Reply to the Budget Speech by Mr. Bernard Richard, Financial Critic, Member for Shediac—Cap-Pelé Unofficial Excerpt from the Journal of Debates (Hansard) 003 [Translation] Daily Sitting 15 Assembly Chamber, Thursday, December 12, 2002 (The House met at 3 p.m., with Hon. Mr. Harrison, the Speaker, in the chair. Prayers.) Debate on Motion 54 (Budget Debate) Mr. Richard, resuming the adjourned debate on Motion 54, spoke as follows: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think that, during the year, there is no function more important for the government than presentation of its budget, followed by the budget debate and analysis of that budget. It is therefore a great privilege for me, as member for Shediac—Cap-Pelé, to rise to speak today. I would ask you to extend my most sincere wishes to the Lieutenant-Governor, Hon. Marilyn Trenholme Counsell, and, in particular, to convey to her all my admiration for the quality of her work, once again, on behalf of the children. She encourages and promotes reading by young children and their parents. In her position, she carries out extremely important duties, for which she is greatly admired. Sincere thanks go to you, Mr. Speaker, and to the Clerk, Clerks Assistant and guests, to the Sergeant- at-Arms, to the commissionaires, to the pages, who provide us with very appreciated services, to the staff less often seen, such as translators and Hansard editors, and to the staff seen a bit more often, such as interpreters and cafeteria workers. You all perform your work admirably, thus making our jobs easier. The job of a member is already hard work, as you very well know, Mr. Speaker. You have been an opposition member, a government member, and you are now Speaker. You are therefore acquainted with the hard work involved in performing a member’s job. This work is greatly facilitated by the quality of the employees around us, working here at the Legislative Assembly. I would be remiss not to acknowledge employees at the Office of the Official Opposition, who assist and support us tirelessly. All these dedicated women—the Opposition Leader’s Chief of Staff, the Director of Communications, the Director of Research, and researchers and administrative assistants— provide us with extensive support and, again, enable us to perform the work that constituents expect of us. 004 I would also like to mention the work of employees of the Liberal Party of New Brunswick. I think that all are militant members of a political party. Whether in the governing party, the New Democratic Party, or the Liberal Party, these workers at our political offices and the many volunteers working on behalf of the provincial executive committees and supporting the efforts of our leaders are the ones who enable us to put out a consistent message. Because I represent a riding, I must mention briefly, but it is important to do so, the Liberal militants in my area for their unfailing support. I am referring to the president of my provincial association, Victor Boudreau. He is a volunteer, but he was my executive assistant when I had to privilege to sit as a minister in the former government. He has remained a loyal assistant and partner in the work carried out. Of course, there are also all the members of executive committees, the directors, and the other volunteers. I want to thank them because they are serving their community. They do so because they believe in the cause and because they believe that they can contribute to their community by becoming involved in a political party. They are therefore to be commended. Of course, I also want to mention Shediac constituents. Over the past 11 years, I have benefited from great support from each one of them. [Original] Many times I have been humbled by the level of support that I have been able to receive from the very good people of Shediac, Cap-Pele, Grand-Barachois, and the other regions that I have had the privilege of representing in the Legislature for 11 years and through three very exciting, interesting and, at times, difficult elections. Certainly, it is work that I enjoy greatly, and I have been able to do it because of the tremendous support that I have received from the voters of my area. [Translation] I also want to mention—I think it is customary to do so—the mayors and municipal councillors of Shediac and Cap-Pele, members of the rural community of Beaubassin East, and the hundreds of volunteers who make our region one of the most magnificent—I would even say the most magnificent one—in the province. I think that this readily obvious. The tax base increase in Shediac is approximately 8%. In Cap-Pele, the increase is approximately 9%, once again this year. These growth rates are among the best in New Brunswick and they stem in large part from residential construction. New houses and cottages are being built by people who do not always come from Shediac—Cap-Pelé but who want to live there, including former Premiers such as Mr. McKenna and Mr. Frenette, who have places there. Even Lieutenant-Governor Trenholme Counsell has a cottage in Shediac, in Pointe-du-Chêne, at the Bluff more specifically. For several years now, she has enjoyed all the benefits of this area: the nice beach, the warmest waters north of Virginia, and a quality of life that she can enjoy in our region. However, residential construction is not the only boost to our economic development. I want to note that I have the opportunity of representing a region that has several small businesses. Sometimes, these businesses are quite small. The number of small businesses our region is always surprising. These are people who provide jobs for neighbours—often their own cousins, brothers, or sisters—and who contribute tremendously to prosperity in the region and throughout New Brunswick. The fisheries sector is obviously very important in our region. It employs close to 2 500 people, either as fishermen or as fish processing workers, in the areas of lobster, crab, and smoked herring, which is a product very unique to the region and which is exported throughout the world. As I said, this represents a tremendous contribution. 005 Reference could also be made to other sectors such as construction and tourism, which are very important in a region such as Shediac—Cap-Pelé. Technology is another sector to take notice of. There are new companies such as InteliSys, which is located on Ohio Road in Shediac and which contributes to diversification of the local economy. I would also like to mention the following manufacturers: West-Wood, in Scoudouc, which employs over 250 workers; Glenwood Kitchen, which has a new owner, the McKenna family, but which has now served our region for dozens of years; and the former Consumers Glass, which is now owned by an U.S. company called Owens-Illinois and which has operated a major plant in the Scoudouc Industrial Park for several years. I could also mention boat builders, who, although they practice a trade, are in fact craftsmen. I prefer to call them that because these are craftsmen who, with their own hands and for three or four generations, have built very high-quality boats. These boats are used by New Brunswick fishermen, but they are also exported to the United States, Quebec, and elsewhere in the Atlantic Provinces. These boats definitely have a reputation of good workmanship, of very high quality, and they provide employment for dozens of workers in our region and contribute to the local economy. If there has been a dark cloud over the riding of Shediac—Cap-Pelé these past three years, it has been the absence of the public sector. Some Shediac—Cap-Pelé residents are here this afternoon. It will be recalled that major highway construction occurred not too long ago. For example, there was the $26-million Cap-Pele bypass at the time Sheldon Lee was Minister of Transportation. This was major work, which probably saved lives and which allowed heavy trucks to avoid driving right through the downtown area. In fact, this was one of the only municipalities where such a large number of heavy trucks could be seen driving right through the downtown area. Therefore, this was major work. The Barachois exchange on Highway 15 was a $4-million project; this was a major project. There were also $7-million improvements to the Parlee Beach Provincial Park and the school in Barachois. [Original] The improvements to the Shediac Cape School and to the roads in other parts of the riding have all stopped since 1999. In fact, it is, I think, almost disgraceful. [Translation] When I think that, from Shemogue, we built and improved Highway 950 right around Petit-Cap, Trois- Ruisseaux—or Léger Brook—through Bas-Cap-Pelé up to Moïse Bridge . Constituents familiar with this highway will confirm that we paved approximately 11 km used by very heavy trucks hauling fish. We built 11 km of highway, and possibly less than 1 km now remains to be done. Eleven twelfths of this highway was completed, but, for three years, despite our requests and those of the municipal council, the rest of this highway has remained uncompleted. This is truly embarrassing. The other section of Highway 950, the Trois-Ruisseaux Road connecting to the main highway, Acadie Road in Cap-Pele, a stretch of slightly over 2 km, has remained totally untouched in the past three and a half years. This is shameful and embarrassing for a government.