Opportunities New Brunswick eliminates 24 full-time positions

The provincial government's lead job-creation agency has slashed more than 15 per cent of its workforce.

Economic Development Minister Mary Wilson confirmed Thursday that Opportunities New Brunswick, a Crown corporation set up by the previous Liberal government, has eliminated 24 full-time positions.

It has also not renewed five contract positions that have expired since March.

"The premier has made it clear that we all have to do our part to balance the budget, and ONB is no different," Wilson said in an interview.

She said the organization is now working on a plan "to operate properly with less money while aligning with new priorities."

Wilson said of the 24 people whose jobs were cut, 20 have been assigned to positions elsewhere in the provincial government. ONB is looking for spots for the other four before they are laid off in another 30 days.

"Hopefully, in the very near future, we'll have a spot for them," she said.

Wilson said no ONB programs are being shut down as a result of the cuts.

She said she believes Opportunities New Brunswick "can deliver on government's priorities within its current funding," with a focus on exports, small businesses, reducing costs for entrepreneurs, and "the highest value projects that produce the best results."

Opportunities New Brunswick received a $40-million budget this year from the Progressive Conservative government, down from the $47-million budgeted last year by the Liberals and down from the $44 million it actually spent.

Call for transparency

In opposition, the PCs under leader Blaine Higgs frequently scorned ONB's practice of providing outside companies with subsidies to set up in the province and then refusing to reveal how many jobs were actually created.

After a disagreement in 2017 between ONB and the auditor-general over how many of her recommendations the agency was following, Higgs called for the Liberal government to fire CEO Stephen Lund.

The PC throne speech last November said that "success doesn't come from luring one big employer with subsidies, it comes from seeing hundreds of small and medium businesses growing bigger."

The People's Alliance, which is supporting the PC minority government on confidence votes in the legislature, has called for an end to what it calls "corporate handouts" in favour of tax cuts and reduced red tape.

In March, before the first PC budget, Lund said the agency was willing to shift its focus toward small businesses if that's what the new government wanted.

"We take our cue from the premier and we want to do our best to make sure we continue to help these companies grow," he said.