Retired B.C. chief coroner to appear at Green election campaign event

ST. STEPHEN, N.B. – New Brunswick’s Liberals are pledging to overhaul the way the province recruits health professionals should the party win the Oct. 21 provincial election.

Leader Susan Holt, campaigning Tuesday in St. Stephen, N.B., said the party would change the compensation model for doctors and increase the number of residency spaces for doctors in training.

The Liberal plan also promises to streamline the process for recognizing the credentials of foreign-trained doctors and other health professionals.

Though she released few other details, Holt said 10 additional physician training seats at Dalhousie University in Halifax would cost $430,000 each year.

“We need to innovate in how we recruit health-care professionals,” Holt said. “A centralized departmental model that continues to focus on vacancies instead of health-care professionals hasn’t worked.”

She said the recruitment plan includes calling on local communities and health professionals to help with presenting offers that might appeal to individual doctors and other health professionals.

“When we identify a health professional that wants to practise in New Brunswick, we find the role that fits them — we don’t try to fit them into our box,” Holt told reporters.

“We need to make sure we are tailoring our offer to what the health-care professionals want to do to be here, and we have to employ a team of people to do it.”

Holt said the Liberal recruitment program would also do a better job of tracking the number of job offers and how professionals are being identified.

“It’s about getting out there and aggressively head hunting the talent that we want,” she said. “We need to supercharge our recruitment process because we are losing the recruitment battle with other provinces.”

The latest announcement adds to previous Liberal commitments to establish at least 30 new community care clinics to help cut primary care wait-times and a program to provide retention payments to nurses.

On Monday, Progressive Conservative Leader Blaine Higgs promised to reduce health-care wait-times by expanding the scope of practice of nurse practitioners, registered nurses, registered psychiatric nurses, paramedics and pharmacists.

But the party did not provide details, saying it would work with medical professionals and their governing bodies to “evaluate all scopes of practice.”

Meanwhile, Higgs did not have any campaign events scheduled for Tuesday. A party official confirmed he spent the day preparing for a televised leaders debate on Wednesday night.

Higgs, who is seeking a third term in office, is expected to square off against Holt and Green Party Leader David Coon.

CBC TV will begin broadcasting the debate at 6 p.m. ADT from the Empress Room at the Capitol Theatre in Moncton. The event will also be carried live to an online audience cbc.ca.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 24, 2024.

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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida A&M University postponed its upcoming college football game against Alabama A&M because of Tropical Storm Helene.

The Rattlers rescheduled the game for Friday, Nov. 29, in anticipation of Helene strengthening into a major hurricane Wednesday while moving north toward the United States. Several models have Helene making landfall just south of Tallahassee.

Florida State, meanwhile, might need to adjust its travel schedule before playing at SMU on Saturday.

“We’re continuing to track that. There’s still a lot of information (to come),” Seminoles coach Mike Norvell said Tuesday. “Today is a big day for gaining more information of what could be our reality. I feel good about the plans that we have. I feel good about any potential adjustments, if necessary. But it’s something that we’re absolutely tracking.”

Helene formed into a tropical storm Tuesday in the Caribbean Sea. Hurricane watches were issued for parts of Cuba, Mexico and a stretch of the Florida coastline, including Tampa Bay, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. A tropical storm warning has been issued for parts of the Florida Keys.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency Monday in dozens of counties ahead of its arrival.

Helene could strengthen into a Category 3 hurricane before approaching the northeast Gulf Coast. Since 2000, eight major hurricanes have made landfall in Florida, according to Philip Klotzbach, a Colorado State University hurricane researcher.

Given the anticipated large size, storm surge, wind and rain will extend far from the center of the expected storm, especially on the east side.

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AP sports:

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TORONTO – Former Toronto Raptors star Vince Carter will have his No. 15 retired by the NBA team this season, according to multiple media reports.

The 47-year-old Hall of Famer is expected to have his jersey retired in Toronto on Nov. 2 and will become the first Raptor to receive the honour.

Carter was the Raptors’ first superstar and is credited for raising the profile of the team and igniting enthusiasm for basketball across Canada.

But the decision to retire his jersey is polarizing, with some fans and local media members still smarting from his acrimonious departure from the team in December 2004.

Carter was traded to the New Jersey (now Brooklyn) Nets for a meagre return early in the 2004-05 season amid claims that he “quit” on the team.

Carter averaged 23.4 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.3 steals over 403 games with the Raptors.

During his time in Toronto, the athletic Carter was perhaps best known for his highlight-reel dunking ability. He won the NBA’s slam dunk contest in 2000 with a memorable performance, clinching the title with a 360-degree windmill jam.

He was an eight-time NBA all-star (2000-07), but even when his explosiveness left him, he managed to find a niche as a veteran role player. Carter played 22 seasons, retiring after the 2019-20 season while with the Atlanta Hawks, and is the only NBA player to suit up for action in four different decades.

Carter made his debut with the Raptors in 1998 after being traded to Toronto at that year’s draft after being selected fifth overall by Golden State.

He also played with Dallas, Memphis, Orlando, Sacramento and Phoenix. Carter finished with averages of 16.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3,1 assists and one steal over 1,541 regular-season NBA games.

Carter will enter the Basketball Hall of Fame next month and will have his number retired by the Nets in January.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 24, 2024.

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