Taxes, forestry on the agenda for Liberals and Greens on Friday

On Friday, the Green Party made promises for more sustainable forestry and the Liberals promised to make sure homeowners no longer get a surprisewhen their tax bills arrivein the mail. The PCs did not make any new promises but accused the Liberals of stealing health-care campaign promises.

Liberalssay they will rework property tax system

Liberal Leader Susan Holt promised what she calleda "complete overhaul" of the property tax system, at a campaign stop on Friday.

This is a promise she had alluded to previously but had not yet explained in detail.

Holt also again highlighted the Liberal promises of a 3-per-cent rent cap, a commitment to build30,000 new housing units by 2030, and removing provincial sales tax on new residential builds.

Holt said she and her candidates have been hearing concerns about the rising costof living and what she called "sticker shock" when property tax bills come in the mail.

"These increases in property taxes are making people wonder whether they can stay in their homes," Holt said.

WATCH | Time to get rid of sticker shock and double taxation, Susan Holt says:

Here's how Susan Holt says a complete overhaul of the property-tax system will work

7 days ago

Duration 3:08

Liberal Leader Susan Holt says if her party is elected Oct. 21, New Brunswickers will see changes in their 2025 property tax bills.

Some homeowners have seenmassive increases in tax assessmentsbecause of rapid population growth and sudden high demand for housing.

She said wants New Brunswick property tax rates to be more competitive with neighbouring provinces to attract new builds, which Holt said would be the metric of how the success of the promise is measured.

Holt said she is aiming to have changes in place by the time residents get their 2025 tax bills.

"Our goal is to stabilize the system so you stop receiving a shock and a spike in your property taxes each year," Holt said.

Greens promise to ban glyphosate, halt some clear-cutting

The Green Party is the first this election season to make promises about forestry.

Speaking at an event in Tracadie on Friday, Green Leader David Coon laid out his multi-point plan for forestry.

He promisedto halt large-scale clear-cutting andthe use ofthe glyphosate, the controversial herbicide used in forestry and by some utilitycompanies for vegetation management.

"This will allow communitieslike Tracadieto have a say in how Crown lands are used in their community," Coon said in French.

WATCH | The 5 ways the Green Party plans to improve sustainable forestry if elected:

Greens unveil sustainable forestry plan

7 days ago

Duration 0:34

From ending herbicide spraying to prohibiting large-scale clearcutting, here are the changes David Coon and his party say are needed in the provinces forestry industry.

The issue of forestry managementhas been a flash point in the Tracadie region, which has seen the redevelopment of a former shooting range for large-scale blueberry farming.

Over the past year, protesters attempted to block access to the area being deforested, but were ultimately forced to stop by a court order. Coon said a Green government would stop the project.

Coon also said he would involve First Nations in decision-making about forestry on Crown landand promote local management of Crown landclose to communities.

PCs accuse Liberals of plagiarizing campaign promises

The Progressive Conservatives did not make any new campaign promises Friday but held a newsconference in Fredericton to criticize recent Liberal promises.

"Today is really a day about correcting some of the items that have been said over the last little while," PC Leader Blaine Higgs said.

He accused the Liberals of "plagiarism" for some of his government's health-care promises and said that the party has "no new ideas" on health care.

WATCH | Higgs says Holt is using his health-care ideas:

Blaine Higgs accuses Liberals of copying PC health-care plan

7 days ago

Duration 1:35

Blaine Higgs says Susan Holt and the Liberal Party are using his plan for improving health-care services in New Brunswick.

Higgs pointed to recent cost estimates on health-carepromises filed by the Liberals, posted on the Elections N.B. website in accordance with election rules. Those estimates contain a link to newsreleases put out by PC government before it was dissolved when the election writ was dropped.

The Liberal campaign cost estimate for a promise to improve the compensation for medical professionals who work later hours links to a September newsrelease from the provincial government under the PCs.

CBC News reached out to the Liberal campaign and asked for Holt's response to Higgs'sallegations.

In an email statement, Holt did not directly address the accusation but said the Liberals are"actually going to fix healthcare" with their proposals.

"Higgs is scrambling because his record on healthcare is a failure, which is why 180,000 New Brunswickers don't have access to a family doctor," Holt said.

Higgs said community care clinics, new training seats for doctors and training foreign doctors arerecent Liberal promises the PCs had started to address before the government was dissolved.

Higgs also characterized the Liberal's support of safe injection sites as "giving free hard drugs to those already addicted."

When asked about this during the CBCleaders' debate, Holt refused to say if she would allow more safe injection sites to be opened.

New Brunswick has only one injection site in Moncton. This location has health-care workers who can help if an overdose takes place. It also allows people access to mental health and addiction help if they decide to seek treatment.

N.B. already has curriculum similar to Higgs's proposal

On Thursday, Higgs promised to implement a financial literacy curriculumso students would learn information on debit and credit cards, interest and inflation, mortgages and loans, retirement savings, interest accounts and stocks and bonds.

However, Grade 10 curriculum documentson the province's website shows that finances are already part of the curriculum.

"[The Grade 10 math curriculum] is an opportunity to become familiar with the terminology used, to become aware of the services offered by financial institutions, and to critically consider the best options for them depending upon their situation," the documentsays.

Students learn about types of banking services, different types of bank accounts, interest rates, loans, debit vs. credit cards, online banking and how to secure personal and financial information, it says.

Promises unlikely to help low-income voters, says economist

New Brunswick's political leaders are pitching their plans to help residents cope with the rising cost of living in the province.

The PCs marquee fiscal promise is a two per cent reduction in the HST.

But New Brunswick economist Richard Saillant, who has been watching the campaign for the Oct. 21 election, saidthis promise is unlikely to offer a lot of help to lower-income residents.

He recommends more targeted help and said lowering the HST won't help the most vulnerable citizens becausemany major expenses, such as groceries, aren't taxed.

"It's not an effective way of helping those at the lower end of the income scale," Saillant said Fridayin an interview on Information Morning.

When it comes to tax cuts, Saillantalso isn't a fan of the Liberal plan to cut 10 per cent of the tax on power bills.

He said it's less of a blunt instrument than an overall HST cut, but it suffers from the same weakness as the PC idea in that it's not targeted at people who really need the help

"An even better way would be to provide direct relief to lower-income households than just providing a blanket reduction," Saillant said.

But as painful as he said it is for him to admit, he agreed with the Liberal proposal to cap rent increases at three per cent a year.

"As an economist, you're not supposed to like price controls and I don't," he said.

"I view it as a last resort instrument to help those that are really facing dramatic escalations in rents."

As for the Green Party's plan to increase social assistance rates by 20 per cent, Saillant is in favour, saying it's "long overdue."

But it's unrealistic to think the Greens' proposed universal basic income for people on social assistance could be implemented in the span of one government, he said, but it's worth having a broader conversation.

"I agree with the objective, it's about how do you get there," Saillant said.

"The devil is in the details."

Political panel on CBC's Shift

After the first full week of campaigning, how did the debate shape voters' opinions and what promises have been made so far?

Listen to the Shift political panelto find out.

Shift - NB16:57Political Panel

We'll gather our panel of politics watchers for their reflection on the election so far - the debate, the policy announcements, the ups and downs.

The election is on Oct. 21.

Standings at dissolution: PCs 25, Liberals 16, Greens 3, Independent 1, vacant 4

Where the leaders are today

Green Leader David Coon is in Shippaganto announce plans for a new Shippagan-Lamque bridge.

Liberal Leader Susan Holt is in Moncton for an education announcement.

Progressive Conservative Leader Blaine Higgs is campaigning in Moncton.

For complete coverage:Links to ll New Brunswick Votes 2024 stories