'It's kind of a tsunami effect here': Higgs talks cost of living in New Brunswick

New Brunswick has the unenviable position of having the second-highest inflation rate in Canada.

At 7.6 per cent for April, the inflation rate has hurt many New Brunswickers, impacting gas and food prices.

Premier Blaine Higgs spoke with the CBC's Rosemary Barton on Rosemary Barton Live about navigating the province in a period of uncertainty.

The discussion has been edited for length and clarity.

Q: New Brunswick has the title of the second-highest inflation rate in the country at 7.6 per cent for April. What's driving the high inflation in your province?

A: It's kind of a tsunami effect here. We've seen quite a migration of people coming into our province. We've had unprecedented bidding wars on houses. It's a mixed feeling because we have a faster-growing economy than we've ever seen.

Q: What are you hearing from people in the province about the cost of living?

A: We have some very significant situations. We're making steps to really change how people can manage through this bubble.

Q: I wanted to ask you about duelling motions your (Progressive Conservative) party and the Liberals put forward to try and tackle some of those challenges. Both of them were blocked. Is there room for some sort of compromise here in the legislature around how to tackle this?

A: You've got to have a longer-term bridge in this case. What are we seeing for revenue based on taxation? We want to return that rate to people that need it the most, a targeted benefit to those that are being hit the hardest by inflation.

Q: Would that be sort of like what Prince Edward Island is doing? They're offering some direct support to citizens.

A: In a way it would. I think we really want to make sure it is targeted. It's not a blanket fix for everybody, it's a fix for those who need it the most.

Q: I know that you would like Ottawa to pause the carbon tax through the summer. What benefit would you see from pausing the carbon tax?

A: In our case, carbon tax is worth about $0.11 a litre. That would have an impact. When I look at the carbon tax, my point is simple: we have actually achieved a higher level of cost of energy than the carbon tax was ever intended to do. We already have a deterrent for people using energy products, so can we have an adjustment?

Q: One of the things that you had discussed is issuing rebates from the high price of gas. Is that still on the table?

A: If we see that we actually have more tax revenue coming in. That's the part I'm trying to solve in this next week.

Q: When the crisis around inflation began there was a sense that it was going to be transitory. It seems to be a lot more than that now. How long is this likely to last and how prepared are you to introduce some sort of policy that would cover that period of time?

A: We can't do that provincially. It is unworkable to think every province could put in a policy to mitigate the energy costs that we're seeing soaring.

Q: Have you had any conversations with other provinces or have you engaged with Ottawa?

A: We have a First Ministers' meeting, but that's in July. I've asked for a national call on this so we can really rethink.