The provincial government has delivered its throne speech, opening the second session of the 60th legislature and outlining the government’s priorities.

The government plans to continue to focus on five priority areas and make progress on them through an affordable, responsive and high-performing government. These priority areas are: energizing the private sector; creating vibrant and sustainable communities; delivering dependable public health care; creating a world-class education system; and protecting the environment.

To energize the private sector, the province will be investing $5 million to help businesses embrace technology for greater productivity and increased output. The government also plans to reduce personal income tax and property tax to advance a pro-growth agenda and attract more investors.

To ensure vibrant and sustainable communities, the provincial government plans to invest $3.3 million to reduce crime and support law enforcement as it addresses drug-driven crime; continue to partner with private and non-profit landlords to develop more affordable housing options for New Brunswickers in need, with a goal of creating an additional 405 units over the next three years; and continue to tie annual minimum wage increases to the consumer price index, to ensure New Brunswickers can afford rising costs.

On healthcare, one of the government’s priorities is to simplify the application form, streamline the application process and increase staff dedicated to processing new requests by 80 per cent to ensure newcomers are provided with timely access to medicare cards.

In the education field, the province plans to create system-wide changes that allow for a learning environment where teachers can teach and students can learn with minimal disruptions, where streaming is eliminated, and where parents are clear on the programs that exist.

And on the environment, the province will be investing more than $47 million in initiatives to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, foster educational opportunities, and build resiliency to achieve the province’s greenhouse gas reduction target for 2030 and put New Brunswick on a path to being net zero by 2050.