New Brunswick hands service commissions $40M for economic development, newcomer retention

The New Brunswick government says it will transfer $40 million over the next decade to the province's regional service commissions to fund economic development, newcomer retention and labour force development.

The spending was announced Tuesday a month after local governance reforms required the commissions to offer more services. 

The funding will be allocated to 10 of the 12 commissions based on a per capita formula. The Fundy Regional Service Commission around Saint John area and the Capital Regional Service Commission around Fredericton are excluded because they have separate agreements with the province.

"This is actually focused on a couple of key issues around population growth, making sure we maintain that growth, making sure that we meet our labour market demands," Trevor Holder, the province's minister of Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour, told reporters. 

Holder and Daniel Allain, the minister of Local Government and Governance Reform, said the funding will allow each region to decide what works best for their area instead of having decisions made by the province.

"Fredericton is not that smart. People in regions are smarter," Allain said during a press conference in Moncton attended by various mayors, regional commission staff and others.

The ministers said the government will sign performance-based funding agreements with the commissions.

The 12 commissions, which began in 2013, were originally mandated to provide services like solid waste and regional planning. They could opt to also offer some other services like regional tourism promotion and economic development.

Local government reforms that kicked in Jan. 1 expanded the required services to economic development, community development, regional tourism promotion, regional transportation and cost sharing on regional recreational infrastructure.

On economic development, the ministers said the commissions can take on the task in-house or use a third-party organization. 

Moncton, Dieppe and Riverview had jointly funded an economic development agency called 3+ Corp.

Roland LeBlanc, CEO of the commission, said the Southeast Regional Service Commission that includes those communities had already opted to carry out economic development. He said some 3+ employees now work for the commission and the mandate will expand to the region. 

"So a bit of a change with this new funding — very exciting for the region — it gives us a great opportunity to invest in workforce development, workforce retention and population growth," Leblanc said. 

Moncton Mayor Dawn Arnold said much of the existing immigration services funding is focused on permanent residents, which left international students and others largely to volunteer groups to support. 

"We need to be able to provide the proper services to attract, retain and give newcomers that real sense of belonging in our community," Arnold told reporters, saying it's hoped the funding will allow that to happen.

Dan Murphy, executive director of the Union of Municipalities of New Brunswick representing communities across the province, told reporters the funding is a good start. 

"What we've been looking for anytime we deal with the province is a long-term period that it's agreed to. Ten years is certainly a good start for that," Murphy said. 

Allain told reporters the province will be making more announcements in the future about the other aspects of the commissions and local governance reforms.