Coon promises to fix 'corrupted' property tax system

Protesters will gather in Rothesay today to try to raise voter awareness about safe abortion access and LGBT health care in New Brunswick.

Abortions are only performed at hospitals in two cities in the province,Moncton and Bathurst.

"This rally is about respecting basic rights in Canada," said Cheryl Johnson, spokesperson for FLIP Saint John, an activist group.

Last year Clinic 554 in Fredericton went up for sale because the lack of funding was making running the clinic unsustainable.

The topic of abortion access in New Brunswick has come up a fewtimes so far during the campaign for the Sept.14 election.

Earlier this week, Liberal Leader Kevin Vickers promised to fund out-of-hospital abortions.NDP Leader Mackenzie Thomason tweeted hewouldfund Clinic 554. And NDP candidate Caitlin Grogan, hoping to talk to PC Leader Blaine HIggs about Clinic 554, crashed a PC barbecueover the weekend.

Although the family practice serves a range of patients, Clinic 554 also provides transgender care and abortion services. It's the only private clinic that does out-of-hospital abortions, but the province doesn't fund them through Medicare.

The rally is scheduled for 12 p.m. on theRothesay Common, near the office of Health Minister Ted Flemming, who is seeking re-election in Rothesay.

Here's what the political party leaders have been saying:

Coon would fix 'corrupted' property tax system

Green Party Leader David Coon was in Saint John, where he announcedhis government would fix New Brunswick's "broken" property tax system, making it fairer for small business and residential taxpayers.

"It's time to fix the corrupted property tax system in New Brunswick, and I'm prepared to take it on," Coon said.

He pointed to Saint John, where he said homeowners contribute 61 per cent of all property taxes, while heavy industry pays eight per cent.

• Cities ask party leaders to commit to property tax reform

Coon said the Saint John Regional Hospital's annual property tax bill is $4.5 million, and Irving Oil's is $2.6 million for itsrefinery.

Coon said this doesn't add up.

"It's clear the property tax system in New Brunswick has become corrupted," he said.

Coon said he's committed to eliminating "loopholes and breaks" for heavy industry that receive property tax cuts if their income declines somethingunavailable to any other class of taxpayer, he said.

"If you lose your job, or you have lost business, government is not going to cut your property tax bill like they do for heavy industry," he said. "It is unbelievably unfair."

The Green Party would ensure a greater proportion of property tax revenue stayed within municipalities, he said.

Coon also wants to end the tax breaks heavy industry receives on industrial machinery and heavy equipment and would cancel a tax exemption Irving Oil receives on its tank farm in Saint John.

Higgs vows to go aftercrystal meth dealers

Use of crystal meth, available on the street for as little as $5 a hit, has been on the rise in New Brunswick for several years.

If re-elected, PC Leader Blaine Higgs says he will step upprevention and enforcement efforts to attackthe crystal meth problem.

Over the past three years, he said, professionals in some detox facilities have seen an increase of 35 per cent in the usage of crystal meth use.

At the same time, he said, doctors and nurses in hospitals are having to deal with more aggressive patients coming off the drug.

"It's a very serious issue and we're prepared to do what it takes to fight this deadly drug," he said in Fredericton.

Earlier this year,Higgssaid, his government increased funding by $5.5 million for mental health and addiction programs across Social Development, Education, and addiction and treatment programs.

• Higgs promises to confront homelessness 'head-on'

If his government is re-elected, he would spend an additional $2 million on a new RCMP task force of 13 officers, who would work full time to stop hard-drug traffickers.He said the program isunder development.

Higgs said he is also committed to expanding the residential addiction rehabilitation treatment program in Campbellton.

Thomason launches NDP campaign with call for free tuition

NDP Leader Mackenzie Thomason, the youngest party leader to be running in the provincial election by a few decades, made big promises when he launched his party's campaign Wednesday.

Thomason, whose New Democrats had no seats in the last legislature,said the election was "irresponsible, reckless and wholly unnecessary."

But his party wants to put New Brunswickers first and raise theminimum wageto $15 an hourfrom $11.70, he said.

COVID-19 has taught many lessons, including the value of the workers grocery store clerks, gas attendants and restaurant employees who kept the province moving at the height of the pandemic, he said.

"The strength of New Brunswick is the resiliency of its citizens," he said outside the legislature in Fredericton.

Thomason said he would push for fairer taxationand a 25 per cent reduction in tuition, with the goal of eventually eliminating tuition altogether.

He would also create a cost-share model that would make medication more affordable.

"We firmly believe that a person shouldn't have to choose whether to eat that night or to have potentially life-saving medications."

Thomason repeated his support for an inquiry into the deaths ofChantel Moore and Rodney Levi, two Indigenous people who died at the hands of police this year, as well as an inquiry into the justice system, systemic racism and unequal treatment of minorities.

The 23-year-old also targeted seniors,promising better health care and home-care services. He didn't elaborate on how he would do that but said details would be revealed soon.

Austin promises relief for familiesstruggling to pay electricity bills

People's Alliance Leader Kris Austin says he would make it easier for low-income families to pay their electricity bills especially in winter.

"Families need help," he said Wednesday in the Marysville area of Fredericton. "And I believe government needs to do what it can to help."

He would more than double the province's Home Energy Assistance Program, which provides a $100 benefit to families that have a household income under$30,000.

His party wouldwill raise the benefit to $250, putting more money into some families' pockets to pay for other necessities, such as groceries.

"Nobody should have to make the choice between heating their home and putting food on the table," he saidin the Marysville area. "Sadly, this is a reality for some people in New Brunswick."

Austin said he would also review the HST paid by low-income earners and seniors struggling to heat their homes.

Vickers would makecybersecuritysector a priority to boost economy

Liberal Leader Kevin Vickers also made an appearance in New Brunswick's capital on Wednesday.

Vickers said he would prioritize the cybersecurity sector to grow the province's economy.

"We need to invest in the technology that will stop the hackers getting into computers and committing crimes," he said.

He said there will be an estimated 1.8 million new jobs worldwide in cybersecurity by 2022, andmany of these jobs will have starting salaries of $75,000 and $80,000.

"We want a piece of that pie."

Vickers said he would work with leaders in industry, the academic world and communities toattract companies to New Brunswick.

"We need to attract new companies and anchor companies to New Brunswick in cybersecurity, and to do that, we need to do a lot more hustle than we have seen under the Conservatives."

Where the leaders are today

LiberalLeader Kevin Vickers will be making an announcement at 9:30 a.m. in Moncton.

Green Party Leader David Coon will be making an announcement at 10 a.m.outsidethe Sackville Memorial Hospital.

PC Leader Blaine Higgs will be making an announcement at 11 a.m. at theRiverside Court Retirement Residence in Woodstock.

People's Alliance Leader Kris Austin will be touring the riding of Fredericton-York at 11:15 a.m. to assess infrastructure needs, then at the Oromocto Food Bank at Oromocto Food Bank to discuss food security.

NDP Leader Mackenzie Thomason will be joining the abortion-accessprotestat 12 p.m. in Rothesay.

Standings at dissolution:PCs 20, Liberals 20, Greens, 3, People's Alliance 3, Independent 1, vacancies 2

For complete coverage|Links to all New Brunswick votes 2020 stories