Higgs says internal PC turmoil makes him more likely to run in next N.B. election
‘I’m not one to run away,’ premier says amid caucus split on 2 education initiatives
Far from pushing him out the door, the premier said, the mini-rebellion over two education initiatives makes him more likely to stay on as leader.
"I'm not one to run away from issues and I would say this sort of debate internally within our own group, this sort of uncertainty, does not cause me to run away," he told Radio-Canada in an interview Wednesday.
"It causes me to really kind of buckle down and say, 'the province is too important to be split on these issues … and we need to keep the progress moving.'
This
week, two backbenchers, Andrea Anderson-Mason and Ross Wetmore, voted
with the opposition parties to try to send a government bill to the law
amendments committee, which would have led to public hearings slowing
down passage of the legislation. (Jacques Poitras/CBC)
"That is what's weighing heavy on my mind. Are we going to keep the ball rolling?"
Last week, six PC cabinet ministers and two backbenchers refused to take their seats in the legislature for the morning and issued a statement complaining about "a lack of process and transparency."
That statement followed the release of the government's changes to Policy 713 on LGBTQ students in provincial schools.
This week, the two backbenchers, Andrea Anderson-Mason and Ross Wetmore, voted with the opposition parties to try to send a government bill to the law amendments committee, which would have led to public hearings, slowing down passage of the legislation.
Anderson-Mason and Wetmore both said the bill's neutering of anglophone district education councils to advisory bodies risks centralizing too much power in Fredericton at the expense of local communities.
That motion was defeated 24-21, but it's still not clear if the bill itself will pass, and Higgs says the legislature may need to extend its session into next week to get it done.
In
February, Higgs poked fun at the speculation about his future by
leaving the stage after his annual state of the province speech to the
Clash song, Should I Stay or Should I Go. (Ed Hunter/CBC)
The premier has professed for months to be undecided about whether to seek another term next year or hand off the PC leadership to someone else before the campaign.
In February, he poked fun at the speculation about the future by leaving the stage after his annual state of the province speech to the Clash song, Should I Stay or Should I Go.
But now he says the division in his caucus has led him to question what will happen to his policies under a new PC leader and premier.
"If we can't get our own house in order so that we have a good process to transition and continue the momentum of what the province is experiencing right now, then I can't walk away from what we've achieved to date," he said.
"I can't walk away from a situation we've left in chaos. And right now, the way our party is not coherent is difficult. We have to fix this issue internally and then make that decision."
The next election is scheduled for Oct. 21, 2024.
With files from Nicolas Steinbach
In February, he poked fun at the speculation about the future by leaving the stage after his annual state of the province speech to the Clash song, Should I Stay or Should I Go."
Two PC MLAs vote with Liberals in bid to stall education governance bill
Fired deputy minister of education urges Tory rebels to oppose legislation that he says will centralize power
Jacques Poitras · CBC News · Posted: Jun 13, 2023 5:45 PM ADT
I say Daniel Allain will be the next PC Leader/Premier in short order
What say you???
Two PC MLAs vote with Liberals in bid to stall education governance bill
Fired deputy minister of education urges Tory rebels to oppose legislation that he says will centralize power
Ross Wetmore and Andrea Anderson-Mason voted with a Liberal amendment that would send the bill to the legislature's law-amendments committee for public hearings — a step that would have prevented the bill passing by the end of this week.
"I am concerned if this new governance model is enacted, there will be no limitations to where a Premier could have direct interference, including areas like curriculum, policy, finances or even staff hiring and disciplinary practices," Wetmore, the MLA for Gagetown-Petitcodiac, said in an email.
The Liberal amendment was defeated 24-21, allowing the bill to advance past second reading and go to a different committee with no public hearings.
What I witnessed ... left me feeling that our NB democracy had truly been hijacked.- George Daley, former deputy minister of education
Bill 46 would turn anglophone district education councils into advisory bodies with no direct decision-making power.
Anderson-Mason, the MLA for Fundy-The Isles-Saint John West, said in the legislature the bill will "remove debate and discourse at the local level. It eliminates the checks and balances that are there to protect our citizens, our families, our children."
George
Daley, for deputy minister of education, said the controversial review
of Policy 713 is an example of what will happen more often if anglophone
district education councils are neutered. (CBC)
The two PC MLAs made their move following an email from former anglophone deputy minister of education George Daley to the eight Tories who issued a statement last week, complaining of a lack of transparency and process on the Policy 713 review.
Daley was fired last fall not long after then-education minister Dominic Cardy quit over proposed changes to French immersion.
"What I witnessed while in the deputy role left me feeling that our NB democracy had truly been hijacked over the last three years," Daley wrote to the eight MLAs.
"Your efforts last week have given me some glimmer of hope."
The
vote to advance Bill 46 came after MLAs from all parties gathered
outside the legislature at noon for the raising of the Pride flag, an
event proposed by the Liberals. (Ed Hunter/CBC)
In his email, obtained by CBC News, Daley complained of "the continual chaos" he said Premier Blaine Higgs was inflicting on the anglophone school system.
He said the controversial review of Policy 713, which sets minimum standards for schools to provide safe and inclusive learning spaces for LGBTQ students, is an example of what will happen more often if Bill 46 passes and anglophone district education councils are neutered.
"There is nothing in my educational career that I think will have a worse effect on our system than this currently proposed model," Daley wrote.
"Please continue to be courageous whether it is on this bill or with other significant decisions," he said.
Higgs told reporters the dissenting votes by Wetmore and Anderson-Mason were "concerning," but said he was happy the bill advanced to a different committee process for "a good open discussion" this week.
The bill is one of nine subject to a PC motion limiting debate time.
That motion will come up for a vote on Thursday, with approval effectively cutting off further discussion of Bill 46 and eight others so the house can adjourn for the summer on Friday.
Liberal
Leader Susan Holt and Education Minister Bill Hogan were among the MLAs
and others who gathered outside the legislature Tuesday for the raising
of the Pride flag. (Jacques Poitras/CBC)
But Higgs said he was prepared to have the legislature sit next week if the education bill needs more time.
"I'm prepared to stay in the House and if the questions aren't all answered, we'll just continue the House," he said.
The premier says the bill is aiming at improving the governance of the anglophone education system to produce improved performance.
"Something has to be different. There has to be a step change in how we find better results," he said.
Pride flag raised
The vote to advance Bill 46 came after MLAs from all parties gathered outside the legislature at noon for the raising of the Pride flag.
Several PC MLAs attended, including Education and Early Childhood Development Minister Bill Hogan.
He said his presence was important in light of the debate over Policy 713 that has been unfolding over the last five weeks.
"I think absolutely it's important for me to be here so that people understand that I support diversity, I support the LGBTQ+ community, and what we're doing has nothing to do with trying to roll back anyone's rights," he said.
"I respect them. I think we need to ensure they feel safe and protected."
Gail Costello, of Pride in Education, and Social Development Minister Dorothy Shepherd at the raising of the Pride flag. (Ed Hunter/CBC)
The government's changes to the policy announced last week include ending an obligation for teachers to respect a student's choice of name and pronouns without parental notification if they're younger than 16.
Liberal Leader Susan Holt said she has decided to devote her party's debate time on Thursday to a motion calling on the government to undo the changes, in the hope some PC MLAs will support it.
The motion is not binding and if passed would not change the policy.
Local Government Minister Daniel Allain, one of the eight PCs who issued the dissenting statement last week, said he has not decided yet how he'll vote on the Liberal motion.
"It's a social discussion that's dividing New Brunswickers, and I'm going to talk to my colleagues all this week and see where it goes. So we'll see what happens."
Social Development Minister Dorothy Shephard, another dissenter, spent several minutes at the flag raising talking to Pride in Education co-chair Gail Costello.
Shepherd gave Costello a supportive tap on the forearm as they wrapped up their conversation.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
New LGBTQ school policy does not ban informal pronoun changes, experts say
NBTA trying to get clarity from department, child advocate says minister's words don't count, legally
Hadeel Ibrahim · CBC News · Posted: Jun 14, 2023 6:00 AM ADT
What say you???
Pension perk for deputy ministers should be cut, ex-MLA says
Former Progressive Conservative MLA Wes McLean says PCs should have ended special pension benefit
CBC News · Posted: Oct 17, 2014 7:05 AM ADT
I wonder how much he got for a golden handshake
Reply to Sandra Boudreau
Which I speak..yet
Reply to Ken Howe
PC rebels, Liberal opposition seem unsure how to push Higgs on Policy 713
Ministers who broke ranks won’t force the issue, Holt uncertain if non-confidence vote would have any effect
There was that remarkable expression of "extreme disappointment" by eight Progressive Conservative MLAs — including six cabinet ministers — who refused to take their seats Thursday morning.
But there was no firm, sustained pressure to force the premier to back down or quit.
The opposition Liberals, meanwhile, seemed unsure how to leverage the turmoil to inflict maximum damage on Higgs or compel him to reverse course.
It's probably a symptom of decades of top-down, leader-driven, party-line governance that elected members of the legislature are so uncertain of the powers they have and the best way to use them.
"Obviously, it was certainly breaking the conventions of the British parliamentary system," Higgs said last week in Question Period of the statement by six ministers and two backbench MLAs.
Ministers
Dorothy Shephard, Trevor Holder, Daniel Allain, Arlene Dunn, Jeff Carr,
Jill Green, and backbenchers Ross Wetmore and Andrea Anderson-Mason
said in a statement last Thursday morning they refrained from
participating in routine business and question period as a way to
express their 'extreme disappointment in a lack of process and
transparency.' (CBC)
The premier was right: normally, ministers who disagree with a government policy resign.
But the six ministers breaking ranks last week identified themselves as members of caucus — trying to distinguish between their cabinet jobs and their roles as ordinary MLAs, who have more leeway to disagree.
That's not a distinction our British cabinet system of government normally allows.
There's no rulebook for this in Canada, but the U.K. government has a manual for how cabinet works — and it says decisions are "binding on all members of government" and even if ministers disagree privately, they must maintain "a united front" publicly.
And, it says, they should quit or be removed, "when they are not able to continue to accept collective responsibility" — precisely where the six ministers found themselves Thursday.
Rebellion lasted only 2 hours
Not only did the six not quit, their no-show lasted just two hours. After lunch, they were back in the legislature voting for government legislation.
That indicated that they weren't willing to resign or be fired over Policy 713.
So what other options do they have?
Backbench PC MLA Andrea Anderson-Mason, who signed the statement, went on to slam the government's Education Act during second-reading debate last Friday.
It's easier for Anderson-Mason to do that because she's not a minister. Those in cabinet would have a harder time following suit because of the same obligations to show solidarity.
The rebels could vote in favour of a Liberal motion calling on the government to revert back to the original Policy 713.
That motion is not binding, though, so even if the motion passed, it would have no effect.
They could also make mischief by voting against their own government's motion to limit debate time on nine bills so that the house can adjourn as scheduled this Friday.
Forcing the session to drag on into next week would be an annoyance, but would do nothing to change Policy 713.
Higgs actually gave the rebels some latitude on both of those motions when he said last week he would not declare them confidence measures.
If they were confidence votes, Higgs would have to call an election if he lost either vote.
By declaring they're not, Higgs both takes pressure off himself and gives the PC rebels more leeway to vote against him without any risk of consequences.
If Higgs were to somehow lose a confidence vote, former education minister Dominic Cardy has argued that Lt.-Gov. Brenda Murphy could reject an election call and offer another PC MLA the chance to form a government and win the confidence of the house.
But that rarely happens in Canada. Governing parties that select new leaders in the middle of a mandate do so through their party's rules on leadership races and reviews, not through a legislative vote.
Holt won't commit to Policy 713 motion this week
The Liberals, meanwhile, have their own challenges figuring out the conventions and precedents they might use to paint Higgs into a corner.
Leader Susan Holt declared last Friday that her party is "trying to use every tool in our toolkit to get this policy into the legislature."
But Holt said her party would not itself introduce a non-confidence motion in the hopes of getting the PC rebels to support it.
"It's not up to us to make the government fall," she said, claiming — incorrectly — that a non-confidence motion introduced by the opposition would not be binding.
New
Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs raised the idea of an election when
asked Thursday whether he might be forced to step down when the PC MLAs
refused to take their seats. (CBC)
In fact, an opposition motion of no confidence is what led to the defeat of the Joe Clark government in 1979.
More recently in New Brunswick, the Gallant government was defeated in 2018 after the opposition, led by Higgs, inserted a non-confidence amendment into a throne speech motion.
"Lots to figure out here," Holt said, when that bit of history was pointed out on Friday.
The Liberal leader also would not commit to even bringing her party's Policy 713 motion up for a vote this week.
The opposition parties have limited time to set the agenda on Thursday afternoons, and Holt said her party might bring one of its other bills or motions to the floor instead.
"It remains to be seen what happens between now and then," she said.
8 could choose to become independent
There is one procedural move that, if the eight PC rebels used it, would likely bring things to a head.
If the Tories quit their party caucus to sit as independents, they'd deprive Higgs of the votes to pass several bills that have yet to win final approval.
They'd be in a position to make demands.
But if they were that bold, they would probably have made that move already.
And once the house adjourns for the summer, that opportunity is gone until October.
The PC diffidence and Holt's hesitations suggest it could be an inconclusive week.
No one appears able or willing to twist the knife — if they even know where to find one.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Fired deputy minister of education urges Tory rebels to oppose legislation that he says will centralize power
Jacques Poitras · CBC News · Posted: Jun 13, 2023 5:45 PM ADT
"It's not up to us to make the government fall," she said, claiming — incorrectly — that a non-confidence motion introduced by the opposition would not be binding."
The PC party needs a new leader before going into another election. The party and the province would be much better off for it (if they pick the right person).
Where is this poll?
Atlantic premiers brace for fuel price jump expected to 'unfairly impact' region
Health care, other priorities also discussed at premiers' meeting on P.E.I.
Shane Ross · CBC News · Posted: Jun 12, 2023 6:36 PM ADT
Higgs attack on Trudeau and Holt bears hallmark of N.B. premier's new social media guru
Derek Robinson worked on 2019 campaign to unseat Prairie Liberals, citing threat of western separatism
Jacques Poitras · CBC News · Posted: Jun 12, 2023 12:09 PM ADT
Higgs attack on Trudeau and Holt bears hallmark of N.B. premier's new social media guru
Derek Robinson worked on 2019 campaign to unseat Prairie Liberals, citing threat of western separatism
Derek Robinson, a key player in western Canadian conservative groups, is advising the premier through his communications firm MASH Strategy.
In 2019 one of those groups helped defeat longtime Saskatchewan Liberal MP Ralph Goodale by running aggressive advertising highlighting his connections to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
On Saturday night, Higgs linked Trudeau's stand on LGBTQ issues to Holt — even though Holt herself is keeping her distance from the prime minister.
"Susan Holt & Justin Trudeau don't believe parents need be involved in such critical discussions as gender identity, even in children as young as 4," Higgs said in two tweets posted Saturday night at 6:53 p.m. and again at 9:18 p.m.
Hired same month review of Policy 713 began
Higgs's spokesperson Nicolle Carlin recently confirmed that Robinson's firm is providing "communications services" to the New Brunswick government.
"Most of their work is dealing with the Premier's Office," Carlin said in an emailed statement.
The firm started advising the premier's office in April, the same month the government began reviewing Policy 713, which sets minimum standards for ensuring safe and inclusive schools for LGBTQ students.
Trudeau called out the province's changes to the policy at a Pride event in Toronto last week.
The changes announced last week remove an obligation teachers had to respect a child's choice of name and pronouns in the classroom whether parents consent or not.
"Trans kids need to feel safe, not targeted by politicians," Trudeau said.
These
billboards popped up around Regina in the spring of 2019 and were part
of a multi-province ad campaign aimed at Liberal MPs and Prime Minister
Justin Trudeau. (Marie-Christine Bouillon/Radio-Canada)
Higgs's initial response Friday was mild.
He told reporters it was "not unusual" for Trudeau to wade into provincial issues and said it was "unfortunate the prime minister wouldn't look at the big picture" and was "playing to the audience" at the Pride event.
Saturday's tweets went further, invoking four-year-olds and linking Trudeau to Holt, Higgs's main opponent in the next election — even though Holt distanced herself from the prime minister on Friday.
"It's not clear to me why Trudeau would be commenting on provincial education policy," she said.
Higgs's social media accounts generally avoid direct political attacks on the prime minister.
Carlin said the premier's office works "with many people in communications" but the Saturday tweets were written by Higgs himself.
Campaign in Manitoba subject of complaint
Robinson was the chief of digital strategy for Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall from 2011 to 2018.
After leaving Wall's office he got involved with the Buffalo Project, an initiative aimed at having Alberta and Saskatchewan take control of some policy areas now under federal jurisdiction, including pensions and immigration.
He was also part of the Canada Growth Council, which ran the 2019 third-party advertising campaign to defeat Liberal MPs in Western Canada.
That campaign included large billboards in Regina with photos of Trudeau and Goodale, who was a minister in the prime minister's cabinet at the time.
The group is now the subject of a complaint from the Manitoba NDP about pre-election ads in Manitoba tying that party's leader to Trudeau and federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh.
Derek Robinson argued for a referendum in Saskatchewan on the equalization program. (Derek Robinson/Facebook)
After Goodale lost his seat in 2019, Robinson warned the west needed more autonomy — and many people there would consider separating – in response to federal Liberal policies.
"There's going to be a lot of people who say, 'I don't know if this whole Canada thing is working for us anymore,'" he told Global News.
He said western Canadians were upset at funding social programs in other provinces through equalization, a program that benefits New Brunswick.
Robinson has also argued Saskatchewan should set a date for a referendum on the program, which distributes public funds from wealthier provinces to so-called "have-not" provinces.
While some form of sharing wealth was a good idea, "at the levels it's been happening, it's not fair, it's not right, and that needs to change," he said.
In a 2020 podcast by Sen. Pamela Wallin, Robinson said the Buffalo Project was espousing policies to counter, not encourage, separatist sentiment on the prairies.
"Our movement is really about trying to make sure we don't separate," he said.
"If we don't get a fair deal within Confederation within a decent period of time here, I think the flames of separation are going to be burning much hotter in the very near future."
Robinson did not respond to an interview request sent by email to his firm's office.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
"In his final speech in the House of Commons, former Conservative leader Erin O'Toole called on MPs to focus on fostering respectful debate at a time when "performance politics is fuelling polarization."
O'Toole took aim at social media in his Monday address, saying that the House has become a place where politicians are more focused on generating clips than on national debates.
"We are becoming elected officials who judge our self worth by how many likes we get on social media, but not how many lives we change in the real world," he said. "We're becoming followers of our followers when we should be leaders.
"Social media did not build this great country but it is starting to tear its democracy down."
Higgs should find better advisors than a western separatist who is anti-vaxxer and anti-environment.
Imagine the furor if Brian Gallant had chosen a Parti Québécois high-level hack as an advisor.
Deja Vu Anyone???
Ross Wetmore-MLA Gagetown Petitcodiac debate the Gang of 8 with Pain in the Ass Blogger!!!!
Charles Leblanc Pension perk for deputy ministers should be cut, ex-MLA says
Former Progressive Conservative MLA Wes McLean says PCs should have ended special pension benefit
The previous Progressive Conservative government faced a significant backlash from provincial employees for its decision to overhaul civil service pensions by moving to a shared-risk model.
Civil servants accumulate larger pensions the longer they work for the provincial government, but deputy ministers accumulate their pensions at twice the normal rate for the first five years that they are at that top level.
Wes McLean, the former Victoria-Tobique Tory MLA who did not re-offer in the 2014 election, said the switch to a shared-risk pension system should have also eliminated that special arrangement for deputy ministers.
"I'm of the view that it's a relic and needs to be scrapped, especially given New Brunswick's fiscal situation,” he said.
When David Alward’s Progressive Conservative government took on pension reform, the goal was to reduce the long-term cost of the pension program.
McLean says he has a theory about why the Tories stopped short of cutting the extra benefit for deputy ministers while they were changing other elements of the pension system for provincial government employees.
"The water cooler talk was pushback from the deputies themselves,” the former MLA said.
Quispamsis Tory MLA Blaine Higgs, the former finance minister who was in charge of the pension changes, confirmed deputies got to keep the pension perk.
But Higgs says it's because he planned a larger overhaul of the pension system for deputy ministers had the Tories won a second term.
"That's why we didn't. We were looking at the whole picture. That was the next step, to look at the whole compensation package for senior officials,” Higgs said.
But the Progressive Conservatives lost the election to the Liberals, which makes further reforms unlikely.
The Liberals promised during the election to reconsider the reforms already imposed by the Tory government, rather than take them further.
Deputy Ministers are entitled to a car supplied by government.
Deputy Ministers are also entitled to a "performance bonus" on an annual basis, which amounts to an additional $15k -$20k a year. And guess what, nearly all Deputy Ministers receive their bonus.
When I and a couple other civil servants suggested the bonus be eliminated we were told that the bonuses were needed to retain the best, and without paying it, those DMs would leave. Not likely I responded. At a salary level of $120k-$150k, there are plenty of others that would assume the job.
It would appear that these Deputy Ministers had no objection to cutting the pension benefits of the rank and file civil servants, but not their own very costly perks (bonuses and car allowance, and travel).
Right Blaine... You had plenty of time to screw over the little guy making thirty grand a year and getting a twenty some thousand dollar pension, while you the politician and the senior civil servants still get the same cushy pensions you always get, and those are the pensions that make the public mad. There was no time to deal with Deputies pensions while you were in office and people would need to re-elect your government for that to happen... Tell me Blaine... Are you still waiting for that call from Brian Gallant offering you the position of Minister of Finance? Because if you are, you can forget it he already has one.
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