N.B.'s 'modest' budget draws considerable flak

New Brunswick's Environment Department was hardest hit by the provincial budget tabled Tuesday in the legislative assembly, with almost $2 million cut from its funding.

But, for a budget the finance minister described as modest, it drew considerable flak on several fronts Wednesday morning:

• Student leaders said freezing tuition isn't the answer to their problems.
• Critics of NB Power want to know why the utility is raising rates when the budget shows it is making unexpected profits.
• Hiring 43 more social workers is great, the New Brunswick Association of Social workers said, but there is more that could be done.
• Business leaders wants to know when they will get some tax breaks.

Finance Minister Victor Boudreau said Monday the Environment Department can pay its own way by dipping into the Environmental Trust Fund, set up to provide funding for community projects.

"You know, we thought this was a way that the Department of the Environment could continue to provide some of the services they provide, by getting some of the money from the Environmental Trust Fund."

The fund was set up to pay for the creation of local green plans, such as fish restoration in waterways and environmental research.

Among the 264 grants handed out last year was one that created a green plan for the town of Dieppe, near Moncton.

"I would certainly be sad if there was less money. We need to have the same amounts in order to proceed. It's very important," said Dieppe Mayor Achille Maillet.

The fund comes from the money collected from can and bottle deposits. The Opposition Tories say it was never intended to pay for day-to-day government operations.

Cost of post-secondary education

At least one student leader gave a failing grade to the government's freeze on tuition fees. The budget included $12 million to allow the province's four universities to freeze fees.

"The real cost of education is 60 per cent outside tuition costs. So a tuition freeze isn't actually covering a significant portion of the real cost of education, and the big problem with that is we wanted a presence at the consultation tables, and we weren't given it," said Jordan Graham, a spokesman for the student government at the University of New Brunswick's Fredericton campus.

NB Power profits up

The budget revealed surprisingly high profits for NB Power last year, which has critics questioning why the utility was granted rate increases.

"I think the fact that this budget includes an unexpected $85 million surplus from the utility shows the rate increase that was eventually granted really wasn't supported," said Dave Plante, vice-president of the New Brunswick division of the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters.

NB Power was allowed to increase rates by 5.9 per cent last year, and has plans to raise rates by three per cent next year, in spite of a projected $54 million profit.

Social workers hired

Tuesday's budget set aside money to hire 43 more social workers, following two recent reports that called for the government to fill gaps in the child-protection system.

Miguel LeBlanc, executive director of the New Brunswick Association of Social workers, said that's a good start, because there is a shortage of about 170 social workers in the province.

But he would like to see more incentives to attract those in his profession to rural areas of the province.

"I think an initiative we would like to see is a rural strategy regarding social services geared toward recruitment and retention, because that is an increasing problem for students of social work and social work professionals. So, we want to bring them back to New Brunswick," LeBlanc said.

Businesses want tax breaks

While Boudreau bragged about his budget having no tax increases, some business leaders said they need some tax breaks.

"This was really a missed opportunity," Dave Plante said of the budget.

He said manufacturers would have been encouraged by even a small sign of good faith on the part of the government.

The government must offer tax relief next year or there will be more business closures, Plante said.

Opposition leader Jeannot Volpe said there should have been some tax relief in the budget.

Volpe said the next year is expected to be difficult and people and businesses could have used a break now. The government is promising to study tax reform this summer and report back to the legislature this fall.

Andreea Bourgeois of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business said a tax break for small business would have moved the economy forward.

But, she said, the government has instead put the economy in neutral until after it studies taxation reform.