB Power’s Transmission Revenue Requirement of
> $125.2 million for Transmission Service.
>
> (2) An Order approving rates for Transmission Service contained in
> Schedules 7, 8, and Attachment H of the NB OATT and as set out in
> Table 5.0.2 below.
>
> (3) An Order approving the revenue requirement of $15.6 million for
> Schedule 1 of the NB OATT at rates set out in Table 5.0.2 below.
>
> (4) An Order approving the non-Capital Support Charge Rate of 5.03 per
> cent as contained in Schedule 9 of the NB OATT and set out in Table
> 5.0.2 below.
>
> (5) An Order approving the revenue requirement of $5.9 million for
> Schedule 2 of the OATT at rates set out in Table 8.1.1 below.
>
> (6) An Order approving the rates contained in Schedules 3, 5, and 6 of
> the NB OATT as set out in Table 9.1.1 below.
>
> (7) An Order approving changes to the NB OATT as set out in Attachment
> 1 of the accompanying evidence (“List of Proposed Changes to the NB
> OATT”).
>
> (8) An Order approving the Transmission Real Power Loss Factor
> (“TRPL”) value of 3.3 per cent, as well as a change in the calculation
> methodology for the TRPL.
>
> (9) Directions with respect to the schedule for the full hearing of
> this Application, and any other preliminary or procedural matters; and
>
> (10) Such other Orders and/or directions with respect to any other
> matters as the Board sees fit.
>
>
> ---------- Original message ----------
> From: "Higgs, Premier Blaine (PO/CPM)"<Blaine.Higgs@gnb.ca>
> Date: Wed, 8 Dec 2021 13:19:42 +0000
> Subject: RE: Methinks folks should study Bill 77 ASAP N'esy Pas?
> To: David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.
>
> Hello,
>
> Thank you for taking the time to write.
>
> Due to the volume of incoming messages, this is an automated response
> to let you know that your email has been received and will be reviewed
> at the earliest opportunity.
>
> If your inquiry more appropriately falls within the mandate of a
> Ministry or other area of government, staff will refer your email for
> review and consideration.
>
> Merci d'avoir pris le temps de nous écrire.
>
> En raison du volume des messages reçus, cette réponse automatique vous
> informe que votre courriel a été reçu et sera examiné dans les
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> If this is a Media Request, please contact the Premier’s office at
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>
> S’il s’agit d’une demande des médias, veuillez communiquer avec le
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>
>
> Office of the Premier/Cabinet du premier ministre
> P.O Box/C. P. 6000 Fredericton New-Brunswick/Nouveau-
> Canada
> Tel./Tel. : (506) 453-2144
> Email/Courriel:
> premier@gnb.ca/premier.
>
https://www2.gnb.ca/content/gnb/csr-crs/en.html
Mandate of the Commissioner
The commissioner, who will operate independently from government, will focus on the following objectives:
- Carry out a public consultation to gather views and information about the nature and impact of systemic racism on racialized immigrants, Wolastoqiyik, Mi’gmaq, Peskotomuhkatiyik, other Indigenous populations, Black, and people of colour as well as other minority populations in New Brunswick. The Commissioner will equally engage with government institutions, in particular, the education, health, social development and justice sectors.
- Conduct a comprehensive review about the extent and scope of systemic racism in New Brunswick, including the government’s role in eliminating systemic racism both within provincial institutions and agencies and in the province generally.
About the Commissioner
Manju Varma, Ph.D. moved to Canada with her family at the age of two and grew up in Moncton, NB. She obtained her doctorate in anti-racist education from the Ontario Institute in Education/University of Toronto. For the past 30 years she has focused on issues around diversity and anti-racism in New Brunswick and has published both national and internationally on the topics of mental health, diversity & youth and anti-racist education.
From 2001-2008, she was an Assistant Professor with the University of New Brunswick. Later she joined the Federal government and has worked at Canadian Heritage, Correctional Services Canada, and currently, is the lead for the Office of Inclusion, Equity and Anti-Racism at the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency. She is also a certified Conflict Mediator (Harvard Law School) and Negotiator (Dalhousie University).
The team
Junior Kalala is the Executive Assistant for the Commission. He is an active member of several committees focussed on social issues such as mental health, poverty and homelessness. He was also recently named one of Moncton's top 40 under 40.
Robert Tay-Burroughs is the senior policy advisor to the Commissioner and is a doctoral researcher at the University of New Brunswick (Saint John) studying viceregal officers and settler colonialism. A graduate of Mount Allison University, University of Ottawa, and Middlebury College, he is a former executive director of the New Brunswick Student Alliance and previously research associate with Higher Education Strategy Associates in Toronto. With more than 20 years experience living and working overseas, he now shares his time between Fredericton and the Restigouche.
How you can participate
Sending a written submission
Interested individuals or stakeholders are invited to send their written submission to the commissioner by mail or email.
Send by email
Written submissions can be emailed to: CSR-CRS@gnb.ca
Send by mail
Suggestions, recommendations and written submissions can be mailed to:
Commissioner of Systemic Racism
Beaverbrook Building
P. O. Box 6000
Fredericton, NB
E3B 5H1
Canada
Phone: (506) 230-0908
Sussex ceremony honours the stolen Indigenous children who never came home [updated]
![Sussex ceremony honours the stolen Indigenous children who never came home [updated]](http://nbmediacoop.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Alma-Brooks-and-Ramona-Nicholas-6-July-1-2021-750x536.jpg)
“The ceremony we shared with local residents of Sussex along with our graceful allies was a seed we have planted in order for us to press reset and rebuild Peace and Friendship relations,” said Wolastoqewi Kci-Sakom spasaqsit possesom, also known as Ron Tremblay, Wolastoq Grand Chief morningstar burning.
Wearing orange shirts, some saying, “It’s ok now, they found us,” members of the Peace and Friendship Alliance, including the Wolastoqiyik, Mi’kmaq and L’Nu, settlers, newcomers and children, spent the afternoon in a traditional ceremony around silver maples, one of which had a window from the Sussex Vale Indian School leaning against it.
While there were no residential schools in the province of New Brunswick, there were day/residential schools like the one in Chatham, now Miramichi, where Indigenous boys did stay and went to a school run by the Catholic Church. Day/residential schools were established near reserves in the province, the last of which closed in 1992 near Metepenagiag. The New England Company operated the first day/residential school in the province in Sussex.
The New England Company, also known as the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in New England, was created in England in 1649 with the purpose of converting people in the British colony to protestantism. According to W.S. McNutt’s New Brunswick, A History: 1784-1867, the Wolastoqiyik (Maliseets) were a problem for the settlers and the school offered a solution to their protests to the settler encroachment of their land.
In 1787, when Loyalists were arriving in New Brunswick following the American Revolution, the New England Company formed a board of commissioners tasked with buying land for Indian schools, first in Sussex Vale then later in Woodstock, Sheffield, St. Andrews, Miramichi and other locations. Board members included New Brunswick elite: Thomas Carleton, the province’s first lieutenant-governor; Rev. Jonathan Odell; Ward Chipman, New Brunswick’s solicitor general; and Chief Justice George Duncan Ludlow.
The day schools and day-residential schools had the same objective as the residential schools: to assimilate Indigenous people into settler society. In 1920, Duncan Campbell Scott, head of Indian Affairs and a chief architect of Canada’s Residential Schools, said, “I want to get rid of the Indian problem… Our objective is to continue until there is not a single Indian in Canada that has not been absorbed into the body politic and there is no Indian question, and no Indian Department, that is the whole object of this Bill.”
Before Scott made residential schools mandatory for all Indigenous children, ages seven to fifteen, in 1920, there was the Sussex Vale Indian School that was supposed to school Indigenous children with the purpose of assimilating them and converting them to Protestantism. The Sussex Vale Indian School did house children, the likely result of funds provided by the London-based Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts in 1792.
The New England Company was not happy that the Sussex Vale Indian School, run by Rev. Oliver Arnold, was failing to convert Indigenous children to Protestantism. Indigenous parents of the children had followed their children and settled along the Kennebacasis River, near the Sussex school, and sometimes they would get back their children. The New England Company blamed the failing conversion mission on the Indigenous children returning home to their families after school, so in 1807, the Sussex Vale Indian School introduced a new program that combined schooling with indentured servitude.
Nicole O’Byrne is an associate professor of law at the University of New Brunswick who has been conducting research on the Sussex Vale Indian School. According to documents uncovered by O’Byrne, settlers received money in the amounts of 20 pounds a year from the New England Company to train the Indigenous children in a trade, and take care of them, but many children became farm workers and domestic servants and not apprentices.
O’Byrne has noted that the program was beneficial for the settlers. With no limit to the number of children a family could have, Rev. Arnold, the head of the school, had five or six children stay with his family. Children as young as eight months old were taken to live with settlers and the children’s parents were paid a stipend to stay away. One contract uncovered by O’Byrne found that one child was contracted to work for a farmer until he was 21. The documents also point to numerous cases of sexual exploitation of girls.
Andrea Bear Nicholas, professor emeritus of native studies at St. Thomas University, likens the program to slavery. She said the children never learned to read or write while they were also being forced to abandon their Indigenous language. A historian and activist for the restoration of the Wolastoqiyik language, she is clear that her people did not lose their language, their language was stolen from them.
According to O’Byrne, “the Sussex Vale Indian School was designed to strip language and culture away from Indigenous students.”
While children were leaving the school illiterate and returning to the Catholic faith, the New England Company decided to close the school in 1826. O’Byrne further explains: “Sussex Vale was closed after two boards of inquiry reported on the serious financial irregularities and other wrongdoing at the school.”
Alma Brooks, a Wolastoqey clan mother, told those gathered at the Sussex ceremony on July 1st that the Sussex Vale Indian School promised that the children would receive a plot of land, a cow and seedlings upon completing school, but they never did.
Brooks came across the name of her grandfather’s brother in a news story about the Sussex Vale Indian School. She said he went to the school and never returned home to their community.
Premier Blaine Higgs has promised to look at the church-run schools for Indigenous children that operated in the province. Meanwhile, Aboriginal Affairs Minister Arlene Dunn has said that the government will review the birth alert system that is still in place that takes newborns from their parents.
At the Sussex ceremony, Donna Augustine Thunderbird Turtle Woman, an L’nu traditional elder, spoke of her work with residential school survivors.
Lorraine Clair, a Mi’kmaq woman from Elsipogtog who experienced RCMP brutality during her two arrests at the 2013 shale gas protests, spoke of the impact that Isabelle Knockwood’s book, Out of the Depths: The Experiences of Mi’kmaw Children at the Indian Residential School at Shubenacadie, Nova Scotia, had on her.
Clair shared that she grew up in foster homes and like the children at the Shubenacadie Residential School, she experienced her caretakers scrubbing her skin to make it more white. She wrote an honour song for the children and sang it at the ceremony, bringing many to tears.
Let the statues and murals come down
Sussex, the mural capital of Atlantic Canada, has two murals that historians and Indigenous scholars and activists say whitewash history and are historically inaccurate.
Regarding the mural, “Education Humble Buildings,” by William Lazos, Russ Letica with the Wolastoqey Nation in New Brunswick and the Wolastoq Tribal Council, shared on Facebook, “Are New Brunswickers ready to talk about the mural that represents the indigenous residential school @ Sussex NB. Because it needs to be gone.”
A romanticized depiction of early education in Sussex, the mural shows a teacher guiding a child into the light of knowledge. “The mural bears no resemblance to the horrific realities endured by the Indigenous children who attended the school,” said O’Byrne.
The other mural is located on the Sussex Regional Library is supposed to tell the Wolastoqey creation story, but according to Nicholas, is not the story of her people, rather a story created by the 19th century American writer and folklorist Charles Godfrey Leland.
The Sir John A. Macdonald statue was quickly removed after Charlottetown city council decided to remove the statue in late May. In 2020, the University of New Brunswick announced that they would remove George Duncan Ludlow’s name from their Law Building due to his involvement with residential schools and his support of slavery. In 2018, the statue of Edward Cornwallis who oversaw bounties on the scalps of Mi’kmaq people came down in Halifax. In 2011, the Cornwallis was stripped from a high school in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia after organizing by Mi’kmaq elder Dan Paul, author of We Were Not the Savages.
As statues and symbols that celebrate the perpetrators of genocide come down, the Wolastoq Grand Chief and others say that is not enough: the Canadian state in all its colonial, capitalist, patriarchal, racist and imperialist forms must be dismantled and replaced with a society that respects all life, including the seven generations.
The Peace and Friendship Alliance is one body of Indigenous and non-Indigenous folks from across the Wabanaki region working to protect the lands, waters, people and all creatures, and respect the Peace and Friendship treaties.
Later this summer, a new kind of memorial will be installed in Fredericton. The memorial will be devoted to Berta Cáceres, a Lenca woman from Honduras who was murdered for defending Indigenous Lenca territory from Canadian resource companies and for opposing the Canadian/American-backed coup in Honduras. A handcrafted bench will be installed between two apple trees at Hayes Farm to honour the woman.
Before she was shot to death in her home by hired assassins, Cáceres told a community facing unwanted development: “My companions, colonialism has not ended. That is why this fight is so tough for the Indigenous people, and there is a state apparatus at the service of that. But we also have power, companions, and that is why we continue to exist.”
Back in Sussex, Mary McKay Keith, a resident, invited people to her home after the ceremony to have a potluck feast. She said, “Standing with Indigenous peoples in their grief for the loss of these many, many children, and acknowledging the role of my ancestors in this genocide was important for me to do.”
Another Sussex area resident, Mary Ann Coleman, who attended the ceremony, said: “This is really the first step in a reconciliation process, coming together in ceremony for the children who went to the Sussex Vale Indian School and residential schools across Canada, recognizing the harm that was done and how we have benefited from it.”
“We all need to know the history of this place, in order to honour the pain and loss of the Indigenous communities, as well as the ideas of the Peace and Friendship Treaties on which their intentions first rested. I was honored that so many of them came to Sussex to give us those teachings, and I hope it helps us to do the work of reconciliation that we need to do. I also hope that we can continue to learn and grow together in that spirit of Peace and Friendship,” said Stephanie Coburn, a farmer from the Sussex region and former president of the Conservation Council of New Brunswick who also attended the ceremony.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/systemic-racims-commission-new-brunswick-1.6260744
Wolastoqey chiefs will not participate in systemic-racism inquiry
Chiefs say commission announced this year is no replacement for Indigenous-focused inquiry
Six Wolastoqey chiefs of New Brunswick say they will not participate in the provincial commission on systemic racism because it does not address racism against Indigenous peoples specifically.
For more than a year, after two Indigenous people were killed at the hands of police within one week, the chiefs have been calling for an independent inquiry into systemic racism against Indigenous people in the justice system.
Premier Blaine Higgs refused, saying there are many recommendations already made to address this issue and they just need to be implemented.
This year, the province announced the appointment of Manju Varma as an independent commissioner who is expected to report next year on systemic racism against Indigenous people, immigrants and people of colour in the province.
In a news release, the chiefs say they "stand firm" that a specific inquiry focusing on racism against Indigenous people needs to be held. They say the commission led by Varma is not a replacement for an Indigenous-focused inquiry.
"We have declined to participate in the Higgs government's ill-equipped and ineffective alternative to an inquiry into systemic racism against Indigenous people in New Brunswick," the news release says. "Participating would make us complicit in this government's efforts to sweep this complex, essential issue under the rug."
When reached by phone, Varma said she has sent a letter to each First Nation chief in New Brunswick in the course of her research, but she's not ready to comment on this development as she had not had the chance to read their response.
Premier Blaine Higgs said this stance is "disappointing."
"I feel there's a very genuine exercise unfolding here," he said in a scrum Wednesday afternoon. "I don't think we should look for excuses why it won't work. I think we we should look for opportunities to test it."
Ross Perley, chief of Neqotkuk First Nation, also known as Tobique, said he's not confident this commission will address the issues facing Indigenous people.
"We're going to continue to advocate [for] proposals that are Indigenous-led with the hopes that someday, maybe it isn't the Higgs government, but maybe there's a government that will want to be nation-to-nation partners — want to really address our issues," Perley said.
"We're not going anywhere."
"Governments change, we stay the same," he said. "This is our territory, our unceded, un-surrendered territory. We will continue to be here and we will continue to voice our concerns."
Higgs said addressing systemic racism "isn't about any one group."
"Systemic racism comes in many forms and in many cultures," he said. "It's about any new group coming into our province or people that have lived here for a long time that continue to experience unfair practices that we don't want to continue."
The chiefs say they support addressing systemic racism for "other racialized groups," but their issues are "unique and complex."
They said assuming all the needs of all racialized people are the same is "an example of systemic racism."
The Wolastoq Grand Chief says the Peace and Friendship Alliance will return to Sussex and hold numerous talking circles with interested people to continue the dialogue and focus on truth and reparation: “We need to have these difficult conversations relating to genocide. This has nothing to do with guilt, although everything to do with responsibility, because once you know, you can’t say you don’t know!”
Residential School survivors and others needing support can call the 24-hour Indian Residential School Crisis Line at 1-866-925-4419.
Tracy Glynn is a writer with the NB Media Co-op and participates in the Peace and Friendship Alliance.