Throne speech passes, but Higgs continues preparing for election
All 6 PC MLAs who defied him in June fall in line for vote endorsing speech
All six Progressive Conservative MLAs who broke ranks with the premier in the spring to vote with the Opposition Liberals on Policy 713 fell in line Friday morning, supporting the government.
The motion to support the Oct. 17 throne speech passed 27-19.
Just ahead of that vote, a Liberal amendment declaring no confidence in the government was defeated by the same margin, with those six PC MLAs voting against the motion.
Had either vote gone the other way, it would have triggered an election.
But Higgs retains the discretion to call one, something he again refused to rule out on Friday.
"We will continue to make preparations and be ready, because I think it's the prudent thing to do," he told reporters.
"We have activities underway in that regard, and we are just going to be election ready."
Asked if he would be at the legislature for next week's scheduled sittings, Higgs said, "At this point, I intend to be."
Of the six MLAs who voted against Higgs in the spring, only one, Daniel Allain, has agreed to meet with him one-on-one to smooth over their differences.
Higgs has said for several weeks he may need an election to give his government stability because of the five holdouts.
The premier said their vote in favour of his agenda Friday was a good sign but he doesn't want to declare every vote on every bill a confidence vote to keep them onboard.
Higgs has complained about the five MLAs' refusal to meet with him one-on-one rather than as a group and their tough questioning of government officials during public accounts committee meetings.
He also says at least one of them has posted criticism on social media, though he won't identify which one.
Opposition Liberal Leader Susan Holt, who had tried to persuade some of the five to support her non-confidence motion, said they fell in line for Friday's vote because "I think they want to keep their jobs."
Friday's vote happened in the wake of a dramatic about-face by Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau about the federal carbon tax — an issue Higgs has been using to hammer the provincial Liberals for months.
Trudeau announced late Thursday that the tax won't apply to home heating oil for three years, giving people time to take advantage of a new federal program to help pay for the installation of heat pumps that use less energy and reduce emissions.
Liberal
Leader Susan Holt says it's encouraging to see the prime minister
taking action on commitments to 'affordability measures.' (Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick)
He also announced that the top-up on carbon tax rebates for rural residents will increase from 10 to 20 per cent.
Higgs had been urging Holt to join him in pressuring Ottawa to scrap the tax altogether.
On Friday, Holt contrasted Trudeau's announcement to Higgs's refusal to deliver new inflation-relief measures that his government promised a month ago.
"It's encouraging to see at least one leader that's committing to affordability measures and then acting on them," she said.
But the premier said Holt's statement about Trudeau was itself a reversal.
"It's nice to see the leader of the Opposition all of a sudden think Trudeau is doing the right thing," he said. "What have we been talking about the last four months? … That should have happened long ago."
Higgs's government announced its own heat-pump program in 2022 that offers a free unit and free installation to households with baseboard electric heating and incomes below $70,000.
It was later expanded to cover homes that heat with oil.
But there have been concerns that the supply of heat pumps and the availability of trained installers hasn't been enough to keep up with demand for the program.
Green
Party Leader David Coon says people would be 'furious' if Higgs
triggered an election at a time of year when the weather can be
unpredictable and snowy. (The Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick)
Higgs said it's "a serious question" whether the same challenges will affect the rollout of the federal program, which will offer its own grants.
On election timing, both Holt and Green Party Leader David Coon said there isn't much more time for Higgs to trigger a campaign without running the risk of having candidates and voters on the roads during unpredictable snowy weather.
By law an election called now would happen Nov. 27. But if there's no call by Monday it would have to be Dec. 4.
"People would be furious," Coon said.
Holt said her party was getting ready while looking at "that last possible date.… We think there's still another week of waiting until we're into really unrealistic timing from the premier."
Higgs pointedly noted to reporters that Holt has no say in when the election is held.
"That's not her call, is it?"
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
David R. Amos
vote for Andrew Sheer(?) so my vote
did indeed go to Ms. Atwin.
I was very disappointed that her position
with the Green Party did not pan out.
Would I vote for her today ?? NOPE.
WHY do you say that there will be NO election on the way?
Bill to give police power to arrest people for trespassing draws skepticism
Approach 'too simplistic,' says John Wishart, Chamber of Commerce for Greater Moncton CEO
On Tuesday, Public Safety Minister Kris Austin introduced a bill in the legislature he says would give police and bylaw officers "more teeth" to enforce the province's Trespass Act.
Bill 7, an Act to Amend the Trespass Act, would give peace officers not just the ability to arrest people suspected of trespassing, but would also give them the authority to arrest someone who has recently left a property they are suspected to have trespassed on.
"I think it's a little bit too simplistic in terms of a solution," said John Wishart, CEO of the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Moncton.
"It's part of a solution, if it can be executed right, but we need those more fundamental things like mental health, addiction [services] and affordable housing, essentially to really make it work."
Public
Safety Minister Kris Austin says proposed amendments to the Trespass
Act will give police and bylaw officers more power to enforce the act. (Mikael Mayer/Radio-Canada)
Speaking to reporters after introducing the amendments, Austin said they were prompted in part by complaints from business owners in urban areas who feel enough isn't being done about people occupying the doorways to their stores and other areas of their property.
"Businesses are frustrated because the police don't have the clarity of legislation to be able to issue citations or to be able to, you know, do what needs to be done to get these people off the property," Austin said.
The intent behind this, he said, is "to clarify what it means to trespass, and to ensure that both bylaw enforcement and police have what they need to do their job."
Social services first
Asked if it's fair to target people seeking shelter in doorways who are not bothering anyone, Austin said the issue is a bother to business owners.
"I get emails regularly from business owners that say they're finding needles on their doorsteps, they're finding feces and vomit on their front doors, and business owners, they're trying to run a business."
Wishart said he has heard of similar experiences from businesses in the Moncton area and understands Austin's intent to address that issue.
However, he said he's concerned the new powers will put added pressure on police and bylaw enforcement officers.
He said he also thinks there are social services that should be bolstered first, before giving police more powers under the Trespass Act.
"This provincial government just recorded a $1-billion surplus," he said
"Surely we have the fiscal capacity to spend some on affordable housing, mental health and addiction services, along with beefing up our our Trespass Act. So I think that's a big missing element in the provincial response."
Asked Tuesday about spending on social supports to better address the issue, Austin said his government has a minister "working on housing" and another minister responsible for addictions and mental health, who is "aggressively working on addiction recovery for people" facing it.
CBC News asked for interviews with the Fredericton and Saint John chambers of commerce.
In an emailed statement, Morgan Peters, policy manager with the Fredericton chamber, said his organization has heard more and more concerns from members about thefts, trespassing, violence and public drug use.
""Each level of government has levers at their disposal, and we hope they use them," he said. "We haven't had time to fully evaluate and understand Bill 7, but what I can tell you is that we certainly hope reducing criminal acts against small businesses continues to be an active conversation."
Saint John Chamber of Commerce CEO David Duplisea said, in an email, his organization has heard from businesses that they are struggling with what appears to be rising crime in theft and vandalism.
Amendments misdirected, say addiction workers
Ensemble Moncton offers harm-reduction services to people struggling with addiction, and executive director Debby Warren said she thinks efforts to amend the Trespass Act are misdirected.
Warren said some of her clients have "high-acuity" needs due to mental health conditions, however, the housing to cater to those needs isn't available.
Debby
Warren, executive director of Ensemble Moncton, says the provincial
government should focus its efforts instead on improving access to
mental health and addiction services. (Alexandre Silberman/CBC)
"[Austin's] legislation isn't going to change anything. The people that we serve will still be unhoused. They'll have to go someplace to sleep," Warren said.
"And so, you know, bylaw officers can come and tell them to move, but where [do] they go?"
Dr. Sara Davidson, medical director at River Stone Recovery Centre in Fredericton, said she thinks the proposed amendments are further "attempts at regulating homelessness" through the legal system.
"What we're being left with is these blunts approaches of trying to make homelessness go away through legal means, but it's really going to create a lot of suffering," she said.
Davidson said with the province reporting large budget surpluses, some of that money should be invested "heavily" into creating more affordable housing for people struggling with homelessness.
Arrest won't be first option: police rep
The proposed amendments come after Austin toured the province this past summer to consult local police departments on a multi-faceted plan he has to reduce crime in New Brunswick.
Gary
Forward, Woodstock police chief and president of the New Brunswick
Association of Chiefs of Police, says the problem of homeless people
trespassing on property is an issue that can't be solved by police
alone. (Jacques Poitras/CBC)
Gary Forward, president of the New Brunswick Association of Chiefs of Police, said there has to be care taken when giving police new powers to arrest, and he thinks calls for such issues would require assistance from more than police officers.
"I think what the police have been — and continue to try to improve upon — is forming partnerships with other professionals and experts to try to deal with some of the the social challenges that have certainly come to light in in the last two years," he said.
Forward said he hopes that if officers end up with the power to arrest people for trespassing, that it's not the first option they turn to when responding to a call.
"My sense and hope is that nobody would simply [resort] to a legislative outcome or enforcement without first taking the necessary steps to perhaps gather information that could be used to consult, call or bring out associated partners that may be in a better position to assist that individual."
The Trespass Act does not list specific fine amounts for people convicted of a violation.
However, anyone convicted under the act can be ordered to financially compensate the complainant for loss of or damage to property suffered during the commission of an offence.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
David R. Amos
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Stuff like what you described can really ruin people’s day. What about if it happened to tourists? Just awful for the citizens and businesses/ economy of this province and our reputation as a safe place.
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