Spring events heating up 🌷

IN THIS ISSUE

➡️ Nurse handed 60-day suspension

➡️ Federal workers on strike

➡️ Kinkora has applied to restructure

ON THE LINE

Federal wokers on strike 🪧

Islanders should expect delays in accessing federal government services as the country is plunged into the largest labour strike in over 30 years. The federal government and the Public Service Alliance of Canada were unable to reach an agreement before the Tuesday evening deadline, resulting in over 155,000 federal public servants going on strike as of this morning.

It’s not clear exactly how many federal workers on PEI will hit the picket lines, but over 3,000 employees on the Island fall under the bargaining groups that are in a legal position to strike – 1,500 Canada Revenue Agency employees with the Union of Taxation Employees, and 1,600 employees from other departments and agencies under the Treasury Board group. Employees considered essential are not allowed to strike.

The government has launched a website to provide Canadians with updates on labour disruptions, including information on impacted services by each department and agency.

Here’s a list of picket lines on PEI if you wish to show your support or avoid the areas altogether:

Charlottetown:

Jean Canfield Building, Great George St;

Ellis Brothers Mall, St. Peters Rd;

CRA Office (next to Ellis Brothers Mall), Brackley Point Rd. 

Montague:

Service Canada, Main St. 

Summerside:

Service Canada, Church St; 

Tax Centre, Pope Rd. 

Tignish:

Fisheries and Oceans, School St.

QUICK HITS

🧑‍⚕️ RN suspended: A PEI registered nurse has been handed a 60-day suspension by the PEI College of Registered Nurses and Midwives following a misconduct hearing last month. Allegations included two complaints that the nurse had accessed medications without authorization while on duty at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital between February and April of 2022. The nurse admitted to taking Adderall to feed a personal addiction. The nurse has been off work since last May, which was factored into the decision to reduce the recommended suspension from 90 days to 60 with no fine. A set of conditions must also be followed for 24 months, including drug testing and abstaining from recreational drugs and alcohol. The disciplinary order made no mention of the nurses’ employment status with Health PEI.

📅 2023-24 School Calendar: Students will return to school this fall on Thursday, September 7 for the 2023-24 school year. The province has released a calendar for the next school year, which includes 181 instructional days. The 2022-23 calendar included 179 instructional days.

💵 Minimum wage review: The Employment Standards Board is accepting input from Islanders until June 15 as part of its annual review of the province’s minimum wage. Information gathered during this process will be used by the Board when making a recommendation to increase minimum wage or to leave it alone. PEI’s minimum wage increased to $14.50 an hour on January 1, and is set to increase to $15 an hour on October 1.

RURAL DEVELOPMENT 

Kinkora applies to restructure boundaries

Kinkora wants to expand the Johnston subdivision, a plan that would see the municipality gobble up more than 33 acres of land north of Somerset Consolidated School.

The municipality has already purchased the land, but an approval from the Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission is needed before the community can formally annex the area. An application to restructure the municipality was submitted to IRAC on March 13.

If approved, the land would be subdivided to add 27 new residential lots to the Johnston subdivision, each estimated to be worth $55,000. When developed, the new dwellings will add more than $10M of assessed value to the community. The deadline to submit an objection to the proposal is April 26.

📢 SHOUT-OUTS 

🎂 Happy birthday this week to Charlie and John-Michael, two former members of legendary Charlottetown punk band Cheers to Beers. “Forty years old - the halfway point between diapers and Depends,” - Unknown.

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#PEIslandEdition

Artificial Island 🤖

Does this scene look familiar? This image was created by artificial intelligence. I prompted an AI tool to paint a picture of Prince Edward Island, 20 seconds later it presented this. I created a few more, they're shared on Instagram.

Tag @PEIslandEdition or use #PEIslandEdition to get your post featured in Island Edition!

COMMUNITY CORNER

🔨 The Construction Association of PEI is holding a Youth In Trades information session this morning (Wednesday) from 9AM-10AM at 40 Enman Crescent. Paid classroom training and work experience opportunities are available. More information, including eligibility, is available on the Association’s website.

🆘 The Emergency Animal Response Team will be hosting an open house this Saturday from 1:00PM-4:00PM at Beaconsfield Heritage House in Charlottetown. Stop by to meet some of the volunteers and to learn more about the important work they do.

🏒 Spring ball hockey in Charlottetown starts up this Saturday and runs until June 7. Games are played Wednesday evenings and Saturday mornings at the West Royalty Community Centre’s new outdoor multi-sport facility. Registration is required, visit this website to get started (you’ll need to create an account first).

Send me a quick message if your organization would like to publish a quick PSA. There's no charge for these. Max three per-issue.

WEATHER

Wednesday

🌦️ H 11°C 🌡️ L 3°C 
💨 S 13 km/h, gusting 33

Thursday

🌦️ H 7°C 🌡️ L 1°C
💨 NW 19 km/h, gusting 43

Looking Ahead

🌤️ Plenty of sunshine into the weekend, with cloud cover, but pleasantly dry.

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