FREDERICTON – With gas prices nearing $2 per litre, Green Party leader and MLA for Fredericton South David Coon says it’s time for the Higgs government to recognize public transportation as an essential public service and invest carbon tax revenue to ensure it is widely accessible.

Read more

FREDERICTON – With news that a family physician has left New Brunswick because she was unable to work in the hospital, Green Party leader and MLA for Fredericton South David Coon is reiterating his call for the provincial government to fund Horizon and Vitalité to hire dedicated hospitalists to provide care in hospitals.  

Read more

FREDERICTON – According to Auditor General Paul Martin, almost 40 percent of New Brunswick households cannot afford their heating costs.  He found they are unable to access NB Power’s energy efficiency saving programs because government has failed to make good on its commitment to provide financing.  

Read more

FREDERICTON – The Auditor General report released this morning found that NB Power’s energy saving programs are difficult to access by low and moderate-income households despite 37% of New Brunswick households experiencing energy poverty, where they spend more than 6% of their income on energy. NB Power has slashed its energy saving targets and failed to implement government’s commitments on energy efficiency contained in the Climate Action Plan.

Read more

FREDERICTON – As Premier Higgs relaxes COVID-19 measures for the general population, NB Green Party leader and MLA for Fredericton South David Coon says he must put in place a plan that will protect those most vulnerable to serious illness, hospitalizations and death.

Read more

FREDERICTON - New Brunswick Green Party Leader and MLA for Fredericton South David Coon says the 18,000 hectares of forest and rivers of the former Tracadie Firing Range should be co-managed by the local community in partnership with the M’ikmaq Nation.  

Read more

FREDERICTON – Many New Brunswickers were alarmed to find empty produce shelves across New Brunswick last week due to multiple major snowstorms. Green Party Agriculture critic and MLA for Kent North Kevin Arseneau says this is indicative of a food system that relies on imported fruits and vegetables, which will be increasingly disrupted by crises outside of New Brunswick, such as severe weather from climate change or major COVID outbreaks.

Read more

FREDERICTON – Statistics just released by Statistics Canada reveal that the average cost of rent in New Brunswick has increased by 7.2% over the past year, compared with the national average of 1.6%. This, says NB Green Party leader and MLA for Fredericton South David Coon, is further proof that the province must adopt strong rent controls, including an annual cap on rent increases.

Read more

FREDERICTON – NB Green Party leader and MLA for Fredericton South David Coon has been hearing concerns from New Brunswickers about their mental health as the lockdown takes hold – a stark reminder that the provincial government has been slow to implement its commitments from the mental health and addictions strategy it announced last year.

“Last February, the government committed to opening 13 mental health walk-in clinics around the province based on the successful pilot project in Campbellton,” said Coon. “And they committed to adding addiction and mental health resources to address increased demand for services resulting from COVID-19. These are needed now.”

It has been over two years since the Legislature unanimously adopted a motion to create a mental health advocate for the Province, but no one has been appointed. And almost a year has gone by since the circumstances surrounding Lexi Daken’s suicide exposed gaping holes in emergency mental health care services, but the ensuing recommendations remain largely unimplemented.

“The Premier often talks of living with COVID-19, so his upcoming budget must support a properly funded healthcare system so we can live with COVID-19 and the restrictions it imposes on our lives,” said Coon. “Neither medical nor mental health services should fall by the wayside during a pandemic, but that is precisely what is happening.”