Election Day 14: Higgs makes youth mental-health commitment

Progressive Conservative Leader Blaine Higgs promised Wednesday he would hire 20 new private-sector psychologists to cut down on the time students have to wait for mental-health services.

"One area that has been neglected for far too long and where government must do more is our mental-health system," Higgs said at an announcement in Saint John. "Delays in diagnosing and treating mental-health problems cost us more in the long run."

Higgs cited a College of Psychologists of New Brunswick report that said more than 4,500 New Brunswick children are waiting for psychological assessments for learning disabilities and treatment.

Higgs said contracting some of the work to 20 private-sector psychologists could cost around $17 million over four years.

He said he chose the private sector because "there are available psychologists that can start tomorrow," while the public sector has too many vacancies that would take a long time to fill, he said.

But Higgs also promised to recruit more public-sector psychologists by looking at reducing the workload and wage gap between the public and private sector, and creating up to 10 internship positions for post-graduate psychologists.

He also promised to study ways to expand Medicare coverage to include psychological services for "children and high-risk groups."

3 Liberal announcements

Liberal Party Leader Brian Gallant was in Fredericton, where he promised to eliminate provincial student loan interest.

The party released two other late-afternoon announcements. One is a promise to tackle the employment insurance "black hole" that seasonal workers face.

A Liberal Party release said if re-elected, the Liberals would use money from a fund the federal government announced recently to help people whose employment insurance runs out before their seasonal work resumes. The provincial program would match workers with non-profits, municipalities and First Nations that need labour. 

The release said New Brunswick expects to receive $4 million or $5 million from the federal fund, "which the Liberals will use to provide additional weeks of work at up to $14 per hour for a maximum of 40 hours a week, enabling workers to qualify for employment insurance benefits."

The second late-afternoon release said the Liberals would dedicate one per cent of infrastructure funding, or $32 million, to arts and culture projects.

NDP reiterates no-interest promise

NDP Leader Jennifer McKenzie was in Fredericton to reinforce three promises she has made previously, including eliminating student loan interest to students who stay in the province, free community college and 25 per cent lower university tuition.

Green Party Leader David Coon was spending Wednesday preparing for the leaders debate before hosting a town hall at 7 p.m. with Fredericton West-Hanwell candidate Susan Jonah in the St. James Presbyterian Church.

People's Alliance Leader Kris Austin was canvassing in Saint John.