New Brunswickers are feeling abandoned by the Higgs government, according to the Green Party leader.
David Coon delivered his party’s response to this week’s Speech from the Throne in the legislature on Friday.
“This is a puzzling throne speech for this moment in our history, Mr. Speaker,” Coon said in his 35-minute reply.
“The premier’s speech seems to be that everything is coming up roses for New Brunswickers.”
But Coon said that is far from the case based on conversations he has had with residents in recent weeks.
The Green leader said many people feel like public services in the province are “broken” and in need of repair.
“They feel abandoned by their government. There’s a strong sense that they’re alone and are being left to fend for themselves in the face of many, many serious challenges,” said Coon.
“Government used to do things to improve the quality of people’s lives, Mr. Speaker, like ensuring that the safety net actually is able to catch people when they fall. That’s not the case any longer.
“People living on the street, people living in their cars, people lined up in ambulances six rows deep. The safety net isn’t working.”
Coon touched on a number of issues during his reply, including health care, affordable housing, homelessness, and systemic racism.
The leader also discussed the thorny topic of French immersion, which he said is the “one thing that’s not broken.”
Coon said it is “shameful” that the government plans to abolish the program starting next fall, one year ahead of schedule.
He also noted that the government has yet to respond to recommendations from the official languages review released last December. The throne speech said the government will issue a response “during this session” of the legislature.
New Brunswickers are looking for a “roadmap to hope,” Coon said, and it is up to the premier and his government to provide that.
“It is this premier and this cabinet that, at this moment in our history, have the responsibility to lead us back from the brink, to fix things that are broken, to stand up for New Brunswickers, to give them hope that there is a vision and a plan, a roadmap, to solve some of our greatest challenges.”
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