Projects could be funded through NB Liquor bonds: McGuire

Drinkers in New Brunswick could help the province pay for millions of dollars in infrastructure projects, according to the latest report from the Self-Sufficiency Task Force.

The report, released Friday, says a billion-dollar fund should be set up to finance projects to improve transportation, tourism, energy transmission and wireless communications.

The money would be split between the federal and provincial governments, and force co-chairman Francis McGuire says New Brunswick could raise its $500 million by selling bonds financed by NB Liquor.

He said the bonds would be a very secure investment.

"Nobody in Canada has looked at this model, but I can give you my personal guarantee that the investment bankers in Toronto or in New York City would jump on a plane in a second," McGuire said.

McGuire said investors would earn money from NB Liquor's profits each year.

It would mean less revenue for the government, he said, but much-needed infrastructure would be built in far less time than through regular methods.

The Self-Sufficiency Task Force was established by Liberal Premier Shawn Graham as part of a plan to make the province self-sufficient within 20years.