Saturday 1 July 2023

When Blaine Higgs sat down with the NDP dude Dennis Atchison years ago He should have asked Is CBC NB Broken then

 
 

Is CBC NB Broken?

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149 views Apr 26, 2023 FREDERICTON CBC leaves out important details in their coverage of recent by-elections in New Brunswick.
 

7 Comments

 
 
 

New Brunswick's rapidly falling debt triggers debate on whether to save or spend

The province's debt is down $2.3 billion in three years, one of the deepest cuts ever in Canada

But the achievement is not without critics who contend too much money is being banked when it could be used to fund struggling public services, such as housing and health care.

Last month, New Brunswick Finance Minister Ernie Steeves updated the province's current budget year and projected that by the end of March the province's debt will have declined to $11.6 billion. 

That is down $2.3 billion — 16 per cent — in the last three years.   

With one exception, it's the largest reduction in debt, in percentage terms, recorded by a Canadian provincial government in at least 40 years. The exception is a 100 per cent reduction achieved by Alberta in the 1990s when the province eliminated its $13.4 billion debt entirely over seven years.)

A man in a dark blue suit and a blue tie sits at a computer terminal, facing the camera with a smile. Economist Richard Saillant once warned New Brunswick was on a road to bankruptcy without changes in its finances. He says it is 'undeniable' the Higgs government helped engineer a turnaround in the province's fiscal position. (Jacques Poitras/CBC)

"We are able to make progress in assuring the long-term financial health of our province," said Steeves in a statement released with the update.

Economist Richard Saillant, whose 2014 book Over a Cliff? warned that New Brunswick's dismal and deteriorating financial condition at the time risked ending in bankruptcy, said in an interview the turnaround from those days has been "dramatic" and for multiple reasons.

Increased transfers from Ottawa along with exploding tax revenues from population growth and high inflation have generated hundreds of millions of dollars in new provincial revenue. But Saillant said a decision by Premier Blaine Higgs to save much of that money, rather than spend it as other provinces have done, has to be recognized as a central cause of the shrinking debt.

"Higgs did achieve a dramatic fiscal turnaround," said Saillant. 

"It's undeniable. We are in a much better position than we have been in a very long while. If someone has a single-minded focus on fiscal outcomes, this is indeed quite an achievement."  

Premier Tim Houston of Nova Scotia is shown at a press conference. Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston's government budgeted to spend four times more on health care infrastructure last year than the New Brunswick government, saying a growing population in that province required it. 'We're not trying to save money on health care. Whatever it costs, it will cost.' (Robert Short/CBC)

New Brunswick's debt became a concern more than a decade ago following the 2008 financial crisis that occurred during the then-government of Shawn Graham. Spending increases and stagnant revenues grew the debt for 12 straight years between 2007 and 2019, and eventually it more than doubled in size to $14.0 billion. 

In 2016, the debt reached 41 per cent of the size of New Brunswick's annual economic output. That so-called "debt to GDP ratio" was the worst in Atlantic Canada at the time and the second highest among all provinces after Quebec.

At the end of this month, according to estimates by the Royal Bank of Canada, New Brunswick's debt is expected to recede to 25 per cent of the size of the provincial economy. That would rank as the lowest ratio in the Atlantic provinces and best in Canada, east of Saskatchewan. 

It's among the single largest improvements recorded in any Canadian province's fiscal condition over any period since at least the early 1980s and perhaps ever.

 A man wearing a suit and tie speaks from a podium. Behind him are the Canadian and New Brunswick flags.Premier Blaine Higgs delivered the annual state of the province speech last month and highlighted the falling government debt. New Brunswick has reduced what it owes four years in a row, the only province in Canada to manage that improvement. (Ed Hunter/CBC)

Michael Yake is an associate managing director with Moody's Investors Service in Toronto. 

The agency upgraded New Brunswick's credit rating last year based on a number of factors, including the downward trajectory of its debt levels which he said has impressed the financial community.

"It's quite the achievement," said Yake.

"That's why New Brunswick has the positive outlook, because we do see that the credit risks are decreasing there."

But the reviews are not entirely positive. 

Every Canadian province, other than New Brunswick, is projected to post a higher debt level this year from levels posted three years ago, and New Brunswick opposition parties have been calling on the Higgs government to be less stingy on using some of its higher revenues to boost spending on services such as health care, housing and poverty reduction.

The morning after Steeves delivered his latest update, economist Pierre-Marcel Desjardins told Information Morning Moncton that reducing the debt is an important objective but so are other public needs that would benefit from more money.

"It's not a bad idea to reduce the debt, absolutely not. It's a question of balance," said Desjardins.

In neighbouring Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, which have also been flooded with new revenues, debt has risen over the most recent three years as they spend more aggressively than New Brunswick to accommodate some of the consequences of their own sudden growth in population.

For example, this year Nova Scotia, which has about 30 per cent more people than New Brunswick, budgeted to spend $629.5 million on capital improvements to its health-care infrastructure, about four times more than New Brunswick put in its budget.

Saillant said it will be up to the New Brunswick public to decide which approach it prefers going forward.

"This is a debate that we need to have a society," said Saillant.

"The issue for voters is whether New Brunswick right now is getting the mix right."

ABOUT THE AUTHOR


Robert Jones

Reporter

Robert Jones has been a reporter and producer with CBC New Brunswick since 1990. His investigative reports on petroleum pricing in New Brunswick won several regional and national awards and led to the adoption of price regulation in 2006.

CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices
 
 
 

Wins are wins for N.B. Liberals, but Greens celebrate too

Monday’s byelection results preserve the political status quo. That could be good news for PC government

Defeated Green candidate Serge Brideau arrived with a small group of his campaign workers.

Brideau had stopped in earlier to congratulate Liberal leader Susan Holt on beating him in Bathurst East-Nepisiguit-St. Isidore.

For his second appearance, he brought his guitar. Soon he was performing Folsom Prison Blues by Johnny Cash and songs by his own folk-rock band, Les Hôtesses d'Hilaire.

A man, left, plays guitar. Two women, one wearing white and the other in black, stand to the side and watch. Brideau performs at the Liberal byelection victory party at a downtown Bathurst pub Monday night while Holt supporter Stephanie Tomlinson, in white, and Holt's chief of staff Alaina Lockhart stand by and watch. (Jacques Poitras/CBC)

The remaining Liberals, including Holt's chief of staff Alaina Lockhart and former Bathurst MLA Brian Kenny, seemed alternately bemused and confused as their celebration started to look more like a Green hoedown.

Not a bad metaphor for Monday's byelection results, come to think of it.

As expected, the Liberals swept the three races, in Bathurst East-Nepisiguit-St. Isidore, Restigouche-Chaleur and Dieppe. All three had been Liberal before.

More importantly, Holt got into the legislature, allowing her to go toe-to-toe in debates with Premier Blaine Higgs, whom she hopes to defeat in next year's provincial election. 

But the Greens nonetheless squeezed their way into the political frame — or at least avoided being squeezed out.

Brideau got 35.4 per cent of the vote against Holt, almost tripling the Green share in the riding last time. 

"I gained a lot and I'm back in 2024, for sure," he said. 

A split photo of a woman, left, smiling and a man, right, smiling.    In Restigouche-Chaleur, Green candidate Rachel Boudreau got more than 30 per cent of the vote, second to winner Marco LeBlanc. (Serge Bouchard/Radio-Canada)

In Restigouche-Chaleur, Green candidate Rachel Boudreau, a former mayor, got 31.6 per cent of the vote, placing second to winner Marco LeBlanc. Progressive Conservative Anne Bard-Lavigne trailed with 15.8 per cent.

And in Dieppe, where Liberal Richard Losier scooped up more than two-thirds of the vote, the Greens had 18.8 per cent, compared to a dismal 8.6 per cent for the third-place PCs.

The Tories didn't run a candidate against Holt.

"It's interesting to see that in New Brunswick, for francophones at this moment, the second party is not the Conservatives, it's the Greens," says Roger Ouellette, a political scientist at the University of Moncton. 

The Green vote wasn't enough to win in three traditionally Liberal strongholds.

But if the party's support improves at the same rate in ridings that are less reliably Liberal, it could make it difficult for Holt to become premier in 2024.

Ouellette pointed out that the Greens have also been competitive in the mostly anglophone southern part of the province.

"We will see in the next election if the Greens stay in touch with voters and are able to have good candidates like this time and obtain some votes," Ouellette said.

A man wearing a suit stands at a podium with a sign on the front that says "Richard Losier." These signs are also plastered on the wall behind him. A crowd of people sit in front of the podium.    In Dieppe, Liberal Richard Losier scooped up more than two-thirds of the vote. (Michelle LeBlanc/Radio-Canada)

"Maybe it will split the vote and it will be an advantage for the Conservatives."

In that sense, Monday's results represent no change to the existing dynamic in New Brunswick politics.

A best-ever for the Greens still isn't a breakthrough. Wins are wins: Holt will be in the legislature and Brideau won't. There'll be no crashing that party.

Holt argued the approach that led to her victory can be applied province-wide.

"People have lost faith in politics and government. So giving them hope that it can change is hard work that we need to do everywhere, because I don't think any vote can be taken for granted," she said Monday night.

Capturing traditional Liberal ridings, however, is a lot easier than building party support in areas where the PCs remain strong.

Sure, the Tories remain equally dead on arrival in most francophone areas — something Higgs blamed on the Liberals, telling reporters his opponents benefit from language divisions.

"I feel that we see that politically in the province, where there's certainly a value for the Liberals to maintain a political divide along linguistic lines," he said.

Higgs said given the history of the ridings, "the probability is low" that his party would win them anytime soon.

But he has shown in two straight elections that he doesn't need to do well in those places to win.

If Monday's results represent a political status quo, frozen in place — the Liberals with a Green problem, and the Greens with a Liberal problem — that's good news for the leader, and the party, already in power.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR


Jacques Poitras

Provincial Affairs reporter

Jacques Poitras has been CBC's provincial affairs reporter in New Brunswick since 2000. He grew up in Moncton and covered Parliament in Ottawa for the New Brunswick Telegraph-Journal. He has reported on every New Brunswick election since 1995 and won awards from the Radio Television Digital News Association, the National Newspaper Awards and Amnesty International. He is also the author of five non-fiction books about New Brunswick politics and history.

CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices
 
 
 
60 Comments
 

 
David Amos 

Trust that Higgy knows why I don't feel sorry for the Greens today 
 
 
 
David Amos
Can't anyone see this for what it is?  
 
 
David Amos 
Reply to David Amos 
"Monday’s byelection results preserve the political status quo. That could be good news for PC government" 


Toby Tolly  
Reply to David Amos 
a green auditioning for the red? 

 

 

 

Toby Tolly   
Jaques

one cannot be bemused and confused. 

 

 

 

Marcel Belanger
"Higgs said given the history of the ridings, "the probability is low" that his party would win them anytime soon.’’

The history of those ridings actually show that with a good leader and good candidates the PC’s can and have won those ridings.

But the premier would have to admit he’s not a leader for the citizens of those ridings, so it’s much easier to blame the liberals for "political linguistic divide" which is something he’s been assiduously working at ever since he got to be premier.

Also, he calls the PC party "his party", it’s not, it’s the members party that he happens to be the elected leader of, he can be replaced, the sooner the better.

 
Lou Bell
Reply to Marcel Belanger  
Liberals realized after their last defeat they have no chance of defeating Higgs in an election , and went so far as to present a petition to the Conservatives to have a leadership convention in an attempt to oust Higgs !! Hard to believe this to be true but it is ! Can't stop laughing at what the Liberals will try ! Hilarious ! 
 
 
Lou Bell
Reply to Marcel Belanger 
The last Liberal leader who was Premier hightailed it to Ottawa the morning after their defeat once he realized the undisclosed Phonie Games plan was about to be revealed to Anglophne NBers ! 
 
 
Lou Bell
Reply to Marcel Belanger 
Anglophones learned very quickly once the undisclosed " Phonie Games " plan was revealed that the SANB Liberals in no way represented them ! Premier Higgs was certainly correct in his assessment !  






 
Toby Tolly  
sad the % of people that didn't vote 
 
 
Roland Godin 
Reply to Toby Tolly 
Marketing party political brands may not be the way foreword to interest responsible voters.
 
 
David Amos 
Reply to Toby Tolly 
Par for the course  
 
 
 
 
 
Al Clark
No velcro in that suit, Serge? ;-) 
 
 
David Amos 
Reply to Al Clark   
Tut Tut Tut

Methinks everybody knows he is far too big for that job N'esy Pas?

 
Al Clark 
Reply to David Amos
I was referring to his appearance at an awards show ;-) 

 

 
 
Michael Cain
You can't debate with Higgs, he will always bully and deflect off topic. 
 
 
Don Corey
Reply to Michael Cain 
Perhaps, but his government has reduced the province's debt by 2.3 BILLION over the past 3 years. That's the best fiscal record, by far, of any province in the country.

A "Gallant type" government during the same period would have added another billion or so to the debt, and we'd still be no better off.

Voters will eventually decide if they want responsible government or more bloated liberal spending.

BTW, he probably improved his "deflecting off topic" by watching Trudeau.

 
David Amos 
Reply to Don Corey  
Higgy could never bully me  
 
 
Michael Cain
Reply to Don Corey
Reduced the debt on the backs of the citizens of New Brunswick, taking fed pandemic money (tax payers' money) and using it as surplus, literally destroying positive relationships, union busting, proposing insane immersion education, making plans that nobody knows anything about, bullying his own cabinet, etc. the worst leader the PC party ever had to get rid of. Yes, the citizens will be glad to see Higgs gone, as well as his own members. 
 
 
Don Corey
Reply to David Amos
I concur, absolutely. 
 
 
Don Corey
Reply to Michael Cain
Pure nonsense. The majority of voters are able to recognize and fully acknowledge this province's need for excellent fiscal management (which had disappeared for far too long).
 
 
Lou Bell

Reply to Michael Cain
Libeals certainly can't ! The last leader they had even elected in a riding before last night was over 7 years ago ! 


David Amos 

Reply to Don Corey 
Methinks little Lou and Mr Cain deserve each other N'esy Pas? 
Did you notice anything this morning? 


David Amos 

Reply to Don Corey 
Did you notice anything this morning?  
 
 
Michael Cain 
Reply to Don Corey 
Austerity is not excellent fiscal management. Invest in the citizens and the return is tenfold.  
 
 
Jack Bell 
Reply to Michael Cain   
"Invest in the citizens and the return is tenfold."

Is there a link for that?

 
Don Corey
Reply to Michael Cain
Is doesn't surprise me that you would fail to grasp the significance of the huge reduction in our province's debt, let alone the other key accomplishments of this government. The benefits of debt reduction alone will indeed inevitably result in positive benefits for everyone (unlike more debt, and more taxes this and future generations will pay for wasteful spending).  
 
 
Michael Cain 
Reply to Don Corey 
Historically, Canadians have always benefited the most from Liberal governments, Trickle own economics keeps people in poverty and under the thumb of an autocratic government. Provide the people with the resources they need to thrive and prosper, and the returns are more than enough to maintain and enhance debt reduction. A healthy population is a productive population. Selling the car to pay down the mortgage makes no sense if you can't get to the job to make money and feed the family. Economics 101  
 
 
Michael Cain 
Reply to Jack Bell
Do you need one?
 
 
Don Corey
Reply to Michael Cain   
Speaking of economics, it's never been one of your strong points huh.

As to history, your version is obviously biased in the left leaning direction, so we'll just leave it at that. Mine tends to be more open minded.

Any country burdened in debt is doing nothing for the health of its citizens.

A prosperous/thriving economy under Conservatives always results in a positive environment for employers to build and invest, and create more good paying jobs so the middle class will be able to afford to live. The car will not have to be sold to pay the mortgage because interest rates won't be going up as a result of government-created inflationary pressures.

People will indeed thrive and be healthy doing so

 
Michael Cain 
Reply to Don Corey  
Surprise surpluses are hardly excellent fiscal management. The surpluses were on the backs of the citizens, their inflated taxes on fuel and goods and services, the rip off of our carbon rebates, unspent federal pandemic money, federal transfers, etc. A Con government is all con.  
 
 
Michael Cain 
Reply to Jack Bell
How about give a man the seeds to grow food and feed thousands?  
   





 
Ben Haroldson
Looks like Serge is a class act   
 
 
David Amos  
Reply to Ben Haroldson  
Dream on
 
 
 
 
 
Michael Collins  
Maybe some francophones don't feel truly represented by the SANB.
 
 
Al Clark
Reply to Michael Collins 
Most. Just like most nbers have no time for cor.  
 
 
David Amos
Reply to Michael Collins
Methinks a lot don't and never did N'esy Pas?  
 
 
Marc Bourque 
Reply to Michael Collins 
Iam francophone and dont follow the radicals at the SANB.. 
 
   
Don Corey
Reply to David Amos 
Absolutely right. They were a fringe party that didn't take long to disintegrate.
 
 
 
 
 
Matt Steele  

I suspect that Premier Higgs loves that his plan has come together , and Susan Holt has finally got a seat in the Legislature . Now we will see what Susan Holt is really about as sniping from the sidelines has been easy to do when all she wants to do is pander to special interest groups , and hasn't had to present any real ideas other than to tax and spend like her mentor , Brian Gallant , did . Things are about to get amusing , and somewhat interesting as we watch Gallant 2.0 in action .
 
 
Ben Haroldson
Reply to Matt Steele  
We'll find out all about his plan when he gets turfed next year, but he'll probably quit before that happens like Mckenna did. 
 
 
Bob Smith
Reply to Ben Haroldson  
It's a stretch to say Holt will lead the Liberals back into power. She's new to being a politician in the public eye as was Vickers and we know how Vickers did as leader.
 
 
David Amos 
Reply to Bob Smith
YUp
 
 
David Amos  
Reply to Ben Haroldson  
I must say that it was pleasant to see a certain somebody's words go "Poof"  
 
 
 
 
 
Samual Johnston 
"It's interesting to see that in New Brunswick, for francophones at this moment, the second party is not the Conservatives, it's the Greens," says Roger Ouellette, a political scientist at the University of Moncton."

previous sentence:

"The Tories didn't run a candidate against Holt."

 
Douglas James 
Reply to Samual Johnston
They were talking about all 3 ridings where there were by-elections.  
 
 
Samual Johnston
Reply to Douglas James
Were they? Does it really make any more sense even if he was? Anyone red could have won in those ridings. 
 
 
Al Clark   
Reply to Samual Johnston
Sentence before that, there were THREE byelections.  
 
 
David Amos 
Reply to Al Clark 
You know as well as I that everything in heaven and hell is done in threes  
 
 
Samual Johnston
Reply to Al Clark 
Agreed in a historically heavily liberal region




 
 
Archara Goldehere  
I shifted to Susan's side. I'm very happy for her. Congratulations to the winner's. Higgs hasn't even tried to help the people of NB. Higgs will not be around next time . Now to look at the LPC as they are doing lots for the people. Stay safe
 
 
Micheal Grey 
Reply to Archara Goldehere  
Don't even Libs to help either. If you want change you need to vote Green.  
 
 
Archara Goldehere 
Reply to Micheal Grey  
I looked at the Green and made my choice. We all get a vote unless you didn't bother to vote. I just no my vote will not go to the conservatives . Have a great day. 
 
 
Micheal Grey 
Reply to Archara Goldehere  
I just want change. Hope to see it in my lifetime! God bless. 
 
 
Archara Goldehere 
Reply to Micheal Grey 
We will see it with Susan and you don't need to disrespect a voted in person. Give her a chance as the people did. I left the PC party because of the hateful talk and here you are. :( Maybe I made the best choice. Have a great day. 
 
 
Don Corey 
Reply to Archara Goldehere
The NB Liberal party is no different from the Ottawa gang, with their bloated spending, record deficits and an ongoing list of failures. Brian Gallant's government was the worst in our history, and the latest version will not be provided with the opportunity to pull a repeat. The Liberals can dream and hope....that's about it.
 
 
David Amos 
Reply to Don Corey
Methinks many COR Party fans would agree that McKenna's government was the worst N'esy Pas? 
 
 
Don Corey
Reply to David Amos 
I concur.  
 
 
Archara Goldehere
Reply to Don Corey 
Well I'm going to vote for LPC and Brian was over what 10 years ago. But the PC's will never recover from Higgs. You think they are a failure but really the PC-CPC-CPP are the failure . I no this as I was PC. And you think what, the liberals wont get in and that my friend is your mistake just like Higgs thinks and doesn't bother to help NBwer's . It will be your failure. And Higgs is way worse then Brian ever was. Just an FYI from an ex-PCer.  
 
 
David Amos   

Reply to Archara Goldehere 
"Higgs is way worse then Brian ever was"

So Higgy is the lesser of two evil politicians? 

 
Don Corey
Reply to Archara Goldehere
We obviously disagree.

Your preference would appear to be for wasteful/bloated spending and huge deficits.

It's the easy way to go for politicians, and gets lots of votes from those who love the liberal focus on socialism and income redistribution.

It's not "free money" though, and taxpayers ultimately pay the price.

You can only kick the can so far down the road before the time comes for payback.

 
 
 
 
 
 
G. Timothy Walton
Or one could interpret this as many PC voters would rather shift to the Greens than to the Liberals if they feel the need to swing their vote away from Higgs. 
 
 
Don Corey
Reply to G. Timothy Walton
One could also interpret this as Liberal wins in 3 of their strongholds, and most PC voters didn't waste their time voting. It's obvious in the Bathurst riding that former Liberal votes went to the Greens.
 
 
David Amos 
Reply to Don Corey 
C'est Vrai 




Kyle Woodman 
This is all very speculative Jacques.  
 
 
David Amos 

Reply to Kyle Woodman 
Should we speculate as to why about 25 comments posted by little Lou evaporated all at once? 
 
 
 

Higgs warned of 'too much power in premier's office' in 2018. His 2023 critics agree

Former ministers express common concern about power wielded by premier

"Today there is too much power in the premier's office," he wrote in a personal letter to voters during the 2018 election campaign. 

"The Premier's office ends up making all the decisions. The voices of citizens and elected officials are not allowed to be as strong as they could and should be. I want to be the Premier who says 'No we don't do it that way anymore.'"

Five years later, with his government roiled by a series of cabinet resignations and firings and mounting accusations of his own tendency toward centralized rule, Higgs still maintains he is a leader who values different points of view and is open to learning from those who do not agree with him.

A woman with short grey hair and glasses glances to the left of the photo with a serious expression. It's fairly close-up and only the collar of a black blouse with aqua squares and some red patterning is visible. Former social development minister Dorothy Shephard resigned from cabinet three weeks ago citing a lack of independence to run her department and a refusal by Premier Higgs to listen to views other than his own. (Shane Magee/CBC)

"I'm never happy when someone quits and walks away because the way we find balance — and the way we respect each other's views in doing so — is how we improve democracy," Higgs told CBC News last week. 

But a growing list of government MLAs and ex-ministers claim that is not the Blaine Higgs they know.

Simmering frustration

Three weeks ago, former social development minister Dorothy Shephard resigned from cabinet in opposition to the government changing Policy 713, which provides guidance for the treatment of LGBTQ students in schools.

In interviews about the decision, Shephard expressed specific concerns about the policy change but also a long simmering frustration about Higgs making decisions on his own and bypassing ministers by running departments directly from his office.

"There's no conversation with the premier's office. It's all a direct line from the premier's office to the deputy minister," she said.

Two men standing side-by-side, arms crossed Two MLAs who quit Higgs’s cabinet in the past, Dominic Cardy and Robert Gauvin, watch as the premier speaks to media after Dorothy Shephard's resignation. (Jacques Poitras/CBC)

The criticism was nearly identical to one made nine months ago by former education minister Dominic Cardy in his resignation letter from cabinet.

Cardy claimed major government policy shifts, such as the ill-fated attempt to overhaul French immersion in schools or to disband elected representation on health boards, were increasingly personal decisions being made directly by the premier.

"Your order to abolish the democratically elected Regional Health Authorities without informing Cabinet represents a steady consolidation of power in your own hands," Cardy wrote in the letter.

WATCH | Jacques Poitras walks through the process critics of Blaine Higgs must follow to remove him as PC leader: 

CBC Explains: How does a leadership review work?

Duration 1:19
The CBC’s Jacques Poitras walks us through each step the PC party must go through to remove a sitting premier.

The New Brunswick Progressive Conservative party had told voters in 2018 that with Higgs as leader it would delegate power and "move decisions closer to communities," but Cardy described the opposite happening, especially, he said, after the party went from a minority to a majority government in 2020.

At the time, Cardy's letter was viewed as incendiary and disloyal. It triggered his expulsion from the government caucus and forced him to sit in the legislature as an independent.

But in the last month, a number of Cardy's former cabinet colleagues have been making nearly identical points as they either resigned, like he did, or were fired by Higgs.

'More about him getting his own way' 

Trevor Holder, the most senior government MLA in the New Brunswick legislature, gave up his cabinet position two weeks ago and, like Cardy and Shephard before him, cited a concentration of power and decision-making in the hands of one.

"Under the leadership of Premier Higgs caucus has been less about consensus and more about him getting his own way," wrote Holder in an open letter explaining his departure.

Bald man with glasses stands in lobby of legislature with reporters around him. New Brunswick's most senior Progressive Conservative MLA, Trevor Holder, resigned from cabinet two weeks ago claiming Premier Higgs has abandoned consensus in favour of 'getting his own way.' (Jacques Poitras/CBC)

Jeff Carr was fired by Higgs as transportation minister last week following his public opposition to the changes to Policy 713 regarding the treatment of LGBTQ students. He issued his own letter describing a "continuous lack of transparency and consultation" under the premier. 

Carr said Higgs had largely abandoned consultation after winning a majority government and adopted a "my way or the highway" position on issues like French immersion changes that did not "include others in decision-making."

In a remark aimed personally at Higgs, Carr also endorsed the criticisms other departing cabinet ministers were levelling about the premier not valuing opinions different from his own.

"Thank you … for removing me from a situation that I feel I can no longer contribute to as some of my colleagues have previously described," he wrote in a publicly released letter.

Lori Turnbull, the director of the school of public administration at Dalhousie University, told Information Morning on Monday that it is not unusual for premiers or prime ministers in parliamentary systems to be accused of wielding too much power.  

Collage of two photos of two men in blue suits Former transportation minister Jeff Carr and local government minister Daniel Allain were fired from cabinet last week for voting for an opposition motion to require more study of a school policy change affecting LGBTQ students. Carr said Premier Higgs has adopted a 'my way or the highway' attitude on certain issues since winning a majority government. (CBC)

But she said what is happening in New Brunswick appears to be something beyond those standard complaints.

"This is not just a Blaine Higgs thing," said Turnbull. "However, it seems like this particular situation has gone too far for some of the people around him."

Higgs no longer references his 2018 commitment to voters to curtail unilateral decision-making in the premier's office, but he does acknowledge some blame for internal problems in his government and said he "has to be part of the solution." 

However, last week he also said he finds some of the complaints about him "a bit over dramatic" and appeared to misstate or misunderstand that the concerns ex-ministers express about him cover multiple policies that stretch back several months.

A woman in a blue jacket speaks in front of boats and water. Lori Turnbull is an associate professor of political science at Dalhousie University and director of the school of public administration. She said complaints of premiers exercising too much power are common but what is happening in New Brunswick is on a different level. (CBC)

Instead he views it as a recent problem.

"It really kind of started with the policy around 713," he said.

And on that matter, although Higgs said he hopes he and dissatisfied MLAs "will find paths together" on Policy 713, he also says he expects the solution will not involve compromise, but rather their position bending to fit his.

"I think the public are very much behind what we're doing, and I think that will play a big role in everyone's riding as they speak to members and their constituents and say 'OK well, you know, I may have a different view but I understand I am here to represent my constituents," said Higgs.

"I feel that we're feeling that broad-based support throughout the province and I'm hopeful that will carry over into caucus."

ABOUT THE AUTHOR


Robert Jones

Reporter

Robert Jones has been a reporter and producer with CBC New Brunswick since 1990. His investigative reports on petroleum pricing in New Brunswick won several regional and national awards and led to the adoption of price regulation in 2006.

 
 
 
376 Comments
 
 
 
David Amos

Methinks it is interesting that somebody else calls this a circus as well N'esy Pas?

Guess who wrote this

"We are witnessing nothing more than “politics as usual.”

Premier Higgs is making a strategic political move. Minister Austin, oddly enough, is now a part of a secret, “behind closed doors” review committee such as he specifically railed and campaigned against – but it’s a significant feather in his political cap. Susan Holt is looking to establish herself as the Leader of the Liberals, a party strongly dependent on the Francophone vote. The SANB has never taken a cooperative or collaborative approach to anything – their strategy has always been to demand, intimidate, threaten, and sue.

So yes, it’s business as usual.

Furthermore, it’s a huge, controversial move than takes the focus away from healthcare, affordable housing, French Immersion, and tax cuts for the wealthy.

Don’t let yourself be sidetracked from what is important. The circus is only in town for a short time before it moves on, and the next amusement venture arrives."

 
 
 
 
Rob Lehtisaari
Premiere Higg's is attempting to change a working policy that protected Children, to endanger them by outing them to their parents without consent.

It's clear that Higg's and Party don't want to address the actual crisis facing New Brunswickers, instead choosing the DeSantis political policy of a culture War on the LGBTQ+, their allies, and Progressives.

After all New Brunswick biggest issue is a pronoun of the students choice, and not the failure in Education & Healthcare that Higg's Progressive? Conservative Party, are administrating..is it really?

I thought it was the Finances, persons not receiving life saving care in Hospitals, ER's, or how the Renewable, and non-renewable resources are administered?

How about New Brunswick Power?

This is a deliberate distraction, and if Higg's and Party are distracted, it's time for an election to put in a government that tackles solutions, not distractions.  


Don Corey  

Reply to Rob Lehtisaari  
WHY?
If it's a distraction, you can thank the CBC for keeping it on the front burner.
As to an election, the Liberals are poorly led and prepared, and have no clue on the key issues let alone solutions.

 
Rob Lehtisaari  
Reply to Don Corey
 I believe your conflating the people seized on an injustice, by choice as wrong, versus the political winds on stripes come the next election.

Higg's has bogged his Government in the mud of chosen culture War, with absolutely no substantiation, or evidence for doing so, beyond distraction.

If Children are the ones to keep safe, why does Higg's and the PC's choose to endanger them with changes to a policy that is for the Children's safety?

 
Michael Cain  
Reply to Don Corey  
That is a partisan opinion with no basis in fact.
 
 
Don Corey  

Reply to Rob Lehtisaari  
WHY?
You're the one who brought up "distraction", and your oddball comments just continue to fuel the flames. I'm simply providing my opinion, and not looking for your approval.
 
 
Don Corey  

Reply to Michael Cain
WHY?
It's an opinion based on what I see happening (or not happening) with the Liberal party. It's actually less partisan than much of what you spit out.
 

David Amos

Reply to Don Corey
Welcome back to the circus
 
 
Michael Cain  
Reply to Don Corey 
That is an opinion without fact which as usual make your comment nonsense
 
 
David Amos

Reply to David Amos
My one and only comment on why I call it such a thing has stood the test of time

From outsider to insider: Cabinet minister Kris Austin on the year he went mainstream

People’s Alliance founder turned PC minister says his goals and strategy have not changed

Jacques Poitras · CBC News · Posted: Dec 06, 2022 6:00 AM AST

 
Don Corey 
Reply to David Amos
It's entertaining and comical, as usual.  
 
 
Don Corey  

Reply to Michael Cain
WHY?
Your ridiculous comments cannot even be rated as opinions, let alone facts. Let's see you try to pick it up a notch or two (or maybe even three lol)
 
 
 
 
 
 
Rob Lehtisaari 
Policy 713, was enacted with consultation over a long period of time, and with the input of all involved prior.

Now Higg's, is Premier with a Majority, alleges Policy 713, which was for the safety of the children, needs to be fixed, so that the safety of the children is removed.

The excuse for such, has not been shown to be valid, or have standing on the safety of children, in fact Higg's autocratic actions on such, are now going to cost children their safety, Educators their trust, and the New Brunswick treasury the cost of losing law suits to the children with standing that Higg's change in policy is endangering...solely to adopt the US Republican War on conflating LGBTQ+ issues, their allies, and even progressives.

Based on the falsehood that they are all child predators based solely on moral panic, because no such evidence exists.

Educators trust, Childrens Trust & Safety is being replaced with a Political Culture War, of distraction, instead of implementing the solutions for the crisis facing the people today, that only Government can address.

 
David Amos

Reply to Rob Lehtisaari 
Do you recall when and why Higgy finally gave me a Health Care Card? 
 
 
 
 
 
Jeff Evans 
I grew up in a forward-thinking liberal home that today might be called progressive. My parents have very recently become aware that things are different with their grandkids. That something different appears to be going on in the schools, and it's making them uneasy. Until recently they dismissed all the talk as conspjracy theories. I'm not sure what happened to change their minds, other than observing.

It surprised me the other week when mum said that if she had kids in school today, she'd consider pulling them out and home schooling. My personal sense is that some of the least likely people to question our institutions are now begging to do so.

 
Jeff Evans  
Reply to Jeff Evans 
Beginning to do so, rather. 
 
 
David Amos
Reply to Jeff Evans 
Good for them





Louis Leblanc
Call an election Higgy, 1987 all over again
 

Sam Smithers
Reply to Louis Leblanc
Back then the left was a viable option. 
 
 
David Amos
Reply to Louis Leblanc
A leopard cannot change it spots. Anyone can review Higgy's performance in the Leaders Debate on Rogers TV in 2018  
 
 
 
 
David Amos

A leopard cannot change it spots. Anyone can review Higgy's performance in the Leaders Debate on Rogers TV in 2018
 
 
David Amos
Reply to David Amos 
2018 New Brunswick Provincial Election Leaders Debate

Rogers tv

153K subscribers

3,876 views Sep 15, 2018

The Telegraph-Journal and Rogers tv presents the 2018 New Brunswick provincial election leaders debate, featuring Jennifer McKenzie, Brian Gallant, Kris Austin, David Coon, Blaine Higgs and Gerald Bourque.

 


David Amos
Et tu, Brute? 
 
 
 
 
Mike May 
 
 
Shawn Tabor 
Reply to Mike May
A true statement but the Redcoat are no better. I truly think its a game. Thank you Lawyer 
 
 
Ronald Miller
Reply to Mike May 
They always accused them of driving up debt, we can all be thankful they decided to not copy that.
 
 
Larry McCarthy
Reply to Shawn Tabor
Can you name one that has had as much dissension and this many resignations in such a short time?   
 
 
Ronald Miller
Reply to Larry McCarthy  
 
 
valmond landry 
Reply to Ronald Miller
no debt and nothing done. 
 
 
Larry McCarthy 
Reply to Ronald Miller
Higgs says that. You didn't read the article, did you?
 
 
Shawn Tabor
Reply to Larry McCarthy 
No, i can not, but what i am saying is that we are the problem. He has protected his previous employer, that is a given. All the previous Premiers and their ministers have thrown us, the general working folks under the bus for so many years that this was inevitable. Think of how many select folks that we have made wealthy on the backs of taxpayers. This will continue. I have seen the courts and that too is rigged. The same things go with these Lawyers. Thank you to one particular Lawyer who stated, Hektor ( me ) you have to learn to play the game. Do not get upset when your taxes will rise again. Its out of control. This will happen now or in the next 2 years. Have a great safe day. Work hard and smile.
 
 
Larry McCarthy
Reply to Shawn Tabor
You didn't answer my question! 
 
 
David Amos
Reply to Larry McCarthy 
Yes he did 





 
 
 

2018 New Brunswick Provincial Election Leaders Debate

3,876 views Sep 15, 2018 The Telegraph-Journal and Rogers tv presents the 2018 New Brunswick provincial election leaders debate, featuring Jennifer McKenzie, Brian Gallant, Kris Austin, David Coon, Blaine Higgs and Gerald Bourque. 
 
 

Need I say I enjoy reviewing the heated debate between Higgs and his current Minister of Justice?
 
 
Nearly 2 years later I managed to speak to Austin but only briefly at the 29 minute mark of this talk show https://rogerstv.com/media?lid=237&rid=19&gid=328415

BTW History has proven that Gerald Bourque was correct in the conclusion of this debate The statement about all the BS he just heard were fine words for Maritimers to consider. The following year Rogers tv edited out the last hour of a debate merely because several Maritimers in the audience asked some serious questions and registered their indignation as well 
 
 
Two years later there was another little circus in Sussex 
 
Go Figure why it was not edited 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Fredericton is Dead ... Long Live Fredericton

547 subscribers
292 views Apr 10, 2023 Can you see the trend connected to all the changes to construction which is totally transforming the nature and culture of Fredericton?
 
 

I remember you NDP Dudes in Fat Fred City laughing at me nearly 20 years ago  
 
 
CBC News · Posted: Jan 09, 2006 4:23 PM AST  
 
An international expert on democracy has flown all the way from Egypt to help NDP candidate John Carty campaign in Fredericton.  
 
Dominic Cardy is with a group called The National Democratic Institute. Its members include such people as former U.S. President Jimmy Carter. The group's mission is to teach democratic values and spread democracy around the world.  
 
 

Me,Myself and I

David Amos 
 
 
 

NDP gets help from democracy expert

An international expert on democracy has flown all the way from Egypt to help NDP candidate John Carty campaign in Fredericton.

Dominic Cardy is with a group called The National Democratic Institute. Its members include such people as former U.S. President Jimmy Carter. The group's mission is to teach democratic values and spread democracy around the world.

Cardy has taught about democracy in Algeria, Bangladesh, and Cambodia during the past few years. When he heard his friend John Carty was running for office back in his home town of Fredericton, he hopped on a plane.

"It was a strange experience," Cardy said. "One evening I was watching the sun go down over the pyramids, and the next evening watched it go down over Fredericton airport as I came into land."

Cardy is no relation to the NDP candidate. But he loves elections and loves getting people pumped up about democracy.

Carty the candidate is running against federal Indian Affairs Minister Andy Scott, Conservative Pat Lynch, Green candidate Philip Duchastel and independent David Amos. The riding has sent Scott to Ottawa for the last four elections, despite the best efforts of the other parties.

Cardy says he doesn't care how tough the race his – he just wants people to participate in the process. "People have forgotten how incredibly precious these gifts that our ancestors fought for are and were just giving them away. It makes me furious when I talk to people and people just say 'ah there's no point in voting.'"

After election day, Dominic Cardy is flying back home to his wife in Kathmandu, Nepal. He hopes to leave behind a new Member of Parliament for Fredericton, his friend John Carty for the NDP.

CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices
 
 
 
 

Gerald Bourque, Leader, KISS Party NB

547 subscribers
80 views Sep 5, 2020 Mr. Bourque talks on health care and paramedics, government debt, and how the best solution are achieved when we work together.
 
 
 
 
 
 

Blaine Higgs - Voice of the Province - February 2, 2017

Opposition Leader Blaine Higgs sits down with Dennis Atchison to discuss the State of the Province Address, the 2017 Ice Storm, and New Brunswick's future.
 
 
 
 
 

Fredericton North

 
June 09, 2003
Name Party Standing # Votes
Burke, Thomas J. L Won 4163
Forbes, Peter PC Lost 3211
Atchison, Dennis NDP/NPD Lost 1418
 
 
 

Fredericton-Silverwood

September 18, 2006
Name Party Standing # Votes
Miles, Rick L Won 3226
Green, Brad PC Lost 2869
Atchison, Dennis NDP/NPD Lost 813
 
 
 

New Brunswick NDP meet to elect new leader

The province's NDP will pick a new leader this weekend in Moncton and begin the process of rebuilding the party after dismal election results in 2006.

Communications specialist Dennis Atchison, 51, and former Catholic priest Roger Duguay, 44, will have their names on the ballot. Both men ran unsuccessfully in last year's provincial election.

Allison Brewer stepped down as leader when the party garnered just five per cent of the popular vote in the election. She said she couldn't continue in an unpaid position afterthe party didn't earn any seats in the legislature.

Of the 1,000 eligible voters, only 100 party members are expected to show up in person to vote on Saturday. With a one-member, one-vote system, many delegates have already mailed in their ballots to party headquarters, said Nan Luke, convention co-chair.

Unless the party is able to raise money and boost its profile in the province, it will continue to have difficulty electing members to the legislature, said Don Desserud, a political science professor at the University of New Brunswick.

It will become the responsibility of the new leader to rebuild the party from the ground up, said Desserud.

"It's incredibly difficult to do that unless you've got a dynamic leader that people will want to be with and want to meet and want to come out and see, so they have to do something that's going to be able to capture the imagination of the province," said Desserud.

"It's not so important you go into it well-known, but you'd better come out of this convention with some kind of a profile."

Both of the candidates have a strong background in communicating with the public, said interim leader Pat Hanratty.

"They realize that communication is vital, and also that the party does, and that they're going to have to step up the leader's schedule," Hanratty said.

According to the leadership candidate Atchison, the NDP needs to overcome internal resistance to trying new things and use the next three years to show voters that the party is a viable political option.

Meanwhile, Duguay has said the next leader must concentrate on raising money and restoring inactive riding associations.

With files from the Canadian Press

CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices|
 
 
 
 

When Blaine Higgs sat down with the NDP dude Dennis Atchison years ago He should have asked Is CBC NB Broken then

 

Moore, Rob - M.P.

<Rob.Moore@parl.gc.ca>
Mon, Jul 3, 2023 at 7:10 PM
To: David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.com>

*This is an automated response*

 

Thank you for contacting the Honourable Rob Moore, P.C., M.P. office. We appreciate the time you took to get in touch with our office.

 

If you did not already, please ensure to include your full contact details on your email and the appropriate staff will be able to action your request. We strive to ensure all constituent correspondence is responded to in a timely manner.

 

If your question or concern is time sensitive, please call our office: 506-832-4200.

 

Again, we thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and concerns.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Office of the Honourable Rob Moore, P.C., M.P.

Member of Parliament for Fundy Royal

rob.moore@parl.gc.ca

 

 

David Amos

<david.raymond.amos333@gmail.com>
Mon, Jul 3, 2023 at 7:10 PM
To: "blaine.higgs" <blaine.higgs@gnb.ca>, edinnb@gmail.com, bfmath@nb.sympatico.ca, vandpelliott@gmail.com, mikeboushel@nb.aibn.com, slmaceachern@gmail.com, lynn.savoie@bellaliant.net, rcharman@rogers.com, janemittonmaclean@gmail.com, sylvie@droitsgclaw.com, thelmacormier@hotmail.com, mpmartin@nbnet.nb.ca, brianehbaxter@gmail.com, danjoproducts@rogers.com, huguette_sawyer@hotmail.com, portly1a@gmail.com, paulhambrook99@gmail.com, tom.jennings506@gmail.com, gertrudemclaughlin@hotmail.com, nomiedavidgauvin@hotmail.com, lwyou1@rogers.com, annebard.lavigne@gmail.com, worth@nbnet.nb.ca, awlebrun@hotmail.com, checkup@cbc.ca, Dominic.Cardy@gnb.ca, "robert.gauvin" <robert.gauvin@gnb.ca>, "Trevor.Holder" <Trevor.Holder@gnb.ca>, Dorothy.Shephard@gnb.ca, marcel@gampotatoesinc.com, Chuck.Chiasson@gnb.ca, jroywiggins@gmail.com, duncan@dlmca.ca, bobhatheway@gmail.com, andrewjdykeman@gmail.com, francineqs@gmail.com, Brian.Cooke@unb.ca, andy.hardy101@gmail.com, raymond.duplessis2@gmail.com, ssducks@xplornet.ca, jd.grant@rogers.com, info@careyconsultants.ca, erika.hachey@pcnb.ca, claude.williams@pcnb.ca, alex.lebrun@pcnb.ca, andrea.johnson@pcnb.ca, "Paul.Harpelle" <Paul.Harpelle@gnb.ca>, "andrea.anderson-mason" <andrea.anderson-mason@gnb.ca>, andre <andre@jafaust.com>, "Ross.Wetmore" <Ross.Wetmore@gnb.ca>
Cc: motomaniac333 <motomaniac333@gmail.com>, Rob.Moore@parl.gc.ca, michel.cote2@nbed.nb.ca, "pierre.poilievre" <pierre.poilievre@parl.gc.ca>, "jake.stewart" <jake.stewart@parl.gc.ca>


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKH0e6d-ljg&t=2111s&ab_channel=Rogerstv


Blaine Higgs - Voice of the Province - February 2, 2017
Rogers tv153K subscribers
141 views Feb 3, 2017
Opposition Leader Blaine Higgs sits down with Dennis Atchison to
discuss the State of the Province Address, the 2017 Ice Storm, and New
Brunswick's future.



https://davidraymondamos3.blogspot.com/2023/07/blaine-higgs-sits-down-with-dennis.html


Saturday, 1 July 2023

When Blaine Higgs sat down with the NDP dude Dennis Atchison years ago
He should have asked Is CBC NB Broken then

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptZcKsMPolU&ab_channel=TheDennisReport



Is CBC NB Broken?
The Dennis Report
547 subscribers
149 views Apr 26, 2023 FREDERICTON CBC leaves out important details in
their coverage of recent by-elections in New Brunswick.

7 Comments
David Amos
@davidamos7114
You NEVER respond to me


David Amos
@davidamos7114

 https://davidraymondamos3.blogspot.com/2023/04/voters-in-3-provincial-ridings-elect.html



 https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/win-liberal-byelection-greens-1.6821783

Wins are wins for N.B. Liberals, but Greens celebrate too
Monday’s byelection results preserve the political status quo. That
could be good news for PC government

Jacques Poitras · CBC News · Posted: Apr 25, 2023 2:53 PM ADT


A woman left, smiling, and facing a man, right, who is looking down at
her. Green candidate Serge Brideau stopped in to the byelection
victory party to congratulate Liberal leader Susan Holt on her win.
(Jacques Poitras/CBC)

After most Liberals had drifted away from their byelection victory
party at a downtown Bathurst pub Monday night, the event took a
surprising turn.

Defeated Green candidate Serge Brideau arrived with a small group of
his campaign workers.

Brideau had stopped in earlier to congratulate Liberal leader Susan
Holt on beating him in Bathurst East-Nepisiguit-St. Isidore.

For his second appearance, he brought his guitar. Soon he was
performing Folsom Prison Blues by Johnny Cash and songs by his own
folk-rock band, Les Hôtesses d'Hilaire.

A man, left, plays guitar. Two women, one wearing white and the other
in black, stand to the side and watch. Brideau performs at the Liberal
byelection victory party at a downtown Bathurst pub Monday night while
Holt supporter Stephanie Tomlinson, in white, and Holt's chief of
staff Alaina Lockhart stand by and watch. (Jacques Poitras/CBC)

The remaining Liberals, including Holt's chief of staff Alaina
Lockhart and former Bathurst MLA Brian Kenny, seemed alternately
bemused and confused as their celebration started to look more like a
Green hoedown.

Not a bad metaphor for Monday's byelection results, come to think of it.

As expected, the Liberals swept the three races, in Bathurst
East-Nepisiguit-St. Isidore, Restigouche-Chaleur and Dieppe. All three
had been Liberal before.

More importantly, Holt got into the legislature, allowing her to go
toe-to-toe in debates with Premier Blaine Higgs, whom she hopes to
defeat in next year's provincial election.

But the Greens nonetheless squeezed their way into the political frame
— or at least avoided being squeezed out.

Brideau got 35.4 per cent of the vote against Holt, almost tripling
the Green share in the riding last time.

"I gained a lot and I'm back in 2024, for sure," he said.

A split photo of a woman, left, smiling and a man, right, smiling.
In Restigouche-Chaleur, Green candidate Rachel Boudreau got more than
30 per cent of the vote, second to winner Marco LeBlanc. (Serge
Bouchard/Radio-Canada)

In Restigouche-Chaleur, Green candidate Rachel Boudreau, a former
mayor, got 31.6 per cent of the vote, placing second to winner Marco
LeBlanc. Progressive Conservative Anne Bard-Lavigne trailed with 15.8
per cent.

And in Dieppe, where Liberal Richard Losier scooped up more than
two-thirds of the vote, the Greens had 18.8 per cent, compared to a
dismal 8.6 per cent for the third-place PCs.

The Tories didn't run a candidate against Holt.

"It's interesting to see that in New Brunswick, for francophones at
this moment, the second party is not the Conservatives, it's the
Greens," says Roger Ouellette, a political scientist at the University
of Moncton.

The Green vote wasn't enough to win in three traditionally Liberal strongholds.

    Susan Holt wins legislature seat in Liberal byelection sweep

But if the party's support improves at the same rate in ridings that
are less reliably Liberal, it could make it difficult for Holt to
become premier in 2024.

Ouellette pointed out that the Greens have also been competitive in
the mostly anglophone southern part of the province.

"We will see in the next election if the Greens stay in touch with
voters and are able to have good candidates like this time and obtain
some votes," Ouellette said.

A man wearing a suit stands at a podium with a sign on the front that
says "Richard Losier." These signs are also plastered on the wall
behind him. A crowd of people sit in front of the podium.    In
Dieppe, Liberal Richard Losier scooped up more than two-thirds of the
vote. (Michelle LeBlanc/Radio-Canada)

"Maybe it will split the vote and it will be an advantage for the
Conservatives."

In that sense, Monday's results represent no change to the existing
dynamic in New Brunswick politics.

A best-ever for the Greens still isn't a breakthrough. Wins are wins:
Holt will be in the legislature and Brideau won't. There'll be no
crashing that party.

Holt argued the approach that led to her victory can be applied province-wide.

"People have lost faith in politics and government. So giving them
hope that it can change is hard work that we need to do everywhere,
because I don't think any vote can be taken for granted," she said
Monday night.

Capturing traditional Liberal ridings, however, is a lot easier than
building party support in areas where the PCs remain strong.

Sure, the Tories remain equally dead on arrival in most francophone
areas — something Higgs blamed on the Liberals, telling reporters his
opponents benefit from language divisions.

"I feel that we see that politically in the province, where there's
certainly a value for the Liberals to maintain a political divide
along linguistic lines," he said.

Higgs said given the history of the ridings, "the probability is low"
that his party would win them anytime soon.

But he has shown in two straight elections that he doesn't need to do
well in those places to win.

If Monday's results represent a political status quo, frozen in place
— the Liberals with a Green problem, and the Greens with a Liberal
problem — that's good news for the leader, and the party, already in
power.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jacques Poitras

Provincial Affairs reporter

Jacques Poitras has been CBC's provincial affairs reporter in New
Brunswick since 2000. He grew up in Moncton and covered Parliament in
Ottawa for the New Brunswick Telegraph-Journal. He has reported on
every New Brunswick election since 1995 and won awards from the Radio
Television Digital News Association, the National Newspaper Awards and
Amnesty International. He is also the author of five non-fiction books
about New Brunswick politics and history.
CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices



60 Comments



David Amos
Content Deactivated
Trust that Higgy knows why I don't feel sorry for the Greens today



David Amos
Can't anyone see this for what it is?


David Amos
Reply to David Amos
"Monday’s byelection results preserve the political status quo. That
could be good news for PC government"


Toby Tolly
Reply to David Amos
a green auditioning for the red?






Toby Tolly
Jaques

one cannot be bemused and confused.






Marcel Belanger
"Higgs said given the history of the ridings, "the probability is low"
that his party would win them anytime soon.’’

The history of those ridings actually show that with a good leader and
good candidates the PC’s can and have won those ridings.

But the premier would have to admit he’s not a leader for the citizens
of those ridings, so it’s much easier to blame the liberals for
"political linguistic divide" which is something he’s been assiduously
working at ever since he got to be premier.

Also, he calls the PC party "his party", it’s not, it’s the members
party that he happens to be the elected leader of, he can be replaced,
the sooner the better.

Lou Bell
Reply to Marcel Belanger
Liberals realized after their last defeat they have no chance of
defeating Higgs in an election , and went so far as to present a
petition to the Conservatives to have a leadership convention in an
attempt to oust Higgs !! Hard to believe this to be true but it is !
Can't stop laughing at what the Liberals will try ! Hilarious !


Lou Bell
Reply to Marcel Belanger
The last Liberal leader who was Premier hightailed it to Ottawa the
morning after their defeat once he realized the undisclosed Phonie
Games plan was about to be revealed to Anglophne NBers !


Lou Bell
Reply to Marcel Belanger
Anglophones learned very quickly once the undisclosed " Phonie Games "
plan was revealed that the SANB Liberals in no way represented them !
Premier Higgs was certainly correct in his assessment !







Toby Tolly
sad the % of people that didn't vote


Roland Godin
Reply to Toby Tolly
Marketing party political brands may not be the way foreword to
interest responsible voters.


David Amos
Reply to Toby Tolly
Par for the course





Al Clark
No velcro in that suit, Serge? ;-)


David Amos
Reply to Al Clark
Tut Tut Tut

Methinks everybody knows he is far too big for that job N'esy Pas?

Al Clark
Reply to David Amos
I was referring to his appearance at an awards show ;-)




Michael Cain
You can't debate with Higgs, he will always bully and deflect off topic.


Don Corey
Reply to Michael Cain
Perhaps, but his government has reduced the province's debt by 2.3
BILLION over the past 3 years. That's the best fiscal record, by far,
of any province in the country.

A "Gallant type" government during the same period would have added
another billion or so to the debt, and we'd still be no better off.

Voters will eventually decide if they want responsible government or
more bloated liberal spending.

BTW, he probably improved his "deflecting off topic" by watching Trudeau.

David Amos
Reply to Don Corey
Higgy could never bully me


Michael Cain
Reply to Don Corey
Reduced the debt on the backs of the citizens of New Brunswick, taking
fed pandemic money (tax payers' money) and using it as surplus,
literally destroying positive relationships, union busting, proposing
insane immersion education, making plans that nobody knows anything
about, bullying his own cabinet, etc. the worst leader the PC party
ever had to get rid of. Yes, the citizens will be glad to see Higgs
gone, as well as his own members.


Don Corey
Reply to David Amos
I concur, absolutely.


Don Corey
Reply to Michael Cain
Pure nonsense. The majority of voters are able to recognize and fully
acknowledge this province's need for excellent fiscal management
(which had disappeared for far too long).


Lou Bell
Content Deactivated
Reply to Michael Cain
Libeals certainly can't ! The last leader they had even elected in a
riding before last night was over 7 years ago !


David Amos
Content Deactivated
Reply to Don Corey
Methinks little Lou and Mr Cain deserve each other N'esy Pas?
Did you notice anything this morning?


David Amos
Content Deactivated
Reply to Don Corey
Did you notice anything this morning?


Michael Cain
Reply to Don Corey
Austerity is not excellent fiscal management. Invest in the citizens
and the return is tenfold.


Jack Bell
Reply to Michael Cain
"Invest in the citizens and the return is tenfold."

Is there a link for that?

Don Corey
Reply to Michael Cain
Is doesn't surprise me that you would fail to grasp the significance
of the huge reduction in our province's debt, let alone the other key
accomplishments of this government. The benefits of debt reduction
alone will indeed inevitably result in positive benefits for everyone
(unlike more debt, and more taxes this and future generations will pay
for wasteful spending).


Michael Cain
Reply to Don Corey
Historically, Canadians have always benefited the most from Liberal
governments, Trickle own economics keeps people in poverty and under
the thumb of an autocratic government. Provide the people with the
resources they need to thrive and prosper, and the returns are more
than enough to maintain and enhance debt reduction. A healthy
population is a productive population. Selling the car to pay down the
mortgage makes no sense if you can't get to the job to make money and
feed the family. Economics 101


Michael Cain
Reply to Jack Bell
Do you need one?


Don Corey
Reply to Michael Cain
Speaking of economics, it's never been one of your strong points huh.

As to history, your version is obviously biased in the left leaning
direction, so we'll just leave it at that. Mine tends to be more open
minded.

Any country burdened in debt is doing nothing for the health of its citizens.

A prosperous/thriving economy under Conservatives always results in a
positive environment for employers to build and invest, and create
more good paying jobs so the middle class will be able to afford to
live. The car will not have to be sold to pay the mortgage because
interest rates won't be going up as a result of government-created
inflationary pressures.

People will indeed thrive and be healthy doing so

Michael Cain
Reply to Don Corey
Surprise surpluses are hardly excellent fiscal management. The
surpluses were on the backs of the citizens, their inflated taxes on
fuel and goods and services, the rip off of our carbon rebates,
unspent federal pandemic money, federal transfers, etc. A Con
government is all con.


Michael Cain
Reply to Jack Bell
How about give a man the seeds to grow food and feed thousands?







Ben Haroldson
Looks like Serge is a class act


David Amos
Content Deactivated
Reply to Ben Haroldson
Dream on





Michael Collins
Maybe some francophones don't feel truly represented by the SANB.


Al Clark
Reply to Michael Collins
Most. Just like most nbers have no time for cor.


David Amos
Reply to Michael Collins
Methinks a lot don't and never did N'esy Pas?


Marc Bourque
Reply to Michael Collins
Iam francophone and dont follow the radicals at the SANB..


Don Corey
Reply to David Amos
Absolutely right. They were a fringe party that didn't take long to
disintegrate.





Matt Steele
Content Deactivated
I suspect that Premier Higgs loves that his plan has come together ,
and Susan Holt has finally got a seat in the Legislature . Now we will
see what Susan Holt is really about as sniping from the sidelines has
been easy to do when all she wants to do is pander to special interest
groups , and hasn't had to present any real ideas other than to tax
and spend like her mentor , Brian Gallant , did . Things are about to
get amusing , and somewhat interesting as we watch Gallant 2.0 in
action .


Ben Haroldson
Reply to Matt Steele
We'll find out all about his plan when he gets turfed next year, but
he'll probably quit before that happens like Mckenna did.


Bob Smith
Reply to Ben Haroldson
It's a stretch to say Holt will lead the Liberals back into power.
She's new to being a politician in the public eye as was Vickers and
we know how Vickers did as leader.


David Amos
Reply to Bob Smith
YUp


David Amos
Content Deactivated
Reply to Ben Haroldson
I must say that it was pleasant to see a certain somebody's words go "Poof"





Samual Johnston
"It's interesting to see that in New Brunswick, for francophones at
this moment, the second party is not the Conservatives, it's the
Greens," says Roger Ouellette, a political scientist at the University
of Moncton."

previous sentence:

"The Tories didn't run a candidate against Holt."

Douglas James
Reply to Samual Johnston
They were talking about all 3 ridings where there were by-elections.


Samual Johnston
Reply to Douglas James
Were they? Does it really make any more sense even if he was? Anyone
red could have won in those ridings.


Al Clark
Reply to Samual Johnston
Sentence before that, there were THREE byelections.


David Amos
Reply to Al Clark
You know as well as I that everything in heaven and hell is done in threes


Samual Johnston
Reply to Al Clark
Agreed in a historically heavily liberal region






Archara Goldehere
I shifted to Susan's side. I'm very happy for her. Congratulations to
the winner's. Higgs hasn't even tried to help the people of NB. Higgs
will not be around next time . Now to look at the LPC as they are
doing lots for the people. Stay safe


Micheal Grey
Reply to Archara Goldehere
Don't even Libs to help either. If you want change you need to vote Green.


Archara Goldehere
Reply to Micheal Grey
I looked at the Green and made my choice. We all get a vote unless you
didn't bother to vote. I just no my vote will not go to the
conservatives . Have a great day.


Micheal Grey
Reply to Archara Goldehere
I just want change. Hope to see it in my lifetime! God bless.


Archara Goldehere
Reply to Micheal Grey
We will see it with Susan and you don't need to disrespect a voted in
person. Give her a chance as the people did. I left the PC party
because of the hateful talk and here you are. :( Maybe I made the best
choice. Have a great day.


Don Corey
Reply to Archara Goldehere
The NB Liberal party is no different from the Ottawa gang, with their
bloated spending, record deficits and an ongoing list of failures.
Brian Gallant's government was the worst in our history, and the
latest version will not be provided with the opportunity to pull a
repeat. The Liberals can dream and hope....that's about it.


David Amos
Reply to Don Corey
Methinks many COR Party fans would agree that McKenna's government was
the worst N'esy Pas?


Don Corey
Reply to David Amos
I concur.


Archara Goldehere
Reply to Don Corey
Well I'm going to vote for LPC and Brian was over what 10 years ago.
But the PC's will never recover from Higgs. You think they are a
failure but really the PC-CPC-CPP are the failure . I no this as I was
PC. And you think what, the liberals wont get in and that my friend is
your mistake just like Higgs thinks and doesn't bother to help NBwer's
. It will be your failure. And Higgs is way worse then Brian ever was.
Just an FYI from an ex-PCer.


David Amos
Content Deactivated
Reply to Archara Goldehere
"Higgs is way worse then Brian ever was"

So Higgy is the lesser of two evil politicians?

Don Corey
Reply to Archara Goldehere
We obviously disagree.

Your preference would appear to be for wasteful/bloated spending and
huge deficits.

It's the easy way to go for politicians, and gets lots of votes from
those who love the liberal focus on socialism and income
redistribution.

It's not "free money" though, and taxpayers ultimately pay the price.

You can only kick the can so far down the road before the time comes
for payback.






G. Timothy Walton
Or one could interpret this as many PC voters would rather shift to
the Greens than to the Liberals if they feel the need to swing their
vote away from Higgs.


Don Corey
Reply to G. Timothy Walton
One could also interpret this as Liberal wins in 3 of their
strongholds, and most PC voters didn't waste their time voting. It's
obvious in the Bathurst riding that former Liberal votes went to the
Greens.


David Amos
Reply to Don Corey
C'est Vrai




Kyle Woodman
This is all very speculative Jacques.


David Amos
Content Deactivated
Reply to Kyle Woodman
Should we speculate as to why about 25 comments posted by little Lou
evaporated all at once?
 
 
 
 

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