Graham pledges public engagement ministry

The New Brunswick government is creating a new cabinet position for public engagement only months after being stung by criticism over its handling of the botched NB Power sale.

Premier Shawn Graham announced on Wednesday following the Liberal Party's two-day caucus retreat in St. Andrews that the government needs to improve its ability to get feedback from citizens.

"We've had a track record of success in dealing with public engagement on a number of key files whether it is wellness or whether it is the poverty reduction initiative," Graham said.

"We haven't been perfect on a number of other files and where we are not perfect, while we have made progress, we have a responsibility to do better."

The Liberal government has been harshly criticized for how it handled the failed NB Power deal, which stunned many people when it was announced in October 2009. Many opponents said the Graham government had not adequately consulted the public before moving ahead with the energy deal.

The Liberals have also been chastised for its handling of the reforms to English second language education. The New Brunswick government had planned to eliminate early French immersion until a judge ordered the Department of Education consult more with parents concerned with the plan.

No budget yetfor new ministry

AlthoughGraham announced the new ministry on Wednesday, he did say more details on the public engagement office will be released in the next few weeks

The Department of Intergovernmental Affairs will be overseeing the new ministry. Early in the Liberal government's mandate, it hired Don Lenihan of the Ottawa-based Public Policy Forum to create a public engagement model for New Brunswick.

The province created five public engagement pilot projects, including the climate change action plan and the province's wellness strategy, before Lenihan's final report was released in April 2008.

The Liberal government subsequently launched the poverty reduction strategy, which was supported by many participants becauseit brought togethermany different groups to discuss the issue.