Opposition leaders lament Higgs's unwillingness to seek partners beyond Alliance

Green Party Leader David Coon says it's a shame that Premier Blaine Higgs appears set to extend his minority government's working arrangement with the People's Alliance in the legislature.

Coon says Higgs doesn't grasp that the Greens could be partners on key initiatives, something he says the premier's own cabinet ministers already understand.

"Despite our best efforts, the premier doesn't have the level of trust that I believe he should have in talking with us," Coon said.

"And all he needs to do is talk to some of his cabinet ministers. We have a good working relationship with a number of cabinet ministers."

He said he and his two fellow Green MLAs have worked well with Progressive Conservativeministers. including Dominic Cardy, Dorothy Shephard and Ted Flemming.

"That doesn't translate into the office of the premier," he said. "It's unfortunate."

Higgs seems to prefer relying on the Alliance not just for key confidence votes where the government's survival is on the line, Coon said, but also for more routine day-to-day legislation where the Greens have something to offer.

"It just demonstrates that the premier doesn't listen. He doesn't pay attention," Coon said. "That's why he doesn't see that there are areas of common ground that we share, that we could collaborate on, like health care reform."

Alliance Leader Kris Austin said this week his party will likely support the PCs in the legislature on confidence votes for another year past March, extending the 18-month commitment he made in the days after the 2018 election.

"We want to let the public know that they have a stable government," he said. "They need to know that there's some stability in government."

In the wake of that inconclusive 2018 election, all party leaders spoke of the need for more consultation and collaboration among their caucuses.

But Higgs gravitated to Austin as a reliable partner to support government legislation, and in a year-end interview with CBC News last month said it was the right call.

In return, the PCs have acted on some Alliance policies, including reclassifying ambulance paramedics and reducing the frequency of car inspections.

"The respect and recognition for each other has grown over the year," Higgs said. "I feel very comfortable sitting down and talking to [Austin] about any issues. I find him certainly very thoughtful, rational in his process in coming up to a conclusion."

At the same time,Higgs dismissed Coon as having an "all or nothing" approach to issues, including what he called a Liberal-like instinct to "throw money" at problems.

"I try to bridge across a big spectrum and I feel the discussion that I generally have with Mr. Coon can be quite narrowly focused," he said.

'Not listening'

But Coon saidthere are a number of areas where the Greens could work with the PCs, including health and social welfare reforms.

"Where that falls, I don't know, but there's some common ground to talk about," Coon said."But he's not listening so he doesn't see that."

Coon speculatedthat Higgs is "kind of stuck" on the Green leader's former role with the Conservation Council of New Brunswick.

He said the premier seems to think that because the government recently expanded conservation areas on Crown land, Coon should be happy.

"What does that have to do, really, with the work, with the things we've been trying to advance in the legislative assembly? It's just indicative of how he's not paying attention and not listening."

Both Coon and Liberal Leader Kevin Vickers say their two parties aren't as aligned as the premier seems to think.

Coon saidthe Greens wouldn't necessarily back a Liberal minority government and the decision would depend "on where they would take the province."

And Vickers said his party would be more deliberate in its approach to environmental issues. "There's a lot of things that we would like to change quickly, but we would probably take a more pragmatic approach," he said.

The Liberal leader, who does not have a seat in the legislature, said Higgs has shown no interest in working with him on issues.

When he sees the premier, "I always make a point to go over and shake his hand and wish him well, but I've never been invited to his office or received any phone calls."

'Take it file by file'

Austin said this week that the extension of his commitment to support the PCs doesn't mean the Alliance will vote for every government bill. "We're going to take it file by file. I'm not going to pin us into a corner on any one issue."

The Alliance wants glyphosate spraying banned in the province and so far the PCs have not agreed to that.

The Alliance candidate in the upcoming, unscheduled Saint Croix by-election, Rod Cumberland, said if he becomes an MLA, glyphosate could be his line in the sand for supporting the PCs.

"Obviously if something came up in the legislature, politics doesn't trump science. If the science says this isn't good, this shouldn't be done, obviously I'm going to go with what I know," he said.

Cumberland allegedhe was fired from the Maritime College of Forest Technology for his outspoken views on glyphosate "so I think the proof's in the pudding on that one."