You Have Questions, We Have Questions
On the anniversary of her election win, Susan Holt empathizes but does not elaborate
Year Two of the Holt government began with the premier promising last Monday to “accelerate” the pace of change — yet Tuesday, her Throne Speech landed with little new or concrete.
The premier responded that tough decisions on the budget deficit were coming, but in next March’s budget.
It was Holt’s comments outside — to a group of protestors opposed to the Tantramar gas plant — that warranted a bit more attention.
The premier had “questions” she said.
Well, so did we.
After recent stories by Brunswick News and Radio-Canada about ministers in the Holt government not being available for interviews, PC opposition leader Glen Savoie devoted a good chunk of his Question Period time to the issue.
Perhaps coincidentally, Claire Johnson and two other top ministers opted to scrum, at length, that very day.
Here’s a Radio-Canada’s new story on the topic, and below is the TV version of their report, followed by an interview Johnson (both in French) that you can judge for yourself:
The legislature’s return sure makes it easier to get those interviews. With journalists in the same building, there are fewer excuses if ministers would rather avoid them (which the Liberals assured us is never the case).
This made it easier for me last week to get a story done on the “alarming” number of violations found during inspections of provincial gas stations. (That’s the minister’s word, not mine.)
I also finally got around to reporting on the province’s decision pull out of a major Supreme Court of Canada case on Charter rights, despite their championing of those rights in recent years.
The CBC’s Silas Brown, likewise, had the latest on the long-runnig small-nuclear-reactor saga, and Jennifer Sweet reported on new government legislation that purports to give the Chief Medical Officer of Health more independence.
All of this gave the Shift New Brunswick Political Panel and Café Politique plenty of topics to choose from on Friday.
By the way, I flagged in a recent newsletter some curious wording in government press releases about the N.B. Power review and how next March was the deadline for “final recommendations and any decisions” — as if no decision might be an option. Premier Holt assured me last week the status quo will not be an option.
Across the Aisle: New Faces, Old Faces
The legislature’s return also meant Kevin Russell’s first day as the new MLA for Miramichi West, a new face on the Opposition PC benches.
Also on the PC side of the house, former People’s Alliance leader and PC cabinet minister Kris Austin said he is leaning toward running for the PC leadership.
The most stunning PC news, though, came this past weekend, when Blaine Higgs showed up at the party AGM and made it clear that he prefers Austin over Daniel Allain for leader and questioned the Tory bona fides of ministers, MLAs and party members who broke ranks with him in 2023.
Higgs’s comments — unusual for former party leaders in the wake of electoral defeat — make it clearer than ever that the party still isn’t over those divisions.
In Other News
The CBC’s Savannah Awde took a closer look at all the process and speculation around the zombie carbon adjustor — a surcharge that we’ve been assured will soon be dead but that continues to apply to the cost of gas.
Housing Minister David Hickey said he had disclosed his landlord relationship with a housing agency in Saint John to the province’s ethics commissioner.
A new report revealed startling data abouit nurse attrition in the province.
We got an additional reason to keep that Chignecto Isthmus upgrade on track and on time.
Robert Jones reported on the high number of smart metre refusals among N.B. Power customers.
Elsewhere in the country, the CBC’s Kate McKenna had a valuable and enlightening look at one Conservative MP’s outreach efforts to young men.
Substack also had some great stuff over the past week. I encourage you to read David McLaughlin’s analysis of the lasting polarization caused by the pandemic, and Paul Wells’s take (the best I’ve read) on Trump’s anger over the Ontario tariff ad featuring Ronald Reagan. (Paul’s is paywalled; consider subscribing.)
Former premier Frank McKenna weighed in, too.
For Your Calendar
The federal budget approacheth, on Nov. 4; if you’re hankering for another election, you may get your wish. The New Brunswick legislature sits this week and next week, then breaks for a week. The Supreme Court of Canada will hear arguments on Nov. 13 on whether the Constitution requires New Brunswick’s lieutenant-governor to be bilingual, but don’t expect a ruling that day.
Looking ahead to next year, New Brunswick PCs will elect their new leader on Oct. 17, 2026, with a promise from candidate Daniel Allain that, if he wins, he’ll hold a policy convention in the spring of 2027.
Thank You For Subscribing
The political season is now well and fully underway, with lots of important news to come in the next few weeks. Thank you for subscribing and for spreading the word, if you are so inclined, about this free weekly compilation of the most essential political stories in the province. In honour of N.B. Power’s smart-metre travails, here is a song for you.