Nouvelles des groupes
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- Publié par : Kaleigh Holder
- Affichages : 11931
PRESS RELEASE
Swim Guide launches third version of water quality app
July 6, 2017
(FREDERICTON) -- Getting ready for beach time in New Brunswick? Before you go, download the brand-new version of the Swim Guide app.
With over a million users worldwide, the popular (and free!) application gives beachgoers access to the latest water quality monitoring results for their favourite beaches, along with descriptions, photos, and directions.
New in 2017
The 2017 update means Swim Guide is now available in French, English and Spanish. It includes information for over 7,000 beaches in Canada, the United States, Mexico and New Zealand, and has individual entries for over two dozen New Brunswick beaches.
What’s in it and Why is it Helpful?
Swim Guide lets people browse the map or search for a beach by name. Each beach has a description that list amenities, informs you about lifeguards, provides tips about where to park and other valuable information.
If you don’t know your way to the beach, don’t worry, the app also provides directions whether you’re walking, cycling, driving, or taking transit.
Using Swim Guide
Every beach in Swim Guide is marked with an icon that easily lets you know if the water quality is safe for swimming.
- Green means the beach’s most recent test results met relevant water quality standards.
- Red means the beach’s most recent test results failed to meet water quality standards.
- Grey means water quality information for the beach is too old (more than 7 days old) to be considered current, or that info is unavailable, or unreliable.
Quotes
“Since launching Swim Guide in 2011 our goal has been to make water quality information simple to access and easy to understand, for as many people as possible. In addition to improving the search, design, and data presentation with this latest version of the iOS app, we are incredibly proud to be able to provide this service in multiple languages so that even more beach lovers can easily find all of the information they need to have a great day on the water.” - Mark Mattson, President, Swim Drink Fish Canada
“The new Swim Guide is timely and evidence-based. We hope NB citizens and visitors love it as much as we do. Its clear information about when and where our beaches are monitored will also help us identify sources of water pollution so that together we can act to protect healthy waters and sustainable communities.” Lois Corbett, Executive Director, Conservation Council of New Brunswick
About Swim Guide
Swim Guide was developed by Swim Drink Fish Canada (previously a project of Lake Ontario Waterkeeper), a non-profit organization based in Toronto, with the goal to ensure that 100 per cent of Canadians have access to basic data about the health of their watersheds. The group just released the first-ever Canada Beach Report, which was created in collaboration with Waterkeepers, Riverkeepers and Baykeepers across Canada, including the Conservation Council.
For more information, see these resources:
- Learn more about Swim Guide online at www.swimguide.org.
- Read more about the first-ever Canada Beach Report, here.
- Read “A treasure too valuable to waste-our shorelines” by Conservation Council’s Lois Corbett.
To arrange an interview, contact: Corey Robichaud, Communications Officer, [email protected], 506-458-8747.
- Détails
- Publié par : Jon MacNeill
- Affichages : 10098
Corbett told CBC Radio’s Information Morning Fredericton on Monday, June 26 that many details surrounding the project — such as the specific design of the tailings dam needed to protect the Nashwaak watershed and surrounding communities from toxic mine waste, or who would pay for the costs of replacing drinking water and repairing stream habitat in the event of a leak or breach like we saw at Mt. Polley, B.C. — have yet to be made public.
Northcliff Resources, the company behind the Sisson project, was given 40 conditions to meet during the provincial environmental assessment process last year. Corbett said there was talk at Friday’s announcement that the company had met all the conditions, but “I’ve yet to see any evidence of that. There’s not a spot on the website where you can go and download a detailed tailings dam design, for example.
“Perhaps the company has provided some material, so someone could check a box on a long list of conditions. I haven’t seen any evidence of that, and I would hope the government would let us all see soon, sooner as opposed to later,” she said.
Listen to the full interview with host Terry Seguin here.
For more coverage of CCNB on the Sisson Mine project, check out:
- Corbett called for greater transparency from the provincial government in this CBC article published Friday, 23, saying “this project is a long way from being complete — a piece of paper from a federal minister saying approval is granted, with no details, doesn’t give me much confidence.”
- The New Brunswick Telegraph-Journal reported on concerns raised by Corbett and Taymouth Environmental Action’s Jim Emberger about the risks to drinking water, river habitat, and nearby communities.
- Corbett questioned the logic behind risking drinking water for a limited number of unsustainable jobs in this Canadian Press story, saying “I remain to be convinced that those jobs created over the life of the project are equal in weight to the risk to the water.” The story was shared by Global News, CTV, the Globe & Mail, The Financial Post, Metro News, Nanaimo News, the Red Deer Advocate,105.3 the Fox, 104.9 and K93.
- Corbett commented on the environmental risks of the project in stories by L’Acadie Nouvelle and L’actualite.
- Détails
- Publié par : Nature Trust of New Brunswick
- Affichages : 9787
Long before the river was named the St. John River, it was known by Wolastoqiyik/Wəlastəkwiyik (Maliseet People) as ‘Wolastoq’/Wəlastəkw, meaning ‘Beautiful and Bountiful river’, a name that the nation is currently working to reclaim. ‘Noloqonokek/Nələkwənəkek’ is the traditional Wolastoqiyik/Wəlastəkwiyik name for what is now known as ‘Middle Island’. Nolomiw refers to upriver and ‘qono’ refers to a ‘long period of time’ therefore, ‘Noloqonokek/Nələkwənəkek’ is relating to upriver and a long period of time. The Maliseet language was an oral language and two linguistic spelling variations of the language have been developed and are both recognized today.
“Wolastoq ancestors wisely named each and every landscape and waterway according to a detailed description of each unique area.” Says Wolastoq Grand Chief, Ron Tremblay. “For instance, Wolastoq means “Beautiful and Bountiful River” for it once was Beautiful as well as provided everything our people needed to survive.”
For many generations, Middle Island has served the farming families of the Maugerville area as summer pasture ground. The Nature Trust acquired the new nature preserve to conserve in perpetuity the floodplain forest and Provincially Significant Wetlands that supports a diversity of plant life, birds, amphibians, and rare insects. The preserve is part of the Grand Lake Meadows, Atlantic Canada’s largest freshwater wetland complex.
“The Nature Trust is excited to work with landowners on protecting new pieces of the Grand Lake Meadows.” Says Nature Trust President, Vince Zelazny. “As the largest wetland in the Maritimes, the Grand Lake Meadows is a hotspot for a diversity of rare and endangered species. This acquisition is important to protecting the habitats that these species rely on for survival.”
On the afternoon of June 24th from 1 – 5 PM, the Nature Trust, along with Wolastoqiyik elders, and Canoe Kayak New Brunswick, will be hosting a grand opening event. Members of the public are invited to join a paddle in the big canoes, starting at Douglas Hazen Park, going past the Welamukotuk Cinerea Nature Preserve on Oromocto Island, with a stop at the shoreline of Noloqonokek. For more information and to join the grand opening event, please contact Bethany at [email protected] or at (506) 457-2398.
A special thank you to those who contributed to the protection of Noloqonokek/ Nələkwənəkek Nature Preserve including major funders: The Government of Canada through the Natural Areas Conservation Program, the NB Wildlife Trust Fund, the Davis Conservation Foundation, The William P. Wharton Trust, the Sitka Foundation, and the ECHO Foundation.
About the Nature Trust of New Brunswick
Established in 1987, the Nature Trust of New Brunswick is a registered charitable conservation organization dedicated to preserving the province’s ecologically significant landscapes. To date, the Nature Trust has conserved over 2,800 hectares (7,000 acres) in 50 beautiful and diverse nature preserves in New Brunswick.
About the Natural Areas Conservation Program
The Government of Canada’s Natural Areas Conservation Program (NACP) is a unique public-private partnership managed and directed by the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC). To date, $345 million has been invested in the NACP by the Government of Canada to secure our natural heritage. Additionally, more than $500 million in matching contributions has been raised by NCC and its partners.
- Détails
- Publié par : Jon MacNeill
- Affichages : 9600
Conservation Council reacts to Auditor General’s report on climate action in N.B.
The Auditor General of New Brunswick, Kim MacPherson, has delivered a substantive review of the province’s climate change plan and what is needed to turn policy intentions into on-the-ground work to protect homes and communities from what she says “may be one of the greatest challenges for communities, governments and corporations in the coming decades.”
“New Brunswick’s Auditor General’s report should put wind in the sails of the government’s plans to reduce carbon pollution and make our communities healthy and strong in the face of climate change,” says Lois Corbett, Executive Director of the Conservation Council of New Brunswick.
“She points out, and rightly so, that while the 2016 Climate Change Action Plan lays out a series of 118 actions, we lack an aggressive time table or details on implementation.
She recommends that the government introduce legislation to set its pollution targets into law, similar to that found in British Columbia, Quebec, Ontario, and Nova Scotia.
We couldn't agree more and might go even a bit further — let’s see the legislation introduced the next time the Legislative Assembly meets, and let’s hope all parties vote for its speedy adoption.
“If we want to catch this boat, the time for the government and NB Power to move is now. Not in 2018. Not ten years from now," says Corbett.
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The Conservation Council of New Brunswick
Established in 1969, the Conservation Council of New Brunswick has remained the province’s leading public advocate for environmental protection. A member of the UN’s Global 500 Roll of Honour, we work to find practical solutions to help families and citizens, educators, governments and businesses protect the air we breathe, the water we drink, the precious marine ecosystem and the land, including the forest, that support us.
Recommended links
- Read Chapter 3 (on climate change) from Volume I of the 2017 Auditor General’s Report
- Read New Brunswick’s Climate Change Action Plan
- Watch CCNB video series: Green Energy: Making Informed Choices
- Check out CCNB’s Climate and Energy Solutions hub
Jon MacNeill, Communications Director | 458-8747 | [email protected]
- Détails
- Publié par : Terry Wishart
- Affichages : 10490
Le Grand conseil malécite obtient un ajournement
Le Grand conseil malécite a obtenu un ajournement des audiences, cette semaine, en cour, dans sa tentative d’empêcher le gouvernement du Nouveau-Brunswick d’implanter un centre de services pour motoneiges au parc provincial Mont-Carleton, un lieu sacré pour les Malécites.
«La première chose que notre avocat, Gordon Allen, a faite, ça été de demander un ajournement des audiences prévues pour l’avant-midi pour nous allouer plus de temps pour une audition complète du cas. On avait aussi besoin d’un ajournement pour apporter des modifications à notre demande initiale», a dit le Grand Chef Ron Tremblay, qui se trouvait au palais de justice de Woodstock mardi de cette semaine.
«Ces modifications vont expliquer comment le centre proposé pour l’entretien de motoneiges va affecter le lien spirituel que notre peuple a avec cet endroit et le rapport avec les promesses qui nous ont été faites dans le Traité de 1725-26», précise Tremblay.
L’avocat de la province s’est opposé à l’ajournement demandé, mais le juge Richard Petrie a accepté la demande après avoir entendu les arguments de Me Allen. Il a aussi fixé des échéances pour certaines tâches dont les deux parties doivent s’acquitter pour s’assurer que l’audience se déroule plus rondement et efficacement.
Dans les 60 prochains jours, les parties devront mettre la touche finale aux modifications et régler certains problèmes quant à la preuve qui sera présentée en cour. Aussi, une conférence préparatoire à l’audience aura lieu pour fixer une nouvelle date pour l’audition complète et tous les points importants qui s’y rattachent.
Une campagne de sociofinancement pour appuyer la révision judiciaire a permis, jusqu’à maintenant, d’amasser plus de 20 000 $ provenant de 145 donateurs.
- Détails
- Publié par : Terry Wishart
- Affichages : 10902
Cour doit poursuivre des audiences dans l’affaire du parc provincial Mont Carleton cette semaine
Renseignements obtenus de l’APECA déséquilibre les déclarations du gouvernement
Selon la Cour suprême du Canada, le gouvernement doit agir «avec honneur et intégrité, et éviter la moindre apparence de ‘manœuvres malhonnêtes’» dans ses rapports avec les peuples autochtones.
«Pourtant, ce n’est pas comme ça que le gouvernement du Nouveau-Brunswick agit», affirme le Grand Chef Ron Tremblay, un des auteurs de la demande de révision judiciaire dans l’affaire de la décision prise par le gouvernement du Nouveau-Brunswick d’aménager un centre de services pour motoneiges au parc provincial Mont Carleton.
Au moment où ce projet a été annoncé, on y mentionnait des dameuses, un sentier désigné menant au sommet du mont Carleton et deux nouveaux ponts pour motoneiges.
«Les deux nouveaux ponts pour motoneiges sont les pièces maîtresses de ce projet; c’est ce qui fait le lien avec le reste du projet», affirme Jean Louis Deveau, l’autre demandeur de révision judiciaire.
Une demande d’Étude d’impact sur l’environnement (ÉIE) pour ce projet a été déposée en septembre 2016. A l’époque le gouvernement a soutenu que les ponts n’étaient pas considérés comme faisant partie du projet.
Cependant, des renseignements obtenus récemment de l’Agence de promotion économique du Canada atlantique (APÉCA) en vertu de la Loi sur le droit à l’information et la protection des renseignements personnels indiquent que la demande de financement faite à l’APÉCA par la partie requérante incluait des fonds pour construire les deux ponts qui sont au centre de la controverse. Et il est de fait que le financement pour les ponts figure dans le contrat conclu entre les requérants et l’APÉCA.
Le Grand Chef Tremblay conclut qu’ «à la lumière de ces nouveaux renseignements, c’est évident que le gouvernement n’agit pas avec honneur et intégrité».
La cour doit poursuivre les audiences dans cette affaire le 13 juin à Woodstock. Une campagne de financement participatif (https://www.gofundme.com/27ru624) a été entreprise en juin 2016 pour aider à payer les frais juridiques.
La Loi sur les parcs (2014) stipule qu’avant que l’on puisse procéder à tout développement dans un parc provincial, celui-ci doit être doté d’un plan de gestion basé sur un plan de zonage. Or pour le parc Mont Carleton, il existe un plan de zonage mais pas de plan de gestion.
