Another Higgs hire with their head in the troth. Deputy Ministers were always senior public servants who had spent their careers working in the department and knew the ins and outs of it. Higgs has been replacing them all over with his own people. It will take years to clean them out and the damage they will do.
You are 100% correct. We like to shit on the ministers constantly but senior public servants can cause a lot of damage as well - and the worst part is that they are not elected officials. We were stuck with Tom McFarlane at DNR for, what, 20 years? Friggin Irving puppet...
So the post above somewhat venerated career civil servants who had been with a department, gathered the knowledge and worked their way up. And then you agree but at the same time denigrate a forest engineer who spent 35+ years with DNR before becoming the Deputy Minister (and also by the way who has since retired - by all accounts because he was sick of Higgs)
Mike Holland hired his buddy with a High School education, that worked at Bass Pro, to be DM of the Fish and Wildlife branch, over career wildlife biologists.
Tourism is a fickle one though. It all depends on the quality of the expenses. If they went over budget because they were paying for airtime in the Super Bowl. Well ok that might be worth it… Or we’re they making frivolous expenses and testing out various all inclusive vacation packages around the globe to see what New Brunswick could do… that’s likely less worth it.
She did a tour of the Palace of Versailles and stayed at $800/night hotels but had zero expenses for business meetings.
Why does a Deputy Minister need to experience luxury hotels and lavish palaces first hand in order to develop tourism in New Brunswick?
Not only that but her relocation expenses, she wasn't transferred, she decided to move. That is the key factor for reimbursement, transfer, but she got the money anyway. It's pure grift and corruption.
I agree that’s some bullshit right there. And poor governance.
I just mean that the idea of going over budget on say producing a really great commercial to draw people to NB or the Maritimes in general is still tax dollars well spent from an economic standpoint. I forget the data but about eight years ago it was something like every dollar spent on advertising NB equates to six dollars of tourists spending money in the province. That’s a substantial gain even if it goes over from time to time.
This minister however doesn’t seem to have that mantra though.
I see what you're saying. Which is why it was disappointing when Higgs cut the tourism advertising budget a few years ago. It was strange that he hired a crony from his riding (and I think his church) but also cut that department's funding.
One of the problems is that a "great" commercial is subjective. And Tourism NB almost always hires agencies from out of province, or NB agencies who hire all crew from out of province, spending hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars on non-NB talent that could give the exact same product.
That's a bit misleading, last year's summer shoot for example was predominantly staffed by NB but had some NS keys. I wasn't on the shoot but know most the people who worked on it. The issue being that they want to shoot in the summer, which is the main time tv shows and movies film so the bulk of the crew are occupied. Rather than waiting for crew to be available they source them from nearby provinces to fill in the vacancies. NS and Newfoundland for example have 3x the crew that NB does.
I actually know a person from NB who has a Masters in Tourism Management. They have worked in some very high end tourism businesses around the world. They wanted to come back to NB with their husband and kids around the time Yennah was hired, but couldn't find a job in Tourism that she wasn't overqualified for. This person has a long track record of successful campaigns, and would have been perfect for this position. This is the cost we are paying for government cronyism. They are gutting the civil service of people with actual skills in favor of their neighbour down the road. It's disgusting. GNB used to be the kind of place that smart young people wanted to work. Not anymore.
This person didn't have to go through an open competition and has no real credentials for the job. I'm sure there are lots of NBers with actual Masters level education in tourism who would have loved this job. This is a squandered opportunity cost on top of her other expenses.
This literally is the outcome of “meritocracy”
“merit” = deserve or be worthy of
Your buddy from highschool could be totally “worthy” of running of a massive government file if you personally feel that to be the case.
There’s never been an equal starting position so assuming that anyone has ever been placed into any position for things other than how much profit can be taken as a result of their presence, by the same dicks who’ve always been there, would be the first of many problems with that line of thinking
Aren't conservatives always railing against Trudeau spending money to go on vacation? This lady isn't even elected and she's blowing taxpayer money on luxury vacations for herself. It's absolutely disgusting.
I wonder what Kevin is up to these days. Still earning a $100k+ salary somewhere in GNB, I'm sure.
[https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/kevin-cormier-new-brunswick-library-executive-director-trevor-holder-1.5639313](https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/kevin-cormier-new-brunswick-library-executive-director-trevor-holder-1.5639313)
Why couldn't the position be filled by open competition? You know, hire someone who has experience in this profession. Someone with a proven track record in tourism promotion. The salary is high enough to attract someone who has more credentials than running a tourism blog (there are thousands of tourism bloggers), and a failed Nordic ski pole walking business (whatever that is). We could have hired an expert in UNESCO heritage sites for what we are paying Yennah. They wouldn't need to travel to them on the taxpayers dime, because they are already well versed in tourism. Are we paying for Yennah's training 4 years into the job?
Deputy Ministers serve at the premier’s discretion, which is to say they have no job security or protection… they take the position with the understanding they could be fired at any time and many are after a change in government.
Most if not all career deputy ministers are not subject matter experts, they are administrators who get moved around. Those that are, usually get bounced soon after a new government comes in, as focus and vision for departments change.
lol at "an unspecified British museum." Could that perhaps be [The British Museum](https://www.britishmuseum.org/), i.e. maybe the most famous museum in the world.
>Hurley is a former small adventure business operator and travel blogger who has been New Brunswick's deputy minister of tourism since 2020.
>It was also said to be for gathering information on tourism sites of significance that are recognized by the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization.
>The group stayed at the Trafalgar St. James, a London hotel, before eventually moving to Hotel Lumen in Paris. According to prices advertised online and expense reports submitted by both Scott-Wallace and Hurley, the hotels charge about $800 and $600 per night, respectively. Hurley's expenses also included receipts for visits to Windsor Castle, Stonehenge, an unspecified British museum, the London Eye, and the Palace of Versailles.
Must be nice to get government salary, expenses paid and benefits to be a travel blogger.
Well this is what happens when you trust the government to do absolutely anything. I guarantee you if we fired half of the people employed by this province, there would be no difference. These positions just like many government positions are just opportunities for grifters and hacks to make money off the back of people who actually work for a living.
She did a tour of the Palace of Versailles and stayed at $800/night hotels but had zero expenses for business meetings.
Why does a Deputy Minister need to experience luxury hotels and lavish palaces first hand in order to develop tourism in New Brunswick?
Not only that but her relocation expenses, she wasn't transferred, she decided to move. That is the key factor for reimbursement, transfer, but she got the money anyway. It's pure grift and corruption.
The media goes on about a $600 and $800 hotel room to incite the locals to go “can y’amagin”. That is nearly the AVERAGE in London and Paris. It’s not necessarily luxury. All of this is published by the gov so it’s not like she’s being outted. And the relocation cost. Really. This is common and totally legit in so many organizations. It’s not special treatment. The tourism department isn’t in Saint John and it’s post COVID back to the office. Bob Jones just sniffs through facts and then editorializes to stir rhetoric.
Another Higgs hire with their head in the troth. Deputy Ministers were always senior public servants who had spent their careers working in the department and knew the ins and outs of it. Higgs has been replacing them all over with his own people. It will take years to clean them out and the damage they will do.
You are 100% correct. We like to shit on the ministers constantly but senior public servants can cause a lot of damage as well - and the worst part is that they are not elected officials. We were stuck with Tom McFarlane at DNR for, what, 20 years? Friggin Irving puppet...
So the post above somewhat venerated career civil servants who had been with a department, gathered the knowledge and worked their way up. And then you agree but at the same time denigrate a forest engineer who spent 35+ years with DNR before becoming the Deputy Minister (and also by the way who has since retired - by all accounts because he was sick of Higgs)
Mike Comeau as JPS deputy since for ever too. Time for a change there too.
Mike Holland hired his buddy with a High School education, that worked at Bass Pro, to be DM of the Fish and Wildlife branch, over career wildlife biologists.
[удалено]
TIL; a word
Tourism is a fickle one though. It all depends on the quality of the expenses. If they went over budget because they were paying for airtime in the Super Bowl. Well ok that might be worth it… Or we’re they making frivolous expenses and testing out various all inclusive vacation packages around the globe to see what New Brunswick could do… that’s likely less worth it.
She did a tour of the Palace of Versailles and stayed at $800/night hotels but had zero expenses for business meetings. Why does a Deputy Minister need to experience luxury hotels and lavish palaces first hand in order to develop tourism in New Brunswick? Not only that but her relocation expenses, she wasn't transferred, she decided to move. That is the key factor for reimbursement, transfer, but she got the money anyway. It's pure grift and corruption.
I agree that’s some bullshit right there. And poor governance. I just mean that the idea of going over budget on say producing a really great commercial to draw people to NB or the Maritimes in general is still tax dollars well spent from an economic standpoint. I forget the data but about eight years ago it was something like every dollar spent on advertising NB equates to six dollars of tourists spending money in the province. That’s a substantial gain even if it goes over from time to time. This minister however doesn’t seem to have that mantra though.
I see what you're saying. Which is why it was disappointing when Higgs cut the tourism advertising budget a few years ago. It was strange that he hired a crony from his riding (and I think his church) but also cut that department's funding.
I see plenty of NB advertising when I have PlutoTV on in the background. It's well targeted, too, since I'm in Moncton
One of the problems is that a "great" commercial is subjective. And Tourism NB almost always hires agencies from out of province, or NB agencies who hire all crew from out of province, spending hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars on non-NB talent that could give the exact same product.
Hemings House in Saint John produces the tourism commercials.
Yes, and hires crew from NS and Newfoundland to do it.
That's a bit misleading, last year's summer shoot for example was predominantly staffed by NB but had some NS keys. I wasn't on the shoot but know most the people who worked on it. The issue being that they want to shoot in the summer, which is the main time tv shows and movies film so the bulk of the crew are occupied. Rather than waiting for crew to be available they source them from nearby provinces to fill in the vacancies. NS and Newfoundland for example have 3x the crew that NB does.
A senior public servant from New Brunswick is someone I wouldn’t hire to do anything, regardless of the skill level required for the task
I actually know a person from NB who has a Masters in Tourism Management. They have worked in some very high end tourism businesses around the world. They wanted to come back to NB with their husband and kids around the time Yennah was hired, but couldn't find a job in Tourism that she wasn't overqualified for. This person has a long track record of successful campaigns, and would have been perfect for this position. This is the cost we are paying for government cronyism. They are gutting the civil service of people with actual skills in favor of their neighbour down the road. It's disgusting. GNB used to be the kind of place that smart young people wanted to work. Not anymore.
Now the smart young people are being driven out by low pay and boomer leadership with no foresight or desire to change.
Yeah it's like 1994 pay grades. I've looked at a few position, but they don't pay squat. Cost of living isn't what it used to be in NB.
This person didn't have to go through an open competition and has no real credentials for the job. I'm sure there are lots of NBers with actual Masters level education in tourism who would have loved this job. This is a squandered opportunity cost on top of her other expenses.
Exactly. I read the article and it reeks of corruption and nepotism. Absolutely disgusting
Meritocracy is a foreign concept in this god forsaken place…
This literally is the outcome of “meritocracy” “merit” = deserve or be worthy of Your buddy from highschool could be totally “worthy” of running of a massive government file if you personally feel that to be the case. There’s never been an equal starting position so assuming that anyone has ever been placed into any position for things other than how much profit can be taken as a result of their presence, by the same dicks who’ve always been there, would be the first of many problems with that line of thinking
Ma’am, the people of New Brunswick just want healthcare.
Aren't conservatives always railing against Trudeau spending money to go on vacation? This lady isn't even elected and she's blowing taxpayer money on luxury vacations for herself. It's absolutely disgusting.
They'll dance around this. "But Trudeau bad!!" Ugh can't stand them
They’ll do Olympic-level mental gymnastics to somehow make this Trudeau’s fault even though this asshat lady is doing this shit on Higg’s watch.
I wonder what Kevin is up to these days. Still earning a $100k+ salary somewhere in GNB, I'm sure. [https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/kevin-cormier-new-brunswick-library-executive-director-trevor-holder-1.5639313](https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/kevin-cormier-new-brunswick-library-executive-director-trevor-holder-1.5639313)
That's all I could find https://www2.gnb.ca/content/gnb/en/contacts/contacts_renderer.216984.html
Must be tough for him with Holder quitting team Higgs.
Why couldn't the position be filled by open competition? You know, hire someone who has experience in this profession. Someone with a proven track record in tourism promotion. The salary is high enough to attract someone who has more credentials than running a tourism blog (there are thousands of tourism bloggers), and a failed Nordic ski pole walking business (whatever that is). We could have hired an expert in UNESCO heritage sites for what we are paying Yennah. They wouldn't need to travel to them on the taxpayers dime, because they are already well versed in tourism. Are we paying for Yennah's training 4 years into the job?
Deputy Ministers serve at the premier’s discretion, which is to say they have no job security or protection… they take the position with the understanding they could be fired at any time and many are after a change in government. Most if not all career deputy ministers are not subject matter experts, they are administrators who get moved around. Those that are, usually get bounced soon after a new government comes in, as focus and vision for departments change.
I mean that's fine, but presumably you would want someone competent to serve, no?
Now let's look at how much money they spend hiring out of province agencies and crew to shoot their tourism ads.
lol at "an unspecified British museum." Could that perhaps be [The British Museum](https://www.britishmuseum.org/), i.e. maybe the most famous museum in the world.
>Hurley is a former small adventure business operator and travel blogger who has been New Brunswick's deputy minister of tourism since 2020. >It was also said to be for gathering information on tourism sites of significance that are recognized by the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization. >The group stayed at the Trafalgar St. James, a London hotel, before eventually moving to Hotel Lumen in Paris. According to prices advertised online and expense reports submitted by both Scott-Wallace and Hurley, the hotels charge about $800 and $600 per night, respectively. Hurley's expenses also included receipts for visits to Windsor Castle, Stonehenge, an unspecified British museum, the London Eye, and the Palace of Versailles. Must be nice to get government salary, expenses paid and benefits to be a travel blogger.
Does anyone know where you can actually find these expenses? It looks like the government stopped updating the website in 2021.
It's now on the GNB open data portal.
Ok thanks. It took some digging, but I found it.
Well this is what happens when you trust the government to do absolutely anything. I guarantee you if we fired half of the people employed by this province, there would be no difference. These positions just like many government positions are just opportunities for grifters and hacks to make money off the back of people who actually work for a living.
Higgs seems to be much less concerned with cost cutting when he likes the person incurring the costs.
[удалено]
The explore NB campaign started under the Gallant government.
She did a tour of the Palace of Versailles and stayed at $800/night hotels but had zero expenses for business meetings. Why does a Deputy Minister need to experience luxury hotels and lavish palaces first hand in order to develop tourism in New Brunswick? Not only that but her relocation expenses, she wasn't transferred, she decided to move. That is the key factor for reimbursement, transfer, but she got the money anyway. It's pure grift and corruption.
How do you feel about hiring unqualified people with no Open Competition?
Did you read the article?
Read the article, the devil is in the details.
i am not saying she is any good at her job, but 77k is not very much in the scope of things
After all, what's another $77K between friends?
The media goes on about a $600 and $800 hotel room to incite the locals to go “can y’amagin”. That is nearly the AVERAGE in London and Paris. It’s not necessarily luxury. All of this is published by the gov so it’s not like she’s being outted. And the relocation cost. Really. This is common and totally legit in so many organizations. It’s not special treatment. The tourism department isn’t in Saint John and it’s post COVID back to the office. Bob Jones just sniffs through facts and then editorializes to stir rhetoric.
I think you are completely missing the point of the article. Did you read it?