Election Day 15: Leaders make home care, education, business announcements
CBC News | Posted: September 6, 2018 11:00 AM | Last Updated: September 6, 2018
Four New Brunswick election leaders stepped up their promise-making on Thursday, with announcements spanning education, economy and home care.
Green Party Leader David Coon said he would increase the salaries of people who work in home care and increase the training requirements for home-care workers. A Green government would also improve standards for in-home care to make sure individuals who need it are taken care of, he said.
"The system designed by the Conservative and the Liberal parties in this province just isn't working, not for our elders, not for New Brunswickers with disabilities, and not for the workers who provide essential services for people in their homes," Coon said in a news release.
Gallant would bring back trades
Both the Liberals and Conservatives focused on education.
Liberal Leader Brian Gallant promised that if re-elected, he would restore the trades program in schools.\
Speaking in Miramichi, Gallant said he would spend money on "modern trade infrastructure" in all high schools, and expand programs already available at Riverview High School, Centre scolaire communautaire La fontaine in Neguac, Petitcodiac Regional School and Caledonia Regional High School in Hillsborough.
Progressive Conservative Leader Blaine Higgs promised to attack illiteracy in the province.
Proposes 'Literacy Corps'
Speaking in Quispamsis, Higgs said he would focus much of his education efforts on increasing literacy, which he said is "quite literally the key to moving our province forward."
He promised that 85 per cent of Grade 2 students would "meet or exceed grade two reading standards by 2022, and that the grade two class of 2022 will be top three in Canada in literacy."
His five-step plan for achieving this includes a focus on "priority neighbourhood schools," developing a New Brunswick Literacy Corps of trained volunteer teachers to help at-risk students, offering tools to parents, expanding learning opportunities for older students and reviewing the report card format.
Would invest differently
Also in Saint John, NDP Leader Jennifer McKenzie promised to eliminate Opportunities NB regional development programs and redesign them into a public investment bank that would focus on supporting small and medium-sized local businesses.
Opportunities NB gives money to larger companies, she said, but her investment bank would look at things in a different way.
"We're not looking at eliminating civil service jobs," she said. "We will refocus and redirect the way that the civil service works inside that organization to give them a different way of doing business."
The rest of the day
Higgs had lunch with Saint John candidates at a local restaurant and was to campaign with them in West Saint John in the afternoon.
McKenzie planned to spend the rest of Thursday canvassing in Saint John Harbour, where she is running.
Coon planned to attend the Freddy Beach BBQ for students at Officers' Square with candidate Jenica Atwin of New Maryland-Sunbury before participating in a town hall hosted by the Fredericton Arts Alliance at the Charlotte Street Arts Centre.
People's Alliance Leader Kris Austin will be canvassing in the Carleton, Carleton-York and Carleton-Victoria ridings Thursday.
Gallant was campaigning in Caraquet, Miscou and Tracadie-Sheila.