N.B. election: Financial literacy, mental health, and affordable housing headline campaign

FREDERICTON -

At the one-week mark of the New Brunswick election campaign, the promises from party leaders on what they will do if elected into power continues to grow.

The New Brunswick Progressive Conservatives, Liberals, and Green parties were all in Fredericton Thursday to make announcements related to a number of issues.

New Brunswick Progressive Conservative Leader Blaine Higgs commits to improving students’ financial literacy skills if re-elected during a campaign announcement on Sept. 26, 2024. (Avery MacRae/CTV Atlantic)

Progressive Conservative Leader Blaine Higgs announces a financial literacy program on Sept. 26, 2024. (Avery MacRae/CTV Atlantic)

PCs announce financial literacy program

As part of his bid to remain in power, Conservative Leader Blaine Higgs says his party would implement a financial literacy program into the province’s school curriculum. The idea behind the initiative is to help students have a better understanding of how money works before they enter adulthood.

By the time a student completes high school, Higgs says they will have learned how to open a bank account and build a basic budget. Students will also learn the difference between credit and debit, interest and inflation, as well as different ways to borrow money, such as mortgages, leases, and loans. They would also learn basic saving practices for retirement, and a range of other financial tools.

“In today's world, knowing how to manage money is not just an advantage, it’s a necessity,” Higgs told reporters at a Thursday morning press conference at Willie O’Ree Place.

“We've seen firsthand how economic challenges from the recent pandemic to rising inflation have underscored the urgent need for financial education. Those of us who grew up receiving some of the basic information about budgeting, saving, loans and interest may take for granted that it's common-sense information. However, that is not always the case.”

Higgs says Junior Achievement New Brunswick designed a rough curriculum and, if re-elected, experts will finalize the details to be rolled out into both the English and French education systems in the province.

“Understanding how to manage money is a fundamental skill that will serve them well throughout their lives,” says Higgs. “Not only that, understanding how to manage money will empower the next generation to take control of their financial futures and build a more secure and prosperous New Brunswick for all.”

It is unclear if the new program would be a required course for New Brunswickers to take in high school.

New Brunswick Liberal Leader Susan Holt arrives at the legislature to listen to the government's throne speech, in Fredericton, Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ron Ward)

New Brunswick Liberal Leader Susan Holt arrives at the legislature in Fredericton on Oct. 17, 2023. (The Canadian Press/Ron Ward)
  
Liberals vow to ‘transform mental health care’  

Elsewhere in the provincial capital, Liberal Leader Susan Holt says, if elected, her government will take “concrete” action to ensure mental health care is accessible when and where New Brunswickers need it. The Liberals say they are committed to reducing the wait times for mental health care in the province to the national average.

"We will transform mental health care in New Brunswick by creating a system that is accessible, compassionate, and supportive when people need it,” says Holt. “No one should have to seek mental health care in emergency rooms, and no student should go without this essential resource in our schools.”

According to a press release from the New Brunswick Liberals, team-based community care clinics will provide a “health-care home” for those seeking help with mental health. Holt says her government would prioritize building a facility if elected.

Furthermore, Holt’s Liberal government would also invest in community-based approaches to service delivery, increase the number of residency positions for psychiatrists and clinical psychologists, and develop a retention and training plan for mental health professionals, with an emphasis on those working within the school system.

"Unlike Blaine Higgs, who has allowed the health-care system to collapse and has abandoned those trying to cope with mental health, our team will build a strong mental health workforce and care system to ensure everyone who seeks help can find it when they need it," says Holt.

"We are focused on New Brunswickers and all of their health-care needs. Our community care clinics, our measures to recruit and retain nurses and doctors, our mental health plan. These are all designed to ensure that our health-care system is serving New Brunswickers."

The press release sent out by the Liberals did not note how much it will cost to create these programs.

New Brunswick Green Party Leader David Coon makes an affordable housing announcement on Oct. 26, 2024. (New Brunswick Green Party)

Green Party Leader David Coon makes an affordable housing announcement on Sept. 26, 2024. (New Brunswick Green Party)

Green Party unveils affordable housing plan

With housing expected to be a prominent topic throughout the campaign, the New Brunswick Green Party has unveiled its five-point plan to maintain and expand affordable housing in New Brunswick.

“Since the government got out of the business of building housing in the 1990s, Liberal and Conservative governments have let the supply of affordable housing fall by the wayside,” says Green Party Leader David Coon in a party press release.

“Now that I’ve succeeded in getting the NB Housing Corporation up and running again, it’s time to use it to its full potential to drive the development of affordable housing.”

The Greens would establish a permanent rent cap at a maximum of 2.5 per cent to protect tenants from unaffordable rent increases and keep them in their houses and off the streets.

The party is also committing to driving the development of housing programs by non-profits, cooperatives, faith communities, and service clubs by mandating the NB Housing Corporation to be the first funder to provide access to the required capital.

Coon says the party would also invest in supportive housing and incentivize private developers with lower property taxes if they build low-rent apartments. The party believes this will make affordable housing a more reasonable investment.

Finally, there will be an “adopt right of first refusal legislation,” which would enable the NB Housing Corporation and municipal housing authorities to acquire low-cost housing when available.

“Affordable housing is a fundamental human right, so a Green government will treat it that way and drive a renovation and construction boom to ensure there is an adequate supply of affordable housing,” Coon says.

“And we will ensure the homeless are housed and remain housed, using proven strategies like the 12 Neighbours housing model in Fredericton, and the complex care housing model pioneered in British Columbia.”

Similar to the Liberal announcement, a dollar amount for the housing plan was not made clear in the news release.

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