Fredericton — Finance Minister Roger Melanson’s house is getting splattered today with the full extent of New Brunswick’s holiday spirit.
Melanson has come under fire for his recently announced budget cuts, which included axing the New Brunswick tuition rebate as well as 249 teaching jobs. Today, in celebration of the Easter holiday, hundreds of New Brunswickers have come to throw eggs at the finance minister’s Fredericton home.
“It sure beat some old egg hunt!” exclaimed senior citizen Paul Savoy.
The eggs being thrown at Melanson’s house today range from chicken to quail to chocolate, as almost a quarter of the province eagerly awaits their turn. The unique Easter celebration has taken New Brunswick by storm, as everyone from devout Catholics to the non-religious have shown up to take part in the festivities.
“I haven’t really observed the Easter holiday since university, when I became nihilist,” said recent STU graduate Katie Graham. “But this event has reignited something within me.”
What may be most surprising about the event is that it was not formally organized; hundreds of people from across the province simply showed up, unannounced, at Melanson’s home early this morning with eggs in hand.
“I think it’s a miracle,” said Evergreen Park Elementary resource teacher and St. Dunstan’s chorister Maggie Richards. “I believe it was the will of the Lord that we all met here — in this spot, on this holy day.” Richards then gave a funny kind of smile, and chucked a silver-plated, faux-fabergé egg through the minister’s second-storey window.
“Shouldn’t somebody be stopping this?” asked nobody, as local police stood in line with armfuls of Cadbury Cream Eggs.
Melanson could not be reached for comment, since his house was being egged. The event is expected to take place all day today.