New BrunswickIssues plaguing timely school bus repairs announced last month have now been addressed, the New Brunswick government says. Opposition takes issue with government’s communicationSam Farley · CBC News · Posted: Dec 03, 2025 3:44 PM EST | Last Updated: 3 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 3 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Chuck Chiasson explained that mechanics are now able to service school buses outside regular hours and bring replacement buses to breakdowns in the field. (Michael Heenan/CBC)Issues plaguing timely school bus repairs announced last month have now been addressed, the province says.But the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure has now changed its explanation for the issues, and Minister Chuck Chiasson was hesitant to claim full responsibility for the mixed messages.Last month, Chiasson had said a lack of licensed mechanics meant backup buses would not be brought to broken down school buses, and the shortage also would mean repairs would only take place during normal business hours.On Tuesday, Chiasson told reporters there were also mechanics available to be called in after hours, but no one was available at the shop unless they were called in.Chiasson said the department has engaged with the union representing school bus mechanics, “so we can make sure there’s some compensation tied to this so we can always be assured that there’ll be somebody on standby.”Now that the province received a legal opinion, Chiasson said the situation has been fixed. (CBC)His explanation Tuesday for not bringing replacement buses to breakdowns was because the department needed a legal opinion about mechanics driving school buses, which normally requires a special licence class. “Now we got the legal opinion, they’re allowed to do it,” he said. “And so we’re back to normal,”When asked if this was all a communications error from the department, Chaisson said there has been miscommunication “all over” on the issue.“Some people probably didn’t understand the message they were receiving,” he said. “I’m not going to point fingers at where that was or how that happened, but I’m just saying that there was probably a little bit of misunderstanding, maybe a little bit of communication that could have been a little sharper.”But while Chaisson described the saga as a “storm in a glass of water” that has been resolved, opposition parties were not so eager to quickly move on.“What were they trying to do last week?” said interim Progressive Conservative Leader Glen Savoie. “They were trying to blame it on a lack of availability of mechanics. They were trying to blame it on everything under the sun.Interim PC Leader Glen Savoie took issue with the government’s explanation and communication on the issue. (Michael Heenan/CBC)“If it was such a big issue, they could have explained it to parents and say, you know what, there may be something here that we have to look at.” Savoie called the government’s messaging on the issue “incompetence.”Green Party MLA Megan Mitton said the important thing is that students can get to school and back safely and that parents have confidence in the system.“But it certainly was a worry for the last couple of weeks,” Mitton said.“And I can see that the government’s trying to rewrite what happened, I don’t know exactly what went wrong, but it’s not really adding up.”A news release from CUPE, the union representing school bus mechanics, said the department had agreed to a five per cent retention and recruitment wage adjustment for mechanics if they are able to get a truck and transport certification.“We are thankful that the Minister recognizes the staffing challenges we continue to face,” said CUPE Local 1190 President Jonathan Guimond in the news release.“We need the Vehicle Management Agency’s directors to consider additional wage adjustments if we want to restore services to 100%.” ABOUT THE AUTHORSam Farley is a Fredericton-based reporter at CBC New Brunswick. Originally from Boston, he is a journalism graduate of the University of King’s College in Halifax. He can be reached at sam.farley@cbc.ca
Province changes explanation for school bus repair problems, says problem is fixed
