New Brunswick — After the much-applauded decision to change courtroom 13 to 14 in a Saint John courthouse, higher New Brunswick officials are demanding that the “unlucky” number be eradicated from the province in its entirety. Premier Brian Gallant said that he hopes the change will make people more at ease when visiting New Brunswick.
“People only come here once or twice in their lives, so we’re hoping to make it easier. We didn’t do any investigation or analysis to see how many people it impacted. It was an easy fix,” said Gallant.
The number is being removed from building floors, licence plates, phone numbers, signage, school systems, sports jerseys — everything. The removal process is estimated to cost the province over $1 billion. Despite that, many New Brunswickers are relieved.
“I tells ya, when I seen that they were taking away 13, I was some pleased,” said Terry Bradshaw, a superstitious resident of Alma. “There weren’t much to be scared of here, but that number sure was one of ’em. Kept me up at night. Saw it everywheres,” elaborated Bradshaw.
Other New Brunswickers who can typically be found outside fortune-tellers’ residences also expressed their relief.
“I’m a Scorpio, so numbers can really affect me in a big way,” explained Shannon McAllister of Petitcodiac. “If I wake up and see the number 13, or 54, 2, 19 or 23, it just ruins my day. I have to call in sick to work at the diner and light some incense to calm myself. I then place a cup of milk by the fireplace to appease any spirits who might be wishing me ill. After that, I throw salt over my left shoulder, pepper over my right shoulder, spin around 3 times and yell ‘ecalp efas a si siht!’ 4 times, which is ‘This is a safe place’ backwards.”
Gallant said the province is looking into the cost to remove all black cats, ladders and mirrors from the province as well.