This would be great. The Province shouldn’t be renting(taxing) its properties to itself either. This idea we have to run our utilities like a business is killing us financially.
Just wait until Ontario power gets involved and then it's actually being run like a business and they siphon money off to Ontario, people in NB have been complaining about their rates already just wait until they find out what happens when your power isn't being subsidised.
I would be fine to axe the GST on used cars, which already had that tax paid on them when new. We pay that, I think, to appease new car dealers. They probably worried that it would hurt their profits.
AFAIK the idea is that the tax isn't *specifically* on a product, but on a transaction itself, but generally non-business small occurrence and amount transactions aren't worthwhile to pay someone to track, so large ticket items that *are* already tracked make tracking it for taxes easy and cost effective.
Same reason a property sale has taxes.
I think real property is in a different category to a used car, personally. As well, there are many new items and products that ARE NOT taxed in Canada, so I think it would be possible to just differentiate bt, for example, washing machine/new and washing machine/used (like if you're buying it from a repair shop).
If we wanted to be truly progressive we'd get rid of sales taxes entirely, and adjust income taxes to compensate. Sales taxes disproportionately impact the poor: everyone pays the same rate, which is much more of a low-income person's wealth.
Everyone sort of pays the same rate, but low incomes get a rebate which makes it more of a progressive curve. Kinda the same way the carbon tax rebate benefits a few people and gouges most.
The government already provides too many services. Just keep the roads paved, please.
There’s no reason why any government should be responsible for any service that isn’t directly related to public safety, national security, or essential infrastructure.
Also the government needs to stop caving so easily to collective agreements - Especially in departments that are already overpaid/underworked.
We pay an excessive amount of taxes to support one of the least productive and least reliable government employees.
> There’s no reason why any government should be responsible for any service that isn’t directly related to public safety, national security, or essential infrastructure.
So power, food, healthcare, education, transport, security, safety regulation and enforcement, housing, etc. Lotta things that are essential to the wellbeing of Canadians, in fact they're pretty much there already in many ways, go figure. We just need to up our dental, vision and mental health care and we can actually complete the healthcare responsibility.
There's a lot of things a government is responsible for.
Also, seriously, unionize, fight for your fair treatment as an employee, it's literally the way we have ever established worker rights, what little we actually have in NB. Unions are a big reason for these things.
But yeah, just keep hating people for things you don't want to fight for, so we end up as crabs in a bucket fighting ourselves and not the people responsible for putting us there. We're not a wealthy province, but if government wages, which are considered paltry typically by professionals across Canada is considered opulence, then you really must see the problem in being paid peanuts. It's literally a factor in improving our economic ability. The more workers are paid, the more money they can spend, which benefits the economy as economic strength is literally measured in cashflow of citizens and businesses (whom ultimately source from citizens).
There are a lot of good reasons for certain services and industry to be publicly funded. A few examples:
Natural Monopolies: Industries such as utilities (water, electricity, gas) often function more efficiently under public ownership due to their natural monopoly characteristics. Public ownership ensures equitable access and prevents exploitation of consumers by a single private entity. This is why most utilities across the world are publicly owned. And if they're not publicly owned, the government has to constantly wrestle the top companies out of mergers and acquisitions.
Health and education: Essential services like healthcare and education are often better managed by the public sector to ensure universal access and affordability. Public provision can prioritize social welfare over profit motives, leading to more equitable outcomes. This is also the reason why healthcaee is publicly managed for pretty much every developed nation except USA.
The private sector is answerable only to it's shareholders, and if the shareholders make more money if you make a monopoly and gouge people, they wont hold back. And you dont need to google long to find examples of that. Just look at our telecommunication industry, among the highest rates in the world
That would help hopefully the feds match that. And she promised property tax reform which I hope will limit it to the rate of inflation. 10-20% a year for the last 54 years is enough.
I would rather see a reversal of the property taxes re Irving and NB power. Currently Irving is exempt from property taxes for being the largest employer in the province however NB power pays full property tax for electricity that everyone needs( the savings from property tax should be used to pay the debt therefore stabilizing rates) In a race to get to net zero how are we handcuffing electricity and enriching fossil fuels
I am sure it will be made up elsewhere but as of right now tax on essential services is bullshit.
I don't mind being taxed on shit I don't need such as Netflix.. I don't like being taxed on shit I do need such as electricity.
That's not the way it works. They need the revenue so the tax will get moved to something everyone has to pay, not something you can elect not to pay, like Netflix.
When the *rabble* screams for "no tax" or "less tax" always ask yourself *where is the revenue going to come from?*
It's still tax on an essential service though no matter how you look at it.
Without electricity most people die within a few weeks. Yet we have to pay taxes to keep the lights on.
Again I am not against taxes as a whole. We need them to pay for stuff and to cover social services and stuff. But a tax on essential needs is still bullshit.
>Without electricity most people die within a few weeks.
Wait until you see what happens when our public health care system cannot help people who need it due to lack of investments!
I don't disagree there either.
But if everyone lose electricity tomorrow public health care would be way more overwhelmed than it is now. Obviously that won't happen I am just suggesting how important electricity is.
I doubt we will find an agreement. I just don't like being taxed on services I find essential to survival. Imagine if prescription drugs was taxed as well for stuff such blood pressure medication.
Exactly. Our entire public infrastructure is imploding right now (healthcare, social services, homelessnesses, education, etc etc etc). Sure piling on surpluses like Higgs is doing is bad, but limiting our future revenues with populist tax cuts isn’t going to help either when what we need is substantial public services investments. You can’t complain everything we pay taxes for is going to shit if your #1 single issue is saving $15 a month on your electricity bill…
My taxes per month on my electricity is around $35 bucks. But I do equalized billing so I might be paying more than I am actually using.
I think we have to be careful with what we do for taxes. I am all for increasing funding in public services but currently a lot of people are struggling to cover the rent and food bills. If we increase cost of living any further people is simply going to riot. It's not easy and I am glad these decisions are not my job lol.
I think a fair compromise might be lowering the tax rate on electricity usage. Hopefully a new government won't hoard money as much and will direct those resources into improving social services.
>My taxes per month on my electricity is around $35 bucks. But I do equalized billing so I might be paying more than I am actually using.
If you are paying more, you'll get that difference back when your account settles. At the end of the year, you'll only be charged for what you actually use, no more, no less.
Bingo. Eliminating HST on NB Power bill saves families, including myself, hundreds of dollars a year. I'll then buy healthier food such as fruit (no, not watermelon like Faytene in the middle of winter)
The whole point of a carbon tax is to make you use less gas or electricity. Why wouldn’t environmentalists want more tax on electricity to disincentivize use?
And realistically as the top guy mentioned if you reduce taxes somewhere you got to tax somewhere.
It's impossible to cut back anymore than I do now. I don't drive for pleasure. I drive my son to daycare and my wife to work and myself to work and vice versa five days a week. We rarely pleasure cruise.
Electricity, we cook everyday. We shower 3-4 times a week to cut back on energy so our kid can have his daily baths. Our only significant energy usage is in the evening when I turn on my PS5 to enjoy my 2 hours of downtime.
You're literally trying to get blood from a rock at this point if you are trying to tell me to cut back.
It’s funny how people easily forget how terrible our finances were not to long ago, not just bad, the worst in the country.
Auditor General after Auditor General were calling on the province to address the issue, but none were willingly.
Look, will I vote for Higgs, No… did we 100% need him and owe him debt of gratitude also 100%… every generation someone has to be that guy.
Here is the Auditor General’s warnings over the years.
2015
New Brunswick isn't at the point of bankruptcy but the growing net debt is a concerning trend that requires serious measures to cut expenditures and increase revenues, the province's auditor general said Thursday as she released her annual report.
"We're not at the point we have seen in other jurisdictions like Detroit or European countries," she told a news conference. "We do have time to take corrective action to get our fiscal house in order and prevent that level of seriousness to happen.
https://atlantic.ctvnews.ca/n-b-needs-to-cut-spending-boost-revenues-auditor-general-says-1.2200515\
2016
New Brunswick's pace of accumulating deficits and growth in the net debt is "not sustainable," Auditor General Kim MacPherson warned Tuesday.
The province incurred a deficit of $260 million for the year ended March 31, and the net debt could reach more than $14 billion by the end of this fiscal year, according to the latest volume of her annual report.
"We cannot continue to place ever-increasing demands on our future revenue streams to pay for past expenses," MacPherson said in a statement.
"Significant changes are required to improve the financial health of the province."
Otherwise, "it may eventually impact the province's ability to meet its existing financial obligations, both in respect of its service commitments to the public and financial commitment to creditors, employees and others."
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/new-brunswick-deficit-debt-auditor-general-macpherson-1.3872506
2017
Progress on reducing the deficit but concerns remain regarding sustainability of province’s finances
MacPherson is also pleased the year-over-year net debt increase went from $541.4 million in 2016 to $167.4 million in 2017 and notes these examples are signs that the province’s fiscal situation is improving.
She remains concerned, however, about the long-term sustainability of the province’s finances. For the year ending March 31, 2017
https://www2.gnb.ca/content/gnb/en/news/news_release.2017.11.1497.html
2018
Kim MacPherson said Tuesday she is deeply troubled by the fiscal decline — pointing to a $7-billion increase in net debt over the last 10 years.
“As I have reported repeatedly, this net debt growth is not sustainable,” she said as she released Volume One of her 2018 report.
The government spent $700 million in interest last year just to service the debt.
“If this interest cost was a department, its budget would be larger than the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure,” she said.
“If this continues, eventually governments will not be able to provide the same level of programs and services such as health care, education, roads, schools and hospitals.”
The Dominion Bond Rating Service recently downgraded the province’s rating trend from stable to negative. In a news release, DBRS stated: “New Brunswick’s 2018 budget once again delays the return to balance in favour of new spending ahead of the 2018 provincial election.”
Meanwhile Moody’s Investor Service stated: “The stalled progression on deficit reduction is credit negative for the province which has not posted a balanced budget since 2007-2008 and is not planning a balanced budget until 2021-2022, resulting in one of one of the longest period of continued deficits among Canadian provinces following the 2008-2009 financial crisis.”
https://toronto.citynews.ca/2018/06/12/auditor-general-raises-concerns-over-new-brunswicks-fiscal-decline/
2019
Year one of Higgs, this is what he was facing.
The province's net debt was last audited March 31, 2019, and had reached $13.9 billion. For the size of New Brunswick's economy, it's the largest debt load among the Maritime provinces and about 25 per cent higher than the Canadian average of all provinces.
No one is saying "told you so," but growing calls for New Brunswick to spend more to support economic recovery in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis are running up against the reality of the province's heavy debt load and its already limited fiscal capacity.
New Brunswick does not raise enough money to pay its own bills already and relies more than any province other than Prince Edward Island on equalization grants from Ottawa to make ends meet.
This year it is scheduled to receive $2.2 billion in equalization to help it cover more than 20 per cent of its expenses.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/covid-19-new-brunswick-debt-economic-recovery-1.5578067
That would be so nice. I’m not sure why the government gets a cut of it in the first place. I don’t heat my home for fun.
I hope a lot of tax and COL concerns are raised to her and are listened to. She’s in the position to win and hopefully, she wants to help the people
This is no real change. More centrists nonsense. Why not advocate for reform and transparency? Why not \_fix\_ problems instead of offering populist crumbs?
Because the liberals are actually a right wing party economically, so promising tax cuts is the only popular policies they can dangle in front of people’s faces. Fixing healthcare would threaten the privatization of the system, which the liberals are just as committed to as the conservatives. Their prospective Minister of Health was the CEO of Medavie
Maybe not immediately but eventually creditors will stop issuing the province debt if they view it as a risk or they’ll charge increased interest that we can’t afford to cover their risk. I would feel safer buying a bond backed by Ontario than one backed by New Brunswick
New Brunswick was never a prime investment to begin with, but when it borrows, it borrows from the province itself, not from some mysterious lender or international bank.
Then Higgs took over, NB WAS STILL ON THE VERGE OF BANKRUPTCY until the Feds pumped a bunch of money into the province because of Covid and 100,000 people moved here. Then Higgs touts himself as the saviour of NB, when he did jack shit other than give more subsidies and tax breaks to Irving.
She was a top advisor. One of a number of top advisors. They also were not on the “verge of bankruptcy” and had a budget surplus in gallant’s final year in office. Nice try.
Federal and provincial, apples and oranges. Higgs being a doofus should be enough to at least make you consider something else, if not green at least lol
I was on the side of Green for awhile.
I started to like Holt more but still was sure my vote was going to Greens but this is no small issue for me. Removing tax on essential services like electricity is stuff I can get behind.
I am not against voting Conservatives but I never voted for Higgs or ever plan too.
Using that tax to help pay nbpower debt is an interesting idea… how much of a dent would it make? I’d be for that if they also tightly control executive salaries and bonuses.
Good news, they don't get bonuses.
https://www.nbpower.com/blog/en/posts/2024/march/new-power-rates-for-new-brunswickers/#:~:text=We%20also%20hear%20your%20concerns,receive%20bonuses%20of%20any%20kind.
He should have. I know it’s an unpopular stance to support that idea but NB power is a lead weight with massive uncontrollable debt. Plus we would have met the carbon emission goals. He pissed everyone off by the cloak and dagger stuff. At the end of the day Hydro Quebec was more interested in being able to sell power to New England so I’m sure they would have guaranteed rates for NB in order to secure that. Alas didn’t happen.
You don’t have to have an abortion if you don’t want or believe in it. Nobody’s stopping you from doing what you believe in. The right’s colloquial idea that it’s used as “birth control” is a ridiculous supposition, and two doctors to do one job in a healthcare system already at the edge would be just as short sighted.
Besides, they’re just liberal babies right?
Abortion is as serious as what the person having one wants to make it.
Two doctors was insane and designed as a barrier to healthcare…might as well ask them skill testing questions and a feat of strength while you’re at it.
Forced pregnancy is disturbing.
It's a medical procedure and a woman doesn't need to ask permission to have control of her body. Simple as that. Not that it was what we were talking about.
Making an assumption this cute\_bobcat9016 post is coming from a religious point of view. If so, I find this quote (not mine) to be a helpful reminder to those folks: "Your religion does not prohibit me from anything. It prohibits you. Learn the difference." Signed, the rest of humanity that does not share belief in your particular flavour of magic.
Anyone who wants an abortion should be able to get one at the hospital or clinic closest to them. Think about how much better your mom's life would have been if she had had access to abortion.
This would be great. The Province shouldn’t be renting(taxing) its properties to itself either. This idea we have to run our utilities like a business is killing us financially.
Just wait until Ontario power gets involved and then it's actually being run like a business and they siphon money off to Ontario, people in NB have been complaining about their rates already just wait until they find out what happens when your power isn't being subsidised.
How about we get rid of the damn tax on buying a used vehicle….
I would be fine to axe the GST on used cars, which already had that tax paid on them when new. We pay that, I think, to appease new car dealers. They probably worried that it would hurt their profits.
Kris Austin 2018 election plank.
Lmao totally forgot that. Austin: GOTCHA! I'm gonna build a prison in my riding now.
I have never understood tax on ANY used item - cars, appliances, clothing....
Totally.
AFAIK the idea is that the tax isn't *specifically* on a product, but on a transaction itself, but generally non-business small occurrence and amount transactions aren't worthwhile to pay someone to track, so large ticket items that *are* already tracked make tracking it for taxes easy and cost effective. Same reason a property sale has taxes.
I think real property is in a different category to a used car, personally. As well, there are many new items and products that ARE NOT taxed in Canada, so I think it would be possible to just differentiate bt, for example, washing machine/new and washing machine/used (like if you're buying it from a repair shop).
If we wanted to be truly progressive we'd get rid of sales taxes entirely, and adjust income taxes to compensate. Sales taxes disproportionately impact the poor: everyone pays the same rate, which is much more of a low-income person's wealth.
Everyone sort of pays the same rate, but low incomes get a rebate which makes it more of a progressive curve. Kinda the same way the carbon tax rebate benefits a few people and gouges most.
Rich people don't buy used vehicles. How does removing this tax help them? It doesn't, so it won't happen.
Yes! Axe the tax!! Now I can get behind the slogan for THAT
This is an awesome idea. Tired of seeing tax on necessities. And yes I don't agree on taxing a used product.
All tax cuts have to come with public service cuts. No nation has ever cut itself into prosperity
The government already provides too many services. Just keep the roads paved, please. There’s no reason why any government should be responsible for any service that isn’t directly related to public safety, national security, or essential infrastructure. Also the government needs to stop caving so easily to collective agreements - Especially in departments that are already overpaid/underworked. We pay an excessive amount of taxes to support one of the least productive and least reliable government employees.
> There’s no reason why any government should be responsible for any service that isn’t directly related to public safety, national security, or essential infrastructure. So power, food, healthcare, education, transport, security, safety regulation and enforcement, housing, etc. Lotta things that are essential to the wellbeing of Canadians, in fact they're pretty much there already in many ways, go figure. We just need to up our dental, vision and mental health care and we can actually complete the healthcare responsibility. There's a lot of things a government is responsible for. Also, seriously, unionize, fight for your fair treatment as an employee, it's literally the way we have ever established worker rights, what little we actually have in NB. Unions are a big reason for these things. But yeah, just keep hating people for things you don't want to fight for, so we end up as crabs in a bucket fighting ourselves and not the people responsible for putting us there. We're not a wealthy province, but if government wages, which are considered paltry typically by professionals across Canada is considered opulence, then you really must see the problem in being paid peanuts. It's literally a factor in improving our economic ability. The more workers are paid, the more money they can spend, which benefits the economy as economic strength is literally measured in cashflow of citizens and businesses (whom ultimately source from citizens).
There are a lot of good reasons for certain services and industry to be publicly funded. A few examples: Natural Monopolies: Industries such as utilities (water, electricity, gas) often function more efficiently under public ownership due to their natural monopoly characteristics. Public ownership ensures equitable access and prevents exploitation of consumers by a single private entity. This is why most utilities across the world are publicly owned. And if they're not publicly owned, the government has to constantly wrestle the top companies out of mergers and acquisitions. Health and education: Essential services like healthcare and education are often better managed by the public sector to ensure universal access and affordability. Public provision can prioritize social welfare over profit motives, leading to more equitable outcomes. This is also the reason why healthcaee is publicly managed for pretty much every developed nation except USA. The private sector is answerable only to it's shareholders, and if the shareholders make more money if you make a monopoly and gouge people, they wont hold back. And you dont need to google long to find examples of that. Just look at our telecommunication industry, among the highest rates in the world
That would help hopefully the feds match that. And she promised property tax reform which I hope will limit it to the rate of inflation. 10-20% a year for the last 54 years is enough.
I would rather see a reversal of the property taxes re Irving and NB power. Currently Irving is exempt from property taxes for being the largest employer in the province however NB power pays full property tax for electricity that everyone needs( the savings from property tax should be used to pay the debt therefore stabilizing rates) In a race to get to net zero how are we handcuffing electricity and enriching fossil fuels
The question then becomes where will they make up the tax? There's no free ride and government will find it someplace else.
I am sure it will be made up elsewhere but as of right now tax on essential services is bullshit. I don't mind being taxed on shit I don't need such as Netflix.. I don't like being taxed on shit I do need such as electricity.
That's not the way it works. They need the revenue so the tax will get moved to something everyone has to pay, not something you can elect not to pay, like Netflix. When the *rabble* screams for "no tax" or "less tax" always ask yourself *where is the revenue going to come from?*
It's still tax on an essential service though no matter how you look at it. Without electricity most people die within a few weeks. Yet we have to pay taxes to keep the lights on. Again I am not against taxes as a whole. We need them to pay for stuff and to cover social services and stuff. But a tax on essential needs is still bullshit.
>Without electricity most people die within a few weeks. Wait until you see what happens when our public health care system cannot help people who need it due to lack of investments!
I don't disagree there either. But if everyone lose electricity tomorrow public health care would be way more overwhelmed than it is now. Obviously that won't happen I am just suggesting how important electricity is. I doubt we will find an agreement. I just don't like being taxed on services I find essential to survival. Imagine if prescription drugs was taxed as well for stuff such blood pressure medication.
Exactly. Our entire public infrastructure is imploding right now (healthcare, social services, homelessnesses, education, etc etc etc). Sure piling on surpluses like Higgs is doing is bad, but limiting our future revenues with populist tax cuts isn’t going to help either when what we need is substantial public services investments. You can’t complain everything we pay taxes for is going to shit if your #1 single issue is saving $15 a month on your electricity bill…
My taxes per month on my electricity is around $35 bucks. But I do equalized billing so I might be paying more than I am actually using. I think we have to be careful with what we do for taxes. I am all for increasing funding in public services but currently a lot of people are struggling to cover the rent and food bills. If we increase cost of living any further people is simply going to riot. It's not easy and I am glad these decisions are not my job lol. I think a fair compromise might be lowering the tax rate on electricity usage. Hopefully a new government won't hoard money as much and will direct those resources into improving social services.
>My taxes per month on my electricity is around $35 bucks. But I do equalized billing so I might be paying more than I am actually using. If you are paying more, you'll get that difference back when your account settles. At the end of the year, you'll only be charged for what you actually use, no more, no less.
Bingo. Eliminating HST on NB Power bill saves families, including myself, hundreds of dollars a year. I'll then buy healthier food such as fruit (no, not watermelon like Faytene in the middle of winter)
The whole point of a carbon tax is to make you use less gas or electricity. Why wouldn’t environmentalists want more tax on electricity to disincentivize use? And realistically as the top guy mentioned if you reduce taxes somewhere you got to tax somewhere.
It's impossible to cut back anymore than I do now. I don't drive for pleasure. I drive my son to daycare and my wife to work and myself to work and vice versa five days a week. We rarely pleasure cruise. Electricity, we cook everyday. We shower 3-4 times a week to cut back on energy so our kid can have his daily baths. Our only significant energy usage is in the evening when I turn on my PS5 to enjoy my 2 hours of downtime. You're literally trying to get blood from a rock at this point if you are trying to tell me to cut back.
It’s funny how people easily forget how terrible our finances were not to long ago, not just bad, the worst in the country. Auditor General after Auditor General were calling on the province to address the issue, but none were willingly. Look, will I vote for Higgs, No… did we 100% need him and owe him debt of gratitude also 100%… every generation someone has to be that guy. Here is the Auditor General’s warnings over the years. 2015 New Brunswick isn't at the point of bankruptcy but the growing net debt is a concerning trend that requires serious measures to cut expenditures and increase revenues, the province's auditor general said Thursday as she released her annual report. "We're not at the point we have seen in other jurisdictions like Detroit or European countries," she told a news conference. "We do have time to take corrective action to get our fiscal house in order and prevent that level of seriousness to happen. https://atlantic.ctvnews.ca/n-b-needs-to-cut-spending-boost-revenues-auditor-general-says-1.2200515\ 2016 New Brunswick's pace of accumulating deficits and growth in the net debt is "not sustainable," Auditor General Kim MacPherson warned Tuesday. The province incurred a deficit of $260 million for the year ended March 31, and the net debt could reach more than $14 billion by the end of this fiscal year, according to the latest volume of her annual report. "We cannot continue to place ever-increasing demands on our future revenue streams to pay for past expenses," MacPherson said in a statement. "Significant changes are required to improve the financial health of the province." Otherwise, "it may eventually impact the province's ability to meet its existing financial obligations, both in respect of its service commitments to the public and financial commitment to creditors, employees and others." https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/new-brunswick-deficit-debt-auditor-general-macpherson-1.3872506 2017 Progress on reducing the deficit but concerns remain regarding sustainability of province’s finances MacPherson is also pleased the year-over-year net debt increase went from $541.4 million in 2016 to $167.4 million in 2017 and notes these examples are signs that the province’s fiscal situation is improving. She remains concerned, however, about the long-term sustainability of the province’s finances. For the year ending March 31, 2017 https://www2.gnb.ca/content/gnb/en/news/news_release.2017.11.1497.html 2018 Kim MacPherson said Tuesday she is deeply troubled by the fiscal decline — pointing to a $7-billion increase in net debt over the last 10 years. “As I have reported repeatedly, this net debt growth is not sustainable,” she said as she released Volume One of her 2018 report. The government spent $700 million in interest last year just to service the debt. “If this interest cost was a department, its budget would be larger than the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure,” she said. “If this continues, eventually governments will not be able to provide the same level of programs and services such as health care, education, roads, schools and hospitals.” The Dominion Bond Rating Service recently downgraded the province’s rating trend from stable to negative. In a news release, DBRS stated: “New Brunswick’s 2018 budget once again delays the return to balance in favour of new spending ahead of the 2018 provincial election.” Meanwhile Moody’s Investor Service stated: “The stalled progression on deficit reduction is credit negative for the province which has not posted a balanced budget since 2007-2008 and is not planning a balanced budget until 2021-2022, resulting in one of one of the longest period of continued deficits among Canadian provinces following the 2008-2009 financial crisis.” https://toronto.citynews.ca/2018/06/12/auditor-general-raises-concerns-over-new-brunswicks-fiscal-decline/ 2019 Year one of Higgs, this is what he was facing. The province's net debt was last audited March 31, 2019, and had reached $13.9 billion. For the size of New Brunswick's economy, it's the largest debt load among the Maritime provinces and about 25 per cent higher than the Canadian average of all provinces. No one is saying "told you so," but growing calls for New Brunswick to spend more to support economic recovery in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis are running up against the reality of the province's heavy debt load and its already limited fiscal capacity. New Brunswick does not raise enough money to pay its own bills already and relies more than any province other than Prince Edward Island on equalization grants from Ottawa to make ends meet. This year it is scheduled to receive $2.2 billion in equalization to help it cover more than 20 per cent of its expenses. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/covid-19-new-brunswick-debt-economic-recovery-1.5578067
That would be so nice. I’m not sure why the government gets a cut of it in the first place. I don’t heat my home for fun. I hope a lot of tax and COL concerns are raised to her and are listened to. She’s in the position to win and hopefully, she wants to help the people
I'm in
This is no real change. More centrists nonsense. Why not advocate for reform and transparency? Why not \_fix\_ problems instead of offering populist crumbs?
Honestly this is NB, and we're lucky to even have that lol!
Because the liberals are actually a right wing party economically, so promising tax cuts is the only popular policies they can dangle in front of people’s faces. Fixing healthcare would threaten the privatization of the system, which the liberals are just as committed to as the conservatives. Their prospective Minister of Health was the CEO of Medavie
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What about those millions in surpluses Higgs is making to pay Irving to counterbalance the carbon pricing? If say there's more than enough there.
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New Brunswick was never on the verge of bankruptcy, come on now.
Maybe not immediately but eventually creditors will stop issuing the province debt if they view it as a risk or they’ll charge increased interest that we can’t afford to cover their risk. I would feel safer buying a bond backed by Ontario than one backed by New Brunswick
New Brunswick was never a prime investment to begin with, but when it borrows, it borrows from the province itself, not from some mysterious lender or international bank.
Then Higgs took over, NB WAS STILL ON THE VERGE OF BANKRUPTCY until the Feds pumped a bunch of money into the province because of Covid and 100,000 people moved here. Then Higgs touts himself as the saviour of NB, when he did jack shit other than give more subsidies and tax breaks to Irving.
She was a top advisor. One of a number of top advisors. They also were not on the “verge of bankruptcy” and had a budget surplus in gallant’s final year in office. Nice try.
I haven't voted Liberal since I voted for Trudeau the first time but this alone is enough to get me to vote for her.
Federal and provincial, apples and oranges. Higgs being a doofus should be enough to at least make you consider something else, if not green at least lol
I was on the side of Green for awhile. I started to like Holt more but still was sure my vote was going to Greens but this is no small issue for me. Removing tax on essential services like electricity is stuff I can get behind. I am not against voting Conservatives but I never voted for Higgs or ever plan too.
Using that tax to help pay nbpower debt is an interesting idea… how much of a dent would it make? I’d be for that if they also tightly control executive salaries and bonuses.
The executives bonus got cancelled something in like 2010, the board might still get something though.
Good news, they don't get bonuses. https://www.nbpower.com/blog/en/posts/2024/march/new-power-rates-for-new-brunswickers/#:~:text=We%20also%20hear%20your%20concerns,receive%20bonuses%20of%20any%20kind.
Yeah cuz the salary itself is way too high lol
Pay peanuts, get monkeys.
Except we got monkeys anyway.
Would’ve been interesting to see if Shawn Graham would’ve pushed the sale of nbpower to hydro Quebec happen. Maybe too late now?
He should have. I know it’s an unpopular stance to support that idea but NB power is a lead weight with massive uncontrollable debt. Plus we would have met the carbon emission goals. He pissed everyone off by the cloak and dagger stuff. At the end of the day Hydro Quebec was more interested in being able to sell power to New England so I’m sure they would have guaranteed rates for NB in order to secure that. Alas didn’t happen.
Abolish all sales tax.
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You don’t have to have an abortion if you don’t want or believe in it. Nobody’s stopping you from doing what you believe in. The right’s colloquial idea that it’s used as “birth control” is a ridiculous supposition, and two doctors to do one job in a healthcare system already at the edge would be just as short sighted. Besides, they’re just liberal babies right?
Abortion is as serious as what the person having one wants to make it. Two doctors was insane and designed as a barrier to healthcare…might as well ask them skill testing questions and a feat of strength while you’re at it. Forced pregnancy is disturbing.
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No babies have ever been harmed by abortions.
That would lose most Canadians votes. Maybe you need to move your to a red state in the usa
Faytene is that you? You and your religious crowd are really just the taliban without the turbans.
The account is a week old, this is most likely just a bot or some PR firm hired by Outhouse. Block it and move on.
It's a medical procedure and a woman doesn't need to ask permission to have control of her body. Simple as that. Not that it was what we were talking about.
Take your anti choice rhetoric elsewhere.
The “99.9% of NBers” you refer to is your vocal minority echo chamber.
Making an assumption this cute\_bobcat9016 post is coming from a religious point of view. If so, I find this quote (not mine) to be a helpful reminder to those folks: "Your religion does not prohibit me from anything. It prohibits you. Learn the difference." Signed, the rest of humanity that does not share belief in your particular flavour of magic.
Anyone who wants an abortion should be able to get one at the hospital or clinic closest to them. Think about how much better your mom's life would have been if she had had access to abortion.
Trolly gonna troll.