University of New Brunswick researchers say shale gas fracking should not proceed in the province unless an environmentally sound option is found for the disposal of wastewater.

Four professors at the university have released an opinion paper that examines the potential impact on the province's water resources if gas exploration companies begin fracking.

The process involves pumping water and chemicals into a gas well to fracture rock layers and release trapped pockets of shale gas.

The professors say companies should not be allowed to frack until the saline-contaminated wastewater that is forced out of wells can be disposed of in an environmentally responsible manner.

They suggest the companies should consider using carbon dioxide or liquefied propane gas for fracking instead of water.

There has been a strong public backlash to fracking in New Brunswick in recent months.

The provincial government is expected to release new shale gas regulations later this ...

The search for a small plane that was thought to have crashed in New Brunswick has been called off after officials determined there was no such incident.

The Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Halifax says it received word of a possible crash involving a non-commercial plane late yesterday afternoon.

Maj. Paul Doucette, a spokesman for the search and rescue centre, says it was believed the plane went down in the Grand Lake area just north of Saint John.

Doucette says there were no reports of an overdue aircraft.

A Cormorant helicopter and a Hercules plane from Greenwood, N.S., were sent to the area.

The centre says there's been no indication of a plane crash and after interviewing pilots in the area, it's believed someone simply saw a low-flying aircraft near the water.

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RCMP say the body of a missing New Brunswick man has been found inside a vehicle in ...

New Brunswick's Health Department says its $2.58-billion budget this fiscal year will improve MRI units, complete hospital renovations and help with the recruitment of more physicians.

In a statement today, the department says $27.2 million will go toward renovations for new MRI units in Edmundston, Saint John and Moncton.

Another $12.8 million will help cover renovations at three hospitals, while $2 million will be set aside to recruit nine new family physicians and one specialist.

The health budget rose by $49 million this year, but the 1.6-per-cent funding increase falls short of Premier David Alward's 2010
election campaign promise to boost health spending by three-per-cent annually.

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Police in New Brunswick have ruled out foul play in the death of a man whose body was found in the St. John River in Woodstock.

Police, firefighters and paramedics were called to the scene Tuesday after someone reported seeing a person go ...

Police in New Brunswick are investigating after a man's body was pulled from the St. John River in Woodstock.

Woodstock police Chief Dana Collicott says someone reported seeing a person go off the downtown train bridge yesterday at around 4:30 p.m.

Collicott says police, the fire department and paramedics were called to the scene, and a short time later a man's body was pulled from the water.

Paramedics pronounced the man dead at the scene, and his body was taken to a hospital for an autopsy.

Chief Collicott says police are still investigating what happened.

They have not released the victim's name.

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An opponent of shale gas exploration says he's shocked the New Brunswick government has given a new five-year lease to a Calgary-based company.

Natural Resources Minister Bruce Northrup says he's legally obligated to grant the lease to Windsor Energy.

Chris Rendell of Hampton Water First says that ...

The University of New Brunswick's student union is speaking out against another tuition hike.

The university's 2012-2013 budget calls for a $175 increase, which represents a nine-per-cent increase at UNB Fredericton in
the past two years.

The student union is also concerned about a one-time, $1.8-million increase to the university's operating budget from the government.

Union resident Jordan Thompson says that increase isn't sustainable.

In the past seven years, UNB has trimmed its budget by $20 million.

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New Brunswick's natural resources minister says he is legally obligated to grant a five-year lease to Windsor Energy to explore for shale gas, even though he tried to have the company charged last year.

Bruce Northrup says the Calgary-based company fulfilled all the commitments set out under their previous three-year licence granted by the previous government.

The new lease will allow Windsor Energy to do more testing in the Sussex, Hampton and ...