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New Brunswick election: Greens promise to guarantee right to a healthy environment

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FREDERICTON – The leader of New Brunswick’s Green Party is promising to pass a law that would guarantee the right to a healthy environment if his party is elected to govern on Oct. 21.

David Coon was campaigning in Saint John, N.B., on Wednesday. He announced the pledge while standing outside a scrapyard where a fire in September 2023 burned for two days, its hazardous smoke drifting over the city as emergency officials urged people to stay inside and wear a mask.

“Over the years, we have seen government after government cover up environmental contamination to the detriment of the health of New Brunswickers,” Coon, a former environmental activist, said in a statement.

“In my 40 years of experience dealing with toxic chemicals and pesticides that pose a risk to the health of New Brunswickers, Liberal and Conservative governments have almost always taken the side of industry against public health,” he said.

The Green leader then cited the Progressive Conservative government’s refusal to revoke the scrapyard’s licence to operate in Saint John.

He also called attention to the case of Eilish Cleary, who served as the province’s chief medical officer until she was fired in 2015 by the Liberal government led by Brian Gallant. Coon suggested Cleary lost her job because she investigated the spraying of glyphosate, a herbicide used extensively in New Brunswick forests.

At the time, the provincial government repeatedly stated Cleary’s termination was not related to her work.

On Wednesday, Coon said he would revive an environmental rights bill the Greens tabled in December.

Earlier in the day, the Liberals promised to improve how the province supports seniors if elected to govern.

Liberal Leader Susan Holt was campaigning in Neguac, N.B., when she announced eight proposals, including a pledge to offer $250 a month to unpaid and informal caregivers who are looking after aging family members.

“Our team will ensure that seniors receive the support they need in a way that promotes well-being and independence,” Holt said in a statement.

Holt says a Liberal government would improve home care by investing in the wages for personal support workers and resident attendants, as well as expanding programs that help seniors stay in their homes as long as possible.

As for nursing homes, Holt says the Liberals would improve wages and fill staffing gaps to ensure all nursing home beds are being used.

Holt says there are 1,108 people on waiting lists for long-term care and 550 are in hospital beds waiting for a place in a nursing home.

The Liberals also pledged to raise the “comfort and clothing allowance” for seniors from $150 to $200, and develop a strategy to improve support for those living with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.

“Seniors and their families deserve the ability to make informed decisions about their care and to live with dignity,” Holt said. “The lack of long-term care support is a constant source of stress for them and for the care professionals delivering services.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 2, 2024.

— With files from Michael MacDonald in Halifax

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Saskatchewan Party pledges rebate help for youth in sports, arts if re-elected

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PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. – The Saskatchewan Party is promising more help for parents trying to keep their children in sports and the arts.

With a provincial election set for Oct. 28, Saskatchewan Party Leader Scott Moe is pledging to double the Active Families Benefit to $300 per child per year.

The benefit for children with disabilities would also double to $400 a year.

It would apply to sports, arts, cultural and recreational activities.

The program is currently provided through a tax credit to families who make a household income of $60,000 or less.

Moe says he would expand that threshold, allowing families with a household income of up to $120,000 per year to receive the credit.

“We all know how beneficial it is to get our kids involved in sports or artistic activities, like music and dance lessons,” Moe said in a statement Thursday.

“We also know the cost of those activities has gone up just like the cost of most other things.”

The Saskatchewan Party has made affordability a key plank in its election platform. It has also promised more tuition relief for students who stay in Saskatchewan after they graduate.

On Tuesday, the first day of the campaign, Moe promised broad-based tax relief on personal income tax rates, which the party says could save a family of four $3,400 over four years.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 3, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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The Latest: Harris campaigns in Wisconsin and Trump in Michigan in battle for ‘blue wall’ states

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Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris is opening a two-day stay in Wisconsin and Michigan, and Republican candidate Donald Trump will be in Michigan on Thursday as the two candidates grapple for wins in the “blue wall” battleground states, which also include Pennsylvania.

Liz Cheney, one of Trump’s fiercest Republican antagonists, will join Harris at a campaign event in Wisconsin on Thursday aimed at reaching out to moderate voters and rattling the former president.

Cheney was the top Republican on the House committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection, earning Trump’s disdain and effectively exiling herself from her own party.

Cheney lost her Wyoming seat to a Trump-endorsed candidate two years ago and she endorsed Harris last month. The two women will appear together in a historic white schoolhouse in Ripon, where a series of meetings held in 1854 to oppose slavery’s expansion led to the birth of the Republican Party.

Harris’ visit to Wisconsin comes one day after a federal judge unsealed a 165-page court filing outlining prosecutors’ case against Trump for his attempt to overturn his 2020 election defeat. Trump has pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy and obstruction.

Harris on Friday will hold a campaign rally in Flint, Michigan, continuing her tour of states that have been critical to Democratic victories. Trump won Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan in 2016, and Joe Biden won them in 2020.

Trump on Thursday will hold a rally in Saginaw County, a bellwether in the center of the state.

The Republican candidate has ramped up his focus on Michigan, holding two rallies there less than a week ago. In 2020, Biden’s win in Saginaw County by a slim 303 votes contributed to his victory in the state.

Follow the AP’s Election 2024 coverage at: https://apnews.com/hub/election-2024.

Here’s the latest:

President Biden says he isn’t concerned the 2024 presidential race is close

President Joe Biden said Thursday that he wasn’t concerned the 2024 presidential race between Democratic nominee Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump was close

“It always gets this close,” he said to reporters on the South Lawn of the White House on his way to visit storm-ravaged Georgia and Florida. “She’s gonna do fine,” he said of his vice president.

Biden was also asked how Harris’ running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz did in the vice presidential debate.

“The other guy lost the debate,” Biden said. “He misrepresented everything.”

Hurricane Helene brings climate change to forefront of presidential campaign

The devastation wrought by Hurricane Helene has brought climate change to the forefront of the presidential campaign after the issue lingered on the margins for months.

Vice President Kamala Harris traveled to Georgia Wednesday to see hard-hit areas, two days after her Republican opponent, former President Donald Trump, was in the state and criticized the federal response to the storm, which has killed at least 180 people. Thousands of people in the Carolinas still lack running water, cellphone service and electricity.

President Joe Biden toured some of the hardest-hit areas by helicopter on Wednesday. Biden, who has frequently been called on to survey damage and console victims after tornadoes, wildfires, tropical storms and other natural disasters, traveled to the Carolinas to get a closer look at the hurricane devastation. He is expected to visit Georgia and Florida later this week.

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Liz Cheney will campaign with Harris in Wisconsin while Trump holds a rally in Michigan

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Liz Cheney, one of Donald Trump’s fiercest Republican antagonists, will join Democrat Kamala Harris at a campaign event in Wisconsin on Thursday aimed at reaching out to moderate voters and rattling the former president.

Cheney was the top Republican on the House committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection, earning Trump’s disdain and effectively exiling herself from her own party.

Cheney lost her Wyoming seat to a Trump-endorsed candidate two years ago and she endorsed Harris, the Democratic nominee, last month. The two women will appear together in a historic white schoolhouse in Ripon, where a series of meetings held in 1854 to oppose slavery’s expansion led to the birth of the Republican Party.

Harris is opening a two-day stay in Wisconsin and Michigan, and Trump will be in Michigan on Thursday as the two candidates grapple for wins in the “blue wall” battleground states, which also include Pennsylvania.

Harris’ visit to Wisconsin comes one day after a federal judge unsealed a 165-page court filing outlining prosecutors’ case against Trump for his attempt to overturn his 2020 election defeat. Trump has pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy and obstruction.

It’s uncommon, to say the least, for a candidate to give a nod to the origins of the opposing party in the closing weeks of a presidential campaign. Not only that, the Cheney name was once anathema to Democrats who deplored Dick Cheney, Liz’s father, for his role as vice president under George W. Bush.

But now both Cheneys are backing Harris, part of a cadre of current and former Republican officials who have broken with the vast majority of their party, which remains in Trump’s corner. Harris wants to portray her candidacy as a patriotic choice for independent and conservative voters who were disturbed by Trump’s unwillingness to cede power. Trump continues to deny his defeat with false claims of voter fraud.

Harris on Friday will hold a campaign rally in Flint, Michigan, continuing her tour of states that have been critical to Democratic victories. Trump won Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan in 2016, and Joe Biden won them in 2020.

Trump on Thursday will hold a rally in Saginaw County, a bellwether in the center of the state.

The Republican candidate has ramped up his focus on Michigan, holding two rallies there less than a week ago. In 2020, Biden’s win in Saginaw County by a slim 303 votes contributed to his victory in the state.

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Associated Press writer Joey Cappelletti in Lansing, Michigan, contributed to this report.

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