FREDERICTON -- The New Brunswick government will spend more than $20 million in the coming year to improve the energy efficiency of government-owned buildings -- a 50 per cent increase over this year.
The increase was promised in the province's Climate Change Action Plan, released last week, and included in a $757.9 million capital spending plan for 2017-2018, released Wednesday.
"It's a really good start in light of the fact that we haven't signed our agreement with Ottawa on implementing our climate plan yet in terms of the funding levels we are going to see," Green Leader David Coon said outside the legislature.
"Once we have that in hand as a province then I'm certain the government will significantly increase that again next year."
Finance Minister Cathy Rogers said the Liberal government will look at all its capital projects through "an energy efficiency lens."
"We would like to do a lot more because we have a lot of older government assets. As we can we will be transitioning to lower and better energy solutions," she said.
Rogers said $98.5 million of the capital budget will be spent on new infrastructure, while $659.4 is allocated to maintenance and previously announced projects.
While exact details of the spending won't come until individual departments present their budget estimates in the legislature, Rogers said $110 million will be spent on health infrastructure including additions and renovations to the Dr. Georges-L.-Dumont University Hospital in Moncton, the Chaleur Regional Hospital in Bathurst and the Dr. Everett Chalmers Regional Hospital in Fredericton.
She said $88 million is allocated for education.
The big bulk of the spending -- $447 million -- is for roads, buildings and bridges.
Rogers said capital investments have increased by almost $32 million from the government's projected spending, mainly because the province is leveraging funding from the federal government.
Bruce Fitch, the Tory finance critic, said just because a federal program is there doesn't mean that the province has to take it.
He said the government needs to get spending under control.
"As excited as people get about new roads, new hospitals and new schools, the fact of the matter is New Brunswick has not had a balanced budget for many years. This isn't operating, it's capital, but you have to pay interest on the money you borrowed and that contributes to the operating deficit," Fitch said.
The capital budget has $12.6 million for tourism. That's a 250 per cent increase from this year.
"We are very excited about a tourism strategy and the economic opportunities here," Rogers said.
Coon said improving energy efficiency will have a better return than some of the government's other capital projects.
