News Highlights for Southwest New Brunswick: September 8-15, 2020

Former St. Croix Liberal candidate John Gardner will now be running as an independent in the provincial election. Gardner received a phone call late Monday evening informing him that the Liberal Party would no longer be supporting him as a candidate due to some his past social media posts.

One of Gardner's online comments that the Liberal Party took issue with was a Facebook post from 2017 in which Gardner stated "If the straight flag is not allowed, then they shouldn't be flying the LGBT one. Fair is fair." Gardner, who is openly gay and flies the pride flag, believes that he wasn't given the opportunity to explain himself and the intention and context of his posts. 

"I never received a phone call from Mr. Vickers to explain where I was coming from," said Gardner in St. Andrews on Tuesday, September 8, 2020.

Vickers said in a press conference the same day that there wasn't just one but several past posts of Gardner's that his team took issue with. Elections NB confirmed to CHCO that any ballots already cast for Gardner in the advanced polls will still count for Gardner as an independent candidate; however, Gardner will still appear as a Liberal on the ballots.

The seasonal ferry service to Campobello has been extended until December 1. The ferry, which is privately owned and operated by East Coast Ferries Ltd, runs most years from mid-June until end of September. The extended season this year comes as a relief to many islanders who wish to connect to the mainland without having to travel through the U.S. via a bridge to Lubec, Maine.

The first annual New Brunswick International Oysterfest took place in St. Andrews over the weekend. To comply with COVID-19 regulations, the two-day outdoor festival at Kingsbrae Garden was limited to a crowd of 50 people per day.

Finally, Back Bay volunteer firefighter Danny Bertaux will be added to the national fallen firefighters memorial in Ottawa on September 13th at 12pm Atlantic time. Bertaux died in 2018 of cancer that developed as a result of fighting grass fires. Bertaux is survived by his wife Karen, who is also a volunteer firefighter, and knows her late husband's legacy will live on not just in the memorial but in the lives he touched in the community he served and loved.

You can watch the fall fire fighters federation's virtual memorial service Sunday, the 13th, at noon Atlantic time at cfff.ca