N.B. releases its 2026 self-sufficiency plan

Premier Shawn Graham hopes to move New Brunswick away from dependency on federal transfers by 2026 using a 33-page plan involving changes in the workforce, economy and government.

"Self-sufficiency is creating a more populous, a more prosperous province," Graham said at a news conference Friday while unveiling the plan.

It follows the final report of the province's Self-Sufficiency Task Force, which was released in May and made 91 recommendations, 60 of which had 12-month deadlines.

Friday's response document, however, offers no proposed legislation and makes no commitments. It instead uses language that suggests the government will "investigate," "explore" or "undertake" ways to improve life in the province on various fronts.

It also contains a number of previously announced targets such as boosting education levels, raising wages to national levels and increasing the population to 850,000 by attracting more immigrants and keeping more young people.

New Brunswick should also work to become an energy hub in the Maritimes, Graham said, and develop an energy cluster with the goal of entering the global sector.

The province hopes to enhance competitiveness through productivity improvements and diversification.

New markets should be targeted to promote tourism and cultural sectors, and investment will be made in strategic infrastructure.

Work will also be done to attract new national and multinational firms to the province.

The ultimate goal is to move New Brunswick to the point it becomes a "have" province, Graham said.

Volpe derides plan for lacking of specifics

Conservative Leader Jeannot Volpe mocked the document, holding up his own version of the report with the words "self-sufficiency" and "hope" on the cover while the inside pages were blank.

"I'm waiting for the premier to provide the specifics," Volpe said.

"Hope and wishful thinking: you can't put food on the table with it. You can't pay your power bill with it. So they did need something they can touch, that they can see: what's in there for myself? This is what New Brunswickers are looking for and they haven't seen it yet," he said.

Volpe said New Brunswickers want specific initiatives with timetables to measure the government's progress.

Mark Arsenault, president of the New Brunswick Forest Products Association, said he liked the plan overall because it talks about increasing productivity, diversification and competitiveness in the forestry sector, but he also wants some specifics.

"They are talking about the right elements, so hopefully the answers will come very soon. That's what we're looking for," he said.

Dave Plante, vice-president of the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters, said he wants changes in taxation and regulations for industry, but didn't expect specifics in the government's plan.

"It's a long process to make these kinds of changes," said Plante. "There's legislative changes that have to be made and it takes a lot of work to move an entire regulatory regime, but we'll be looking very closely to make sure we're seeing some concrete actions taken over the near term and not the long term."

Specifics coming in throne speech, budget

Graham said more specifics will be revealed in the throne speech when the legislature begins sitting on Tuesday. It will also become clearer when the budget is tabled in 2008, he said.

For now, each department has the responsibility to put forward proposals and become included in the framework, Graham said.

The document is structured to serve as a template to allow each department to contribute unique and concrete plans, he said, pointing to the Action Plan on Education as an example of how each department is developing its own objectives.

The plan will ensure Grade 5 students have mastered skills related to literacy and math.

There are no measures in the document to chart progress made in the province but Graham said national statistics will help determine if New Brunswick is meeting the sufficiency objectives.

If it isn't, the premier said, he is prepared to change the plan's parameters.

"One key overall measurement is hope," Graham said. "As government, we need to provide hope for the future but that hope must come from within."

New Brunswickers must embrace the plan if self-sufficiency is to be achieved, he said.

"Parents, businesses, entrepreneurs, public servants, workers and all New Brunswickers have a stake in this process. By working together, I am confident we will build a better New Brunswick."

With files from the Canadian Press