PC election promises would cost $188M over 4 years, says Blaine Higgs
Party platform includes balancing budget within 2 years without making cuts to education, health care
The leader of the Progressive Conservatives says his party's election promises would cost about $188 million over four years.
"Less than $50 million a year on a $9.4 billion budget," said Blaine Higgs.
The PCs are pledging to balance the budget within two years without making cuts to the health or education departments, not eliminating any public sector jobs and without imposing a carbon tax.
Higgs said the government would recruit more doctors, improve care for seniors, restore provincial testing in schools and get to the bottom of the controversy surrounding the herbicide glyphosate.
Higgs, who served as finance minister in the former Progressive Conservative government, said he refuses to make expensive campaign promises to win votes.
"Election costing has been the downfall of our province for generations because it becomes a bidding war," he said. "I have not participated in that, I will not participate in it."
The Liberal government's expenditures in the past four years have grown at three times the rate of inflation, according to Higgs.
He said government spending is about $1 billion more per year than it was four years ago, which he said works out to about $2,000 per family.
'We deserve better'
Higgs said despite the increased spending, the province's service levels remain among the worst in the country.
"We're last in wait times in health, we're second to last in education, we're last in economic growth, we're lowest medium-income in the country, so where has this money gone without getting any results?" he said.
"We deserve better."
Higgs said the PCs won't replace the estimated 170 public servants who are expected to retire annually in the coming years. He also said there are also many vacant budgeted positions that could be eliminated.
Higgs said that during his time in power, he discovered many budgeted positions were being used as "budget holders" to provide flexibility in department budgets.
"We started to eliminate many of those … I don't know how many are left now, but I would dare say under this government there's probably lots," he said.
Health care changes
Higgs said the PCs plan to recruit more doctors to the province by eliminating the billing numbers that have restricted hiring for years, and by improving working conditions, which could include wages or taxes.
The Tories pledge to reduce wait times for knee and hip replacements and for gynecological services by making better use of other health care professionals, such as nurse practitioners and pharmacists, to free up the time of doctors and surgeons.
Higgs said the party will place an emphasis on home care to reduce the demand placed on nursing homes.
"We can't keep up [by] just building more nursing homes, somewhere most people want to avoid as long as possible," he said.
Higgs said the workers key to keeping seniors in their homes, such as personal support workers and licensed practical nurses, would be well compensated.
Bilingualism rears head
The PC leader, who does not speak French fluently, is taking private lessons once a week when he's not on the campaign trail. He was formerly a member of the Confederation of Regions Party, which was against bilingualism.
Higgs said he has come to appreciate the benefits of official bilingualism and is fine with having two health authorities, the anglophone Horizon Health Network and francophone Vitalité.
He doesn't support separate busing for anglophone and francophone students. When a French school was built in his riding of Quispamsis, he said parents told him they didn't care about the bus system.
"They said, 'Our kids get off the bus and then they run to each other and play for the rest of the evening,'" said Higgs.
New Brunswickers head to the polls on Sept. 24.
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With files from Rachel Cave