29 AUGUST 2010

Green Party leader Jack MacDougall called Conservative leader David Alward’s announcement yesterday that he would roll back tax cuts given to New Brunswick’s richest tax payers by the Liberals last year “a compliment.”  “Mr. Alward was obviously coming up short on his fiscal policy so he borrowed from the Greens.  It shows the major parties are listening.  We welcome that.”

The Green Party has denounced the entire tax reform legislation passed by the Legislature which gives upper income earners and corporations major tax reductions, calling it fiscally irresponsible.  Both the Conservatives and the NDP supported the tax cuts that were signed into law in 2009 to be phased in over the 2010-2012 budgets.  By the time it is fully implemented, it will result in $400 million less revenue each year.

 

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28 AUGUST 2010

For immediate release

A Green government would put a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing until proper regulations and safeguards are put in place, according to Jack MacDougall, leader of the Green Party.

Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is a technological process used by the oil and gas industry to extract natural gas found in a rock formation called shale.  This shale is located deep beneath the earth’s surface.  Fracking involves pumping millions of litres of freshwater under intense pressure down a drilled well into the shale rock.  The water is laced with thousands of kilograms of toxic chemicals like benzene and diesel fuel.  This pressurized toxic brew causes the shale to fracture and the gas to be released from millions of tiny cavities dispersed throughout the shale.

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28 AUGUST 2010

Jack MacDougall, leader of the New Brunswick Green Party, today announced his party’s strong opposition to the building of a second nuclear power plant in New Brunswick.

“This is a totally misguided policy designed to enhance the government’s chances at re-election by providing hope for jobs,” said MacDougall.  “Jobs are important, but we cannot pursue jobs at any price.”

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25 AUGUST 2010

This week’s claim by Premier Shawn Graham that the government of the day, both the sitting Conservatives and the opposition Liberals, did not understand the risks involved in the Point Lepreau refurbishment is simply false, according to the Green Party.

Premier Graham was responding to Prime Minister Harper’s assertion that the Province entered with eyes wide open into a contract with Atomic Energy of Canada to tear down and rebuild the reactor core.

“I disagree with Stephen Harper on virtually everything else, but on this one he is right,” said Green Party president and candidate in the Charlotte-Campobello riding, Janice Harvey.  “Bernard Lord’s government was told in no uncertain terms by the Public Utilities Board that the uncertainties and risks involved in refurbishment were too high and they should not proceed.  Encouraged by Opposition Leader Shawn Graham, Premier Lord ignored this advice and went ahead anyway.”

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20 AUGUST 2010

In an ironic and potentially controversial decision Tuesday evening, the Town of Sackville overturned its August 9 decision to ban seismic testing within town boundaries, citing striking a deal with the energy company Petroworth as the only way to protect themselves from any damage the company might do to their multi-million dollar water system.

Sackville made the news earlier this month when Municipal Council declined to permit seismic testing for shale oil and gas within its town boundaries. Petroworth Industries, an exploration company whose Board Chair is Premier Shawn Graham's father, Alan Graham, had received a license to conduct geophysical explorations in southeastern New Brunswick from the Province of New Brunswick on May 14, 2010.

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19 JULY 2010

Provincial government must respect municipality’s right to decide

The New Brunswick Green Party is calling on the provincial government to respect the democratic decision of the Town of Sackville to prohibit oil and gas exploration within municipal boundaries. 

At a council meeting, the Sackville Town Council voted to prohibit exploration by Petroworth Resources Inc. on 18 square kilometres of town land that is part of a larger 90-square kilometre zone, or more than 35,000 hectares in southwestern New Brunswick. Premier Shawn Graham’s father Alan Graham is Chairman of Petroworth Resources Inc.

Councillor Margaret Tusz-King who is also the Green Party candidate for the Tantramar Riding, led the municipal opposition to the motion to approve exploration.  She cited several reasons including inadequate provincial regulations to protect people, lands and animals; lack of an escrow account in case of environmental catastrophe; and the demonstrated dangers of water contamination in the actual mining of shale oil or gas.

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29 JUNE 2010

At its policy meeting in Moncton last Saturday, the New Brunswick Green Party adopted a suite of health-related policies, including the establishment throughout the province of collaborative care clinics as the most effective method of providing health care services to all New Brunswickers.

The health policy was authored by Green Party Health Critic and nominated candidate in Fredericton-Silverwood Jim Wolstenholme. Wolstenholme was the Assistant Deputy Minister of Health in New Brunswick and Saskatchewan and CEO of the Miramichi Health Authority. The policy reflects the recommendations of the College of Family Physicians of Canada’s model of a patient-centered “medical home” that provides collaborative, accessible and lifelong care to people.

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22 APRIL 2010

Fredericton:  Green Party leader Jack MacDougall revealed today that property tax issues are going to be an important piece of that party’s election platform.

“This form of taxation is unjust in many ways.  While we recognize it the primary source of revenue for municipalities, this cannot excuse its basic unfairness.”

With property tax bills arriving in people’s mailboxes last year, the problem of soaring assessments unconnected to any property improvements is receiving a lot of public attention.  MacDougall says the process of assessment has to change.

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