New Brunswick promise tracker: HST cuts, community care clinics, energy subsidies

Voters in New Brunswick are scheduled to go to the polls on Oct. 21. Here’s a look at some of the promises announced by the three major parties:

Progressive Conservatives:

— Cut the harmonized sales tax by two points, from 15 per cent to 13 per cent.

— Build 6,000 homes per year, and have 30,000 new units constructed by 2030.

— Expand the scope of practice for nurse practitioners, registered nurses, registered psychiatric nurses, paramedics and pharmacists by working with medical professionals and governing bodies to “evaluate all scopes of practice.”

Liberals:

— Implement a three per cent cap on rent increases by 2025, to be reviewed annually based on inflation and vacancy rates.

— Construct 30,000 housing units by 2030, and eliminate the 10 per cent provincial sales tax on new multi-unit housing builds.

— Give $10,000 retention bonuses in Year 1 and $5,000 in Year 2 to all nurse practitioners, registered nurses, and licensed practical nurses employed by Vitalité and Horizon health networks.

— Eliminate the provincial sales tax on electricity bills for residential customers as soon as the party takes office.

— Create 30 community clinics across the province by 2028.

Greens:

— Invest $380 million annually to fix the primary health-care system.

— Implement a guaranteed livable income to end deep poverty by the end of a four-year mandate, in partnership with the federal government.

— Restore and improve rural services, including by launching a year-round ferry service to connect Campobello Island to the mainland, and building a “safe modern bridge” to link the islands of Lameque and Miscou with the mainland at Shippagan.

— Give households with after-tax incomes of less than $70,000 an average of $25 per month to offset electricity rates.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 23, 2024.

The Canadian Press