[ROLLING OUT RED COZY -- & pink slips?] TJ JAN 10 We will make the tough decisions together HON. BRIAN GALLANT COMMENTARY January is traditionally a time to prioritize and resolve to move forward, often our resolve is to no longer follow the status quo. We cannot follow the status quo here in New Brunswick either, and there is no doubt that in the coming months, we will be faced with difficult decisions. Serious decisions, therefore, will need to be made as we move our province forward. Your government is focused on creating jobs, it continues to be our number one priority. We have worked hard in the first three months of our mandate to deliver on a number of platform commitments that align with this priority. We created Opportunities New Brunswick, reduced the small business income tax, created the youth employment fund and put in place a jobs board which will be responsible for coordinating and evaluating job creation opportunities in our province. We will continue to move forward with this comprehensive and diversified plan to grow our economy by building on the strengths of New Brunswickers. For our objective to create jobs to be fully realized, we must first, however, get our finances in order. Only five of the last 30 years saw no growth in the provincial economy; but three of those years have occurred since 2009. In the past three decades, economic growth in New Brunswick averaged 2.3 per cent on an annual basis, however for the last five years growth only averaged 0.1 per cent. We, therefore, need to grow the economy , but more also needs to be done when it comes to reducing government expenditures. It should come as no surprise that New Brunswick is facing some serious financial challenges. For too long, we’ve been spending money we don’t have. In the coming days Victor Boudreau, the minister responsible for our government’s strategic program review, will launch a provincial engagement process because we need to make these difficult decisions together. It is crucial that New Brunswickers participate because the results will only be as good as the ideas that are brought forward. I can assure you that our government is ready to make the tough decisions and we want you to be part of that process. The time has come to find innovative solutions that are genuinely transformational, rather than the one-off approaches of the past. We must find ways to eliminate our deficit, and take steps toward tackling our growing debt of $12 billion. All programs, services and government departments will have a role to play in the strategic program review. New Brunswick’s current financial situation affects us all, and we can’t right our fiscal ship without your help. We must work together if we are going to redesign government to better deliver programs and services. We will consider all ideas, including those put forward and prepared by the previous government. We will deliver our first budget in the spring of 2015. In it, you can expect there will be measures and initiatives aimed at finding savings. But it will be our second budget that will put the bulk of ideas discussed during strategic program review into action. The main objective of this process is to put our province on solid financial footing so we can be in a position to create jobs, improve our finances, and help families that are struggling in New Brunswick. As a province, as an organization, as legislators and as New Brunswickers, we all have a role to play in tackling our fiscal problems and setting up the conditions to create a stronger New Brunswick. We ask for your participation and support, we ask for your ideas, we ask for your suggestions and your concerns. It’s only with open and honest dialogue that we will be able to deliver better results. On that note, I wish you and yours a happy, healthy and successful 2015. Together, we can make 2015 an important year in moving our province forward. HON. BRIAN GALLANT is Premier of New Brunswick.
Posted on: Sun, 11 Jan 2015 03:35:34 +0000
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