Press Hits

N.B. Power is about to make its case for raising rates, but the number of New Brunswickers struggling to pay their power bills is already high, advocates for low-income residents warn.

The utility has applied for a 4.75 per cent rate increase for the 2026-2027 fiscal year, and hearings begin Monday before the Energy and Utilities Board.

The Human Development Council has released a report that found New Brunswick has the second-highest rates of energy poverty in the country in 2025.

A key finding of the report was that electricity costs increased 21 per cent between 2021 and 2025, “outstripping income growth,” the report said.

A 30-storey apartment building is coming to a neighbourhood just north of London’s downtown core after a divisive debate Tuesday at city council.

The plan by York Developments replace an existing 30-unit rental building and two houses with a 286-unit tower at the corner of Ridout and Kent streets. It passed in council by an 11 to 4 vote.

Non-sufficient fund (NSF) fees are about to drop for Canadians.

Starting March 12, banks will have a $10 cap on NSF fees they can charge when there isn’t enough money in a bank account to cover a withdrawal. The $10 cap doesn’t apply to corporate or business accounts.

NSF fees typically range from $45 to $48, and usually occur when a cheque or pre-authorized debit can’t be covered and the consumer doesn’t have overdraft protection.

A New Brunswick tenant is calling for tighter rules around the use of fixed-term tenancy leases after her former landlord appeared willing to use hers to circumvent the province’s limit on annual rent increases.

“Anyone who has signed a lease, pull out your lease and check,” Jessicarose DuPerron said.

“Make sure you know if you have a fixed-term [lease] because the end date on that fixed-term lease is the date by which you would either need to be moved out, or sign a new lease which could come with a significant rent increase.”

Recent announcements from the Ontario government around tuition and the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) mean post-secondary students will have to pay more for their education.

When you add a significant rent increase, some students are being forced to make very difficult decisions.

The University of Waterloo is planning to increase the rent for students living in the Columbia Lake Village (CLV) residence.

Now, some of those students are organizing to fight the rent increase they say is unfair and disproportionate.

A pair of city councillors kept staff on the hot seat, challenging a report’s recommendation to take “no further action” on several proposals meant to make some problematic landlords more accountable to their neighbours.

On Tuesday, the Community and Protective Services (CAPS) Committee was deadlocked over next steps, after staff advised them not to amend the Residential Rental Unit Licensing (RRUL) by-law to require that landlords display their name, a contact telephone number, and the maximum number of occupants permitted to reside within a rental unit.

Council requested the report last summer after several members expressed frustration at absentee landlords whose properties are routinely the subject of neighbourhood complaints about noise and property standards.

A delegate from London ACORN, an advocacy group for tenants, urged the committee to implement the changes.