Voters in New Brunswick are scheduled to go to the polls on Oct. 21. Here’s a look at some of the promises announced by the three major parties:
Progressive Conservatives:
— Cut the harmonized sales tax by two points, from 15 per cent to 13 per cent.
— Build 6,000 homes per year, and have 30,000 new units constructed by 2030.
— Expand the scope of practice for nurse practitioners, registered nurses, registered psychiatric nurses, paramedics and pharmacists by working with medical professionals and governing bodies to “evaluate all scopes of practice.”
— Implement a three per cent cap on rent increases by 2025, to be reviewed annually based on inflation and vacancy rates.
— Construct 30,000 housing units by 2030, and eliminate the 10 per cent provincial sales tax on new multi-unit housing builds.
— Give $10,000 retention bonuses in Year 1 and $5,000 in Year 2 to all nurse practitioners, registered nurses, and licensed practical nurses employed by Vitalité and Horizon health networks.
— Eliminate the provincial sales tax on electricity bills for residential customers as soon as the party takes office.
— Create 30 community clinics across the province by 2028.
— Invest $380 million annually to fix the primary health-care system.
— Implement a guaranteed livable income to end deep poverty by the end of a four-year mandate, in partnership with the federal government.
— Restore and improve rural services, including by launching a year-round ferry service to connect Campobello Island to the mainland, and building a “safe modern bridge” to link the islands of Lameque and Miscou with the mainland at Shippagan.
— Give households with after-tax incomes of less than $70,000 an average of $25 per month to offset electricity rates.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 23, 2024.
