Atlantic Bubble Set to Return on April 19, 2021

The Atlantic bubble is reopening on April 19, the Council of Atlantic Premiers announced on Thursday. The decision to reintroduce the bubble, which allows residents of the four Atlantic provinces to travel within the region without having to adhere to self-isolation requirements, is conditional upon COVID-19 case numbers remaining low in the region. Nova Scotia Premier Iain Rankin loosened travel restrictions a step further in his province by announcing on Friday that New Brunswickers can now travel into Nova Scotia without having to isolate. This also applies to Nova Scotians returning to their home province from a trip to New Brunswick.

"We look forward to reopening the entire Atlantic bubble but in the meantime, with case numbers declining, we are comfortable opening the New Brunswick border," said Premier Rankin. "We know many businesses and families need to cross this border frequently, and we don't want to delay their return to normal travel routines."

The Nova Scotia Premier's decision, however, has not been reciprocated by New Brunswick. In a statement to CHCO, New Brunswick Public Health said, "Currently, anyone entering the province will be required to self-isolate for 14 days, including New Brunswickers returning from Nova Scotia. We have announced that no later than April 19th we will be reopening the Atlantic bubble, conditional upon COVID-19 case numbers remaining low, containing outbreaks, and advice from Public Health. At that time, New Brunswickers will be permitted to travel to those provinces without being required to self-isolate upon their return."

The province announced on Friday that it has decided against selling Cannabis NB to a private owner despite entertaining several proposals for purchase of the crown corporation. The province originally announced plans to sell Cannabis NB in late 2019 during its early stages when it was still operating at a loss. This past year, however, increased profits have allowed Cannabis NB to recoup its initial startup costs, making selling it to a private operator less desirable at this time. This is welcome news to Tanner Stewart of Stewart Farms in St. Stephen. 

"It was fantastic news. The next step is opening up the industry to the entire province and removing what is currently a government-run monopoly," said Stewart.

Stewart employs 20 people at his St. Stephen company where he makes a range of products including cannabis topicals such as bathbombs. Thanks to the growth of the current marketplace, Stewart expects to employ up to 60 people in the St. Stephen area in the coming year. 

The Department of Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour plans to spend approximately $85,000 researching how systemic racism affects members of New Brunswick's Black community. The funding will go towards creating a team of researchers. The team will include professional researchers, members of the New Brunswick Community College and Matthew Martin, the president of Black Lives Matter New Brunswick and co-host of New Brunswickers Want Action on CHCO.

"There is no data or real information right now to look at to tell us how systemic racism affects Black people in the province," said Martin. 

The study will focus on uncovering key indicators of systemic racism and will also seek to determine the best ways to practices to end systemic racism. 

Finally, New Brunswickers will head to the polls for the second time during the COVID-19 pandemic for municipal elections taking place on May 10th. Nominations opened officially on March 22nd and will remain open until April 9th at 2pm. 

Mayor Doug Naish officially announced that he is reoffering for mayor of Saint Andrews on Monday. He thinks there will be many great local candidates seeking to run in this election to represent Saint Andrews.

"It has been a wonderful experience for me my four years on council and my five years as mayor," said Naish. "I think we have a lot of wonderful people in our community who fit the description of what it takes to be a good councillor.