Citizen

Engagement
and Responsible Government
“In politics, we learn a lot about how to govern when
we take the time to listen and reach out to people we
are elected to represent. By engaging people who are
most affected we get better solutions.”

David Alward
Message from David Alward
Last fall our Party held a wide-ranging and open debate There are six major elements of government and
on new policies that would form the foundation of our democratic reform including:
next election platform. Throughout the consultation
• Fixing the governance system to include more
process people told us that they wanted common sense voices;
policies and solutions, they wanted a government that
would listen to their concerns, and more importantly,
• Better citizen engagement through voting;

they wanted to be treated with respect and sincerity. • Improving the information available to citizens;
• Shedding more light on our public finances;
I want to lead a New Brunswick where people have
• Increased transparency of decision-making; and
more say over the decisions in their lives, a New
Brunswick where families and communities are
• Creating a reasonable compensation package for
politicians.
stronger, and a New Brunswick where people will gain
further responsibility for shaping our future together. I welcome and encourage your feedback as we
continue to discuss these and other ideas over the
In the pages that follow I will share my vision for Citizen coming months.
Engagement and Responsible Government in the
Province of New Brunswick. I commit that if elected Sincerely
Premier, I will begin introducing these
reforms immediately.

David Alward
More Inclusive and Democratic Governance
Introduction
We need to do more to put people at the heart of
decision-making in this province. This means including
under-represented groups in our institutions, ensuring
that political voices are heard so they don’t feel shut out
of the process, and making the Legislative Assembly
more relevant and meaningful, not only at election time,
but all of the time.
Progressive Conservatives believe in a governance
model that is both collaborative and engaging. It must
be accountable and transparent. But more importantly,
our governance model must keep up with the times,
and be representative of the people it serves.
A new PC Government will:
• Propose new ways of making the People’s House
more collaborative, such as allowing third parties to
pose questions to Ministers, to have a voice through
committee participation, and including all parties in
major initiatives.
• Ensure that First Nations people have a true partner
in government, by having the Premier take on direct
responsibility for Aboriginal Affairs.
• Empower civil servants to have greater decision-
making authority and input, support front-line
workers, and ensure that their ideas are heard
and recognized.
• Introduce evaluation mechanisms for any new
programs introduced in order to give tools to civil
servants to determine the effectiveness of the
service the public receives.
• Make amendments to government bills “free votes.”
• Extend the number of hours allocated to debating
the budget from 80 to 120.
• Amend the process by which regulations are
approved by Cabinet, ensuring that time is allowed
for public input and suggestions.
• Support our non-profit and community
organizations through capacity building, training
& development, and measures to address funding
challenges.
• Work together on new volunteer-friendly laws and
regulations.
• Work with curriculum experts and stakeholders to
ensure that civics education in our schools has a
strong component on citizen engagement and the
role of responsible government.
• Introduce a new community volunteer service
requirement to receive a New Brunswick High
School diploma.
Improving the Information Shared With
New Brunswickers
Introduction
It should not be difficult for people to engage with their
government. Unfortunately the system forces those who
want to obtain information to jump through a number
of hoops and in some cases spend hundreds of dollars.
We need to make the process simpler, more efficient and
pro-active.
Citizen engagement is too important to simply be the
responsibility of one Minister – it is the responsibility of
all Ministers, in fact, it is the responsibility of everyone
within government.
Progressive Conservatives believe we can and should
do more to bring more New Brunswickers into the
political process by reforming how information is shared.
Furthermore, government should improve use of online
technologies to proactively seek out the will of the people.
A new PC Government will:
• Remove fees associated with Right to Information
Requests.
• Make more documents and statements available
online.
• Create a new Citizen Engagement Unit within
the Executive Council Office, reporting directly to
the Premier.
• Create a culture of engagement within all
government departments.
• Mandate every department and agency of
government to hold a minimum of two public town
hall meetings every year as well as two roundtables
per year with stakeholder groups.
• Hold public Cabinet meetings at locations around
the province on a quarterly basis.
• Make the rationale for final recommendations on
funding private companies through Business New
Brunswick open and accessible for all future lending
and funding decisions.
Improving Citizen Engagement Through Voting
Introduction
The cornerstone of our democratic system is the ability
of citizens to freely express their opinions at the ballot
box. Over the past four years we have seen a number
of opportunities to engage New Brunswickers through
voting tossed aside because of political expediency and
self-interest.
Progressive Conservatives believe that New
Brunswickers are capable of making decisions for
themselves, and should be given the opportunity
to decide how government should respond to
major challenges.
A new PC Government will:
• Create a permanent New Brunswick Referendum
Act to give citizens and governments the tools they
need to address fundamental democratic issues.
• Introduce legislation requiring any MLA who wants
to cross the floor to either sit as an independent or
run in a by-election.
• Reinstate elected members to the Regional Health
Authority Boards.
• Provide for greater empowerment of local
communities in organizations like District
Education Councils, Community Economic
Development Agencies, as well as the new Social
Inclusion Networks.
More Open and Transparent Government
Introduction
There have been far too many examples of questionable
deal making behind closed doors over the past four years.
Losing taxpayer money on a golf course, buying a new
luxury airplane, putting a well-known, paid lobbyist in
charge of the government’s agenda. All are examples that
make New Brunswickers ask the question, who’s interests
are being served?
Progressive Conservatives believe that the people of
New Brunswick deserve to know why their government
makes certain decisions. New Brunswickers should have
more opportunities to participate in the governance of our
province and its institutions. New Brunswickers deserve
to know who is being paid to attempt to influence
government decisions.
A new PC Government will:
• Open up the provincial tendering process and
improve the rules to put New Brunswick businesses
and professionals first with a fair chance to bid.
• Make the results of tendering decisions more
transparent by changing the way the final contracts
are publicized and communicated.
• Expand the current online requests for nominations
to provincial agencies, boards and commissions to
include more organizations.
• Actively engage with important stakeholder groups
such as the Advisory Council on the Status of Women,
Council on the Status of Disabled Persons, and the First
Nations of New Brunswick to enhance the inclusiveness
of our government’s decision-making authorities.
• Create a New Brunswick Lobbyist Registry.
• Adopt legislation requiring Elections New Brunswick
to publicize regular electoral finance reports.
• Introduce legislation creating a stand-alone Office of
the Child and Youth Advocate.
• Enhance the role of the provincial Ombudsman
providing new powers to oversee senior care in
New Brunswick.
• Adopt legislation making the New Brunswick
Human Rights Commission an Office of the
Legislative Assembly.
Responsible Management of our Public Finances
Introduction
It is shameful how the Shawn Graham Liberals have
managed the public purse. They have squandered
away millions of taxpayer dollars on poor investment
decisions and frivolous spending, adding billions to the
province’s debt – and what is worse, we still don’t know
how bad things are.
Progressive Conservatives believe that we must live
within our means and that a true accounting of our
province’s finances should be published well in advance
of an election.
A new PC Government will:
• Require that the Auditor General produce a special
report on the province’s finances 60 days before
each fixed election date.
• Propose new laws to start down the road to
balanced budgets within four years.
• Increase the frequency of financial reports so that
New Brunswickers can judge our performance.
• Propose new rules on how much the provincial
government can spend in any one year, including a
new legislated cap on total spending that can only
be exceeded under special circumstances and a
vote with a super-majority of MLAs voting in favour.
More Responsible Compensation
Introduction
Justice Ryan said it best in his 2008 report when he said:
“It is essential that civic-minded persons continue
to be attracted to serve the people of New
Brunswick and that they receive fair and reasonable
compensation for their public service. The
compensation levels should not be so small that
they discourage qualified candidates from running,
or so generous as to be a major inducement for
seeking office.”
Progressive Conservatives believe that while politicians
should receive reasonable and fair compensation, they
should not be in charge of approving increases to their
own pay and benefits.
A new PC Government will:
• Implement the recommendations of the
Independent Panel Reviewing MLA Pension and
Severance Packages.
• Ensure that any MLA who chooses to retire from
office, or who accepts a federal or provincial
appointment, or who is at the age of 60 and starts
collecting an MLA pension will not be eligible for a
re-establishment allowance.
• Will ensure that the Provincial Cabinet not exceed
15 Ministers plus the Premier.
• Introduce an immediate ban on all unnecessary
out-of-province travel by Cabinet Ministers to
cut expenditures by at least 50% over the next
two years.
• Amend conflict of interest rules to ensure there
are no loopholes or ambiguities concerning direct
family members of Cabinet Ministers who are board
members or employees of companies receiving
government funding.