FREDERICTON – Finance Minister Roger Melanson rose in the legislature Friday to repeal several laws, one of which would remove the government’s requirement to hold a referendum before raising the harmonized sales tax.
“What’s very important is that any government today or in the future shouldn’t be binded by legislation of previous governments which was gimmicky,” he said. “Because it was the flavour of the government of those days to come up with those legislation.”
The laws include the Taxpayer Protection Act, Fiscal Transparency and Accountability Act and a law restricting politicians who want to cross the floor.
“I think it’s absolutely disgusting,” said former Finance Minister Blaine Higgs.
“I was never interested in a career in politics. I was interested in fixing this province. And it is so discouraging to see this happen after intense work,” he said.
“I mean the last four years went by for me like a flash and they did that because all we did was work. And then you see that evaporate.”
The sales tax is at 13 per cent in New Brunswick. Melanson said this doesn’t mean they are going to raise it, but that they have the option if it comes to it in order to fix the province’s finances.
Higgs believes the Liberal government will have to raise the tax to pay for their “spending free-for-all” actions.
“It is very discouraging, I think a discouraging day for democracy, a discouraging day for this province, and personally, it’s extremely discouraging,” he said.
This year’s deficit is at $255 million, bringing it in $132 under from the $387 million originally forecast.
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