New Brunswick legislature opens today

FREDERICTON – The fall session of the New Brunswick legislature opens today with a throne speech from the Liberal government.

Lt-Gov. Jocelyne Roy-Vienneau will read the speech in the Legislative Assembly this afternoon.

The government is expected to introduce a number of pieces of legislation before the Christmas break.

The Progressive Conservative Opposition is expected to press the government to seek a forensic audit into the $70 million lost to the now-defunct Atcon Group of companies.

The main bulk of the legislative session will come in the spring when the government tables a new operating budget and its plan to cut spending and boost revenues by up to $600 million per year.

A list of options released last week includes the possibility of highway tolls and raising the HST.