We need to build compassion back into our public services. To be clear, I’m talking about the system, not the people who work in it. Some months ago, I attended a forum about youth in care, which brought together youth, whose guardian is effectively the Minister of Social Development, with social workers who work in the system. At one point, […]
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I’m not sure when the canyon opened up between us and our government, but we are at risk of falling in unless the government formed after the September election is committed to bridging it. The secrecy must end, the attitude has to change, and trust must be restored. The edge of the cliff we are standing on is a democratic […]
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My first real memory of politics was Pierre Trudeau’s advocacy for a just society. As an eleven year old, this vision for our county inspired me. If politics was capable of bringing about social change, it was something I wanted to know more about. This was also the era of Louis Robichaud’s program of social equality, continued by Richard Hatfield, […]
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To hear Liberals and Tories talk about our future as New Brunswickers, one could be forgiven for thinking we, like Robinson Crusoe, have been cast away on an uncharted island, solely dependent on our individual capacity to survive in enforced isolation. As Maritimers, we are well aware that our sister provinces of Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia grapple with […]
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