N.B. tourism workers concerned about reduction in hours at some provincial parks
Provincial tourism workers represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees local 1190 spoke out Thursday, saying some provincial parks are cutting back on their worker hours.
Mike Bravener says he’s been told he’ll working 31.5 hours a week, compared to 36 hours last summer. Bravener is an actor and performer at Kings Landing living museum – a New Brunswick provincial attraction celebrating its 50th season.
“You see the nice ads, you see the nice promotions and yet when you walk into the park it's almost looking like it's a bit of a ghost town,” he said.
The union represents 550 tourism workers, most whom work on a casual basis.
Local 1190 president Jonathan Guimond said some parks won’t be open as long, or there will be fewer people working within them when they are open.
The union is pointing its finger at the tourism minister and her deputy for a trip the duo took to Europe that cost taxpayers more than $22,000. They wonder why there was money budgeted for that journey.
“They’re a bit taken aback that they need to suffer reductions and the parks the quality that they provide are suffering reductions when there's funds available for things like that,” Guimond said.
Tourism Minister Tammy Scott-Wallace said just two locations – Kings Landing and the Village historique acadien – will see a reduction in some areas, but that’s not happening to all parks across the province.
She also said the European trip she took was valuable for building relationships in key areas like France and the United Kingdom.
“It's unfortunate to me that the people who work in our parks and attractions would feel that any time the minister goes across the province or outside of the province or outside of the country, to promote tourism and to bring new visitors to the province, that they don't see a value to that,” she told reporters.
The union says the cost of that trip would have equated to several hundred worker hours at the parks.
For Bravener, he’s concerned about maintaining the magic that can be found at Kings Landing.
“I think people are coming and they're going, ‘Oh, this isn't open. Oh, I thought this was happening today. Where's the theater? There's no theater. Where is the dances in the fields? How come there's no barn dance anymore?’” he said. “It's that kind of impact.”
For more New Brunswick news visit our dedicated provincial page.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Ontario gave parents more than $1B in cash over 2 years. Here's where the money went
During the pandemic, the Ontario government started to hand out cash to parents to help offset the cost of at-home learning while schools were shuttered.
Ambassador says interactions with Russia 'quite limited' but 'not unfriendly'
Canada's ambassador to Russia says while Ottawa has 'grave concerns' about the Kremlin's 'longer-term trends,' the war in Ukraine is 'a primary barrier to a change in the relationship.'
One dead, 26 wounded in overnight shooting in Ohio: reports
A shooting on a street in Akron, Ohio, killed one man and wounded 26 other people early Sunday morning, according to reports by local news outlets.
Bathroom break nearly derails $22 million project at city council meeting
A brief break during Wednesday's city council meeting in Saskatoon nearly cost the city dearly.
South Korea vows 'unbearable' retaliation against North Korea over its launch of trash balloons
South Korea said Sunday it’ll soon take retaliatory steps against North Korea over its launch of trash-carrying balloons across the border and other provocations.
Do this once a month and extend your life by up to 10 years. No gym required
Research shows that art experiences, whether as a maker or a beholder, transform our biology by rewiring our brains and triggering the release of neurochemicals, hormones and endorphins.
Lanny McDonald and a few old Flames take the Stanley Cup on a surprise visit to the man who saved his life
The Stanley Cup was passing through town Friday, and Lanny Legend took it upon himself to take it for a surprise visit.
Mass parachute jump over Normandy kicks off commemorations for the 80th anniversary of D-Day
Parachutists jumping from Second World War-era planes hurled themselves Sunday into now peaceful Normandy skies where war once raged, heralding a week of ceremonies for the fast-disappearing generation of Allied troops who fought from D-Day beaches 80 years ago.
Chad Daybell sentenced to death for killing wife and girlfriend’s two children in jury decision
Jurors resumed deliberations Saturday on whether a man should be sentenced to death after being convicted days earlier of the murders of his wife and his girlfriend’s two youngest children in Idaho.