FREDERICTON – The New Brunswick government has released the list of options available to help find up to $600 million in savings and new revenue for the province.
The most lucrative possibility, a two per cent increase in the HST, could make the province an estimated between $175 – $295 million annually.
Victor Boudreau, the minister responsible for the government’s Strategic Program Review, says imposing highway tolls could earn the province about $60 million a year.
“There are tough choices to be made, but those choices will lead to better days ahead,” Boudreau said.
Other options include closing many rural hospitals or converting them into community health centres, increasing the tobacco tax, outsourcing highway maintenance, and selling NB Liquor.
Boudreau says the government could also consider increasing the class size in schools while reducing the number of teachers.
MLA David Coon asked where increasing royalties on natural resource development was as an option, and said cuts to education should be off the table.
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“In my opinion, we can’t afford, at all – in terms of the education of our children,” Coon said.
Fredericton mother Denise McNabb agreed, saying the options regarding education “hit home.”
“We are lucky to be in a school right now that has low classroom rates and it works fantastic, the kids get a lot more one-on-one,” she said.
“I can’t imagine adding four more kids to a classroom.”
Sandy Kitchen agrees with highway tolls, because it’s a “pay-per-use system.”
“Most highways in the world have tolls. Very good highways and it’s a pay-per-use system. It’s like GST or HST. You’re not taxing the whole population, you’re taxing the people who are actually using it,” she said.
Boudreau says not all the options included in the report will be implemented.
The ideas that will be implemented will be unveiled in the Liberal government’s second budget in the spring.
Some of the options:
- Reducing visitor information centres from seven to four, saving $200-$300,000
- Increasing class sizes by four students per class, which was the size a decade ago, saving $50-$70 million
- Reducing teachers to reflect decline in students – for every 20 students who leave the system, one FTE job would be cut, saving $10-$12 million
- Privatizing custodial services in schools, saving $5-$7 million
- Outsourcing highway maintenance, saving $11-$22 million
- Closing rural hospitals, converting some into community health centres and realigning services in urban hospitals, saving $50-$80 million
- Converting school bus drivers, custodians and nursing home employees’ pensions to a shared-risk model, saving $7.5-$9 million
- Monitizing naming government assets, data registries, N.B. Liquor, parks and attractions – all would save between $27-$37 million
- Increasing tobacco, HST, corporate income tax, diesel, Real Property Transfer and Insurance Premium taxes
- Highway tolls at eight locations across the province, making $60 million
Read the full government document here.
With files from the Canadian Press
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